Chamonix or Zell am See In Summer?

[Brycare]

Hi.
We are planning our family holiday for next summer now (two adults and two kids aged 6 & 8).
We’re planning on a week in a campsite first and then trying to decide where to go for the second week.
Thinking of a mixture of relaxation and things to do (can’t plan for a full on activity week as the two kids won’t be able for that :-)).
I thought of Switzerland at first but it seems to be very expensive and maybe a bit too full on for the kids.
Anyhow, the two places that have caught my eye are Chamonix in France and Zell am See in Austria.
wondering if anybody here has been to both and could recommend one over the other?
Looking at Hotel Stadt Wien in ZAM - no accommodation picked yet for Chamonix.
The plan would be to chill out, swim, eat nice food but also do some activities (luge, cable cars, boat trip, maybe a day trip
or two etc).
Have never been to the Alps before so totally green!
Really appreciate any advice.

Looking at TripAdvisor there are less than 30 reviews out of nearly 700 that give it less than a 4 or 5 star review.
I have provisionally booked an "ins Gluck" room.
Did you find the food in the hotel okay?
We usually like to eat out in the local town when on holiday but the hotel does half board rates only. The wife and kids are fussy-ish eaters :-)

Been several times to Chamonix in the summer with DD. The last time she was about 9 and it was a family activity holiday. We did white water rafting, crazy golf, rock climbing, go-karting, bike rides, took the train up to the Mer de Glace glacier and walked down. You can go inside the glacier which is amazing. There's a very good public swimming pool in Chamonix. There's also horse riding and tree climbing in Les Houches just down the road from Cham,

The cable car trip up the Aiguille to look at the top of Mont Blanc is great fun - if the weather is clear - it wasn't last week but hey ho.

We've also driven through the Mont Blanc tunnel to Courmayeur for the day. There's a train trip from St Gervais part way up Mont Blanc - never done it myself but am told it's fun. Annecy is about an hour & half away.

Just bear in mind - the cost. The activities and trips aren't cheap and in the holiday season it's best to pre book before you get there. The weather can be variable but it's the sort of place where people just put on a waterproof and keep going.

It's an absolutely beautiful part of the world - more so in summer than winter. Each time we have gone we have driven down - it's part of the holiday and means you can take more luggage especially if you're camping. Hiring a car abroad is sooo expensive, and it does give you the flexibility for day trips

I don't think you will regret booking it!

Re food... the breakfasts were amazing, with a really nice selection of stuff. At that time, I remember that they provided paper bags at breakfast time as well so you could take bread, cheese, fruit etc for lunch - a very nice touch.

I don't remember as much about the dinners - we are vegetarian so not always easy in that situation, but I think it was fine. Maybe not the most delicious meals that you'll ever eat, but perfectly enjoyable. My dd was pretty fussy at that age, too. The staff are so lovely, I think they would try to accommodate if your dc didn't like something.

I think we may have eaten out anyway on a couple of nights - so that might be an option if you don't want to be stuck there every night!

We never ate out when staying in SW as the food is incredible !!! It was the highlight of our stays . However , we were skiing so a slightly different vibe .

They provide bags only in summer for you to make lunches .

Dinner is often themed with
a buffet starter and dessert but choice of soup and main course . Really fabulous ! You would be mad to leave it for a meal really as it is expensive. But well worth it .

Thank you.
€2.4k for a week half board for our dates next year.
I think you also get a light lunch at the hotel if you're there at lunchtime (if you don't take the supplies from the breakfast buffet).
They say they will refund you €10 per dinner if you decide not to have the dinner on a particular day (would be €40 for the 4 of us) so we might maybe do that on one or two days.
It sounds like a lovely spot anyway. The heated pool is a huge bonus.

I've been to Chamonix many times in winter and summer, and have just come back ftom a week with Zell am See with my dc (12 and 15).

Zell was excellent for a family holiday! The lake really makes the town.
We spent 2 days at one of the 3 Lido around the lake - little complexes with shallow outdoor play pools, slides and beach access to the lake, cordoned off safe swimming areas with inflatable diving platforms etc. really good set up. The one we liked best was next to the crazy golf! There was a lovely looking playground next to that too, but my dc are a bit old!

We also spent a couple of days going up the mountain on the cable cars - lots of waymarked routes of different difficulties - and having apple strudel for lunch in mountain inns!

We did a boat trip on the lake too. We got visitir cards called "Somercards" which were essentially lift tickets +, which included a lot of activities and attractions.

We also happened to be there over a bank holiday and had some beer and a dance to a traditional oompah band in the town.

ZAS seermed a bit more compact that Cham.

We stayed about 5 miles out of town, in one of these appartments, with a lovely outdoor pool, and amazingly, a free to use laundry! Alpenparks Rehrenberg

This info is all fantastic thanks very much.
Now to figure out how to get from Union Lido near Venice to Zell am See :-)

@Brycare Assuming that you don't have a car and are presumably travelling fairly lightly with regard to luggage, the easiest way to get from Venice to Zell am See is by train. Most journeys involve just 2 changes, and these are usually either from the same platform that you arrive at, or from an adjacent platform.

Depending on which trains you catch, the journey takes between 6 and 8 hours - during which you can sit back and enjoy the Alpine scenery, read, have a meal and generally chill. Rail travel in Europe is very civilised.

Ah great thanks very much. I was trying to figure out how we could get there as hiring a car from the area around Union Lido and returning it to Zell am See seems to not be easily achievable.
Would need to get to Venice station also which I imagine is an hour to hour and a half away.

You can swim in the lake. There’s lot of ‘green beaches’ (ie. Grass) around the lake. I believe it’s one if the cleanest lakes around.

There’s all sorts of food at Annecy. We ate out a lot. Sone really nice restaurants there.

I've spent the last two summers in Kaprun, about 15 minutes outside Zell am See. The whole area is stunning, with tons to do. One thing to think about: if you stay in a participating hotel you get the Zell am see "Summer Card". This gives free entry into most of the main sites (gorges, dams, museums, therms) as well as free travel on all transport - buses, gondolas, cable cars, and boats on the lake (the boat may be limited to once a week). The gondolas can be v pricey €20-€30 per adult per trip, so the Summer Card saved us a fortune. Also, not sure what your kids are into but have a look at the Kaprun festival - a medieval village of tents, sword fighting in the castle, where everyone dresses up with a huge parade through town. It is quite the sight!

I know that Salzburg is the closest airport, but which would be better out of Munich or Vienna as an alternative?

Currently in Chamonix with our almost 4 year old twins. It’s lovely and there’s a nice play park, climbing ropes, luge, lake etc. wouldn’t have been my first choice destination but it’s a big extended family trip. Weather is beautiful at the moment- 25 degrees, if we had hired a car there would be loads to do. Expensive though

@monkeyblonde Both Munich and Vienna have good train connections to Zell am See, involving one or two changes.

By car, Zell am See is about 3 hours from Munich Airport - but this can be significantly longer during summer and winter holiday weekends. Vienna - Zell am See takes a little longer, again dependent on traffic.

Of the two, I'd fly to Munich as first preference. Note that there are also airports at Linz and Klagenfurt (both served from the UK by Ryanair) that are closer to Zell am See than Vienna is, but both would require a hire car, and Innsbruck is closer than any of these (but has very few flights).

We were in Zell for a day earlier this month - staying in a nearby valley. It is a great spot and the Sommercard linked to accommodation is very useful and saves a lot of money. We went on the lake on an electric boat and saw the various beaches along the lake. With the train you can also do some day trips.