Our top 10 Austria travel tips

The top tip for travelling in Austria is to get good boots, because this is a country where the Alps take the limelight. More than half of Austria is given over to majestic peaks in fact, and although you won’t be able to climb every mountain, as the famous musical that was set here proclaimed, you will find many favourite things. Here are our top Austria travel tips, from seeking mindfulness to being aware of mountain safety, exploring the Salzkammergut or arriving by sleeper train. How can you resist the cliché that Austria is awesome?

1. Explore Austria’s Lake District, the Salzkammergut

The Salzkammergut Lake District is just under 50km from Salzburg and a revelation to many. As well as the idyllic waterfront town of Hallstatt, UNESCO protection and traditional salt spas, this is one of Europe’s most stunning breathing spaces in close proximity to a city. It’s also home to Hoher Dachstein, the highest peak in Upper Austria at 2,995m. Now you can wrap yourself in the Salzkammergut’s snowy landscapes too, with our recently-added snowshoeing and cross-country skiing holidays. Want more salt with that? See our more detailed Guide to the Salzkammergut District, and also our blog on Best day hikes in Austria.

2. Aim higher in Hohe Tauern National Park

Hohe Tauern National Park is Austria’s ultimate adventure arcadia, centred around Grossglockner, the country’s tallest peak at 3,797m. Exploring this stunning region doesn’t require expert mountaineering skills, however, as seen on our moderate level trekking holiday. This journey kicks off in Germany’s Bavarian Alps before crossing swiftly into Austria, arriving at the national park on day five so your muscles are built up and you’ve got plenty of mojo in your backpack.

3. Train travel tips for Austria

Austria has a superb rail network, run predominantly by the national rail provider, ÖBB. All of our tour pages have details on how to get there, and we have filtered the ones that are reachable by rail. ÖBB is also renowned internationally for its sleeper trains, with its brand Nightjet taking you through the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy. For more information see our blog, How to book cheap train tickets.

Or co-founder Peter and his wife soaking up the Salzkammergut scenery, as they travel there by train from Vienna.

4. Wanderlust is lustier with walking poles

If you’re not a convert already, then let Austria be your first time to trek with poles. And if you’re going for it, then you may as well go for two rather than one. You won’t be alone hiking on the hills with the help of these companions, which make all the difference to ascents and descents. If you know, you know. And once you do, you won’t look back. For more information, see our blog (written by a recent convert), Do you need walking poles for hiking holidays?

5. Quick way to seeing if Austria is friendly to tourists

It may seem odd to many in this day and age to use the word god in a greeting, but this is Austria, and holiness is normalised here on a daily basis. In fact, the expression Grüß Gott is a foundational pillar of Austrian identity that instantly signals cultural respect and community connection. Whether you’re going into shops, cafes or indeed churches, getting the greeting on the tip of your tongue is key to finding a way in with Austrians. Who may not be all hugs and high-fives, but they are very polite and proud to share their country. Literally translated as May God greet you, it’s a symbol of generosity not piety.

One of our happy hikers, on a walking holiday in both Bavaria and Austria’s South Tyrol.

6. Learn about the lynx

Having reintroduced the lynx to its mountain terrain in recent years, Austria still strives to gain a healthy population of this crucial predator that hunts deer and chamois. This introduction plays a vital role in sustaining biodiversity and, along with other Alpine nations, Austrians are intent on protecting the lynx’s mountain habitat. Please support the work of WWF in protecting and restoring healthy lynx populations here. And of course, get ready to enjoy Austria’s other wildlife, where the Alpine Big Five are ibex, chamois, golden eagles, marmots and bearded vultures. Bring binoculars.

Eurasian lynx in the Styria region of south-east Austria

7. Do’s and don’ts in Austria’s saunas

If you’re not used to naked saunas, Austria is a place to just go with the flow, because saunas are skinny dipping dwellings. They are also a place to relax, celebrate nature and all things natural, and not places to giggle or ogle. There are a lot of spas with saunas in the Salzkammergut Lake District, which are especially popular on our snowshoeing or cross-country skiing holidays. Being naked in the sauna is as much a practical thing (you sweat more easily when you’ve nothing next to your skin) as an egalitarian thing. Similar to the Finnish etiquette of saunas, shower before going in, bring your own clean towel to sit on, and don’t talk much when you’re in there.

8. Austria safety travel tips for swimming and hiking

With a plethora of mountain lakes, wild swimming is not new to Austrians, but always check with local people where the best places are to do so. Never swim alone and, ideally, choose a spot that has lifeguards. Here is a list of the tourist board’s favourite swimming lakes in Austria. In addition, while hiking in the mountains, it’s important to be aware of safe walking practices, such as always letting someone know where you are heading, keeping a battery pack for your phone, having plenty of water, sunscreen and being very mindful of weather conditions. Please do take time to read our blog, Hiking safety tips for mountain landscapes.

9. Choose your best time of year to travel to Austria

Austria is definitely a four season destination and, even though half of its landscapes are made up of mountains, we have natural adventures there for ten months of the year. So, when working out the best time of year to go to Austria you may want to think seasonally, and also whether you want to hit those high trails or its luscious lower lakes. We have so many ideas on this one, we have written a bespoke blog, Best time to go to Austria.

Zell am See is a summer idyll on our Kitzbühel Alps walking holidays.

10. Austria travel tips for mindful travel

Lebensgefühl is a German word that translates literally as life feeling. It’s a philosophy that is very much part of the Austrian attitude to wellbeing, and one that predates modern feelgood fads. We recommend making the most of that while travelling in Austria, celebrating slow travel, tapping into the sensory pleasures of walking or cycling in nature, and just breathing in the power of the Alps. Read more in our blog, Top tips on achieving mindfulness on holiday. We love, for example, that Austrians invented the postcard, and so you can celebrate this by writing home to a loved one, taking time to pen some thoughts and incorporating snail mail into your slow travel experience.

We hope you enjoyed our top Austria travel tips and that they have opened your mind to this mountainous country, with so many trails within easy access of its great cities. See all our Austrian hiking and cycling holidays, and for more information, don’t hesitate to contact our adventure specialists. You may also enjoy the following blogs: Our co-founder explores the Salzkammergut, Best time to go to Austria, and Our five best hikes in Austria.