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Summer family trip to Austrian Alps

Planning a week in the Austrian Alps this summer and trying to decide on a location. We have two kiddos (ages 7 and 10) and want to stay in a town with beautiful scenery, access to easy-moderate hiking trails, cable cars, fun alpine playgrounds, etc. A lake nearby would be nice but not restricting myself to lake locations. Would prefer somewhere not super crowded- e.g. Zell am See seems to tick a lot of boxes but I've heard it gets crazy in summer so probably not. There are so many interesting places and I have by no means researched them all, but I have a draft shortlist of places that appear to have the activities we are looking for plus family friendly hotels. Any thoughts on these, or other areas we should be considering? We'll be driving from elsewhere so proximity to a particular airport isn't a factor, but would prefer not to go to the far western part of the country.

Dachstein West (Gosau)
Wilder Kaiser
Achensee
Stubai valley (no obvious lake nearby here but there's a waterpark)

Also, on average, are any of these likely to be a bit cooler? The towns seem to be mostly in the 700-1000m elevation range. Is there anywhere higher up I should look at? Not surprisingly, none of the hotels I'm looking at have A/C. Not particularly worried about the daytime as we can go further up the mountains and find activities to keep cool, but worried about being able to sleep, particularly since IME a lot of hotels in Europe don't have window screens either (gah! why is that? bothers me more than lack of A/C). One of my kids in particular has trouble sleeping when hot so I don't want to set us up for a failure.

TIA for any advice!

Posted by
2683 posts

You should consider Seefeld in Tirol. It is higher up, has many hiking trails, a lake, etc., and is a nice little town. Innsbruck is only a ride of 36 minutes away, a partially spectacular train route.

We stayed already several times here: https://www.appartement-tirol.com/

Posted by
12 posts

What about Bad Ischl? Small lovely town close to many activities and must does.
Greets from Vienna 🙂

Posted by
1596 posts

I can't recommend Zell am See anymore. If you go stay on the east side of the lake. Wilder Kaiser region is nice. Achensee is becoming unreasonably expensive. Dachstein West (Gosau) with kids? Mieders in Stubaital could be nice. With your kids I would recommend Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis. Getting there with public transportation might be difficult or use a taxi or hotel transport. Family orientated and lots to do. Live like a European for awhile without AC and screens... Or ask the hotel for a fan at least.

https://www.serfaus-fiss-ladis.at/en
https://www.serfaus-fiss-ladis.at/en/summer-holiday

Posted by
74 posts

Thanks for the suggestions- Seefeld and Finkenberg look promising too. Serfaus /Fiss/Landis does look lovely but unfortunately a bit further west than we are looking to go for this trip.

This one may be a bit out there, but has anyone been to Filzmoos?

And sorry if I offended anyone with the window screen comment, where I grew up if you opened windows without screens you’d end up with a house full of mosquitos. Or a bat or bird- good times I tell you. Have only been to Austria in winter so maybe flying critters are not an issue in summer. :)

Posted by
3083 posts

Haven’t been to Filzmoos, but Ramsau am Dachstein is terrific.

Posted by
1871 posts

I second Seefeld. The location is perfect and fulfills all your requirements with lakes within acceptable driving distances for Americans. ZAS is very popular with muslim travelers.

Posted by
54 posts

The area around Villach or Spittal am der Drau might suit you. In my experience, it is less crowded. There are a multitude of towns and small, quiet villages in the mountains. There are several large lakes. The Weissensee is a more popular lake but beautiful. There are plenty of hikes, the Molltal glacier, and alpine activities. This area is also close to Italy if you are tempted to drive to Vicenza or that area.

Posted by
20 posts

Take a look at St gilgen area. Salzgammergut.
Also with guest mobility ticket from your accommodation you ge free public transport train and bus in Salzburg region.