Austria what month ?? What airport?

Hi Annette,

For travel to Bavaria, Austria, and northern Italy (Dolomites), we actually prefer the first 2 weeks of October. Done trips at this time of year many times. We've experienced mild to warm days and chilly to cold nights and not too much concerning crowds. Again, just from our experiences, rain was a rarity. We always fly into/out of Munich for our trips to these areas. Simply plan a "loop", as Munich is convenient and the airport is a breeze. Plus, if renting a car, there are no drop off fees for returning in another country and renting in Germany is usually a bit cheaper than renting in Austria.

Paul

Vienna is the only airport in Austria that has nonstop service from the US, but from Arizona, you will be changing planes no matter what. So, figure out where you want to be in Austria, and look into flights to nearby airports. With plane changes you can fly into Salzburg, Graz, Linz, Klagenfurt, or Innsbruck. And, as mentioned above, don't overlook nearby countries. Munich is close to Salzburg and has much more service (including multiple options from the US).

A tip: if you use Matrix ItaSoftware to seach for fares, you can put in multiple airports at once. For instance, if you want to search flights for flights to both Munich and Salzburg, put "MUC, SZG" (without the quotes) in the "to" box. This way, you can quickly find the cheapest among several alternatives.

You can fly into Munich from Arizona (Phoenix?) with only one stop, somewhere (Phoenix to LHR on BA, then to Munich), or Phoenix to SFO, then Lufthansa non-stop to Munich, must be others but those are what we have used). Other places in Austria (Salzburg, Innsbruck) generally take another stop in the summer. Vienna might be one stop but is a long way east.

In most of Austria, "crowds" aren't that much of a concern. The country, of course, is wonderful to explore, but most of it's limited access treasures (ie, museums and churches as opposed to outdoor attractions) aren't so well known that they attract huge crushes of tourists, like for example, the Louvre or certain museums in Rome.

If your trip includes Alpine excursions, I would pick September. Striking a balance between the occassionally too hot weather of the summer and the occassionally too cold and rainy conditions of autumn, September gives you the best chances for mild and clear conditions. Although coming from Arizona, I doubt even the worst heat wave August could throw your way would feel particularly hot to you. Early October is usually a pretty safe time of year as well, but things start to get dicey mid-way through the month in the mountains.

Oh, and of course, late September-early October is harvest festival time.

For airports, in addition to Vienna, you could consider Munich.

THANKS ALL -this gives me something to work on
LOVE the matrix site----------new to me thanks---------merry Christmas I am sure I will have some more questions but for now happy 2014

I like September in Austria and October in Italy. September is normally nice days with cool nights in Austria. It's harvest season, so there are also local activities this time of year.

October in Italy is also warm days and cool nights. Any earlier in Italy and it may be too warm for comfortable travel (not counting the mountains).

August is the big vacation month in Europe. Any time after August will net lower airfares and lower lodging costs plus less crowds.