high season Austria this year?

Austria is lovely in the summer, pleasantly warm, swimming in the lakes, can be chilly but refreshing. Hiking through mountain meadows, drinking beer or wine outdoors at village inns. Much preferable to the heat and crowds of Italy and Greece, which I like to visit in fall or spring.

Thanks. Sounds charming. I have only been in Austria Nov-Dec.

If one were hanging around Tirol ... Kitzbuhel, Wolfansee, etc... it seems a car would be quite handy, but I see on some travel videos of people parking themselves in Innsbruck or Salzburg and taking bus day trips to various mountains.

I am debating getting a car or rail pass. The car rental rates seem to be about double what I paid a few years ago ($75/day versus $30/day).

My family has done 6 summer trips to Austria in the past 10 years. It's a fantastic summer destination. If you go to the mountains the elevation to a large extent protects you from heat events, and it's just absolutely gorgeous, particularly if you love to do things outdoors. Relatively affordable too compared to the other northern European countries.

I highly recommend it to the point where I feel like I shouldn't tell anyone on highly recommend it :)

Thanks Hank.

1. Would it suffice to have a rail pass, then take busses or trams to mountains? I would like to see some smaller towns and do some hiking (1-2 hour hikes).

2. I have been to Vienna, Melk, Krems, Salzburg, Hallstatt, and Innsbruck. What other places? I guess I am looking for something quaint like Wengen or Murren Switzerland with mountains nearby

3. Do you know of track sled slides? I saw some in some videos and they look fun

thanks in advance

I haven't been yet, but am headed to Zell Am Zee for the first in August. You can get there by train and it has a comprehensive bus network that you would probably end up using as the train network is a couple of lines, not a spiderweb. Lots ski lifts networked all around, resort lake for swimming, cute tourist town, many interesting tourist activities (walking narrow river gorges on plank walkways, a Celtic village, a couple of mountain coaster/toboggan run, a historic train, hundred of kms of bike paths, the Porsche toy museum not too far off, Bertchesgaden about the same distance). Some views of Austria's highest mountains. Some ornate church interiors. It looks like pretty good living so I guess I will see soon.

You've already been to the Salzkammergut, as have I a couple of time. I'm betting Zell am Zee is pretty good on comparison. But again we shall see when we see :)

What I can say for certain is it won't be the Berner Oberland, more meadows and cows and beers on the patio and comfy Austrian cute than melt your face off insane mountains.

I also like Vorarlberg. Shruns (Hemingway's ski village of choice) combines nicely with a visit to Bodensee, the Rhine Falls and the very pretty towns around the Rhine Falls up and down the river. Train works for that too.

Thank you so much. I copied your suggestion in Notes and will do some research on those places. I will try to look at various guide books and report back some of my findings for others to see.

Do you think any of the other lake towns are comparable to Hallstatt at all? I rented a car to get there last time.

I’ve been to both Hallstatt and Zell Am See. While also on a lake, the latter is not the same level of picturesque as the former, however, I would agree with Hank’s description. Zell Am See is reachable by train and if you happen to be coming from Switzerland via Innsbruck, it’s a fantastic scenic train ride.

And I’ll add Krimml Waterfalls as a destination that can easily be reached by a series of two busses from Zell Am See (it’s a timed transfer). The waterfall has three separate tiers and it’s about a 2.5 mile hike to the top tier. I was there this past May and the water volume was pretty spectacular at that time. Not sure what the flow would in August or September though. Perhaps that info is available on their website.

Looks like Austrian, Bavarian and Baden-Württemberg school summer vacations end 11-13 September, so hotel availability should be better then. I generally book my stays months earlier for my preferred places. Hard to go wrong in the Austrian Alps. Spent a week in Vorarlberg three weeks ago in Silbertal and Schröcken. Nice areas. The car comes in handy to get there, but once there, there are local buses to get you to lifts etc. Many areas offer "Guest" cards for free bus and free or reduced lift fares. I'll be traveling to Kals am Großglockner and the Virgental in August. No problem for a hotel in Kals, but got the last available holiday apartment in the place I wanted to stay in Gries. We'll be at the Zellersee the third week in September. Booked the last two rooms where we wanted to stay months ago. People do cancel though, and there is Covid. The Achensee and south in the Zillertal towards Mayrhofen is very nice. You might enljoy the Kärnten lake region and into the Nockbergen area too. Kitzbühel is a nice Austrian mountain town if you are looking for that.

The very prettiest parts of Switzerland are not far from Western Tirol (Austria). We find Austria easier and less expensive to travel thru however. The Grossglockner High Alpine Highway south of Zell-am-See is perhaps the most beautiful place we have ever been and worthy of getting a rental car to see.

Great. Is that the road to Vorfusch, Rollberg, Fusch, and Verleitan?

Which are the parts you like near Switzerland? Shruns?

I want to progress next to Bolzano and Dolomites. But probably take train.

For some reason car rental is much more expensive Italy than Austria and there is a big surcharge for dropping off across a border

Railrider hi again

https://www.montafon.at/en/my-montafon/mountain-villages

The Montafon area in far western Austria is pretty and looks out onto Switzerland from it's mountain tops (cable car network is extensive).

I suggested Shruns because it is as far as the train goes up the valley. It has good amenities for a town without a lake, and people live there so you see town life. There is a mountain coaster, and a really cool natural section of the big public pool complex filled with plants that keep the water clean. Good mountain hut network too for walking and eating and drinking. You can bus beyond Shruns. Not a lot of English speaking tourists - RS needs to make a show ;)

But if you are heading next to Bolzano, I'd stick closer to those north/south train lines. Maybe rent a car in Salzburg and tour your way to Innsbruck. That would be a trip segment packed with beauty, interest and adventure.

I guess you can take the train to the little town across the lake from Hallstatt and then take a ferry over?

The time I went to Hallstatt, I drove and stayed in a pretty bad hotel - the worst of my trip.

Correct about the train and the ferry. That ferry is really cool, historic vessel that used to transport salt hundreds of years ago.

Name of that town not leaping to mind, but I've stayed there. It has a fun swimming beach front and those sorts of amenities, lots of holiday cabin rentals. It's a nice alternative to Hallstatt if you have children and want a more summer resort experience with a peaceful 20 minute boat ride to Hallstatt.

look for vlogs about getting from Salzburg to Hallstadt, there are a few options.

shouldn't you have posted this in the Austria forum? since it's about, uh, Austria ...

High season? When RS is there smoking a joint.