"Not all those who wander are lost"
J.R.R. Tolkien
Time for a summer adventure!
The only Eagle's Nest Hike Tour and Mondsee Lake Bike Tour
Important news:
The Eagle’s Nest hike tour is fully operational (buses are running and the building is open).
As in the 24th of June travelers coming from the US do not need to fill up a pre travel clearance to enter Austria, this applies as well to most European countries. Get more information with your local authorities as lets have a great summer.
Last year changed the world around us and now we are very excited to go out and explore again.
The Eagle’s Nest hike tour located just 40 minutes away from Salzburg takes you thru the fresh pine forests of the Obersalzberg to discover hidden WWII locations and up the mountain to hike to the Kehlsteinhaus where you will meet the clouds and peaks of the Bavarian Alps.
Our Lake Bike Tour is a easy ride around a crystal clear alpine lake surrounded by the mountains. The place was a gift from Napoleon and offers the best place for family trip. Ride, swim and relax. Just outside of Salzburg.
Our tours, the Eagles’s Nest hike tour and the Lake Bike Tour are designed to provide an incredible experience. Tours run every day from May to October, but spaces are limited spaces!! Book now and get ready to write your chapter in the Alps!
Adventure
When looking for things to do in Salzburg let adventure knock on your door. From bike tours in Salzburg to the famous Eagle’s Nest in Berchtesgaden, we feed your inner monkey. We offer private tours and group tours as well.
Natural Wonders
Wonder away with the most beautiful scenarios in Austria. Do not need to worry about a thing, we organize everything in our top guided tours. Be bewildered by the wilderness and experience the true beauty of nature.
Experiences
Experience your bike tours and hiking tours in Salzburg on a complete unique way. Discover amazing places, meet new people and take with you a memory that will last a lifetime. We offer the best guided tours because we choose quality over quantity and personal treatment over anonymity!
“It’s not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves” Sir Edmund Hillary.
Hi my name is Claudio, and I am the founder of Monkey Business Tours, but that is not all. I am as well a masters student of political science at the University of Salzburg.
From a young age I have had a fascination with the mountains and military history. Both inherited from my family, full of alpinists and my grandad who was a general of the air force. Nature for me is like going back to the basics, once you come back everything is twice as better. Combining that and the war stories that have shape our world has become a passion and the reason behind this company. Now after guiding more than 1000 people a year for many years I have developed not only as a guide but as a person. There is no growth without friction. For me there is no greater satisfaction than doing the things you love despite the challenges. Maybe that is the reason why I love the mountains so much. They are hard to climb but the higher you go, the better the view.
This was by far one of the best tours my husband and I have been on! We did the hiking up to the Eagles Nest as well as the bike... read more ride around Mondsee Lake. We had such an amazing time and Claudio was so passionate and knowledgeable about the history of Salzburg and WWII. We explored the bunkers which was a huge highlight and spoke of all the history. The bike ride was magical around the crystal blue lake. We even stopped at a waterfall which was a nice surprise. The whole time Claudio was very professional, helpful, and so much fun to be around. We would highly recommend any of the two tours we did! …
Alison A 01/06/2020
This is a great way to spend a day outside of Salzburg. We met our guide, Alfonso, near the train station and after a short bus ride we were... read more at the at the trailhead below the Eagles Nest. The signs say to expect a 4+ hour hike, but you can really do this in 2-3 hours. The trail is wide and easy to navigate so no real need for hiking boots, comfortable shoes work great. Alfonso had tons of facts and photographs to share along the way. The views at the top are amazing and seem more so after the hike to get there. Well worth it. Alfonso was a great guide, giving us plenty of options to take breaks along the way if needed. He also showed up numerous remains of old WWII bunkers and most importantly the remains of the Berghof house that we never would have found without him. Highly recommend this tour.
dawnmead 27/07/2018
We absolutely LOVED our day with Claudio and could not more strongly recommend making this tour a priority if visiting Salzburg (if we ever come back we might even do... read more it again!). The review of the other travelers are all accurate -- Claudio is professional, kind, and extremely knowledgeable. Our party of 5 people joined Claudio and about 9 other people for this full-day hike/tour. Claudio instantly learned everyone's name and addressed us by name throughout the day, making our little group feel like a private tour. And what makes this tour truly a don't-miss is that Claudio has extensive knowledge about WWII and the Eagle's Nest surrounding area and does an amazing job of explaining the details of history throughout the entire tour. He also patiently, and knowledgeably, answers all additional questions! We loved that we also visited sites that the typical Eagles Nest bus tour doesn't visit. Claudio is super easy to communicate with via email to coordinate everything ahead of time -- just visit his website Monkey Business Tours and send him an email! …
LLTravels 01/10/2019
My girlfriend and I loved our hike to the Eagles Nest with Claudio!
We started by visiting the remains of Hitler's Berghof residence, which we would not have seen... read more on a larger group tour. We were also shown the remains of several interesting places such as a building used for storage of supplies during the war and also a place where the SS barracks used to be.
The hike took us around 2.5 hours, my girlfriend and I have not hiked before but are physically fit. Claudio is more than happy to vary the pace based on the groups abilities. To gauge the fitness required I would say if you need to be able to do a 5k run or comfortably do 20,000 steps in a day you will be absolutely fine.
Claudio is very knowledgeable and answered all of our questions as we ascended the mountain.
Once we were at the top, there is a tunnel (100m?) to the original brass elevator that takes you up to the eagles nest and summit of the mountain.
We were told that the queue can be quite long for the lift, but there was no queue in mid June when we went. If queues are expected a jumper might be handy for the wait in the tunnel is it is very cold (maybe 5 degrees C).
Once at the summit we saw the eagles nest building at the top which is also a restaurant. We got some lunch here and enjoyed the stunning views.
Claudio also took us to a part of the mountain near the summit that we wouldn't have known about without a guide, the landscape at this point is rocky but worth the 1 minute walk for the fantastic view from this point that is off the beaten track.
We chose to descend using the bus to save time (this did have an additional cost of around 10 euros), or Claudio was up for hiking back down as well for no additional cost.
Claudio is incredibly friendly, knowledgeable and you can tell he is extremely passionate about the Eagles nest tour which made it the best day out we had in Salzburg. We highly recommend this over a hot coach tour, go with Claudio instead for a real adventure!
THANK YOU!! for a fantastic tour!
JIMBO11223344 24/06/2018
We loved our Eagle’s Nest tour with Claudio and did the hike with our 3 boys aged 13, 13 and 10. Claudio is very welcoming and is very easy... read more to get along with. He took us up the mountain at a nice gentle pace with frequent stops and even brought some extra water for us on such a hot day. He explained all about the history of the site and even showed some old footage of it in it’s heyday. When we got back to Salzburg, Claudio helped us out with getting the correct bus line home. We hope to met up again when we return to Salzburg. I can highly recommend Claudio for a brilliant day out in the Bavarian Alps. More
conors162 22/07/2019
Although the hike was more strenuous than expected, Claudio and Andrea did an excellent job getting us to the top! They were patient and helpful, offering lots of knowledge... read more and interesting side stops.
mcgivtk 28/05/2018
Claudio was so friendly, a great storyteller and managed to make the trip comfortable by keeping the tempo appropriate fore our group! A highly recommend this trip!!
Camilla H 12/07/2021
Stanka met us at the bus station in Salzburg and we took the bus trip to Mondsee; around 50 minutes and very pleasant. All the bike hire was organised so... read more after a few seat height adjustments we were off! Stanka was an excellent guide; very good company and very patient with us (we were..kind of slow...). We stopped first at the town's famous church; St Michael's (used for the wedding in Sound of Music). It is pretty beautiful and worth the stop. The mountains around the lake are stunning. It is pretty much what you'd hope for in a lakes-and-mountains bike tour. We decided to cut the lake tour a little short so we could spend time swimming in the lake. There is an excellent area next to the bike hire where you can swim. Entrance fee is very reasonable and well worth it for the facilities; changing rooms, life guards, various floating things, slides etc; we could easily have spent another whole day here. Monkey Business is a good way of seeing places and doing things that would otherwise take a lot of organising. Recommended!
Don R 18/08/2018
This was by far one of the best tours my husband and I have been on! We did the hiking up to the Eagles Nest as well as the bike... read more ride around Mondsee Lake. We had such an amazing time and Claudio was so passionate and knowledgeable about the history of Salzburg and WWII. We explored the bunkers which was a huge highlight and spoke of all the history. The bike ride was magical around the crystal blue lake. We even stopped at a waterfall which was a nice surprise. The whole time Claudio was very professional, helpful, and so much fun to be around. We would highly recommend any of the two tours we did!
aliaush222 14/06/2020
I had a very lovely day cycling around Mondsee with Monkey Business. Claudio (our guide) really knows what he is doing, he is very friendly, nice and fun. He knows... read more the best spots to have a break and go swimming. We had 8-month olds twins with us on the tour, Claudio was cycling and pulling the babies behind his bike in a van. Even with the kids, this tour went without any problems and was relaxing. This area is incredibly beautiful - I can highly recommend a day trip to Mondsee when visiting Salzburg!!!
Anni S 09/09/2017
Despite due the corona outbreak, the busses were not going, but Claudio did! The only way to get to the top of the mounting was by foot. With Claudio we’ve... read more had an amazing experience. His knowledge about WW2 and the Kehlsteinhaus (eagles nest) was excellent. We really recommand this tour to all of our friends and family. Everybody needs to know the history to make brighter future.
jackerdt 06/08/2020
Hiked to the eagles nest with Claudio. Was a great day, rained a lot however Claudio was prepared and had rain ponchos for everyone, protein bars and spare water for... read more the hike were a thoughtful touch. Excellent tour with an excellent guide. **do not do an eagles nest tour without a guide** the places we visited today are some of the most important in history and without our guide Claudio we would never have seen them. So grateful. More
michaelpwest82 12/08/2019
My husband and I had an absolutely amazing day with Claudio in Obersalzberg, Bavaria. After meeting Claudio at the Hauptbahnhof and taking two buses to Obersalzberg, we started our hike.... read more Claudio knew so much about the history of the place and was able to guide us through a foggy, misty forrest to amazing views. Extremely worth our time and very affordable. We would recommend this to anyone who wants to explore without a bus tour and a million other tourists. Please bring sturdy hiking shoes!
Sam B 28/10/2018
We hiked up to the Eagles Nest with Claudio who is the best - fun, has a beautiful family, great to chat with, has a lot of history to share,... read more and is an avid outdoor adventurer!!!
He’s only been doing the tours for a year, so our hotel didn’t know of him, but if you want to experience nature and see parts of the mountain that the tour buses don’t go to, go with Claudio’s Monkey Business Tours!!!
Mike M 02/10/2018
Claudio did an excellent job guiding us up to the Eagles Nest!! Went hiked from the bottom by the bus stop all the way to the parking lot at the... read more brass elevator up to the Eagles nest. The hike itself was on a well maintained trail and was paved part of the way. The views were amazing! The hike was not too difficult if you are used to hiking, the last part was fairly steep, but if you are in shape it won’t be a problem. Once at the top you take a ride to the Eagles Nest and get fantastic views!! Claudio was an excellent guide and knew when to take breaks with the group he had. He is also very friendly and talkative and knows a lot about WWII history. He was flexible with the trip as well because it was pouring rain for part of our journey. Thanks again Claudio! More
O9168ENmichaelh 04/08/2019
We cannot thank Claudio enough for his incredible tour! I booked the Eagle’s Nest tour months ago, but due to inclement weather, we thought we would have to cancel. Claudio... read more was so responsive to my emails and answered every question and concern. He modified our tour to include WWII sites further down the mountain so that we would get some exposure to the history and the Alps. He is so knowledgeable about history and took us on a very off-the-beaten track tour. Then, the weather cleared a bit, so he suggested hiking to the Eagle’s Nest on the road instead of the trail. We are avid hikers from California, but this was one of the best hikes we’ve ever taken! He guided us on the hike despite rain and snow (we loved it!). We made it all the way up to the Eagle’s Nest and back down. He was so informative, positive, and easy to work with. Despite bad weather (not dangerous, just wet), he made the best tour we could have hoped for. I couldn’t imagine experiencing the Eagle’s Nest with any other guide. This is a must-book tour! Thank you SO much to Claudio for his time and energy!! We will be back, and hopefully during a time when it’s not snowing 🙂 THANK YOU!!!! More
jenmayekawa 30/04/2019
This is a great way to spend a day outside of Salzburg. We met our guide, Alfonso, near the train station and after a short bus ride we were... read more at the at the trailhead below the Eagles Nest. The signs say to expect a 4+ hour hike, but you can really do this in 2-3 hours. The trail is wide and easy to navigate so no real need for hiking boots, comfortable shoes work great. Alfonso had tons of facts and photographs to share along the way. The views at the top are amazing and seem more so after the hike to get there. Well worth it. Alfonso was a great guide, giving us plenty of options to take breaks along the way if needed. He also showed up numerous remains of old WWII bunkers and most importantly the remains of the Berghof house that we never would have found without him. Highly recommend this tour. More
dawnmead 27/07/2018
We absolutely LOVED our day with Claudio and could not more strongly recommend making this tour a priority if visiting Salzburg (if we ever come back we might even do... read more it again!). The review of the other travelers are all accurate -- Claudio is professional, kind, and extremely knowledgeable. Our party of 5 people joined Claudio and about 9 other people for this full-day hike/tour. Claudio instantly learned everyone's name and addressed us by name throughout the day, making our little group feel like a private tour. And what makes this tour truly a don't-miss is that Claudio has extensive knowledge about WWII and the Eagle's Nest surrounding area and does an amazing job of explaining the details of history throughout the entire tour. He also patiently, and knowledgeably, answers all additional questions! We loved that we also visited sites that the typical Eagles Nest bus tour doesn't visit. Claudio is super easy to communicate with via email to coordinate everything ahead of time -- just visit his website Monkey Business Tours and send him an email!
LLTravels 02/10/2019
We had a group of 7 and we're all extremely pleased with the decision to spend a day with Claudio. He was very helpful in making sure we were all... read more comfortable in our hike up the mountain. Claudio provided great information throughout the day about all the sites we saw and even some sites that we didn't see any other tour groups go to. So glad we didn't just take a bus to the top like almost everyone else! Learned a ton during the hike and you cannot beat the feeling of accomplishment when you reach the top! Claudio even made sure we were setup with dinner reservations at one of his favorite restaurants for the evening after the tour. Claudio was not only knowledgeable, but also just a genuine good guy who kept us entertained throughout the day. Definitely the highlight of my 10 days in Europe! More
Jon F 27/09/2019
Despite due the corona outbreak, the busses were not going, but Claudio did! The only way to get to the top of the mounting was by foot. With Claudio we’ve... read more had an amazing experience. His knowledge about WW2 and the Kehlsteinhaus (eagles nest) was excellent. We really recommand this tour to all of our friends and family. Everybody needs to know the history to make brighter future. …
jackerdt 01/08/2020
Claudio met us at the bus station and had everything planned out. He walked us around less seen areas of the mountain and remains of the German war effort.... read more It was fascinating - even the kids enjoyed it. The hike was more strenuous than we expected but a wonderful way to enjoy the mountains.
Gatsby97 12/08/2018
Hemiketal 02/10/2019
Claudio was an amazing tour guide. He's extremely knowledgeable about the area and the World War II history associated with it. It was a rainy day but he came prepared... read more with ponchos, which was more prepared than my group was. It's definitely better than taking a bus up the hill and Claudio handles everything so all you need to do is follow along. …
Jason F 01/10/2019
Claudio did an excellent job guiding us up to the Eagles Nest!! Went hiked from the bottom by the bus stop all the way to the parking lot at the... read more brass elevator up to the Eagles nest. The hike itself was on a well maintained trail and was paved part of the way. The views were amazing! The hike was not too difficult if you are used to hiking, the last part was fairly steep, but if you are in shape it won’t be a problem. Once at the top you take a ride to the Eagles Nest and get fantastic views!! Claudio was an excellent guide and knew when to take breaks with the group he had. He is also very friendly and talkative and knows a lot about WWII history. He was flexible with the trip as well because it was pouring rain for part of our journey. Thanks again Claudio!
O9168ENmichaelh 05/08/2019
I went with my two other friends to celebrate my 18th birthday and it was absolutely breathtaking. We are traveling around Europe and this was one of the best days... read more that we’ve had. The tour guide was extremely nice and knew his stuff. It was world the money and the time!! We stopped at the most beautiful spots and they are great for taking pictures. It was a great way to see the outside of Salzburg and get a little history. You go to the church where there was the wedding in The Sound of Music and it was the most beautiful church I have ever seen!! Highly recommend this tour. No complaints!! We loved the tour guide!!!! More
Katrina S 12/07/2019
If you are aiming to discover the beauty of Salzburg area and you are not that excited about those crowdy mainstream bus tours than you should definitely book this one!... read more It's more than just a tour, it's a real journey! Me and my wife had a great time exploring amazingly beautiful locations of Mondsee, enjoying biking, walking and even some hiking leaded by an experienced and knowledgeable tour guide. Our group was pretty compact so we felt very comfortable and cozy! I'd say it's an absolut "must do" for all nature lovers out there!
david_wh87 25/08/2017
Claudio, our guide, is the reason we booked this hike tour to begin with. The comments from others on trip advisor touted his acumen as a guide. After completing... read more our tour of Nest at his side, we can only agree with them! Claudio meets you at the Mcdonald’s by the central train station with a smile and gives you tid bits of history from the moment you meet. He seamlessly navigates a somewhat complex public bus system and along the drive to the base of the site, answers any burning questions you may have about the site, the hike, and the region. Hiking is the best way to really know Eagle’s nest. Claudio provides detailed notes on the construction process to build the trail-up, the reason behind the unique elevator access and different roadway paths, why the Fireplace at eagles nest is missing bits of marble from its side, plus hundreds of other morsels or intelligence your a average history book may leave out. He takes you to places no bus tour can ever go! After describing our experience to others who had come from a bus tour, it was clear, Claudio’s attention to detail and level of intel from his deep studies on the subject are unmatched. At the end of the trip he even suggested some more challenging hikes to my husband and I which were fabulous. What you need to know before you go: There are two... Claudio, our guide, is the reason we booked this hike tour to begin with. The comments from others on trip advisor touted his acumen as a guide. After completing our tour of Nest at his side, we can only agree with them!
Claudio meets you at the Mcdonald’s by the central train station with a smile and gives you tid bits of history from the moment you meet.
He seamlessly navigates a somewhat complex public bus system and along the drive to the base of the site, answers any burning questions you may have about the site, the hike, and the region.
Hiking is the best way to really know Eagle’s nest. Claudio provides detailed notes on the construction process to build the trail-up, the reason behind the unique elevator access and different roadway paths, why the Fireplace at eagles nest is missing bits of marble from its side, plus hundreds of other morsels or intelligence your a average history book may leave out.
He takes you to places no bus tour can ever go! After describing our experience to others who had come from a bus tour, it was clear, Claudio’s attention to detail and level of intel from his deep studies on the subject are unmatched.
At the end of the trip he even suggested some more challenging hikes to my husband and I which were fabulous.
What you need to know before you go: There are two buses you take to get to the base of the mountain.
The trip is roughly a full day event departing at nine am and returning around five thirty pm to the central train station.
Bring layers depending on when you hike. The dramatic elevation means it may be cold at the top.
You hike up and bus down.
If it rains bring plastic bags to keep your non waterproof gear dry.
If it’s raining, it’s still worth the trip for the history, fresh air and good company! More
annaasteropoulos 25/09/2019
When we were planning our vacation in Salzburg we were looking for an unusual tour where we could be physically active and could experience beautiful nature of Austrian lakes and... read more mountains. This tour looked like a perfect match,and it certainly did not disappoint us. Our friendly guide spent whole day with us, telling us history and legends of Salzkammergut and taking us to many amazing places. We're still under the impression and will be recommending this tour to our friends! P.S. Claudio's homemade energy balls were really tasty and great! 🙂
