St Johann in Tirol - active family holiday in Tyrol is written by Jacob Jørgensen
St. Johann in Tirol: Classical Tyrol
Just saying the name Tyrol brings many images to the retina. mountains, lederhosen, horn music, beer and maybe even skiing. But Tyrol i Austria is much more than that, and the town of St Johann in Tirol is right in the butter hole, where there are so many family-friendly summer activities that time flies by.
August and September are brilliant for outdoor activities, where the weather is often good and pleasant. We had up to 27 degrees and full sun with a little fog most mornings in mid-September.
Welcome to the Kitzbüheler Alpen. St. Johann in Tirol.
Speed up in St. Johann in Tirol: Mountain carts steer too wildly
“It's the most fun I've ever had! Can we try again?”
The excitement is palpable. We just got off our 'mountain carts', which are a kind of modern soap box cars designed for mountain tours.
We started halfway up the mountain Kitzbüheler Horn by the cable car, and then we rolled down the mountain. On soil, on asphalt and on gravel. Steep, flat and everything in between.
Watch a video from the course here
We have rolled five kilometers down the mountain – 400 meters of altitude – and have now reached the pit, and the joy shines out of my 10-year-old's eyes. "It was too wild, it was fantastic". When those words come from a boy who isn't super crazy about big slides, you know it's hit the spot.
Watch our video from the top of the mountain here
The cart track is so ingeniously designed that you can drive at your own pace, so whether you are for wild driving downhill - I reached almost 40 km / h on asphalt - or would like to drive more carefully, you can, because you controls the speed itself by braking.
If the child is under a certain height, he just rides with a parent, and you sit safely and comfortably in the small metal car. Brilliant. Simply brilliant.
The fact that the drive then takes place on the Kitzbüheler Horn, which is about as beautiful as an Austrian alpine mountain can be, does not make the experience any worse.
Definitely an experience in St. Johann in Tirol you don't forget.
Alpeidyl ad libitum on Huberalm
Trut, it says. Truttelutlutlut!
When you sit with tired feet in front of an alpine hut and enjoy the mountain view in the sun, the sound of a trumpet is not exactly what you expect, but the young hostess in the national dress dirndl has taken the horn out of the box and plays a song in honor of the mountains of St. Johann in Tirol.
Beautiful and simple. And quite surprisingly.
At that very moment I don't think I would have been surprised if a choir had come by and performed The Sound of Music right there, because the alpine idyll will never end.
The Austrian flag flutters peacefully on, and ample amounts of beer, cheese and hot dishes are brought out to the happy hikers and cyclists who have found their way up to the Huberalm above St. Johann and now the bench sits under large trees in the shade.
The local goats hide at the back of the hut, where they have laid down on some wooden shelves and let themselves be petted. The cows are munching and their bells are jingling merrily. It's not often that the dream of a place matches what you experience, but right here it does.
We have reached the Huberalm by hiking on a well-marked path from the local gorge whose name is more heartbreaking than the gorge itself: Grießbachklamm.
We have walked over, by and along black rocks and gurgling streams and have now reached the top of the mountain, where there is a phenomenal view. In total we are out for six hours, including an hour and a half break at two different of the cheap and very authentic alpine restaurants, because of course we chose the longest route so we could see the most.
You could also cycle up here, while cars are basically blocked, even though there is a road. This is for active tourists and locals only.
The next day we go on a bike ride with e-mountain bikes and use the many good bike routes in the area around St. John.
There is so much to see and much is within cycling distance, so it's an obvious way to get around. And with help for the hills from the bikes, it's no problem to cycle the 30 kilometers we get behind us, even if it goes up and down.
Zip me up, Scotty!
“Wuhuuuuuuuu”. With great joy - and a little anxiety - we throw ourselves from the platform up in the tree and glide relatively calmly down the zip line, which is part of the practice course on Horn Park in St. Johann in Tirol.
We have landed in the middle of a climbing park, which I must admit is not my idea, because my balance is not, to say the least, what it has been, but now we are here.
After a thorough intro by a nice guy with a thick Australian accent, we're ready for the practice field. And it goes really well, so when we get to the first short zip-line, where you have to hook yourself up to the line and slide down, we take it in stride, and it's super easy from there. It's actually a lot of fun! It also helps that I'm probably better at it than I thought…
The safety is totally top with several hooks to hold one firmly, so it also provides safety up in the trees.
Because we have come by the afternoon, we are the last to go out, so we walk quietly through the tracks, which are getting harder and harder.
See pictures from Horn Park here
The youngest man is at the forefront, and when he finally announces that now he can not go any further, because now it will be too difficult to balance, it is time for the long zip lines across the lake. The daughter, who definitely does not usually go ahead with this kind of activity, boldly announces that she dares it well!
Dare to do something you did not think you could, is a phenomenal travel experience that warms the body for a long time.
Snapsmill and big smiles in St. Johann in Tirol
"That's pretty cool", I hear myself say.
We sit and eat dinner at the 3-star Hotel Fischer in the absolute center of St Johann in Tirol, a few meters from the central – and very cozy – square by the pedestrian street. The hotel has something as unusual as a score of 5/5 on Tripadvisor and also towering reviews on the other booking sites, so it was an obvious choice to stay here right in the middle of the cozy city.
Once you've been there for a few days, it's pretty obvious why: The owners and staff are some of the most committed we've experienced in a regular hotel, and the waiters make the kids feel at home in no time. So while we sit and eat, the owner-couple shows off the staff, and afterwards they walk around with a device that can best be described as a small schnapps mill, where you can tap a free drink if you like.
There are quite a few who want to, and the mood is high. At the same time, Grandfather stands in full regalia and pulls on the harmonica, where music-like sounds come out of it at several intervals.
It's quite entertaining in its very own distinctive Tyrolean way, which one can only love. Because they really mean it. They want it well and they rest in their traditions. It is very sympathetic. We go up to our family room - two rooms with a door in between - and look out over the city and the mountains from the balcony.
It's easy to feel at home here.
To and from St. Johann in Tirol
We had been lucky enough to be allowed to buy clothes and some outdoor equipment on our travel insurance account when our luggage refused to arrive on time, so now extra had to be packed. We also had to reach the local water park five minutes on foot from the hotel, because it was also included in the hotel price.
We also had a look at Murmis Kinderland, if the weather did not change, but now it was instead "summer, sun and Sunday" in 27 degrees in mid-September with water slides and everything else in the large swimming pool and water park Panorama, which of course had a view of the mountains.
Luckily, there are quite a few smaller shops in town with really good cases, and the prices are more than reasonable, so it was not difficult to find some alternatives to the clothes we had packed. I bought a pair of good zip off trousers for 250 kroner, which could easily have cost 700 in Copenhagen, and they were brilliant for the trekking trip.
The prices were generally fine, and food and drink in particular were almost given away; three euros for half a liter of quality beer served with a smile is just fine.
You can get to St Johann in Tirol in many ways, and we had actually thought of something to fly to Salzburg and take the train there, but it ended with a flight to Munich in the southernmost part. Germany and a transfer from there by bus through the mountains with Four Seasons. It was pretty easy.
Tyrol, like Mallorca and the Harz, are some of the places where tourism first flourished in Europe. When you experience St. The Johann area in late summer, you just have to say that I can well understand that this became an early favorite, because there is so much to experience, so much to look at, and then it just works impeccably.
This will not be the last time we go to Tyrol and the beautiful mountains of St. Johann in Tirol.
Read more about Austria as a travel country here
What can you do on your active family holiday in St. Johann in Tirol
- Mountain carts – modern soapbox cars designed for mountain tours
- Climbing line and zip-line
- Hiking in the beautiful Alps
- Cycling tour with e-mountain bikes
- Shopping in the cozy town
Did you know: Here are 7 overlooked food experiences you must try in Austria
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6: Eat cheese on the cheese street in Bregenzerwald near Vorarlberg
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