mikeyboo

Hi my husband and I are planning to spend almost a fortnight in Austria in September and want to devote the entire holiday to exploring the country from top to bottom. Can anyone recommend the best itinerary to visit and spend time in the places that are a must see, but also, given the time we have, some places that are not touristy. My husband loves fishing so anywhere we can fish would be a big bonus. We also love hiking. Thank you.

elberko

You really can't see any country from top to bottom in 12 days, and everybody has a different list of must sees. Have you looked at any guidebooks, or the DESTINATIONS tab here on Fodors?

You mention hiking and fishing--any interest in cities at all?

Once you have a general idea of what you might like to see/do, people here can help fine tune.

mikeyboo

Thanks Elberko. Yes we love history and we will surely do a Sound of music Tour and visit some of the old cities in Austria but I'm just looking for the best route to go within those 12 days.

neckervd

Where will you fly in and from which airport will you leave:
Vienna, Munich, Zurich, Salzburg, Klagenfurt, Linz, Innsbruck, Memmingen, Bratislava....?

fourfortravel

These sites from the official Austrian tourism website have helped us plan our holidays in the country.

http://www.austria.info/uk/things-to-do/round-trips
http://www.austria.info/uk/things-to...ips/excursions

Dee_Dee

I might suggest you include the lovely little village of Hallstatt on a lake surrounded by mountains. It is a picture perfect town in a picture perfect setting. While I didn't go fishing, I had the most wonderful lake trout 2 nights in a row for dinner. Hiking opportunities abound in the area. And, if you are a thrill seeker, you can go paragliding from the top of one of the mountains!

mikeyboo

Thank you for all the suggestions. We are planning to fly into Vienna but the outbound flight will depend on the itinerary. We will definitely make time for Hallstatt.

Dee_Dee

I might suggest you do fly into Vienna and fly out of Munich. Your final days could be spent in the Lake District (Hallstat) and then Salzburg. From Salzburg,it's a quick train trip to Munich and it's airport. If you spend a couple of nights in Salzburg, it's a easy side trip to Berchtesgaden, a lovely town. A visit to Hitler's Eagles Nest is very worthwhile IMO. It gave me goosebumps to be there. There are lots of hiking trails around Berchtesgaden. I spent 5 nights there and didn't run out of outdoor activities to do. My opinion only...... but, Vienna did not "speak" to me. So, I'm glad I did not spend a lot of time there. I LOVED the Wachau Valley. From Krems to Melk is simply lovely. I did a lot of biking along the river. The villages are just gems. I so preferred this stretch of the Danube to the Rhine. Of course, the abbey at Melk is not to be missed. It literally took my breath away. I also biked up to a castle just north of Melk through the countryside and up, up, up a mountain. If you are in the Linz area, a side trip to Cesky Krumlov would be on my agenda. What a gem of a village architecturally. There are no must see attractions, the village is the attraction.

mikeyboo

You're a star Dee-Dee, thank you for the info.