Travelers: two active seniors (60+)
Length: three to five days after visiting Salzburg, then move on to Bavaria or Northern Italy
Time: Summer or early fall (2022)
Transport: public transportation
Interests: walking, bird watching, bike riding, local food and wine, photography. Waterfalls, caves, hot springs would be a plus. No hardcore hiking or cycling.
Would prefer one town with access to a variety of easy walks and Mountain View’s
We did a cross country skiing event in the PilleseeTal region of the Tyrol staying in the town of Fiberbrunn. Salzberg was our gateway city. We took a train to Fiberbrunn and used local bus transportation between the five villages of the PillerseeTal with Fberbrunn being the central town.
Cross country skiing and walking tracks link the five villages and we have bused to one town and skied to another then returned to Fiberbrunn by local bus. (During the winter the hiking trails were packed so that hikers could walk with boots not needing snowshoes.) During our stay several years ago local bus service was free.
https://www.tyrol.tl/en/tyrol/kitzbuehel-and-surroundings/fieberbrunn/
The market town of Fieberbrunn is the largest locality of the popular
Pillersee valley.
https://www.kitzbueheler-alpen.com/en/pital/pillerseetal.html
PillerseeTal with its townships of Fieberbrunn, Hochfilzen, St. Jakob
in Haus, St. Ulrich am Pillersee and Waidring is easy to get to by
bus, train, car and plane. We have summarised all important
information for you here regarding getting here and mobility during
your stay. With your valid Guest card the buses to Kitzbühel, Ellmau
and Lofer as well as the local trains by the ÖBB on the route
Hochfilzen - Wörgl are included.
https://www.kitzbueheler-alpen.com/en/pital/so/hiking/holidays.html
The numerous hiking trails lead you to the most scenic summits and
viewpoints of the region, thus making for unforgettable holiday
moments. You don’t have to be a pro athlete to discover the beauty of
nature when hiking in PillerseeTal. More than 400 km of hiking routes
and footpaths cut across the region and offer suitable hikes both for
leisurely hikers as well as for ambitious summiteers.
Free bus service: connects the five villiges of the PillerseeTal:
https://www.kitzbueheler-alpen.com/en/pital/mobil.html
In PillerseeTal, even your car can enjoy a holiday! Because with the
great offers by bus and train, you can travel through the Kitzbühel
Alps hassle-free and environmentally friendly. With your valid guest
card, the buses in PillerseeTal as well as to Kitzbühel, Ellmau and
Lofer are included. The local trains (except IC, EC and RailJet)
between Hochfilzen and Wörgl (Kirchbichl) can also be used for free.
Simply show your valid guest card to the bus driver or conductor and
explore the region at no cost!Your valid guest card from PillerseeTal is your ticket for free use of
the buses in PillerseeTal as well as the local trains in the Kitzbühel
Alps. The guest card will be issued to you directly by your landlord
when registering. But it’s not only mobility that is included in the
guest card, numerous additional discounts and benefits also await you
during your stay in PillerseeTal.
Are you planning on just someplace in the mountains? If an alternative is a possibility, although I’m not certain that there are any waterfalls, caves, or hot springs along the route, there is a walking/bicycling trail running all the way between Vienna, Austria and Passau, Germany, along the banks of the Danube. Actually, it goes farther east, to Budapest, but it sounds like you might not be heading towards Hungary. You could travel on, or along the pathway, starting in Austria and finishing up on Bavaria.
It’s paved, so I wouldn’t call it hardcore, except for how much mileage you’d want to cover over those days. We biked some of it, between Vienna and Ybbs in Austria over several days, heading west, upriver, so it was technically uphill, but easy. Walking/biking downriver instead is certainly an option. Towns along the way were welcoming, with sights, museums, and great dining, and tremendous views the whole length. If you want to move on faster at any point, the train is easy to get to for reaching the next destination.
We weren’t staying in a single place, but moving onward each day, so it was a series of one-night stays, easy to arrange as we progressed. That could be more walking/biking that you had in mind, or not in mountains with one base, but it was rewarding.
If you’re coming from Salzburg, it’s easier to get to Bavaria. However, if you were coming from Tirol in AT, it would be easier to go to northern IT.
In Bavaria you could take a 4h train from Salzburg that requires one connection to get to Füssen and make it your home base. From Füssen you can take a 10m direct train to Neuschwanstein and tour the castle. Afterwards you can walk 30-minutes to Hohenschwangau and tour that castle.
Another day-trip is to take a direct train from Füssen to Oberammergau (1h 45m) and visit that cute town. In 2022 Oberammergau will be performing the passion play that occurs every ten years since the 17th century. The play was post-phoned in 2020 and the next performance is in 2022. Here’s the link if you want to learn more: https://www.passionsspiele-oberammergau.de/en/home.
You can then take a direct 2h train from Füssen to Munich. From Munich you can take a 15m train to Dachau that's definitely worth seeing.
You can also fly nonstop between Munich and Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Washington DC.
After visiting Vienna and Salzburg I took the train (under two hours) to Innsbruck which is wedged between Italy and Germany and is a small, charming town. In the winter it is a skiing mecca, however, during the warmer months the town offers a free hiking program which I took advantage of. They pick you up conveniently with a small bus with other walkers/hikers (I was a walker) and take you to a trail head and with a trail guide you walk amidst the most magnificent scenery imaginable. Wonderful photographic opportunities. Unexpectantly there were six others on day one of my two days from different parts of Europe and we all met up for dinner and to walk again the next day. It is the capital of the Alps and has a medieval city center. It's amazing to me that so few people know of this free program and wonderful jewel of a location.
Thought about this some and came back to one of my old favorites the Achensee. Stay in Pertisau where there are all types of accommodations. Easy walks along the lake, with options of taking the lake boats. The Karwendel-Bergbahn is in Pertisau with relatively easy hiking, to include back down to Pertisau. Not far away is the Rofan Seilbahn. A nice walk on top is to the Dalfaz Alm and back, with great views of the Achensee and surrounding mountains. You can ride bikes into the Naturpark Karwendel and visit one of the Alms or Hütte. The Atoll Achensee bath/spa just opened a few years ago. With time you can travel into the Zillertal.
Thank you all for the great feedback. Learning a lot about Austria geography with all these good places. Checking out some videos to visualize them.
