Innsbruck to Salzburg: Through the Alps Along River Cycle Trails

“We traveled in late-August to early-September of 2025. The scenery was more stunning than I imagined it would be and the weather was perfect nearly every day; sunny skies, mild temperatures, and cool nights. (Most European hotels do not have AC so cool nights were a real blessing.)

Our e-bikes were in excellent condition and all of them worked flawlessly during the entire trip.

The breakfast's were hearty meals including meats, cheeses, eggs, yogurt, fruit, juice, coffee, and some pastries.

Some thoughts about the cycling. Using a GPS app to map your day's ride is critically important if you do not want to get lost. Austria is full of biking and hiking trails so it is very easy to take the wrong trail at trail intersections. We used Garmin's Explore app to navigate the biking trails and it worked really well. (A link with the GPS coordinates will be provided by the touring company.) On a related note, Google Maps worked much better in Europe than Apple's Maps app when walking around towns and villages.

The paper maps provided by the touring company are nearly impossible to follow while riding but they do have a benefit. The night before each day's ride--after studying the map--we would make notes indicating the distance to select villages, bridges, lakes, and intersections, etc. (The maps provide these distances.) Our notes then served as our sign posts ensuring that were were on the correct road or trail during the next day's ride, and also plan our lunch stops.

Though this was not explained in any of the literature I read, at every hotel we stayed we were given a two day "summer card" ("Sommerkarte") free of charge. (We did have to ask for it at one hotel.) These cards are incredible deals. They allow for FREE transportation on local and regional buses and trains, and also provide free admission to select museums, free rides on the Schmittenhohe Cable Cars in Zell am See, and free access to the water falls in Krimml. Not sure why an explanation of this tremendous benefit was not provided.

Just for clarification, the "taxi" that you catch at the train station in Zell am Ziller is a large passenger van pulling a trailer. Your bikes are loaded into the trailer and then everyone piles into the van for a breathtaking 45-minute ride to Krimml. (Your luggage will be in the van as well.) By the way, the bike ride to Zell am Ziller is less than 15 miles and the village is beautiful so I would recommend getting there before noon and then having lunch at one of the restaurants along the river before catching your "taxi" to Krimml that afternoon.

Our favorite activities:
Schmittenhohe Cable Cars in Zell am See- Use your summer card to catch the bus to the cable car facility and then ride to the top of the mountains where you can hike trails and have lunch. The views from the mountain tops are stunning.
Water Fall at Krimml- Again, use your summer card to access that water fall. You can walk up to the base of the waterfall and/or walk up the trail that leads to the top of the falls. There are lookouts about every 200 feet of elevation gain.
The Schloss Tratzberg Castle in Jenbach- It's probably a 10-mile detour on your first day, and somewhat expensive (summer cards do not work there), but well worth it. I believe this is one of the best preserved castles in the world. The current owner of the castle accompanied our tour (we were the last tour of the day) and he embellished much of the narrative provided by our guide.
The Family Gundolf Dinner Show in Innsbruck- A quirky Austrian variety show that includes dinner and a beer. It's kind of a Lawrence Welk meets Hee-Haw fusion for those old enough to remember those programs.
Salzburg- I only mention it because the reviews I read of Salzburg before our trip suggested it was kind of a one-dimensional city. ("Sound of Music.") It was much nicer than I anticipated with many shops, delicious restaurants, and one fascinating "speak easy" bar called Burdoch's Punch and Cocktails. At Burdoch's, you tell the bartender the name of a drink you like and then she creates a similar alternative using all sorts of random ingredients. I like "French 75's"; she made me something that was even better. The bartender and waiters were also excellent conversationalists.” Less

“Although we went through all climate zones during our ride we find this vacation awesome. Selection of hotels and planning of bike routes was very good. Riding 40 to 65 km each day with e-bikes took 2-3 hours, therefore we had enough time to walk alpine pastures taken up by cable cars in Zell am See or Lofer. You may believe me that alpine meadows settled only by Milka cows is something that gives the best break from noisy and busy life.” Less