I would love some advice from experienced travelers about where to stay for three nights in the Austrian Tirol area in mid-October. My wife and I will be about halfway through our first trip to Europe. We will be coming from a stay in Rothenburg on der Tauber and eventually headed for two nights in the Val Gardena/Alpe di Siusi area, but have three nights in between those destinations.
We will have a car. We lean toward spending all three nights in one place as a base, but that's not a deal breaker. We also prefer a smaller guesthouse type experience to anything larger or more resort-like. We would like to spend at least one day hiking (we are both fit enough for strenuous routes), make a stop or two at a mountain hut for lunch and/or beer, maybe drive the Zillertal High Road, see Ehrenburg Castle in Reutte, and visit any other recommended spots. We realize we are near the end of the season for many of the lifts and huts in the Zillertal area especially, and weather could affect our plans, but it seems there is still plenty to do there and that's where we are currently leaning. We have looked at Reutte, Innsbruck, Hall, Alpbach, Zillertal and other towns in the area as possible places to call a base for three nights. The driving distances are short enough that we could cover quite a bit of ground from most of those places.
Any thoughts out there on where we should think about staying and places or activities to include in our plans?
Any ideas much appreciated by two rookies to international travel!