Walking in the Alps in September?
Replies: 14 - Last Post: Aug 15, 2012 3:30 AM Last Post By: Revilo199
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Walking in the Alps in September?
I'm a keen walker and I'm now looking to expand this to walk in the Alps. My initial thought was to look into the Swiss and Austrian Alps.I've spent a lot of time reading over the weekend, but I'm finding it really difficult to tell where will be a suitable location. We're looking to walk without snow, green paths is what I'm looking for, but having never planned a walk in this kind of area, I'm a bit lost.
I want to be there for a week from the 15th to the 22nd of September. Is this unrealistic? Is it too late in the year for this kind of walking holiday? It may be that the snow season has taken over everywhere and that this isn't the best plan.
Any thoughts or suggestions or help? Should I be aiming for a different location?
Thanks for any help in advance.
(I posted this in trekking too)
1
I stayed in the villages of Grindelwald and Gimmelwald in Switzerland for a week in early September and went for day hikes - it was warm and sunny, no sign of snow! I absolutely loved the whole region and think it's the most beautiful part of the world I've ever been walking in.Here's one hike that I really enjoyed: http://www.gimmelwald.com/schilthornhike.html
2
It isn´t unrealistic at all. It is difficult to choose a location as there are thousands that would fit your plans. Switzerland is more expensive than Austria if that hekps. Some snow above 2500 meters can occur at any time of the year in the mountains but there is no reason not to walk around.3
It's the best time of the year for this. Good chances for stable and dry weather. And also on the north sides and steep valleys the snow will have been gone.Bavarian Alps are also an option. Easy access from Munich Airport or Memmingen Airport.
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Brilliant, that’s really helpful and I’m so glad it’s positive. Do you tend to find that most villages have a good selection of cafes, restaurants bakers and such? I had looked in Lauterbrunnen and also Wengen. I’d really like a town that has some bakeries and that kind of thing (bit of a sweet tooth) and I’m wary that the sort of resort towns might not have that?I was initially looking into Austria, but I just can’t seem to make the flights work, so that’s why it moved a little to the Swiss Alps.
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Rebeka and Snatch are right. The first serious snow comes usually in November. Switzerland has more than 10.000 (ten thousand) km of well signmarked hiking trails and Austria probably even more.If you are looking for particularly warm and dry alpine areas, you may check the Swiss canton of Valais, the Italian valleys of Valtellina, Venosta and Pusteria as well as the Drau Valley in Austria, that meens the whole area between Martigny - Brig - Binn - Vallemaggia - Locarno - Bellinzona - Colico - Tirano - Stelvio - Meran - Bozen - Val Gherdeina - Bruneck - Innichen - Lienz - Spittal - Villach
http://www.valais.ch/en/Activities-experiences-summer/Activities-summer/Hiking.html
http://de.everytrail.com/browse.php?activity_id=5&country=switzerland&state=valais
http://www.wandersite.ch/def_english.html
http://www.motortravel.com/alps-mountains-valtellina.php
http://www.bergfex.com/sommer/venosta/wandern/
http://www.pustertal.org/en/mountains-and-hiking/
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If I may give a piece of advice, I'd strongly suggest to rather go to Austria than Switzerland. Switzerland can be up to 100% more expensive than Austria for about the same things. The scenery is nearly equal in both countries. Regarding towns you can stay in...there are hundreds. I could list my personal favourites, though I'm not sure if that is of any help.Regarding the flights...if you can't find any direct flights to Innsbruck, Salzburg or Klagenfurt, just book a flight to Vienna. From there Austrian Airlines operates cheap daily flights to each of those cities. Alternatively just take the train. If you book a bit in advance on oebb.at you can get tickets for as less as 29€.
8
Okay, I'm totally happy to take that on board. Austria was my initial choice, maybe I gave up on it too soon. If you could recommend any towns that have sort of restaurants, cafes, shops to wander around in as well? I just want to be able to soak up the local food and bars as well as the views and hiking?9
My personal favourite in the Austrian alps is Lienz (don't confuse that with Linz, the "e" makes a huge difference!). It's fairly large with its 12.000 inhabitants though not too large. There are a lot of shopping opportunities and it has a lovely city center where you can hang around if the weather is bad. In the south of the city you have the very scenic dolomites which are always worth a visit. The Italian border is only half an hour away if you want to go there. Getting to Lienz though is a bit difficult. There is a daily InterCity train from Vienna Meidling which departs 8:29AM and takes 5,5h. It also stops in Klagenfurt if you can find a flight to there.I also like Schladming. It's propably easier to get to though it is a bit smaller. If you go there I suggest taking a ride up to the Dachstein glacier. There is a really amazing cablecar up there and you get some great views from there.
A third town I quite like is Zell am See. It's located on a beautiful lake, though it is a bit more expensive. On the other hand it's quite easy to get there from Salzburg and if you really like to you can even go skiing there as the Kitzsteinhorn glacier is only 5 minutes away.
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The weather in Lienz is usually better than in the other 2 places.
