Welcome to Hooked on Cycling Holidays and our cycling holidays in Austria. This biking vacation in Austria takes you around the Austrian Lakes in the surrounding hills of Salzburg known as the Salzkammergut region. Our Cycling holiday which passes alongside ten of these wonderful lakes with the high mountains as its backdrop. The cycling tour is available as a self led tour. We have graded this cycling holiday a level 2 tour of which probably half the route is alongside the lakes and flat with some hillier areas along the route between the lakes. This biking tour is suitable for both beginners (with some fitness) and experienced cyclists who feel they can cycle the daily distance. This tour has some fantastic contrasting scenery, firstly the tour starts in rolling countryside using extremely quiet country lanes used only by the farmers and on some dedicated cycle ways. Here the lakes are shallow and the water is brown in colour. After a few days you reach the mountains, the lakes now turn a wonderful blue green colour in which the mountains reflect in them providing some stunning scenery. This region is known more famously as the Sound of Music country and also Salzburg is the home of Mozart. This region is certainly stunning and very peaceful. The crystal clear lakes mirror image the surrounding hills covered by lush pine forests. Come to the Sound of Music country and you will experience something a little different. Important scenes of this great film classic were taken in Salzburg, on lake Fuschl, in St Wolfgang and St Gilgen. Also along the route visit Bad Ischl the summer residence of the Austrian Emperors and the Silent Night Chapel in Oberndorf the town where the famous Christmas Carol was composed.

Independent tours daily from 21st April to 13th October
Level 2 self guided tour

 Day 1 Salzburg
Arrive in Salzburg and take the short transfer to your hotel. Tour information, handing over of cycles usually takes place late afternoon. Visit the old city and explore the history behind Mozart, maybe visit is former home. It is well worth spending an extra night in Salzburg to fully appreciate all it has to offer.

Day 2 Salzburg -Trumer lakes / Wallersee 28-33 miles / 45-55 km
Cycling along the river Salzach to Oberndorf, birth place of the Christmas carol ”Silent Night“, Arnsdorf and the Silent Night Museum and then on to Michaelbeuern with its lovely abbey. Later you cycle on to the Trumer Lake country (Obertrumer lake, lake Mattsee, lake Grabensee) and partly at the lake Wallersee. Shorter distances are possible. This is rolling green countryside on superbly quiet country lanes.

Day 3 Trumer Lakes/ Lakes Wallersee to Attersee/Mondsee 30-36 miles , 50-60km km
Today you cycle across the nature reserve of the small lakes Egelseen to the village Schleedorf with its cheese dairy and on to the idyllic Irrsee. Then it is time to cycle onto Mondsee which was the location of the wedding scene of Sound of Music at the church, after it is along lake Mondsee to lake Attersee which is the biggest lake of the Salzkammergut. You are now approaching the mountain scenery and you also cycle on dedicated cycle ways or country lanes.

Day 4 Lake Attersee/Mondsee to Traunsee 28-33 miles , 45-55 km
Today first a boat trip to Weyregg to avoid busy roads (from around mid May to mid September ). Through the valley Aurachtal to lake Traunsee with the impressive old town of Gmunden. Gmunden has a lovely castle, Castle Orth, a ceramics factory, Altmünster (bicycle museum) and Traunkirchen which is the fishermans association.

Day 5 Lake Traunsee - Lake Hallstatt - Bad Goisern and surroundings 12-23 miles , 20-35 km
By train from Traunsee to Obertraun and onto Lake Hallstatt, why not visit the Dachstein ice caves. Now along the lake to Hallstatt with the oldest salt mine. Hallstatt is UNESCO protected due to it famous Salt mine and very pretty alpine village. Approach Hallstatt by boat and you see the wooden houses and boat houses perched on the waters edge. In time gone by there were no roads in the region and the Lake was the only way to access the old town and also the only way to export the salt. This was a great way to protect the commodity from smugglers as salt was a worthwhile commodity along time ago. Tour end is Bad Goisern or a neighbourhood town.

Day 6 to Wolfgangsee  23 miles ,  35 km
Now you cycle via Bad Ischl which is the summer residence of the Austrian emperor with its wonderful park and Sisi’s teahouse along the river Ischler Ache to the lake Wolfgangsee. St. Wolfgang which is famous for its “White Horse Inn”, old church, rack-railroad on the mount Schafberg. You will pass Strobl , Abersee and St. Gilgen the Mozart village on lake Wolfgangsee today. The air shot at the beginning of the Sound of Music film was taken at lake Fuschlsee to lake Wolfgangsee

Day 7 Wolfgangsee to Salzburg 25-30 miles , 40-50 km
On the cycle path to St. Gilgen you will do a short walking tour to Kühleiten (your bicycles are transferred by bus). This is to avoid a busy road section and makes a wonderful change to the days cycling. Then you descend to lake Hintersee and through the gorge Strubklamm to the Wiestal valley (reservoir). Through the gorge Glasenbachklamm to the Salzach valley. Why not visit the castle Hellbrunn with its gazebo from the film Sound of Music, Leopoldskron castle featuring as Trapp Villa in the Sound of Music Film, Abbey Nonntal which is the oldest female convent, important feature of the real Trapp history and of the Sound of Music film – convent of Maria, there she met the Baron von Trapp and also married him in 1927.

Day 8: Salzburg
Individual Departure or stay and extra night

Tariff 2012

Fly BA , Ryanair or Flybe to Salzburg
How to get there
Fly to Salzburg
By Car to Salzburg where parking is available
To view other cycling holidays in Austria

Click below to view our great
Walking Holidays in Austria

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