7 days · ages 4+ · nature, culture, city
Austria's summer mountains are built around children in a way few destinations are: lift passes open adventure playgrounds and coasters at altitude, and the lakes are warm enough to swim in by July. This route pairs three nights of city and culture in Salzburg with three in the mountains, which is enough of each without anyone tiring of either.
Families looking for a beach holiday, or anyone travelling in May or November, when most mountain lifts and many hotels are closed between seasons.
1
2Destinations on this trip
Salzburg
Days 1–3
Tyrol
Days 4–7
Drive · 1h 50m
Day 1 · Salzburg
Old town, the river and the fortress by funicular.
Hohensalzburg fortress
The funicular ride up is as much of the attraction as the castle itself.
Old town on foot
Compact and pedestrianised; everything within twenty minutes' walk.
Good to know. The Salzburg Card covers the funicular, transport and most entries, and usually pays for itself in a day.
Day 2 · Salzburg
Two of the strongest attractions in the Alps for children.
Salt mine tour
Entered by miners' train, with long wooden slides between levels and an underground salt lake.
Hellbrunn trick fountains
A 17th-century garden built around hidden water jets. Everyone gets wet.
Good to know. The mine sits at about 10°C year-round. Bring closed shoes and a layer; overalls are provided.
Day 3 · Salzburg
Swimming, a boat trip and a lakeside afternoon.
Wolfgangsee or Mondsee
Both under an hour from Salzburg, with swimming areas, boat trips and lakeside restaurants.
Optional: Hallstatt
Extremely photogenic and extremely crowded, with restricted parking. The salt mine and skywalk above it are the parts children engage with.
Day 4 · Tyrol
Under two hours, then settle into the resort.
Salzburg to the Zillertal
Around 1h45 by motorway and valley road.
Collect the guest card
Most hotels issue one covering buses, several lifts and the local pool.
Day 5 · Tyrol
A gondola day, entirely on the summer pass.
Summer lift playgrounds
Gondolas open onto adventure playgrounds, water-play areas and themed trails at altitude.
Alpine coaster
A summer toboggan run on rails, usually the day's highlight for under-tens.
Day 6 · Tyrol
Ride up, walk a marked family route, eat at a refuge.
A one to two hour marked trail
Tyrolean valleys signpost family routes with hut stops and playgrounds along the way.
Wet-weather alternative: Innsbruck
The Nordkette cable car runs from the city centre to 2,256 m, with museums below if the cloud is down.
Day 7 · Tyrol
Drive to Innsbruck, Salzburg or Munich and fly.
Airport transfer
Innsbruck is closest; Munich and Salzburg are both within two to three hours and often cheaper to fly into.
Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you book through one, the price is the same for you and we may earn a commission. How this works.
Where to stay
Across the river from the old town: ten minutes' walk to everything, noticeably cheaper, with more apartments that sleep four than the historic centre offers.
Fitting a family in
Two-bedroom apartments are common here and usually cheaper than two old-town hotel rooms.
Watch out. Festival weeks in late July and August push prices up sharply across the whole city.
Austrian family hotels bundle what would otherwise be separate costs: half board, a pool, childcare, and often the regional lift and bus card.
Fitting a family in
Family rooms, suites and interconnecting doubles are the standard product rather than the exception.
Watch out. Most close between seasons — roughly April to mid-June and October to early December.
Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you book through one, the price is the same for you and we may earn a commission. How this works.
Salzburg
A working salt mine entered by miners' train, with long wooden slides between levels and an underground salt lake. One of the strongest attractions in the Alps for children.
Good to know. Around 10°C underground year-round. Overalls are provided; wear closed shoes and a layer.
Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you book through one, the price is the same for you and we may earn a commission. How this works.
Money & costs
Regional cards covering lifts, buses and pools are common and frequently worth more than the price difference between two hotels.
Getting around
Austrian motorways require one. Cars rented within Austria usually have it; cars brought in from Germany or Italy often do not.
When to go
The summer season runs roughly late June to mid-September. Outside it, most lifts, coasters and many hotels are closed.
4 people · 7 days · EUR
€3,450
≈ €123 per person per day
| Category | Estimate |
|---|---|
| FlightsFour return fares from within Europe. | €640 |
| Accommodation3 nights Salzburg apartment, 3 nights alpine half board. | €1,300 |
| TransportSeven-day car hire, fuel and the motorway vignette. | €420 |
| FoodReduced by half board in the mountains. | €550 |
| Activities & ticketsSalt mine, Hellbrunn, Salzburg Card and lifts not covered by the guest card. | €420 |
| ExtrasParking and incidentals. | €120 |
| Total | €3,450 |
How to read this figure. Indicative planning figures for a family of four in summer, based on published prices at the time of writing. Many mountain hotels include the lift card, which changes the effective total.
Book this trip
How we make money
This page contains affiliate links. Booking through one costs you the same and may earn us a commission. It never changes what we recommend — every place is labelled either somewhere we actually stayed or something we researched but did not test. Read the full policy.
7 days€€ItalyMountains first, then swimming and a theme park
7 days€€€NorwayScenery you reach by train, ferry and funicular
7 days€€GreeceBeaches, ruins and a hire car