Austria - walking with kids

[Bubble2bubble]

Our ideal is a lovely mountain hotel or apartment where you can just walk for a week without needing to drive. Don't mind hiring a car to get there.
DH thinks Austria is the answer, but really anywhere in the Alps/Dolomites might do..

PreDC we did this in Chamonix, but would possibly like somewhere more remote and villagey...

Any recommendations would be great :)

Seefeld would be ideal as you can get there without a car. Fly to Innsbruck, bus to main railway station then a lovely 35 min train ride. It's also doable by train from Munich. It's on a high plateau so opportunities for slightly flatter walks if required, also nice for a day trip in to Innsbruck.

We are doing this, but with car so we have extra options. How old are your kids, Bubble?

Dcs will be 10 & 12. Not the most enthusiastic walkers but capable and also good in bikes..

Seefeld looks just the ticket- thanks user, will investigate..

We went to Seefeld when I was 17 I think. Didn't hire a car and walked to various places or possibly used public transport? Was a lovely holiday :) There was one walk the hotel owner sent us on that ended up at a lovely lake we swam in.

I did this with my DDs in Grindelwald, Switzerland. It was the best holiday we ever had. Amazing appartment overlooking the Jungfrau. A fab mix of walking, chilling out, eating.... happy days

Might be a bit touristy for you though OP?

Don't mind a but touristy as the dc would probably like that more. Think I may have been in Grindalwald years ago ( inter railing!)

We stayed in the gerlitzen mountains in Carinthia one year. It was great as we could go further up the mountains for more activities and then visit the lake in the afternoon for a swim. Most lakes have slides but we love a ossiach lake as much quieter than the others. There's a treetop adventure and mini summer tobogganing in the mountains (better one by the lake). The lakes in Carinthia are much warmer than other lakes in Austria and it really is a country set up for loads of activities. We're back to Ossiachersee again this year.

Zermatt in Switzerland might be a good idea- it's car free, training goes all the way there, there's a glacier, a funicular railway up to the top of Gornergrat, and lots of alpine walks. Food isn't cheap though...

Train not training, sorry!

Two other suggestions:

Although I think Seefeld is a better base I can recommend Sporthotel Achensee, we booked their own minibus transfer from Innsbruck airport.

If you are happy to hire a car to get there I highly recommend the dolomites (either via Innsbruck or Venice) and in particular these appartments. You will need to use your car whilst there but well worth it to visit the amazing WW1 trenches cut in to the mountain sides, there are several sites to visit.

user1486 that hotel looks amazing! We stayed in an Irish hotel last year where they also kept those Haflinger horses and the DC could go riding whenever they wanted, it was fab.
We also went to the Dolomites pre DC, absolutely loved it.
Thankyou!

We liked Mayrhofen in the Zillertal which is the other side of Innsbruck. Worth a look as it has a train connection and good walking close by.

I liked Achensee too, I think there is some kind of card so you can use the buses for free. There are also some great high level walks that you can access by cable car (but I had issues with altitude so we didn't do them). There are lots of other things to do like hiring bikes and boat trips.

Loads to look at, thanks all :)

We went walking one year in kaprun next to zell am zee. Fun things locally like gps treasure hunt up the mountain, frisbee golf, mountain coaster and a spa place that had a huge pool with water slides. Can cycle in zell, waterfalls at zimmel do able on the train

I wouldn't recommend Kaprun/Zell am See as a typical Austrian holiday. It's much more touristy & expensive to cater for the rich Arab tourists who flock there in the summer.

We've had a few good Austrian holidays. Ramsau am Dachstein was really set up for kids with lots of walks & other activities that had children in mind but I'm not sure if we still used the car to get to some things.
Brixen was really easy to get around without a car - we took the cable car from right next to our apartment up the mountain & there were loads of walking paths signposted from there & once you were up the mountain it wasn't quite so hilly. There was also a pool in Brixen & nice restaurants.

I agree with Jecan re Kaprun, it didn't feel very villagey (is that a word). I would also second Ramsau am Dachstein, we've been there in summer and winter, but you do really need a car I think? We stayed here both times, but should add it was 12 years ago now! Ramsau is an easy trip from Salzburg.

Ha! We will be in ZAS this summer. I will look out for middle-eastern folk. Actually, does that mean excellent middle eastern food is easy to find? BONUS.

Our lodgings really didn't seem that expensive A flat that sleeps 6, 1320 euros for 13 nights. What price are you guys getting?

Lljkk - you won't have to look out for them - the town and surrounding areas are filled with women in niqabs, burkas, hijabs and super expensive shoes and sunglasses! Our apartment also wasn't super expensive but the restaurants were definitely more expensive than other places we've been to in Austria and the tourist attractions/lifts we're a bit more costly. We still enjoyed our trip tho - we just went up the mountain to escape the tourist masses

The sommerroddelbahn (summer tobbogan) is fab near dachstein. The lakes are definitely colder in that area though.

I second the dolomites too. Last year we flew into venice and did a week in the Italian dolomites before austria. Austria is definitely better for activities with and without children.