Lake Achensee & the Austrian Tyrol

A great holiday in a beautiful region of Austria. The mountain walks in particular were excellent with amazing views. The hotel is also excellent with very friendly staff. We found the Holiday Card (Erlebniskarte) worthwhile - not just in saving money but in avoiding some long queues at ticket offices (eg the Rofan cable car).

Thank you for arranging our two consecutive weeks in the Austrian Tyrol. This trip, having not ventured abroad since Covid, has rekindled our enjoyment of visiting Europe, and in particular, Austria. Fabulous locations, and hospitality, and we certainly needed to keep walking to offset some great food! Both Lake Achensee and mountains and the Leutasch valley, were stunning areas, fabulous walks and welcoming hotels to stay. We also found it easy to rent bikes, and ebikes are readily available, making the hills more accessible. The Weisenhof and the Kristall, were our favourites, not to mention some perfect mountain Huttes, to be found along the routes! 

The area, hotel and walking made for a wonderful holiday. Thank you! 

Will definitely use Inntravel again. We booked only 2 weeks before but speedy turnaround to accommodate our choice. Breathtaking location exceeding our expectation. Always check if cash only as we got caught out on top of a mountain!

At the age of 80 and 79 (plus medical conditions) we thought it unlikely that we would be able to continue walking in the mountains. These two holidays proved us wrong. The bus routes and transport passes for cable cars and boats meant that we could travel easily to and from destinations, enjoy magnificent scenery and walk at easily manageable levels of difficulty. Highlights for us were the Wild Water Way in the Stubai and the walk from Rofanseilbahn cable car to Dalfazalm. But every day was enjoyable and facilitated by unseasonally good weather.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combined our single centre walks An Alpine Stroll and Lake Achensee & its Mountains 

Pertisau is a pretty village and the Achensee is beautful. We spent a very happy week there.

Hotel Kaiserhof is absolutely stunning. Our room overlooked the lake. The swimming pool is the best hotel pool I've ever seen, gym was excellent. However what sets it apart is the friendliness of the family and staff, and the quality of the food. Dinner was Michelin class every evening. I'm well travelled in my 70's and have never stayed in a better hotel. Will definitely be back.

A welcoming, quality hotel. Very friendly staff in all areas. The walking was great even during the one day of inclement weather. Take a travel kettle, tea bags, coffee and mugs. There is a fridge in the room and you can buy milk locally. The walking notes are superb. We couldn't fault them. Completely accurate and the best so far. 

We had a wonderful 3 weeks combining the Black Forest, Bavaria (Where Eagles Soar) and Lake Achensee trips in an effort to catch up after a quiet couple of years. The trips were all up to the usual Inntravel high standard.

Our highlights: The hotels, particularly in the Black Forest and Bavaria. Hotel Peterle in the Black Forest and the Alpenhof in Bavaria were wonderful, and were both well worth an extra night if possiblec. Although all the walks were good, we particularly enjoyed the Feldberg in the Black Forest, the Jenner and Konigsee in Bavaria, and the Rofanspitze in Achensee - these had stunning views.

Our tips: If using cable cars or boats, make an early start to avoid later “crowds”. Our thanks to a previous reviewer of the Bavaria trip recommending the possibility of a taxi from the tourist office in Schonau Konigsee (who were extremely helpful) up to the hotel - after getting caught in heavy rain, this suggestion was a godsend. (And considering the saving of marital strife, very cheap!) Similarly, if using the bus from Schonau Konigsee to the Alpenhof hotel, it is a good idea to get on the bus at the Jennerbahn stop - by the time it arrives at the next stop near the tourist office, it can be full. We combined these trips by driving - not sure how it would work out by train but would imagine it would be quite feasible.

We enjoyed both The Leutasch Valley and Lake Achensee holidays despite my husband developing a hip problem on the first day of the holiday which made walking quite painful for him.  We still had a great time and were able to adapt the walks and use buses, boats, chair lifts and cable cars to shorten the routes.  I walked some sections of the routes on my own and felt completely safe and confident.  All the hotels were very good with plenty of choice on their menus and the food was lovely.  We particularly enjoyed the food at the Hotel Kristall and sat outside in the sunshine for a late lunch on both days choosing from a fantastic freshly made buffet which was included in the cost.  Each hotel has a swimming pool which was a real bonus and aid for bad hips.  The scenery was of course amazing and although we felt frustrated not to be able to do all the walks in the mountains on the route notes we were easily able to get about and enjoy the views.    

Inntravel is easy to deal with and responsive to customer requests. The booking process was seamless and the level of documentation and support material was first class. The highlight for our group was Lake Achensee. Hotel Wiesenhof is excellent and the walks in the location were great.

We chose to do the Leutasch Valley first followed by a week in Pertisau, Achensee. We used rail transfer between. We were not disappointed with our choices!

The Leutasch Valley week had some excellent walks, and we enjoyed the format of 'circular walk then transfer walk'. Favourite walks were the Day 4 High Route Via Scharnitzjoch. It was a shame that day was rainy. The views from Scharnitzjoch would have been spectacular. It was still atmospheric with the clouds. It was the only day I used walking poles. Day 5 Leutaschklamm (gorge) to Mittenwald was easy going and quite touristy in the gorge (you won’t need walking boots for this one – walking shoes would be fine). We had lunch in Mittenwald and caught the bus back (free with the guest pass - emailed from the hotel) but got off at Gasthaus Műhle (mill) and walked back by the river. The river walks were lovely. We also enjoyed the long transfer day on Day 6 Reindlau to Mösern, which had lovely, varied scenery. Tip: The downloadable maps proved very useful and saved time on the walks. It was hard to see the route in advance on the paper map without these. The instructions were good, however, should you want to use them. We enjoyed staying at each hotel. We used the pools in each hotel to relax after walking. Hotel Inntaler Hof had a large room with a super view of the valley and good service. The breakfast at Inntaler Hof gave the most choice at breakfast, but at dinner the second dessert option of sorbet was always smaller than the main option. Hotel Kristall was a modern hotel, and the room was smaller, but the staff were very friendly and the views from the roof top pool were lovely - the massage bubbles are great too. We enjoyed the singer in the bar on Tuesday night, which made for a relaxed evening. We weren't the only ones playing card games of an evening. Hotel Hubertushof had a drying room with a boot drying rack which was helpful as Day 4 was wet. It was a relaxed hotel.

Lake Achensee and its Mountains was more touristy, as we had chosen a warm week in August and we didn’t know it was a public holiday on the Tuesday, so Monday was a ‘bridging day’. Pertisau is mostly hotels, but in a lovely location. We did walks 1A, 3, 5, 7 and 9. The remaining day we did a different walk from Achenkirch. Our favourite walk was the Rofenspitze (Walk 7), which after a start with lots of people, thinned out as we climbed higher. The views from the top were wonderful. I used poles for that walk. Dalfaz Waterfall (Walk 9) makes the recommendation to change buses to go to Buchau, but as we missed the bus, we followed the yellow walking signs to the Falls (Wasserfälle). At one point there was a choice of routes (both going to the falls), and we took the left-hand narrower route which took us quickly into the woods. The bus wasn’t worth the time you might need to wait. The descent to Dalfaz waterfall was narrow, steep and slippery, so once we had a good view of the falls, we decided it wasn’t worth it to go to the bottom and went back to rejoin the route. Other people had gone down the the bottom of the falls though. The route apart from that is not technically difficult but as it was a hot day, the zigzag ascent felt quite long, and it was good to stop and admire the spectacular views back to the lake. The Dalfazalm Hut is a welcome sight and there is a short, pleasant route back to the cable car. Both walks 7 and 9 are worth to do in good weather to see the expansive views. The Wiesenhof hotel was very relaxing, and the staff were kind. I booked friends in for evening dinner one day and they set up a table for five of us in the bar area, as there was no space in the dining room. We liked it that all the staff had photos in the main hallway and the hotel seemed to have a strong people focus. The pool is great for swimming and there is a great thermometer that tells you the outside and water temperatures, so you know how much of a shock to expect getting in. Tip: Take flip flops, as I found the floor a bit slippery in the ones provided – it is especially worth it if you have small feet, as the hotels provide one size. Tip: Ask for a lighter duvet if it is summer.
As general comments, in Austria the mains are a choice of meat, fish or vegetarian. I could find something in the meat or fish options, but they don't really have good vegetarian choices. Overall, we felt well catered for. We didn't so much enjoy Austrian coffee as it's strong - the Verlanger is supposed to be a long coffee but isn't an Americano. The Cappuchinos are mostly milk froth and don't really have much coffee in. Some hotels do a cannister of coffee, but it seems to go cold quickly. Coffee aside, we enjoyed the cakes at the mountain huts and had a cold drink instead. At Achensee, the bus timetable was quite difficult to understand. The bus to Maurach parks for a while at the bottom of the Karwendel cable car. Wait at the cable car side of the road for the bus, which then picks up passengers all around Pertisau before going back via the cable car bus stop and heading off to Maurach. The bus from Maurach seemed rather unreliable, which is unusual for Austria. The bus is free with the guest pass you get at breakfast. We did not buy the Achensee card and the transport we used cost us about the same. We used the ferry twice, the Rofenspitze cable car down twice, and the Karwendel lift up once.

We were pleased with our holiday choice. The hotels, walks and transfers are all good, as we have come to expect from Inntravel. 

Hotel excellent, scenery stunning, access to cable cars helped access stunning heights.  

The hotel was excellent, efficient and quiet. Beautiful setting. We walked the easier routes about 2-3 hours each. Some sections were tougher than expected

We had a wonderful holiday. The area and walks around Lake Achenese were amazing - we were lucky enough to see Marmots on one of walks. The hotel was perfect, lovely staff, great food and a lovely pool to relax by at the end of a long day walking. We would highly recommend.

Really enjoyed our walking in Achensee. Walks and scenery are spectacular. The Wiesenhof is an excellent hotel with first class service and facilities. We will certainly return to Austria to walk again.

Whilst the Wiesenhof is a fairly large hotel, it retains a cosy and friendly atmosphere. The food's great, my single room was ideal, with a balcony and lake views, the swimming pool was excellent, never busy, and has direct access to the hotel's charming garden. Easy access from the hotel to the various walks. Two separate cable cars will get you into the mountains, but my favourite walks were along/up side valleys behind the hotel, with a choice of refreshment stops en route. On several occasions I took a boat trip round the lake - it's a good way to orientate yourself at the beginning of the holiday, and also a relaxing way to end the afternoon after a day's walking. The Sixenhof folk museum at the northern end of the lake is interesting, especially if you understand a little German. The holiday card upgrade costs 90€, but it's worth the outlay to get unlimited rides on the ferries and cable cars as well as the bus, and free entry to the museum. Pertisau is a small resort, not noisy, in a spectacular setting, and felt very safe for a solo traveller. Expectations exceeded, can recommend.    

The Leutasch Valley, Lake Achensee and Innsbruck are a really nice combination. All the hotels were first class, the walking was excellent and the scenery often stunning and by adding on extra days it could all be done at a leisurely pace. The weather varied, but it was never too hot and when it rained it could pour ... but only for a couple of hours. And the full sunny days were glorious. In short, a delighfully balanced holiday. 

INNTRAVEL NOTE: This customer combined our walking holidays 'The Leutasch Valley' and 'Lake Achensee & its Mountains' with our city add-on in Innsbruck.

The variety of walks in terms of access, scenery and grade/length are excellent. We were able to take very different walks on each day, and always have time for a swim afterwards!

The scenery was incredible, we enjoyed walks and cycling as well as swimming in the lake. This was our first time in Austria, it won't be our last.

Our favourite walk was to the Rofanspize (grade 2) which we found more challenging than walk 9 (graded 2 - 3) and was the only walk where we needed poles.  This was partly due to having to walk through a number of patches of snow.  The scenery was stunning and more varied than walk 9 with many different views to be had.

The food was excellent and very varied; the waiting staff were highly attentive and pleasant to deal with.  The swimming pool is spacious and the water was just the right temperature to relax after a hard day's walk.

If you decide to cycle along the lake (or anywhere else) consider using an e-bike as the hills are a bit steeper than we had imagined.

Pertisau is an excellent centre for walks and activities.

The hotel is just perfect, welcoming, comfortable and with great facilities. The food was delicious. Pertisau is a wonderful location with plenty of great walking opportunities. Now that the location is attracting all grades of walk, there needs to be some further suggestions for 1, 1-2 that do not involve vertigo inducing sections - there are lots of available alternatives. It is one of the most enjoyable aspects of an Inntravel holiday to spend the days beforehand planning routes. Unfortunately the pack arrived very late. 

The situation of Pertisau with its range of walks, beautiful scenery, and spectacular setting amongst the mountains and lake make this a wonderful place to return to again and again. The hotel is the best I have stayed in from every aspect - food, staff, leisure complex and situation.

The Wiesenhof hotel is very nice, the staff very helpful. I was not feeling well one night and they were so helpful, saying if I was worried they had access to a doctor 24 hrs so just to call anytime. I found enough choice of walks that were beautiful and easy walking on the flat as I had had a hip replacement sometime earlier.  The old local buses are fun and can take you up to the top or start of several walks so saving you from having to do a really long walk if you did not want to.  You can also sail part way on the boat and walk the rest around the lake. There are also many more difficult walks for the fitter person. The hotel has a beautiful large pool if you like swimming. The place is very pretty. We had a very enjoyable holiday all in all.

Fabulous hotel with beautiful views of mountains and the lake. We went in June when the Alps were intensely green with glorious wild flowers and the walking was wondeerful.

Excellent holiday. Walking was wonderful, the routes were varied and interesting. As always the arrangements were perfect and lovely location. 

This was a most enjoyable holiday, shared by three fiends who enjoy walking. The hotel Weisenhof is of a very good standard, with excellent food, service and facilities for relaxing after a day's walking. Although walk directions were helpful, we tended to use GPX files to follow routes on digital mapping, which allowed us to see exactly where we were, especially when taking diversions or getting lost on snow covered paths.

We were greeted at Hotel Wiesenhof in Pertisau with warmth and enthusiasm from the family members and their team, and this was evident throughout the week. All their facilities, food, drink, and thoughtfulness left nothing to be desired. The location of the hotel relative to all the activities available made it very convenient. Only one day was the weather a little inclement so we negotiated 2 x bus and 1 x train excursion to Innsbruck, a very rewarding day trip. Probably the highlight was walking in the Gramai Alm, its isolation, lush green vegetation and the typical mountain “hutte” at the head of the valley (where we were entertained by a typical mountain music trio) with inevitable beer drinking, singing and dancing.  A very memorable chance happening. We managed most of the detailed activities in the walk notes (at our pace) and could not fault one thing. Thank you to all at Inntravel for the memories to go alongside our previous 8 Inntravel experiences.

Pertisau itself is not the most beautiful village.  But the surrounding countryside and mountains are spectacular, with excellent walking and good 'alms'.  The hotel is comfortable with specially good spa and swimming pool facilities.  We were lucky with the weather, getting warm autumn sunshime and lovely colours.  Recommended.

The hotel is excellent. Despite its size the staff maintain a very friendly and informal atmosphere. The choice of food at breakfast, the encouragement to make a picnic, and the five course dinner were all excellent including gluten free options. (Our only criticism was our inability to get boiling water to make a proper cup of tea!) There was a good range of walks for people of varying abilities and for different weather conditions. The highlights for us were the walk along the Lake to Achenkirch and the climb to Rofanspitz.

Another great stay at the Wiesenhof, this time in summer rather than winter. There are so many activities to do here in summer, it was a very different experience to winter and we'll certainly come back again to enjoy the things we didn't have time to do. 

Wonderful trip exploring Austria for the first time. Great hotel with excellent food and service. Lovely walks with varied scenery. Recommend lunches and strudel at the mountain huts!

An excellent hotel in a stunning area. We enjoyed all of the walks we did. Transport options such as cable cars, buses, boats and the more 'touristy' options really help to make the most of the walking with relative ease!

Loved the Wiesenhof, great service and lovely food. The cool swimming pool was a real treat at the end of a warm days walking.

Worth mentioning at the Wiesenhof that the starters at dinner are served as a buffet, with some items cooked to order at a food station. It is worth filling up, as the main courses, although always delicious, could be rather light after a day's walking. 

Excellent hotel and staff and stunning scenery. If you are planning to catch the bus to Maurach it is best to be at the Karwendel Cable Car stop for when the bus starts its tour of Pertisau, because the second time it stops here it is likely to be full especially in the peak season.

A wonderful setting, marvellous hotel and splendid walks. The excellent local travel options (regional bus, boat, cable cars and private buses) integrated well with the recommended walks. Jenbach is not worth visiting except as a transport hub.

For fresh air, a top hotel, varied walks and superb food in a stay-put week then the Wiesenhof at Pertisau must take a lot of beating.

Both holidays were excellent and worked well back-to-back. We would recommend doing it in this order.Food proportions were enormous in all hotels (usually 6 couses at main meals); and the Leutasch Valley ones provided afternoon coffee and cakes each day if back early enough. We bought the Achensee Holiday Card card for €84 each from the hotel reception when we booked in; we made use of it in some way every day (and within 2 hours of our arrival). Well worth it. We found the mountain restaurants well worth visiting (for coffee and cakes, although in one on a wet day we found 'chocolade mit rhum'...).

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combined our walks The Leutasch Valley and Lake Achensee & its Mountains.

The best walks by far are from Maurach so we would strongly recommend getting the full holiday card, it avoids queues etc.

The holiday cards we purchased at the hotel gave us access to both local cable cars (Karwendel and Rofan) and we made good use of them. The views from the top are impressive. 

I particularly enjoyed the walk along the lake path to Gaisalm. I did it in mid to late afternoon, which meant I benefitted from the shade of the trees on a hot day. I don't suffer from "vertigo", but given the steep drop down to the lake you do need to be reasonably confident in your sense of balance!  

The weather was unseasonably warm, with thunder and lightning on two nights which we enjoyed while sitting on our balcony. 

The big attraction of this holiday, not least for older people like us, is undoubtedly the hotel itself, which gives you the choice whether to be active or simply sit bck and enjoy your surroundings. Either choice is good.  

As a bonus, the food (breakfast and dinner) in the hotel was consistently fantastic. 

Lovely hotel at Pertisau, fantastic food, scenery & spa compliment a hard day's walking.

Pertisau is a large, modern (spotlessly clean and tidy), spacious resort rather than a characterful mountain hamlet, and the lake sees a huge influx of weekend vistors. Having accepted that, and low level background noise from regional through-traffic the other side of the lake when on the lake shore, Pertisau provides access to some wonderful mountain walking - a different world. Seeing chamois at close range, finding edelweiss, the variety of rock formations, the wonderful, changing vistas on the Rofanspitze walk and the carpets of alpine flowers (of such variety and colour) were all memorable. The museum in Achenkirch was definitely worth visiting. The hotel room (upgrade) and food were excellent.

Pertisau is an ideal location for a walking holiday. The range of walking options is extensive and, quite apart from the very detailed route descriptions provided by Inntravel, the excellent signage makes route finding very straightforward. In addition, the availability of cable cars, buses, and boat make access to these walks both easy and enjoyable. 

A great holiday with a fabulous hotel that couldn't be faulted.  The local village is excellent and we were lucky with the weather. Most walks meant travelling by cable car and then beyond with fewer walks from the hotel which we've been used to previously.  If acrophobic, perhaps this holiday isn't for you with cable car rides and some walks with "hairy" moments.  That said, if you don't suffer, you'll be fine. The scenery is specatular.

Check boat timetables carefully if out of peak season or you may have a longer walk than expected! Once of our best experiences was the walk to Dalfazalm. Wonderful views and fantastic refreshments at a great price, especially considering the location. 
Definitely worthwhile upgrading to the Achensee holiday card.

Lake Achensee - as part of a much longer trip, a full week in a beautiful hotel with very personalised service, no packing and unpacking and a delicious dinner every night was a delight - not to mention the routine of a different challenging walk each day, followed by a pre-dinner swim, steam and bake in the extensive 'wellness' facilities. Given the inclusions, this holiday is excellent value.  

Eagles Nest - a varied and interesting series of walks and exceptional accomodation.  Well worth adding some extra nights to cover the range of walks available and to provide some flexibility for the odd day of bad weather as at each stop there was something else to do if the weather did not encourage walking.

Lake Maggiore to Lake Lugano - the first shock is being warmly greeted at the first hotel in Italian and this trip continues to feel as it you have almost, but not quite, arrived in Italy.  Do make sure you take the cable car and walk to Mount Lema and surrounds, where you look into the Italian Alps and the phone company can't decide which country you are in.  And if you have the chance, ride the Treno Gottardo from Basel to Locano to start the walk - the new Gotthard Base Tunnel may well be an engineering marvel but it is no substitute for the old scenic route taken by the slow train.