My trip to Kitzbuhel and Salzburg

Posted by brucewilson935 on 10/14/15 08:24 PM

Kitzbuhel or short and popular Kitz is very famous ski resort but you dont have to ski to experence the Alps.

We visited Kitzbuhel last week and it has been a great trip. We stayed in Q hotel Maria Theresa, hotel was Ok but nothing spectacular. Unfortunately if you want to stay anywhere close to center hotels are extremely expensive.

Driving to Kitzbuhel is as spectcular as it can be. Alpine peaks valleys waterfalls, we loved it. One great thing we did while driving there is visit to Osttirodler in Lienz.

This is an alpine coaster, it is 3,7 km long and great fun ( definitely recommend).

Main reason for our trip to Kitzbuhel was hiking. I definitely recommend, we went up to Hamenkamm and spent whole day hiking on the mountain. the view is great. There are few nice restaurants and a fun park for kids.

If you want to have a dinner in kitzbuhel center my recommendation is Huberbrau restaurant in the center ( very cheap but great food), another more expensive option is Zur Thene hotel restaurant.

Posted by Edgar

Medford, OR, USA

10/15/15 01:05 AM

5837 posts

Thanks for the report. Folks who limit their travel to the big cities miss experiencing the real Austria.

We spent 10 days in the PilletseeTal region of the Kitzbuhel Alps a couple of years ago. We reached Fiberbrunn, the largest of five villages by train from Salzburg. The PilerseeTal five village valley offered free public transit.

http://www.tyrol.com/regions/a-pillerseetal

I will add that the Tyrol is a great place for cross country skiing at bargain trail fees for groomed track. PillerseeTal grooms both ski trails (often with separate tracks for Classic and for skating) AND grooms (packs) winter walking trails.

http://www.kitzbueheler-alpen.com/en/pillerseetal/winter/cross-country-skiing-tariffs.html

Posted by Betty

Missouri City

10/15/15 02:37 AM

252 posts

A few years ago, we did Kitzbuhel as a side trip from Zell am See, another lovely small town in the area. It was also a lovely drive. I'm glad you had a good time.

Posted by brucewilson935 OP

10/15/15 06:27 PM

6 posts

Austria is great and Tyrol is quite a discovery for me. Unfortunately I dont know how to add pictures in this forum as I have some great pictures from this trip.

Anyhow after Kitzbuhel we continued to Salzburg. I visited Salzburg few years ago and I was not very impressed it was raining and the city seemed quite gloomy.

This time it was completely different it was sunny day and city was full of people. Salzburg is great for one day visit. If you ever visit Salzburg make sure to see Mozart house. It has also probably the fanciest McDonalds sign in the world ( I will let you to discover this on your own).

Have a cup of cofee in 300 years old Tomassini caffe house and enjoy some great cakes.

Posted by Tom

Danville, VT

10/15/15 07:05 PM

12040 posts

There are few nice restaurants and a fun park for kids.

I only visited in the winter, but Kitzbühel looked like a very family-friendly location for outdoor activities, skiing, of course, being the major one at the time of my visit. A lot of good slopes for kids, but enough challenging pistes to keep the more advanced adults happy.

Oh, and those mountain restaurants! On an extended ski weekend, I always made an effort to try a different chalet everyday. Delcious, well-prepared schnitzel, spätzel, bratkartoffeln and goulash! Last winter I went skiing again in the US for the first time in nearly a decade. In contrast, the indifferently prepared hamburgers, iceberg lettuce salads and pizza I encountered at the mountain cafeteria almost made me weep...

Posted by John R Scott

Nanaimo, BC, Canada

10/17/15 07:25 PM

172 posts

Anyone considering a visit to Salzburg at the moment should follow developments in the refugee crisis closely. Austria and now Slovenia have cancelled many cross-border long-distance trains due to the flood of refugees. Salzburg is now a busy terminus for people coming from Zagreb, who will need to transfer to local trains with new rules to get into Germany, and can expect delays and crowds. If the numbers are accurate, thousands of refugees will be passing through Croatia, Slovenia and Austria into Germany for the indefinite future. Long distance bus services (e.g. IC Bus, bookable online, run by Deutsche Bahn) seem to be spared - I have booked the bus as backup to my train ticket (already in hand from the excellent bahn.de website, which I use often). Guess my point is that the usual rules and routes do not apply this Fall, and maybe for months. Travel by all means, it is wonderful here in Croatia right now, but be aware of the new reality of travel in this specific train/road corridor through Europe from Greece and Turkey to Germany. I think the team in Rick's office may want to start an update section on the webpage listing latest developments in Europe's connections. The rail companies in Austria (OBB) Germany (Bahn.de) and Croatia (HZ.HR) have started to post latest restrictions/cancellations.