Walking holidays in Austria’s North Tyrol region
Exodus used to run their trip in a very remote area of the Tyrol, but the village had so few visitors that the local shop closed, and the mountain huts began to shut down. “We were one of the only operators in the area and there were no more buses, the chairlifts stopped,” Claire Ouditt, the product manager for Exodus’s Tyrolean holiday, explains. This, and a couple of retirements, meant they decided to move the trip:“We already have a skiing trip in Achensee because the whole area is very good for cross country skiing in the winter. We knew the area already and we had a great hotel. So our leaders did a bit of recce-ing in the summer to see if there was enough to do.
Whilst it’s sad to leave a fading area, it’s a reminder that good tourism, done well, can be a really important support to local infrastructure. Now embedded in their new home: a waterfront hotel in Achenkirch, Exodus walking trips continue to use public transport and work closely with businesses based in the area. “We use public transport, local produce and local restaurants. For our airport transfer we use a local company. We definitely try and make sure that we make an impact locally. It’s not always easy to see the benefit you, as a traveller, bring in Europe. But all of that matters.”
Our Austria Holidays
Austria self guided walking holiday
A glorious mix of spectacular scenic views.
Austria snow shoeing holiday
Guided snowshoe walking and winter activities in the Alps
Germany and Austria self guided walking tours
Circumnavigate Germany's highest mountain!
Germany and Austria walking holiday, self guided
Circular trek around Mount Hochkönig and Königssee
Walking holiday in the Austrian Tyrol
Beautiful mountain scenery and attractive Tyrolean villages
Danube self guided walking holiday in Austria
Outstanding walking along the Blue Danube in the Wachau
Snowshoeing in Austria, East Tyrol
Snowshoeing in the Austria Osttirol with mountain guide
Easy walking holiday in Austria lake district
Gentle shoreline routes and chocolate box villages
Winter walking and yoga holiday in Austria
Guided winter walks and cross country skiing + daily yoga.
Austria skiing and winter activity holiday
Ski, Snowshoe & Cross Country ski in a remote mountain base
Austria walking holidays, walk the lake district
Lakeside walking with a beautiful mountain backdrop
Learn to ski and yoga holiday in Austria
Ski and Snowboard in the Alps alongside daily yoga classes
Walking holiday in Austria
high peaks, remote lakes and meadows flush with wild flowers
Winter walking holiday in the Austrian Tyrol
Winter walking from the northern banks of the biggest lake in Tyrol
Austria multi activity holiday
Adventurous mountain holiday in the stunning Austrian Alps
Austria yoga & walking holiday
Daily yoga, stunning alpine hiking, delicious food.
Austrian walking holiday
Explore Austrian Alps on foot from our remote mountain home
Austrian winter walking holiday
Winter activities from a stunning Alpine retreat.
What does this trip entail?
In eight days you can spend a good five days going on walks, with a rest day in the middle of the week for sightseeing – or for actual rest (the Tyrol is famous for wellness, too, and spas abound). Expect to spend six to seven hours walking each day. You’ll walk in a group of no more than 20 people – normally there are between 10 and 14 hikers on small group holidays here.
Each evening, your guide will outline the next day’s walks. It helps that the summits of countless mountains peer over to you around the lake, your guide can simply point and say, ‘that one next’.
You’ll walk on unmade tracks that can sometimes get rocky as you go higher, but there’s very little scrambling involved. Thanks to the lifts, you’ll probably end up walking downhill for longer than you walk uphill. If you choose to try the more challenging walks each day you can make ascents of over 1,000m. If you opt for easier walks, you can still reach some impressive summits by ‘contouring’. You’ll keep to the same altitude by following the mountain’s contour line – to get some lovely views without too many steep climbs.
Hiking here is a piece of cake. The walking can be steep, but once you get to a mountain hut, you can indulge in apple strudel and Viennese cakes, and special local dishes like Kaiserscharmm – a heap of shredded pancakes so large it’s best shared between two.
Tyrol walking highlights
Achensee
Achenkirch
Karwendel Nature Park
Rofan Mountains
Alpine meadows
Tyrolean cuisine
Our top Austria Holiday
Austria self guided walking holiday
A glorious mix of spectacular scenic views.
This holiday has departures every two days from May to September, please enquire for availability on all your tailormade trips.