All continental breakfasts included.

Austria is renowned for its wholesome, robust food and you will be thankful for this after a hard day’s skiing. Typically, you will be set up for the day by a breakfast of cold meats and cheeses, along with the traditional bread, jam and coffee. Austrians tend to eat heartily at lunchtime and less in the evenings. Local specialities include Wiener schnitzel (breaded veal cutlet) and various stews of beef and pork. Dumplings, potatoes or noodles are all regular accompaniments along with vegetables in a style similar to English cooking. Desserts are often fruit based – such as Apfelstrudel – or cream pastries. Rehrucken is a traditional chocolate and almond cream cake On average Austrians, drink twice as much coffee as beer. There are many different types to choose from, particularly in the larger towns and cities and are often drunk in specialist coffee houses, known locally as a Kaffeehaus. It is often served in large cups and finished off with a healthy dose of whipped cream.

Austrian wines tend to be sweet white varieties, similar to German Mosel wines. The three best-known areas for producing white wines are Krems, Klosterneuburg and Gumpoldskirchen. The main red wine producing area is Voslau. Of course Austria is better known for its beer and you will find a wide variety of local brews. The best known are Gosser and Augustiner Brau and come in light or dark forms.

On day 6, pedal quiet lanes through farming hamlets where woodpiles are stacked for winter and cowbells carry across low Alpine meadows. After a countryside lunch stop at Zur Wacht (payable locally), climb gradually to hidden Lake Nussen, a forest-rimmed tarn known to locals but blissfully off the main trail.

Fringed by spruce and wildflowers, the shore in early summer can reveal rare orchids. The water mirrors the sky, inviting a refreshing dip for those who wish to swim in a mountain lake. With time to lounge in dappled shade, complete your circular loop back to Strobl, the air scented with resin and hay.

On day 7, choose to walk or cycle across the valley and into spruce and beech forest, climbing toward Lake Schwarzen. The water sits beneath the rugged flanks of Vormauerstein, Hoheneck and Breitenberg, where thermals carry hawks and the breeze smells of pine.

Rest at a sun-lit terrace restaurant for a hearty lunch (payable locally), then enjoy the reward: a delightful valley descent back toward Strobl. The route combines forest hush, mountain drama and rural farmland, offering varied scenery and a satisfying sense of flow all the way to the lake.

Most late afternoons or evenings, return to your hotel’s wellness centre with indoor pool. Set beside a river and secluded gardens, the Bergrose Hideaway embraces Slow Travel values—calm spaces, natural materials and soft light that invites you to unwind after active hours outdoors.

Float weightlessly, watch mountain clouds drift beyond wooden balconies, and enjoy a quiet reset before dinner. The atmosphere is refined yet relaxed—a gentle counterpoint to the day’s rides and walks—so you begin each new stage rested and clear-headed.

From St Gilgen on day 3, board the Zwolferhorn cable car and glide above flowered pastures to the 1,522m summit. A short crest walk reveals a crown of Salzkammergut lakes—Wolfgangsee, Mondsee and Fuschlsee—scattered like sapphires beneath limestone peaks.

Up top, follow easy paths to ring the summit cross, pause for photos and reflection, or settle on a terrace for a cool drink. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour; timings are flexible to dovetail with your ride.

Deepen day 3’s visit with a stop at the Mozarthaus St. Gilgen, a small museum in the birthplace of Mozart’s mother, Anna Maria. Period rooms and displays illuminate Mozart family ties to this lakeside village and the musical life that flourished across the region.

It’s a compact and insightful visit that adds texture to your time on Mozartplatz and in the parish church. Entry is at additional cost and bookable on tour; allow around 30–45 minutes before continuing your lakeside exploration.

After exploring St Wolfgang on day 4, hop aboard the Schafberg cog railway, an antique line that chugs from the lakeside to the 1,782m summit. Steam locomotives and crimson carriages climb through forests and pastures, opening ever-wider views with each switchback.

At the top, the panorama stretches across Wolfgangsee, Mondsee and Attersee, with rugged Dachstein peaks on the horizon. Enjoy a lookout loop or a drink at the mountain inn before descending by rail. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

On day 3—or any warm day—join local instructors to try waterskiing on Wolfgangsee. The boat pulls you into clear, spring-fed water; soon you’re carving smooth arcs with mountains mirrored in the lake’s surface and the wind in your ears.

Conditions are usually calm in the morning, ideal for first-timers. Round things off with a cooling swim from the hotel’s bathing jetty. This activity is at additional cost and bookable on tour; all equipment is provided.

Use day 5 to ride the local bus (about 80 minutes) to UNESCO-listed Salzburg Historic Centre. Stroll the baroque axes of Mirabell Gardens, browse arcaded Getreidegasse, and visit Mozart’s Birthplace. Street musicians, wrought-iron shop signs and domes set a lyrical mood.

For deeper insight, step inside Salzburg Cathedral or ride the funicular to Hohensalzburg Fortress for river and Alps views. Pause in a classic Kaffeehaus—try Café Tomaselli—to savour torte and conversation. Transport and admissions are at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Board a lakeship for a Wolfgangsee boat cruise, linking St Gilgen, Strobl and St Wolfgang. Classic vessels—including the vintage paddle steamer “Kaiser Franz Josef I”—slice across jade water with bell towers and boathouses drifting by.

Use the cruise to connect walks and rides, or time it for golden hour to watch sunset over the lake. Tickets are at additional cost and bookable on tour, with frequent departures throughout the day.

On day 5 or another free window, travel to Obertraun for the Dachstein Giant Ice Caves. Ride the cable car to Schonbergalm and join a guided cave tour through frozen chambers where blue-white walls, ice sculptures and echoing caverns tell a story of snowmelt and mountain geology.

Continue higher to the Krippenstein plateau to step onto the Five Fingers skywalk, a cantilevered platform suspended above Lake Hallstatt and the UNESCO Hallstatt-Dachstein landscape. Transport, cable cars and admissions are at additional cost and bookable on tour; mountain weather can be changeable, so bring layers.

On day 4, trace the north shore to storybook St Wolfgang, then stroll its cobbled alleys lined with painted facades, craft ateliers and chocolatiers. Step inside the 15th-century pilgrimage church to admire late-Gothic art and the famed Pacher altarpiece, a masterpiece glowing with carved saints and gilded panels.

Back outside, the lake spreads like glass beneath the peaks, inviting you to pause for photos and reflection. Culture and music echo in the village—this is the setting of the operetta “Im Weissen Rossl.” Linger on café terraces with strudel and views before continuing your gentle exploration along Wolfgangsee’s shoreline paths.

On day 2, take the local bus to the imperial spa town of Bad Ischl to collect your high-quality bike and meet our local partner for a welcome briefing and bike fitting. With maps in hand, you can stroll past elegant villas and riverside promenades, glimpsing the Habsburg aura around the Kaiservilla before you set off.

Return to Strobl as you cycle along the River Ischl, following easy paths through meadows and alder woodland with occasional church spires and mountain silhouettes. This serene first ride traces the valley that once carried “white gold” (salt) from the Alps, linking Habsburg spa culture to Wolfgangsee’s lakeside calm. Arrive by afternoon and soak in the lakeside atmosphere before dinner.

On day 3, follow a level track beside Wolfgangsee’s southern shore, gliding through a tiny nature reserve alive with birdsong before rolling into St Gilgen. Park the bikes and wander the frescoed waterfront, where boathouses and café terraces frame sailboats skimming the cobalt water.

Pause on Mozartplatz to learn why this village honours the composer’s family, then step into lanes lined with flower-decked balconies and the parish church of St Egidius. The scene blends lake air, bell chimes and the warm aroma of coffee and strudel. Enjoy time for lunch and photos before an easy return ride, or enjoy a free afternoon by the water.