My teen daughter and I will be going to Austria soon. We are staying south of Salzburg in the Alps. We plan to have a few days of doing outdoorsy stuff: hiking, seeing the Salt Mines, Ice Caves, the gorge. When doing those things, are shorts acceptable to wear? What about hiking/running shoes? We are planning to continue our workouts on vacation & we both run.

We also want to have a few days sight seeing, going into Salzburg, etc. What is appropriate to wear at those times? Jeans? Types of shoes?

Thanks for your help!

Robin

It can get really hot in Austria, so I wouldn't recommend jeans, although they would be acceptable. I wore capri pants or skirts, and blouses or t-shirts (nice, not logo t-shirts) most of the time. Hiking shorts would be perfect with tennis shoes or hiking boots for hiking in the alps. The hiking trails we went on were fine with running shoes, but hiking boots would be good too, if you don't mind packing them. Your normal workout/running attire is fine.

In Salzburg, nice looking casual clothes (not the hiking shorts) would be perfect. You can get dressed up for a nice dinner, if you'd like, but you can easily find casual restaurants.

For a teen-aged girl, I guess I'd ask her not to wear her skimpiest clothes (such as short shorts and cammies), but cute, casual clothes are fine.

We went to the salt mine above Hallstat, and they provide pants and shirts (similar to scrubs) to wear over your clothing. That was enough to keep us warm. I would imagine that in ice caves, a fleece jacket would work well.

I've seen flip flops on teenagers all over the place, although I didn't personally feel comfortable wearing them other than in Spain (it seemed like an "anything goes" type of place). Choose shoes you can handle walking in all day, whether they are flat or have a small heel.

I always take sweaters or lightweight jackets and never end up wearing them in the summer time. Also, even though it might not be hotter than where you live, because you are moving around all day, clothing that breathes and is lightweight is best.

Have a fun trip!

Shorts in an ice cave? Enjoy. Can't wait for the trip report ;-)

For hiking, anything that's comfortable and suitable for the conditions is "acceptable to wear".
Keep in mind, though, that the weather in the Alps is unpredictable and changes quickly. Never, and I mean NEVER, start a hiking tour in the mountains without a rainproof jacket and a sweater in your daypack (plus a supply of water and food and bandaid) and without proper hiking shoes. Trainers and running shoes are not suitable for mountain trails unless you fancy a sprained ankle or similar.

To back up what quokka wrote, be aware that temperatures can drop in the evening particularly as summer moves on. You will be a few thousand feet above sea level. The air is very clean as well, so the sun can be stronger it might at first seem. Enjoy Austria, a beautiful country.

Definitely take your best running shoes. Wear them on the plane (assuming they are your bulkiest shoe). Jeans are too hot for traveling in the summer imo, I'd take some kind of regular cotton slacks. Besides the sneakers, I'd pack a couple pair of sturdy sandals. One nicer looking, one for walking. Yes, I would take one pair of knee length shorts just in case you run into a heatwave, you'll know when it's appropriate to wear them or not.

Sorry, my thoughts above were not for the hiking portion of your trip, but for sight-seeing in villages or cities.

Thanks for your help and tips. We live in California and so we are used to hot. As I've been checking the weather in Austria, it averages in the mid-70's. That won't be hot for us. But it also looks like there will be lots of showers, so possibly muggy/humid? That will be new as hudmidity is low where we live. It's good to know we aren't expected to hike in long dress pants with non-athletic looking shoes! lol

I am going to assume that you mean August since you said "soon". For outdoors, I would prepare with layers. Starting a hike you might want a pullover and a liteweight jacket. As the day progresses, plan that you can remove some items and tie them around your waist if hiking. Pants that zip off to shorts are great as the days get warmer. Going to altitudes, you may want a slightly warmer outfit than you would wear if you were staying in the valley. The best plan is to get the weather forecast locally and plan accordingly. Keep in mind that the Alps hold in the weather. This means that if you are having a rainy day in or near the mountains, you may find better weather outside of the mountainous area. For example, a rainy day in Berchtesgaden may be a great day if you travel ourside of the area, say to Hallstadt or points south.
In general, running shoes are too slippery on the mountain paths... I would go with real hiking shows if you can swing it.
Shorts are OK, but I would avoid real short shorts...

We were in Salzburg in late June and it was very HOT! Our hotel did not have a/c and we definitely missed it. You can wear shorts everywhere except fine dining. We all wore shorts. Not short/shorts, but regular length shorts. Mine were probably longer than my daughters. It hit 90's Farenheit daily while there.
Also, we drove to the top of the Grossglockner (spell?), the highest mountain in Austria and we were all comfortable in shorts. It was not cold at all. So, I would bring several pairs of shorts, some light cotton pants, comfortable walking shoes as well as sneakers that are comfortable, a rain jacket and sweater in case of stormy weather.
I also wore my sneakers just about everywhere because they are the most comfortable shoes I own (asaics brand). I bought some Merrill brand clogs and they were comfortable for town walking and looked nicer with capri style pants. Enjoy your trip! I wish we had more time in Salzburg. It was really pretty there.

August is correct, we leave this Saturday and arrive Sunday.

Don't worry about the weather, the talk about heat is exaggerated. (as always) Saturdays high expected at about 64F in Salzburg. Heiligenblut about 60F and rain.

I agree with all the posts. We were in Austria the first two weeks of June. It was not too hot for us as we had rain almost every day. It was very disappointing as we took good friends who had never been there before. We did get an occasional good half day and towards the end we had about 4 good days. Needless to say our gortex jacket and shoes came in very handy. You may want to take a brimmed hat as well. One day it was forcasted so bad that we took the train to Italy to see the Ice Man, we got soaked there as well. It just wasn't our luck to have great weather, but in years past it has been perfect. Hopefully it will be for you as well. Enjoy.

It's hard to guess because the weather you actually experience could be a lot warmer than normal or a lot colder.

The best plan is to bring leightweight layers with maybe one lightweight fleece and your rainshell for cold. I usually pack two warm items that can be warn together for really cold, but I don't travel in August. If it gets really cold (maybe evenings in the Alps) you can always shop at a department store for a hat, gloves, scarf and/or sweater.

It can rain anytime in Europe, so always bring a rainshell and keep it handy.

You may start your hike on a bright morning, with warm sunshine and a clear blue sky. You will get warm in your shorts and t-shirt, especially when climbing up.

But then, all of a sudden, a cloud appears (whichs means fog around you), temperature drops dramatically and a terrible thunderstorm with heavy rain may occur.

This is why quokka wrote:

>>>Never, and I mean NEVER, start a hiking tour in the mountains without a rainproof jacket and a sweater in your daypack (plus a supply of water and food and bandaid) and without proper hiking shoes.<<<

For hiking i wear the hiking trousers that half the leg zips off to make shorts. These are quite good for the alps as the temperature can be unpredictable.

If you are hiking anywhere other than on roads (which is walking rather than hiking I suppose) - I would wear boots - otherwise it can be dangerous.

http://www.epinions.com/content_381403631236

That's my trip report from last summer. Where are you staying?

My husband and I both packed carryon luggage for our trip! I took 2 pairs of Columbia capris and one full length pair in black. These are the 70 nylon/30 cotton which weigh a few ounces and you can wash and dry easily. I wore the black pants on the plane woth a long sleeve hiking shirt which had roll up sleeves and a cami underneath. I wore slip on nylon (Cole Haan ) shoes which I later used for wearing to dinners and packed a pair of hiking shoes (not boots, but lightweight) Running shoes are usually fine except for upper Alpine trails. I also took 2 knit/cotton tops which were a little dressy to wear to dinners with the black pants. I took only lightweight hiking shirts. We took Tide detergent in foil packs, sunscreen towelettes in foil packs too. You might want to wear a hat in woods, they supposedly have a few tick issues. I also suggest buying grey or dark beige hiking socks. They are a synthetic material which are light, easy to wash and dry and don't show dirt like white ones. Good investment!
Do not wear jeans! They are heavy and bulky. Everyone wears light clothes there. The ice caves require a light jacket. My hands got cold , so put socks in your pockets just in case. The narration is in German, so go to the website first and read all about them. The salt mines in Hallstatt..you wear a jumpsuit, so dress light underneath! LOADS of fun! Also, there's an old restaurant adjacent to the salt mines where we had a GREAT lunch! That's in my pictures. There are GREAT trails around most lakes for trail running...Wolfgangsee has a nice one as does Fueschl. Not Mondsee. However, there are many, many places to run! We hiked up the Scharfberg...amazing! You can hike half of it and take the cog train the rest of the way. You need a light jacket at the top...great views! If you get a chance, enjoy a meal at the Gasthof Furberg across from St Gilgen. The ferry stops there. GREAT food, lovely place. If you have any other questions, feel free to write me at this screen name at aol dot com! We hike every summer..Switz as well...and I consider myself a packing expert!! Oh, also, you can swim at a few places on the lakes and the water is amazing! Not all are cold..

You all are SO fabulous with your knowledge and help! Thank you Thank you Thank you! We will be staying in St. Johann Im Pongau.

Hi Romath, I see you're staying in St. Johann. Bt any chance the Alpenland Sport Hotel? We were there in the middle of June thru our timeshare. Our weather was usually very warm, except for 1 or 2 evenings when it stormed, but we were thru sightseeing for the day, so it didn't really affect us. We had a rental car. If you don't have one, you really need to get one, or you won't be able to take full advantage of the area. Anyway, we kept a jacket in the car and I carried a Walmart 88 cent poncho with me. Both came in handy. When it stormed the temp did drop drastically and the jacket helped. You will LOVE it. If you want our itinerary, just write back and I'll report. If you're staying at the Alpenland, definitely let me know. I have some useful info.

Hi zwho - yes that is where we are staying. I hadn't planned on renting a car because I've heard the trains & public transportation are so good there. Why would you say it's necessary? I'd love to hear more details about your trip!

Hi Romath, We had a car and it came in very handy because we daytripped very day, and we could come and go as we wished. The highways are wonderful. Just stay out of the left lane if you're not a race driver.
I'll try to go thru the trip without referring to the journal. We flew into Munich and picked up the car at the airport. The drive was about 1 and a half hours and very easy. From Salzburg it was about 20 to 25 minutes to the hotel. On the way, right before our exit was a Castle fortress on the right called Hohenwerfen. They have tours and jousts and craft fairs. A little hokey, but the castle was so dramatic, I had to see it close up. Anyway, the day we got there we stayed around St. Johann and went to sleep early. Do not eat at the sidewalk cafes right before you get to the Alpenland. Really bad food. However, we found some great places to eat in St. Johann and kept going there thuout our week there. There were a couple of great restaurants across the street in the mall where the grocery store Spar is. Don't worry, soon enough this will all make sense to you. One place was called a Pizzeria, but had great pasta & salads upstairs and the other place was also upstairs, but on a lower floor and had great breakfasts and casual lunches. The other place we ate was in the center of town and it was a bar with a great patio called cafe Pletzl. St. Johann is a small cute town, with an old church and just beautiful landscapes, but having daytrips was a good idea. We met some other people at the hotel who didn't have a car and they were at the mercy of the tour groups and clearly were unimpressed with the service and cost. Driving is easy, but a bus or train is better then not going. About the hotel. Our room was a studio and it was fine for us. i would have like a little more room, but we weren't there for the room. The staff was either extremely reserved and proper or just plain unfriendly and not very helpful. The internet didn't work well and I felt like I was on some bad slot machine that justkept taking my money. Beware and ask for refunds if it still doesn't work when you go. They have a washing machine but some others in the hotel stayed home 1 whole day trying to get at it. Only 2 machines, 1 dryer. It was hot during the day when we were there. Ask for a fan as as soon as you arrive if it's warm or sleeping won't be fun. The breakfast was not included and really expensive and bigger then we wanted so we bought croissants & fruit at Spar, (the grocery across the street)and I had an immersion coil to make tea & coffee. We never ate there for dinner either. Too expensive.
So our 1st full day we went to the Klamm, which was only a few minutes drive. It was fabulous and we spent the entire morning there. In the afternoon we went to Hohenwerfen and had lunch there and a tour and then late afternoon drove to Hallstatt for dinner and to walk around.
The 2nd day we drove to Salzburg and spent the day doing all the touristy things and came home after a late dinner.
The third day we drove to Zell am See in the morning and spent the morning and afternoon walking around. After lunch, we drove the Grossglockner and then came back to St. Johann for dinner.
The 4th day we drove to Berchesgarten stopping in a small German Spa town for a lovely breakfast, before getting to town. I thought the town was a little dumpy and overly touristy, so after walking around we left for Eagles Nest. When we saw it cost 15 Euros, we decided to leave. No way does anything related to Hitler get a penny from me! We drove on to Herren Chiemsee and visited Mad King Ludwigs magnificent palace. You have to take a boat out to the island the palace is on, and when we were done taking a tour we ate dinner on shore lakeside in Chiemsee, or I think the towns name is Priastock, or something like that. It took about 1 hour to get back to St. Johann.
The next day we drove to Munich. It took almost 2 hours to get to Marienplatz, but we had a wonderful long day there, returning after dinner again.
Our last day we stayed in St. Johann. Used the pool and walked around the town. We got some wonderful treasures at the fleamarket there. Check it out. I bought some wonderful demitasse cups for peanuts. We did laundry and packed up and left for Vienna the next morning.
The area was so beautiful, I would go back again in a minute. I've seen mountains, we used to go to Colorado every year, but these mountains are just more amazing and green. We didn't go to the ice caves, but someone said they are unbelievably wonderful. If I can help you with any more info, let me know.