Is it just me, or does anyone else hear “Austria” and immediately picture Maria running across a mountaintop with a ton of kids running behind her? I’ve only seen The Sound of Music once, but that one scene is exactly why I think Austria is a dream place to bring your kids.
Austria is actually full of very cool, very unique all-inclusive family resorts, the kind with kids’ clubs, farm animals, and meadows right outside the door. Spend your weekdays in Vienna while the kids are at camp, then escape to pure nature on the weekends. That’s where the core memories get made. (The movie was filmed in Salzburg, which is an easy day trip. More on that below.)
Getting There & Getting Settled
Flying in: Nearly every camp on this list is in Vienna, so you’ll fly into Vienna International (VIE). There are direct flights from a few East Coast cities. From the West Coast, plan on one connection, usually Frankfurt, Munich, or Zurich.
Airport to apartment: The CAT express train gets you to Wien Mitte in about 16 minutes. The S7 is cheaper and a little slower. A taxi takes around 30 minutes. After an overnight flight with kids and five suitcases, I’d book the car.
If you’re going somewhere else: For Salzburg, fly into Salzburg (SZG) or Munich (MUC) and take the train. For Innsbruck, fly into Innsbruck (INN) or Munich and train it from there.
Strollers: Vienna is easy where it matters. Wide sidewalks, low-floor trams, elevators in the U-Bahn stations. The cobblestones in the historic center requires a sturdier travel stroller.
Scooters and bikes: Kid scooters are everywhere, and the car-free paths along Danube Island are made for them. Older kids can bike the city’s huge network of bike lanes.
A car: Skip it. Most of Vienna is paid short-term parking with residents getting priority on the rest, and the trains go everywhere you’d want for a day trip. If you want to explore off the train lines, rent one for a single day.
Housing
Vienna: A furnished 2 to 3 bedroom apartment in a central, camp-friendly district near a U-Bahn line runs roughly €2,500 to €4,500 a month in July. For a major European capital, that’s one of the more approachable numbers in this whole series.
Salzburg & Innsbruck: Inventory is tighter and prices are higher in high season, roughly €3,000 to €5,500 a month. Salzburg gets especially packed during its summer festival.
Vienna has tightened its short-term rental rules, so look for furnished mid-term rentals (one to three months) through established companies, and ask for proof the unit is legal for a stay your length.
What I’d ask every Airbnb host:
Is there an elevator? Many gorgeous older buildings don’t have one, and fourth floor with a toddler and groceries gets old fast.
Is there A/C, or at least fans? Thick walls and high ceilings help, but a heat wave will be a struggle.
Is there a dryer? Most places have a washer. Dryers are rare, so expect a drying rack in your living room.
The good news: Vienna’s tap water comes straight from Alpine springs and is fantastic.
July Weather
Vienna: Hot and mostly sunny, usually 77°F to 88°F, with heat waves that can climb into the 90s. Evenings cool off nicely, and the sun doesn’t set until around 8:45pm. Expect the occasional afternoon thunderstorm.
Salzburg: Cooler, around 70°F to 80°F, and one of the rainiest places in Austria in summer. Bring a light rain jacket.
Innsbruck & the Alps: Warm in the valley, from the low 70s to the low 80s, cooler up high, with afternoon storms common. Pack real layers for mountain days.
What You’ll Eat (and When)
Wiener Schnitzel: Thin, breaded, pan-fried veal with potato salad and a lemon wedge. It will become your kids’ entire personality by week two. Lots of menus offer a pork version too.
Kaiserschmarrn: A fluffy pancake torn into pieces, dusted with powdered sugar and served with fruit compote. Austrians eat it as a full meal, so pancakes for dinner is culturally sanctioned.
Palatschinken: Thin crepes, usually filled with apricot jam or chocolate spread. The safe bet at any café.
Marillenknödel: Sweet dumplings with a whole apricot inside, rolled in buttery breadcrumbs. July is apricot season, especially around the Wachau Valley, so you’re there at exactly the right time.
Würstelstand: Vienna’s sausage stands are an institution. Order a Käsekrainer (a cheese-filled sausage) with bread and mustard. Locals eat it at midnight. With kids, it’s a perfectly respectable 6pm dinner.
The daily schedule:
Lunch, 12 to 1:30pm: The warm, substantial meal of the day.
Jause, 3 to 4:30pm: The Austrian afternoon snack. Bread, cheese, fruit, or cake with coffee. It lands right at camp pickup, so pack one in your bag.
Dinner, 6:30 to 8pm: Earlier and lighter than Spain or Italy, which means bedtime stays intact. This is a big deal if your kids are under five.
With the Kids
Tiergarten Schönbrunn: The oldest zoo in the world, set inside the Schönbrunn Palace grounds. Do the zoo in the morning and the palace gardens after lunch.
Prater & the Riesenrad: The Wurstelprater amusement park is free to enter and you pay per ride, so you can do two rides and leave without a meltdown over a wristband you overpaid for. Finish on the 1897 giant Ferris wheel.
ZOOM Kindermuseum: A hands-on children’s museum in the MuseumsQuartier, built for kids up to 14. Everything is meant to be touched.
Haus des Meeres: An aquarium and tropical house inside a World War II flak tower, with a rooftop terrace over the city. Save it for a rainy day.
Donauinsel & Gänsehäufel: On a 90-degree day, this is where you go. Danube Island is car-free and great for scooters. Gänsehäufel is a huge Danube beach bath with pools, sand, and playgrounds.
Hellbrunn’s trick fountains (Salzburg day trip): About two and a half hours by train. The 17th-century fountains squirt unsuspecting visitors, and kids think it’s the funniest thing that has ever happened.
Without the Kids
A Heuriger evening: Head to a wine tavern in the vineyards of Grinzing, Nussdorf, or Stammersdorf for a simple buffet, local white wine, and the city lights below. A bundle of pine branches hung over the door means they’re open.
The Wachau Valley: Take the train or a Danube boat into the UNESCO-listed wine valley, with apricot orchards, terraced vineyards, and Melk Abbey along the way.
Therme Wien: A massive thermal spa and sauna complex on the edge of the city. Book it for the Saturday after your first full week of camp logistics.
The Belvedere or the Kunsthistorisches: See Klimt’s The Kiss at the Belvedere, or wander the Old Masters at the Kunsthistorisches Museum. A whole museum afternoon with nobody asking for a snack.
A coffeehouse afternoon: Pick a traditional one like Café Sperl, order a Melange and a slice of cake, and stay as long as you want. Viennese coffeehouse culture is UNESCO-recognized, and nobody will rush you.
Rathausplatz Film Festival: A free open-air film and music festival in front of City Hall, with food stalls from all over the world. It usually runs most of the summer, so it works with or without the kids.
Local Babysitting Support
Babysits is the easiest way to find vetted, English-speaking babysitters in Vienna. A lot of the sitters are university students, and profiles show ID verification and experience. Expect to pay about €13 to €20 an hour, with most around €15. Book one for that Heuriger night.
Weekend Escapes
If your algorithm is at all family travel focused, you’ve likely been served a dreamy reel featuring one of these insane resorts. Austrians have perfected the family resort: meals included, a kids’ club that runs most of the day, ponies and goats out back, and a sauna for you once everyone’s asleep. After a week of camp drop-offs and laptop time, two nights where nobody has to decide what’s for dinner might be the best thing you do all summer.
A reality check: the good ones are out in the mountains and lakes, so plan on renting a car for the weekend. For anything three hours away, I’d skip the Friday-to-Sunday sprint and save it for a long weekend or the gap week between camps.
Kinderhotel Appelhof (Styria): The easiest win from Vienna. It sits in the Mürzer Oberland nature park, roughly 120 km from Vienna, on about 8 hectares of car-free grounds, so the kids can roam while you actually sit down. Meals are all-inclusive, with afternoon coffee and a daily dessert buffet, and there are farm animals on site year-round. The kids’ club offers professional childcare for children and babies every day from 9am to 7pm.
Kinderhotel Stegerhof (Styria): The farm-and-meadows fantasy. It’s in the Schladming-Dachstein region, and the list of what’s included reads like a kid’s wish list: a mini farm with ponies and animals to pet, a natural bathing pond, a 5,000 m² play area with a giant sandbox, plus bikes, go-karts, and mini scooters for the kids. Full board is all-inclusive, and kids get free ice cream, which will be the only review your kids give it.
Dachsteinkönig Familux Resort (Gosau, Salzkammergut): The splurge. It’s a five-star resort with 105 family suites and 12 chalets, the chalets with their own saunas, and every room type has its own kids’ room. There’s a 2,000 m² indoor play area with a cinema and go-karts, at least 25 trained kids’ coaches running childcare all day, seven days a week, and they take babies from 7 days old. It’s about an hour from Salzburg and three from Vienna, so pair it with the Salzburg day trip and make it a long weekend.
Waldhof Fuschlsee Resort (Lake Fuschl, Salzkammergut): The lake weekend, and the closest you’ll get to living inside the Sound of Music. It’s in the lake country right outside Salzburg. This one runs on packages rather than all-inclusive: the family package starts at €514 for two nights and includes 50% off for kids in their parents’ room, a packed lunch for excursions, and a boat ride from May to October, depending on availability.
The Austria Camp List
Below for paid subscribers: all six Vienna camps, with ages, dates, and pricing, so you can start mapping your weeks before the good ones fill up.