The Tirol region of Austria is one of my favorites. In the summer, it’s great for hiking. In the winter, it’s known for skiing. Even if you don’t ski and still visit in winter, there are plenty of things to do.
When visiting Austria in February, we based ourselves in Kufstein for a few days. We opted to explore some of Tirol’s towns one of the days. It was a great opportunity to see beautiful scenery and explore new places.
Here’s how we did it.
After breakfast, we headed to the Kufstein train station. I bought that morning a ticket through the OBB app called the Einfach-Raus Ticket. This allows travel on OBB trains throughout the region. No advance reservations are required. The ticket isn’t good on RJX, RJ, EC, IC, ICE, IR, or D trains, but you can use R, REX, CJX and S-Bahn trains. While some of the trains did require additional connections, this worked well for us. It is for a group of 2-5 people (must be traveling together) and was significantly cheaper than purchasing individual tickets. We paid 38 euros total for this ticket. Note ticket is only valid from 9 a.m. onward.
First Stop – Wörgl
Wörgl is more of a transit hub. We hadn’t planned to stop and visit there, but we had a connection between Kufstein and St Johann in Tirol of I believe about 30 or 40 minutes, so we opted to wander around. First impressions were good. It was Valentine’s Day, so women were getting free little potted plants outside one of the supermarkets. That was sweet. The main street had a lot of shops and a number of cafes. We popped into this one shop that seemed like an upgraded version of Dollar Tree. It had lots of crafts and interesting items. It was a very large store and enjoyable to walk through. I was contemplating buying some Easter decorations but knew they wouldn’t fit in my carry-on bag.
We didn’t have a lot of time in this little town and headed back to the train station, but I liked it, and it seemed as though this town was more of somewhere you would live rather than it being a tourist destination.
Next Up – St. Johann in Tirol
This was the town we really wanted to see as we’d seen some online videos about it and it looked quaint. This town is best known for outdoor recreation and the traditional Austrian Alpine culture. We could see people skiing and sledding. The town attracts visitors with skiing in winter, hiking and cycling in summer, and a more relaxed, authentic atmosphere compared to larger ski resorts. It is also known for beautiful mountain scenery and charming town squares.
We saw a number of people there shopping. They had a good amount of stores. The town was extremely walkable from the train station to the town center and they had some cute buildings. That being said, there wasn’t too much to do there. We popped into a church there, looked at the little river, and counted down the time until we could hop back on the train because we were a bit bored.
Our Next Stop – Kitzbühel
Kitzbühel began as a medieval mining town before evolving into one of Europe’s most prestigious Alpine resorts. In fact, it’s famous for being luxurious and is also known for hosting the legendary Hahnenkamm downhill ski race. Kitzbühel is an upscale destination. You’ll find boutique shopping and luxury brands. You’ll also find beautiful and colorful buildings around town and a variety of activities. This was our second trip to Kitzbühel and I was looking forward to visiting again. Our first visit was a few hours during a drive across Austria from Innsbruck to Saint Wolfgang. This time, we’d get to see what it looked like in winter.
First, I should point out that while there was snow in the region, there wasn’t a lot at that time. So, I don’t think skiing was at its peak (though they would get snow in the coming days.) Even so, there was still a buzz in the area in town. People were out and about shopping, dining, carrying their skis, etc.
We got off the train at the main Kitzbühel station. This was a mistake and one which somewhat messed up our plans. We spent a good 20 minutes walking to the main part of Kitzbühel, and this walk wasn’t overly scenic. We should have gotten off at the Hahnenkamm station as that is the heart of where things are – the ferris wheel, the main streets, etc. Even so, we enjoyed our walk-through town before we needed to board the train again to make our way onward, and I still highly recommend the town for a visit. Also, if you go, do check out the church there. It’s worth a visit.
Continuing Our Journey
We had opted to head to Innsbruck for dinner and to see the town again. More about that in another blog post, but heading back, we had another stop in Wörgl. This time was a bit longer, which was fine, as that allowed us to explore more. We wandered around town checking out the scenery and popped into a church. It was a nice break before continuing on to Innsbruck.
After Innsbruck, we headed back to Kufstein via the train. Onboard, we encountered groups of teens dressing up and going out to the local parties. Some were princesses, some were Cowgirls, some were devils. So the people watching was entertaining.
Overall, the train worked well for us, just make sure you have your tickets handy on your mobile device. Someone didn’t have a ticket and had to pay a large fine. We found the schedules to be reliable, the trains to be clean, and it was a mostly scenic ride throughout the day. It also makes it a lot easier to not have to deal with parking logistics.
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