Summer time in Austria

We stayed at the lovely Hotel Saalbacher Hof - a beautiful hotel in a great location with a great vibe. The hotel has modern / funky touches commissioned by various artists, an outdoor & indoor pool, sauna, steam, jacuzzi, massage, beauty treatments, yoga, 2 bars with outside patio area, 2 restaurants plus bar food and lots more. This hotel has so much history with lots of information on show for guests to see plus a very informative weekly hotel history tour which was very interesting. We stayed Half Board and the food was great. This is a small resort with a few hotels, shops, bars and restaurants plus a small water park. There is a very good local bus service which I did use to visit other nearby resorts.

In the morning we walked the river route Saalbach to Hinterglemm, lovely easy walk on the level. In Hinterglemm, another small resort with cafes, restaurants, shops and hotels - definitely worth a visit I visited a wood art gallery, beautiful coffee shop and then took the local bus back to Saalbach. On the afternoon we went on the gondola in Saalbach - The Shattberg Xpress Gondola, over 2020 m to the viewing point for some amazing views. Another must do when visiting. Then back to the hotel for a well deserved dip in the pool.

Another day we took the bus and then the noddy train up the valley to the Talschlusszug activity park. This was a great day out where we crossed The Golden Gate Suspension Bridge, walked the high walkway, did a walk up the valley and had a lovely lunch. Stunning location and lots to do for all the family.

We travelled to a second resort for a few days - Zell am See, an Austrian town on Lake Zell, south of the city of Salzburg. Its Romanesque St. Hippolyte Church has a distinctive tower added in the 15th century. Trails and lifts lead to the ski slopes of Schmittenhöhe mountain where you can walk, cycle, ski or just go for lunch!

We stayed in the lovely Hotel Tirolerhof, right in the centre. We were half board and the restaurant had lovely food. A bar, indoor pool, spa, roof terrace and our room had a balcony with views over the town.

We did so much here – on our first day we had a very refreshing swim in Lake Zell. We also went to the public Lido on the Lake where we relaxed with lovely views all around and a couple of drinks in the bar before going back to the hotel for dinner.

The following day we took the Chair Lift and then the Gondola up the Mountain with views from Gipfelwelt 3000 panoramic platform, at the top – just amazing views and we visited the Ssisi chapel and ski museum at the top too. We stopped at a restaurant on the way down, an amazing spot to have lunch with the mountains all around you. Then back down to Zell and we did a boat trip around the lake, taking about 50 mins. Then a well deserved relax in the spa before dinner and the water, light and music show at the Lake

So much to see and do in Zell with great bus and train links, activities on the lake like boat hire, boat trips, swimming, Lido and water sports. You can hire bikes, visit the bars, shops , restaurants, ski diving, mini golf, water show on the lake and so much more.

These resorts are a lot busier in Winter for Skiing but I was really surprised at what they offered in the summer too. The scenery is just stunning, everywhere you look. So much to see and do you will not be bored but you can do as much or as little as you like. The public transport is really good making it easy and cheap to explore. I absolutely loved Austria and will definitely be back !