Melk Abbey visit in Nov

I%26#39;m planning a driving route for a trip between Vienna and Salzburg in Nov. Everyone recommends visiting Melk Abbey along the way.

Looking at the website for Melk abbey it says Nov 2 2009 - April 2010, visits only possible with a guided tour. It then says %26#39;tours for individuals are offered in German and English at 11am %26amp; 2pm.

I%26#39;m a little confused (easy to do!) as it says visits are only possible with a guided tour but then goes on to say tours for individuals. Do they mean that we can turn up as %26#39;individuals%26#39; and join the guided tours they have at 11 %26amp; 2?.

Thanks

Scubamel

|||

www.stiftmelk.at

Melk Abbey is immediately off the autobahn and takes a very short time to reach the parking lot,immediately adjacent to it. Signs will direct you.Well worth this very short detour as the Stift ( Abbey ) is a magnificentr place. Yes, Tours for individuals at 11 and 2 as you mention. You just visit at that time - no reservsation needed and join the tour offered.

site advises -tours for organized visiting groups ( as opposed to individual tourists) are available by appointment.

|||

Hi Scubamel. The tours for individuals run as said at 11 and 2. I did one in January. There were about 12 people on the tour- half spoke English, half spoke German. I thought the tour guide did a wonderful job doing the tour in both languages and catered for evertone%26#39;s needs beautifully. The tour lasted 90mins and we were not rushed at all. I would heartily recommend finding the time to do it.

|||

Thanks for that info. My only concern now is the limited times that they run the tours. I had orginally planned to pick up the hire car around 7.30 - 8am to maximise our time. What is traffic like out of Vienna airport and onto Melk at that hour of the morning? I%26#39;m guessing we would reach the area around 10am? This would mean having to wait around for the tour to start and considering we want to stop at Hallstatt on the way to Salzburg I don%26#39;t think we have the time to wait around for the tour to start at 11, given that it would probably be getting dark around 6ish in the evening in Nov?

Thanks,

Scubamel