We have been living in Kotor, Montenegro for 2 months and have our kids in school here. We are here with a program called Boundless life. (I’ll have more information about our whole Boundless Experience, here! Or you can lear about it here.) Our kids had a week off of school and we found round trip tickets to Vienna, Austria out of Podgorica for only $67 and booked them immediately.
I have always wanted to visit Austria and we were so excited to only be an hour and a half flight away. We traveled around both the Vienna and Salzburg area. There is so much history there, beautiful landscapes, and a lot for our kids to enjoy as well.
Austria might have made the top place we have ever traveled to and I wanted to put together our full Austria travel itinerary if you are visiting with your family.
Our 8-Day Austria Travel Itinerary with Kids
Day 1 – Montenegro to Austria
We were flying out of an airport that’s about an hour and 45 minutes away from where we live in Montenegro. So we scheduled a can to pick us and our friends up to take us there. We got picked up around 4:00pm for our 8:00pm flight. It was a tight fit with all of our luggage but we made it. We were there a little early and because the airport is so small, you have to wait until 1.5 hours before your flight to check in. So the kids pushed the suitcases around an we waited until our check in time.
Finally we went through the tiny customs line and then security. We got sandwiches for our dinner and then were able to board priority because we had young kids. Once we were all boarded, we were told there was a small maintence issue that had to be looked at and cleared so we ended up sitting on the Tarmac for an extra hour. We got up a couple of times to take the kids to the bathroom and then we let them start watching shows on the ipad.
We finally took off and it was a quick flight to Vienna. Baby boy never fell asleep somehow and we landed around 11:00pm. We got all our bags, car seats, and stroller and got a taxi to take us to our AirBnb. We ended up paying him an extra €20.00 to sotp at a McDonald’s because our kids were starving. We finally made it to the AirBnb and crashed.
Day 2 – Vienna
We woke up around 8:30 am and went to a little cafe down the street from our airbnb for breakfast. We got delicious porridge, yogurt, and eggs. The outside seating was chained up but we managed to sit down and the kids ran around which was perfect. We were right by a train station so we bought a day pass ticket (kids ride free!) and took it to the station nearest the Schönbrunn Palace.
The palace grounds are very open in the front area so the kids ran around some more while we took some pictures. Then we headed over to the Kindermuseum (Children’s Museum) which is on the right hand side. Tickets are €12.00 for every ages 3+. We all really enjoyed the museum. They had a dress up area where kids and adults can put on Victorian clothes and wigs. There was a small play area, rooms that showed what the palace would have looked like when in use, and lots of hands on activities.
After the museum, we walked for a while and then stopped at a restaurant for lunch. Once we were full, we took the train to St. Stephen’s Cathedral. This was probably my favorite thing we saw in Vienna. It is an incredible structure with gargoyls all around it and incredibly high spires. You can go inside for free and walk around the sides. You can pay to go in to the center as well as tour the upper area or below in the catacombs.
After we walked around the cathedral, we decided a sweet treat was much needed so we grabbed some hot chocolate and chocolate’s at the Lindt store just across the street.
We were pretty tired at this point but since it was our only full day in Vienna, we decided to push on to the Prater. It is Vienna’s amusement park that has the oldest operating ferris wheel in the world! We of course did the ferris wheel which had a beautiful view of Vienna. And we also did some other rides and played some of the fair ground games. It was such a fun way to end the night.
We ended up walking home from the amusement park, Lauren and I grabbed groceries for dinner, and then we all went to bed after we ate.
Day 3 – Vienna – Salzburg
It was about a 3 hour drive to Salzburg so we woke up and the kids played in the AirBnB for a bit before we packed everything up. Logan went and got our rental car and then we loaded up and started our drive to Salzburg. With it being mid-October, the fall colors were absolutely beautiful so we had a nice drive.
We grabbed McDonald’s at about the halfway mark and drove to a park to let the kids play while we ate. There’s just something about a European park that makes me so happy. It was nestled in a quiet neighborhood surrounded by huge trees and we had it all to ourselves. After about an hour, we hopped back in the car and started driving.
Now, I unfortunately put the wrong address in to my gps so we did end up driving about an extra 45 minutes, but luckily everyone was in good spirits. We finally got to our hotel and it was nice to be out of the car. We stayed at the Kinderhotel Waldhof in Grossarl Sazlburg. It’s about 45 minutes from the main town of Salzburg.
The hotel is tucked in a beautiful alpine valley (the “Valley of the Alpine Pastures”) and feels like the perfect mix of adventure and comfort. It’s one of those places that’s truly built for families—where the kids are having the time of their lives, and parents actually get a chance to unwind too.
A few of my favorite things about staying at the Kinderhotel Waldhof:
- The pools and slides were a huge hit with our kids, and I loved that there were family saunas and even quiet ones just for adults.
- The outdoor play area was amazing—complete with trampolines, climbing structures, swings, and so much space for the kids to run and explore.
- Outdoor adventures like pony rides, alpaca walks, and mountain hikes were right outside the door.
- And the all-inclusive dining made meals so easy—buffets, a kids’ section, and plenty of options for parents too.
- The childcare and activities were incredible—there were daily programs for all ages, even baby care starting from birth. (We didn’t utilize this but if we had stayed another day or two, I definitely think we would have!)
If you’re looking for a family-friendly place in the Austrian Alps where everyone gets to relax and play, Kinderhotel Waldhof is such a great choice.
We spent the rest of the day at the hotel playing at the outdoor playground, eating a ton of food from the buffet and adult menu, and ending the night swimming at the pools.
Day 4 – Gorge, Nationalpark Berchtesgaden,
When we woke up, the kids wanted to play at the outdoor playground again so we ate breakfast and then they went out to play. The views of the surrounding hills and mountains around the hotel were beautiful in the morning.
After that we drove to meet up with our friends at the Gorge. It was a really cool hike that you hiked along a river. There were a ton of stairs to it definitely was not stroller friendly. Our 5 year old did the whole thing but our 3 year old did asked to be carried for a lot of it. (I definitely think she was a little worn out from the previous travel days.)
When we were done exploring that grabbed some lunch and then headed to Nationalpark Berchtesgaden which is actually in Germany. We wanted to take the Jennerbahn cable car as well as take a boat ride across Königssee. Unfortunately when we got there, we realized we wouldn’t have time for both. So we decided to just do the Jennerbahn cable car and just walk to the lake after.
The cable car was €40 per person (ages 5 and under were free). The view from the top was absolutely spectacular. There is restaurant up top but we went up a little trail that takes you to one of the peaks. It was 100% worth it up there and we spent a few hours just enjoying the views, getting pictures, and hiking around. This might have been my favorite thing we did in Austria.
Once we rode the cable car down, I took my oldest and we walked over to see Königssee. The lake is kind of blocked by railing so you can’t go up to the water. It’s not the best view with all of the metal but I bet a boat ride across would have been beautiful.
We drove up and of course we ended the night eating dinner at our hotel and swimming at the pools.
Day 5 – Bike riding, Sound of Music Hill, Hallstatt
After days of go go go, we had a little bit of a slower morning and decided to use the free bikes our hotel offered. We just rode around town for a little bit and it was really nice.
We were only about 20 minutes from Wefren which has the hill where the iconic picnic scene is filmed in The Sound of Music where they sing Do-Re-Mi. So we drove over there and you can actually drive right up to the hill. There is a little fenced in area with plaques about the movie. It really is a beautiful spot. We of course got some videos and photos and listened to the music. Surprisingly it wasn’t busy at all. We only saw a few people while we were there. I have been told it’s not a popular movie in Austria at all so the only people visiting are people from out of country.
We grabbed some lunch at a nearby spot and then I decided we needed to stretch our legs a little bit so I found where the Sound of Music trail/hike is and we did about half of it. It was a fun trail and if we hadn’t driven up to the top, I definitely would have wanted to go all the way up. But the kids were having more fun playing on the bridge and at some of the musical stops so we took our time and just turned around when they were tired.
It was only about 3:00 in the afternoon and we weren’t quite ready to go home so we decided it might be our only chance to visit Hallstatt, the cute village that might have helped inspire the town, Arendelle, from the Disney movie, Frozen. Our daughter is obsessed with all things Elsa and Frozen so it just felt like such a perfect place to visit with her.
When we finally got there, we parked and walked through the cute town to where the popular picture spot of the town is. We went in the church and my daughter asked us why there weren’t any pictures of Elsa haha. She really thought it was Elsa’s castle which I just thought was so cute.
The town is very picturesque and the buildings are colorful and beautiful. There is a swing set right behind the church by the water and the kids had a lot of fun swinging and playing by the water. It was a really fun stop and I’m so glad we went.
We got back later than normal but since it was our last day in the hotel, the kids were begging to go swimming, so Logan took them while I put baby boy down for bed.
Day 6
We woke up the next day to and got all packed up to check out of our hotel. We ate breakfast and then met up with our friends again to go hiking. They have a son our oldest’s age so they always love when we’re together. They hiked up the whole way while I carried our baby and Logan carried our 3 year old about half of the way. She ended up falling asleep part way up which I definitely think she needed.
The hike was beautiful, of course. It was really cloudy though so the tops of the peaks next to us were covered the whole time which was a little bit of a bummer, but we couldn’t complain too much.
After our hike we drove up to Salzburg where we were staying a couple of nights. We drove straight to dinner and ate at Die Weisse, the oldest wheat brewery in Austria. We don’t actually drink alcohol but I still think that’s cool. This was the best food we had the whole trip. I got the Hungarian Goulash with dumplings and could have eaten 2 plates of it, even though it was a large portion. Everything we got was delicious!
After dinner we drove to our AirBnb which we were sharing with our friends, grabbed some groceries on the way to make dinner, and then headed to bed.
Day 7 – Salzburg, Mozartplatz
When we woke up, we did some quick Googling of what to do in Salzburg and headed out. We decided to take a train into the city so we didn’t have to worry about parking. When our train got in, we walked over and got a bus to Mozartplatz.
There was so much to see over here and we wandered around for awhile before heading to Mozart’s birthplace. It’s been turned into a museum and you can see some cool things like his childhood violin, original compositions, and some really amazing pieces of history.
After the museum we grabbed hot dogs at one of the many pop up stands. There were so many options and I just asked what was popular. We got a few different kinds and they were all delicious! We popped into a few Christmas shops and bought a couple of ornaments to bring home. There was also a huge chess set that a couple of guys were playing and the kids had a lot of fun watching. And in between games they were delighted to help move the pieces back to where they start.
We wandered around some more and then made our way over to the Toy Museum. This is a must visit spot if you’re going with kids and they just want to play. There were so many rooms and so much for them to do and build. We stayed here until close. Our daughter fell asleep on the bus ride to the train so I carried her the rest of the way and held her sleeping on the train back to our car.
We made dinner at our AirBnB and went to bed.
Day 8 – Sound of Music bike Tour, Melk Abbey Drive to Vienna
When we woke up, we packed up our AirBnb (again haha) and we drove into town because we signed up for The Sound of Music Bike Tour. They had so many options for kids to be able to join which I loved. They had baby bike seats, bike trailers, ride along bikes, bike for kids, and tandem bikes. For our family of 5 we did a rida long bike for our 5 year old and a bike trailer for the younger two. I think our 5 year old could have ridden his own bike, but with it being the end of our trip, I didn’t want him to get tired and not have fun and the ride along bike was perfect and he loved it.
The bike tour went to a few different iconic spots from the movie, our guide had music on a speaker she played while we rode through the park, and we learned a lot of little fun facts about the movie that I didn’t know before. If you like the Sound of Music, I highly recommend this tour. And even if your partner doesn’t like it or hasn’t seen it, it’s still a great bike tour because you just see so much of the beautiful scenery in Salzburg, Austria.
After our tour, we started our drive back to Vienna. To break it up, we stopped at the Melk Abbey. It sits high above the Danube River, overlooking the Wachau Valley, and is easily one of the most beautiful baroque buildings I’ve ever seen. The abbey dates back to the 11th century and is still home to Benedictine monks today. Inside, the golden details, painted ceilings, and incredible library make it feel like you’re walking through history. It wasn’t busy and even my kids loved walking through it.
After our self-guided tour, we hopped back in the car, and continued on our way. When we got ot Vienna, we grabbed groceries for dinner and drove to our new AirBnb. This was definitely our most interesting (not in a good way) place we stayed. It was an old office converted to a living space. We made it work though, had dinner, put the kids to bed, and then stayed up way to late chatting with our friends who we were staying with again.
Day 9 – Bratislava Slovakia, Fly to Montenegro
This was our last day in Austria and we didn’t have anything planned. We heard you could do a day trip to Budapest but it was about a 2 hours and 45 minute drive which we weren’t up for. But we did see that Bratislava, the capitol of Slovakia was only 50 minutes away so we decided to go there.
We toured the Bratislava castle for a bit and then got really good pizza that was just down the street. Then we headed into the old town to walk around. We found the fun statue of a man coming out of a manhole. It’s called Čumil, which is Slovak word actually means “watcher”. We stopped in a few shops and then got some roasted chestnuts from a cart to snack on wile we walked.
We left around 4:00 and drove straight to the Vienna airport. Our flight was at 7:00 and we got there in plenty of time. We lucked out because there was a play area right by our gate which the kids loved.
Our flight was uneventful and when we landed, our same taxi driver was waiting for us to take us home. With it being late and our drive driving faster than I would have been comfortable, it was only about an hour and a half to get back to our apartment. We all slept incredibly well back in our own beds!
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