Need to know

When to go

There’s no wrong time of the year to visit Austria. There is sublime hiking between June and October, though you can expect snow on the high passes any earlier, and huts to be closed any later. Ski season runs from December to April, with some of the most reliable conditions from mid-january. March and early April can be a great time to ski in Austria minus the crowds. Advent in Vienna, Salzburg, Graz or Innsbruck is a magical period, thanks to its snow-dusted streets and Christmas markets. Equally, the long, balmy summer evenings in Vienna, when the cafés and bars spill out onto the cobbled streets and squares, are just as beautiful. Wildlife tends to be species-specific, with May/june good for butterflies in the Hohe Tauern and April to mid-may best for seeing great bustards at Neusiedler See.

Getting there & around

There are various regional direct flights from the UK to Austria, landing in Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck and Klagenfurt. Flights cost from around £37 return and take upwards of two hours. Alternatively, you can get from London to Salzburg (via Brussels) by rail in as little as 11 hours, with the option of doing the journey by day, overnight on a comfy sleeper, or with an overnight stop.

Austria has an outstandingly good rail network, which is as reliable as it is comprehensive (timetables: oebb.at). Locations unreachable by train are generally covered by a bus route (fahrplan.oebb.at). Austria also has some superb cycle routes, including the Danube Cycle Path and the Alpe Adria Radweg.

Carbon offset

A return flight from London to Vienna produces 230kg of carbon per passenger. Wanderlust encourages you to offset your travel footprint through a reputable provider. For advice on how to find one, visit wanderlust.co.uk/sustainable-travel.

Currency & visa

Currency: The euro (€), currently around €1.17 to the £UK.

Visa: UK nationals can visit visa-free for up to 90 days within a 180-day period.

Further information

austria.info/en – The Austrian National Tourist Office website has plenty of tips and information for visiting the country’s regions, towns and cities.