Last Updated on September 15, 2026 by Marisa

IIf you’ve been dreaming of an Austrian road trip filled with storybook villages, mountain adventures, waterfalls, castles, and family-friendly resorts, this one-week itinerary is for you.

Austria had been on our bucket list for years, and after diving into the planning process, we quickly realized that the country offers the perfect mix of outdoor adventure, culture, and relaxation. This route takes you through some of Austria’s most beautiful regions while keeping drive times manageable for families.

Austria Road Trip Overview

Day 1-3: Innsbruck (3 nights)- Took train from Munich to Innsbruck

Day 4-5: Nature & Wellness Hotel Höflehner (2 nights). Pick up Car in Innsbruck and drive here but make stops along the way

Day 6-7: Salzburg (2 nights). Drove here and dropped off our car at the end of our Salzburg trip.

Day 8: Vienna (1 night). Took the train from Salzburg to Vienna

Where did we fly into?

We flew into Munich, Germany which is 2 hours by train to Innsbruck! This is the closest international airport with direct flights from Toronto. We flew out of Vienna at the end of our trip which also had direct flights to Toronto! If you live at by an international airport, you should be able to find direct routes to both of these cities!

Before heading to Austria, you could make a stop at Neuschwanstein Castle

If you have another 1-2 days to play with, you can start your trip at this iconic castle is approximately 1. 5 hours from Munich and about 1.5 hours from Innsbrucl.

The inspiration behind Disney’s Sleeping Beauty Castle, Neuschwanstein is one of Europe’s most recognizable landmarks and makes an unforgettable family day trip.

How did we get around?

Car via Discovercars.com

For the road trip portion of our Austria itinerary, we booked our rental car through DiscoverCars.com. The platform makes it easy to compare rental cars from different companies in one place, including prices, vehicle options and rental conditions. We loved being able to find a car that worked for our family and our route without having to search multiple rental sites individually. If you’re planning a European road trip, DiscoverCars.com is a convenient place to start your rental car search.

Train

We took a direct train from Munich Airport to Innsbruck and booked our tickets through Rail Europe. We also used the train for the Salzburg to Vienna portion of our trip, which was such an easy and comfortable way to travel between cities. Rail Europe makes it simple to search routes, compare train options and book tickets all in one place, which was especially helpful when planning a multi-stop itinerary. If you’re travelling around Europe, it’s a really convenient resource for organizing your train travel ahead of time.

View & save all my pinned Google Map Locations

Days 1-3: Innsbruck

Nestled between towering mountains, Innsbruck feels like the perfect introduction to Austria.

This charming city combines colourful historic streets with incredible alpine scenery and enough activities to keep both kids and adults entertained.

Things To Do In Innsbruck

Explore the colourful Old Town
Visit the Golden Roof
Ride the Nordkette Cable Car
Wander along the Inn River
Visit Alpenzoo (one of Europe’s highest zoos)
Visit one of Innsbruck’s 35 Churchs ( each one a masterpiece of beauty!!!)
Swarvoski World ( below right- epic installations and kids grounds)

You can view my FULL INNSBRUCK GUIDE here

Days 4: Head to the Austrian Alps

After several days of sightseeing, it’s time to slow down. On Day 4, you will get up early and make your way to the Austrian Alps. There are a ton of hotel options in this area and the hotel we choose was about 4 hours away.

On route to the hotel we stopped at the following places:

Lake Achensee ( free). This was 1 hour from Innsbruck
Liechtensteinklamm ( tickets are about $25.00 to enter the gorge hike)

IMPORTANT: Google maps always shows the driving distance to be a little quicker than it actually is in Austria. If your Google Map navigation says 1 hour, it will likely take 1 hour and 20 minutes.

ALSO- there are some switchbacks and roads that are HIGH up in the mountains. To avoid this, opt for the highway route.

Days 4-5: Relaxation at Nature & Wellness Hotel Höflehner

Located in the Schladming-Dachstein region, Nature & Wellness Hotel Höflehner offers panoramic mountain views, wellness facilities, outdoor activities, and direct access to some of Austria’s most spectacular scenery.

This is the perfect place to spend two nights relaxing while still enjoying nearby adventures.

READ MY FULL POST ABOUT HOTEL HOFLEHNER

Nearby Attractions

We had planned to go to the Library on our 2nd take in the Alps but the relaxting was just TOO good. I feel like the best option to see some of the attractions would be to add another night onto your stay or find another hotel for the night

Stift Admont Library & Museum ( Library that inspired BEAUTY AND THE BEAST!!!)

Home to one of the world’s most beautiful libraries, this stop feels like stepping into a fairy tale. The stunning white and gold Baroque architecture alone is worth the visit.

Fallbachfall Waterfall

One of Austria’s tallest waterfalls and an easy stop for families looking to stretch their legs.

Werfen

Home to the impressive Hohenwerfen Castle. The views alone make this stop worthwhile.

Interested in other European getaways? Check out these other posts below

Days 6: Halstatt + Salzburg

On Day 6, you are going to get up early and make your way to Halstatt. It was about an hour from the hotel we stayed at!!!

HERE IS EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT VISITING HALLSTATT:

Go Early!! We arrived around 9 AM and people were starting to come in, but we still had the chance to wander around without it feeling crowded at all. We stayed around 2 hours and it was veryyy busy as we were heading out
Stay a night if you can. We would have loved to stay overnight if we had more time. Waking up here and getting to experience the village before all the day-trippers arrive would be pretty magical.
Stop at Rührwerk! This little pastry shop is a MUST. Grab one of their freshly made Schaumrollen and eat it while you walk around town. SO good (it’s the blue little stand)
The side streets were equally as good as the insta famous view. Make sure to wander around!!!!
Driving? You’ll need to park outside the historic centre and walk in. Getting there early also makes the parking situation much easier.
Take the Funicular up after you see the MAIN view point. Seeing the town from up high is just a completely different view point

Days 6-7: Salzburg

Salzburg quickly became one of the places we were most excited to visit. And the main reason for this was because of the Sound of Music. Most of the filming locations are here and we watched it ahead of the trip. My kids fell in love with the movie so this made them SUPER excited for our Austria trip.

While I have seen the movie so many times, it has been a while and rewatching it with my kids brought me so much Joy. We walked through the streets singing “Doe a Deer” and danced just like they did

Salzburg is also just SO pretty, is the birthplace of Mozart and combines a lot of history and culture.

Things To Do In Salzburg

Visit Hohensalzburg Fortress
Explore Mirabell Gardens
Visit Hellbrunn Palace
Visit Salzburg Zoo
Take a Sound of Music Tour
Eat at St Peter’s Cathedral ( Oldest restaurant in Europe)

Where did we stay in Salzburg, Austria?

We stayed outside the city center ( about a 20 minute drive) at one of the oldest family run hotels in Salzburg called Romantik Elixhauser Wirt. This property has the MOST amazing restaurant on site ( which was so key after a full day of exploring the city), 2 pools ( 1 adult only spa pool & 1 family pool), and very spacious rooms

Day 8: Vienna

While one night isn’t enough to fully experience Vienna, it provides the perfect ending to your Austrian road trip. If you have more time, I would recommend a full 2-3 days here!

The city feels completely different from the alpine regions and offers grand architecture, museums, coffee houses, and imperial history. Vienna is also surprisingly easy to explore with kids, especially if you focus on a few key sights rather than trying to see everything in one day.

A few helpful tips when visiting Vienna with kids: stay somewhere central so you can walk to many of the main attractions, build in plenty of breaks for cafés and treats, and consider a sightseeing tour if you are short on time. We found that mixing iconic landmarks with fun stops like cake at Café Sacher and a relaxed city tour made the day feel exciting without being overwhelming for the kids.

Where did we stay in Vienna, Austria?

We stayed at the Ritz Carlton Vienna- and boy- what a way to end the trip! 100/10 recommend ending at a 5 star property like this. We felt SO rested for the flight the next day as we got spoiled there. Between the thoughtful touches for the kids ( mini robes, surprises in the room), the spa like pool and incredible dining options so we could stay put for dinner the last night, it was somewhere we would stay again in a heart beat

What would I change about this itinerary if I had to:

To be honest, we felt the itnerary was close to perfect!!! The lengths of days in Innsbruck (3 nights) and Salzburg ( 2 nights), were great.

We would however have added 1 more night to Vienna and 1 more night to the Austrian Alps. With the long drive to the Alps ( with the stops we made), we didn’t arrive until about 3PM that day. 1 more night there would have given a bit more time to unwind since we left on our last morning SUPER early to get to Hallstatt.

Another option instead of adding another night to the Alps, could be to add a night in Halstatt. It would allow you to enjoy your last morning in the Alps area without rushing out ( we left our hotel at 7:30AM!) and would allow you to see the beauty of Halstatt in the evening hours once all the day trippers left.

And of course, with Vienna, there is SO much to see so another night would have been helpful. All in all though, we felt like we covered so much ground yet relaxed in the Alps to feel rejuvenated!

If you have any questions about this itinerary or are planning to do this trip, please reach out to me direclty: marisa.mercanti@gmail.com or DM me on Instagram