If we enjoyed Austria, where should we go next?

[SilkieChick]

We had a great holiday in Austria (Seefeld) last July - we loved the climate, scenery, lakes, mountains, walking, cycling and a bit of sightseeing.

So where should we go next that's similar? We haven't booked any breaks at all for this year so there's time available in April, or late July/August or October. I'm open to suggestions for location and the best time of year to travel there for warm but not roasting weather!

DDs are 13 and 16, and we'd be travelling from Scotland.

I'm wondering about Italy or Croatia? How would these compare to a typical Austrian holiday and when is best to go?

I'd consider Lake Bohinj in Slovenia, and a side trip to Ljubljana. The Triglavs are excellent, lots of lovely walks and good local restaurants, lovely people. Sort of like Austria was about 20-30 years ago.

However we went to Austria last year and heading back this year. Achensee is amazing, highly recommended.

Slovenia has beaches, mountains, lakes, nice wine.

Lake Annecy!

We based ourselves in Lake Bled, Slovenia. It was brilliant, with jaunts to other areas round about. Ljubljana by bus was a doddle.

Slovenia!

Norway! It's stunning.

We did Bled - portoroz- ljubljana which was a fab blend of locations over a week.

Yes definitely it's a must do but insanely expensive.

@MintyIguana you had me at 'nice wine' 😂

Lots of you saying Slovenia - and actually Lake Bled is somewhere I had on a list of potential places to go but had forgotten all about it!

Is it a good location for a summer break perhaps? Nice weather? Potential for outdoor swimming? (This isn't a dealbreaker though - we had an indoor pool in Austria which was fab)

@SilkieChick Would you mind sharing details of your holiday? Austria is on my radar and I have similar aged dc who enjoy outdoors. We were considering Norway or Austria. Ideally I wouldn't want to hire a car so not sure where to base ourselves.

Italian lakes

Lake Bled has a great lido, suitable for all ages. We went the second fortnight in July. Hot and sunny. They had a festival while we were there. Stalls, fireworks, music, dancing and the candles in eggshells on the lake at night was stunning. Bled days it's called. Just checked and its on at the end of July this year.

Liechtenstein? It's not cheap but very beautiful.

We also love Alpine holidays/ climate/ scenery and found Madeira to be similarly stunning for walks, mountains and perfect weather (in summer - not too hot but sunny)

…from Scotland you’d need to do a package with Jet2 really though, as the flight only prices are ridiculous

Hungary (Balaton)
Slovenia (Lake Bled)
Romania
Czechia (somewhere around one of the rivers?)
French alps

I don't feel like Croatia and Italy have the same vibe as Austria for some reason.

@Justmuddlingalong that sounds brilliant! We love a bit of art and music too and the floating eggshells thing sounds amazing!

@MintyIguana was it easy enough to travel between the locations? Public transport preferred to car hire if possible...

@Livinghappy we stayed at Hotel Vaya in Seefeld, we had a good sized family room, the food was great (we were half board) and there's an indoor pool/sun terrace which was perfect for us. The hotel's very central so you can walk into the town in minutes, and it's also right beside a travel hub for bus/train to other places - we had a lovely day trip to Innsbruck for example. There are loads of lake or mountain walks in Seefeld or the neighbouring villages - also cycle routes and you can go up the cable cars too.

We went with Tui, lucky to get a late deal at a good price - I'd never have thought of going there but so glad it came up on the last minute holiday list!

I think we had to fly from Scotland to Salzburg on a Jet2 package. I think the transfer time was 4-5 hours. Don't know if that's changed but might be worth checking.

Any recommendations for accommodation in Slovenia - Bled especially?

Also still interested to hear any thoughts on Croatia (DD2 has got it into her head she'd like to go there!) although I take the point from a pp that it's not quite the same vibe.

Cavtat in Croatia is lovely. Or was, it's been a few years since we went.
We stayed at Garni Hotel Berc in Lake Bled. A fab wee pension type place. It was fab but my god, the prices this year. Makes me appreciate what a bargain we got.

Slovakia. Hire a car and drive around the country. Beautiful mountains and scenery.

I adore Austria in summer, for me just as good are the French alps, Chamonix and Lake Annecy are stunning.

Bavaria! Only just across the border Easy drive/train to the Alps from Munich.

Lots of outdoors things to do hiking round the lakes and mountains, King Ludwig's castles, Berchtesgaden and the Eagle's Nest, could do a bit of city break in Munich en route.

We went to Slovenia in Easter. I think in summer it would be pretty busy in Bled. We did have a car but I think you could very easily use buses to get around the major cities. We booked airbnbs in all 3 places which was fine. It's really beautiful, i really recommend.

Czech Republic is lovely too.
Have a look at areas around Pilsen, České Krumlov, České Budějovice, Strážov, Klatovy