Travel in Austria in August
 

My hubby and I are planning 10 days in Austria, starting in Vienna and working our way out west to the Alps and back. We love hiking, history, castles, etc.

Our planned route takes us from Vienna-Melk-St Wolfgang-Hallstadt-St Johann/Zell-am-See and back to Vienna. We have several questions we would appreciate help with:

1. Melk Monastery: we are planning to walk up to this - do you know how long this would take?

2. There is a hotel at the top of Schafberg (schafberg.net). We are thinking of staying there, but are not sure where we could leave the car overnight. Can anyone suggest anything?

3. On other sites, we have seen warnings about the potential bad weather and fog quickly descending. If we start the hike around 3-4pm and plan to spend the night there, does that sound do'able?

4. We hear the town of Hallstadt is very pretty to visit, taking a ferry to approach this. What do you all think of this? Is it worth a detour?

5. We are then planning a couple of days in Hohe Tauern Nationalpark. What hikes would you recommend there? We came across Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse and Krimmler Waterfalls. Are these worth doing? Anything else really memorable?

6. We then have a 200 mile or so drive back to the Vienna area, from where we plan to go off to Neusiedler See. Are there any things (sites, hikes) to do on that route back East, which seems to go through the Salzburger and then North Styria areas?

Sorry for the barrage of questions, but would appreciate any advice! many thanks in advance.

Hi,

I think you're driving since you say "We then have a 200 mile or so drive". Is this correct? How many days/nights in each area are you thinking of and at what time of year?

Paul

I was in Hallstatt last week. It was my 5th time to go there. I just love it. I stayed two nights so that I could go back up to Dachstein to Five Fingers. If you go there by train then you must take the ferry over. It is not a car ferry, just a small boat. It is a beautiful approach to Hallstatt. If you go by car, there is a parking area.

I also went to Schafberg again. I went in June 2009 and froze to death. This year it was great, probably in the low 70's. St. Wolgang is a nice village to visit as well as St. Gilgen. I actually stayed in St. Gilgen and took the boat to Schafberg and St. Wolfgang. The entire area is beautiful. I traveled by train and bus, but with a car, you'll be able to see lots more.

Hi ch,

>We hear the town of Hallstadt is very pretty to visit, taking a ferry to approach this. What do you all think of this? Is it worth a detour?<

You can also get there by car. Much easier if you have luggage. You will need the name of your hotel in order to park in town.

We very much enjoyed our stay at http://www.gasthof-simony.at/.

You will need an International Driving Permit (http://www.aaasouth.com/asp/home.asp) in Austria. In addition, you must purchase a road tax sticker (vignette) for driving on the highways - about 10E.

You might find my trip report helpful:
Ira Visits Europe – May, 2007 (Salzburg, Fuessen, Bodensee, Burgundy, Alsace)
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...2&tid=35014078

((I))

thanks very much for the comments. We have done some more work on the itinerary, and here is our tentative plan:
Fri Aug 13: Arrive Vienna 1.10pm; see around Vienna
Sat Aug 14 See around Vienna; pick up car and leave for Melk
Sun Aug 15 Melk to Krems bike ride + Melk monastery

Mon Aug 16 Drive to St Wolfgang; Schafberg mountain hike. Drive to Hallstadt for evening.

Tue Aug 17 Drive to Zell-am-See: Pasterze Glacier hike from Schmittenhohebahn (5-6hr/19km)

Wed Aug 18 Drive to Mayrhofen: Zillertal loop hike (5-6hr; 11km)

Thu Aug 19 Drive to Matrei in Osttirol. Sudetendeutscher Hohenweg: 2 day Hutte hike

Fri Aug 20 Finish Sudetendeutscher Hohenweg; Drive Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse Alpine road. Drive back East in evening.

Sat Aug 21 Day at Neusiedler See.

Sun Aug 22 Back to Vienna for evening flight to London

Some questions on this:
1. Does this itinerary look feasible? There is only 1 long drive -- back to East on Fri Aug 20, which is prob ~220 miles as per my calculations.

2. We are doing 3 hikes in the Alps/Salzberger/Tyrol area:
- Pasterze Glazier (day hike): described in Lonely Planet book
- Zillertal loop (day hike): described in Lonely Planet book
- Sudetendeutscher Hohenweg (2 day hike): described in Walking in Alps book.

Is anyone familiar with these hikes? They seem to provide varied terrain and experiences and looked manageable for us (we are both early 40s and in pretty decent shape).

3. I am thinking we will need a guide for the Sudetendeutscher Hohenweg hike. Has anyone done this hike and would they agree? How would one find a guide? We plan to contact the tourist office to ask.

Sorry, but way too much driving IMO. From what I can tell, you only have one 2-nighter and that is in Melk. Your itinerary everyday seems to be, drive and hike, drive and hike. I'm sure you are much fitter than I am, but it sounds exhausting!