Last Updated on May 29, 2023

Mayrhofen is a small village located in the Zillertal Valley in the Tirol region of Austria. Innsbruck is the closest major airport with a 90 minute transfer or it can be reached by train, changing at Jenbach (with links to other places such as Salzburg and Munich). To be honest, Mayrhofen attracts a slightly older crowd that are mainly into hiking, but there is SO much more to the region than just hiking trails. Here are my top 10 things to do in Mayrhofen in summer!

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Things To Do in Mayrhofen

Mayrhofen Summer

TRIP NOTES

🕐Duration: 7 Days

📅Month of travel: July

☀️Average weather: 25c/77f

🍽Where to eat: Aloe Vera ice cream! Found at a small kiosk along HauptstraBe near to the church!

🏨Where to stay: Alpendomizil Hotel Neuhaus

🎡Don’t miss: Zell am Ziller

Mayrhofen Information

Mayrhofen summer weather: We visited Mayrhofen in July, when the average temperature is around 25c/77f.  We lucked out and had good weather during our visit, with only really 1 day of rain. Even up the mountains for the most part we were fine in shorts and t-shirts (always be prepared though!)

⭐️TOP TIP⭐️ Getting Around: If visiting Mayrhofen in summer, I highly recommend purchasing the Zillertal Activ Card. It’s 112 euros for a 6 day card (shorter and longer cards are available) and it gives you discount at various attractions, entrance to 6 outdoor swimming pools (one a day), free bus and train travel in the valley and one ascent and descent on a cable car each day. There are 10 cable cars to choose from altogether (only the first cable car at the Hintertux Glacier is included with the card though).

Take a trip up the Penkenbahn

🗺Hauptstraße 472, 6290 Mayrhofen, Austria

When looking for what to do in Mayrhofen in summer, heading up into the mountains is one of the best things to do! The Penkenbahn cable car was refurbished in 2015 and still looks all shiny and new. 

This is possibly the first recommendation I’ve given to visit a particular toilet, but I highly recommend going to the toilet at the top station of the FIRST cable car up from Mayrhofen. They have glass windows where you can see the mountains while sitting on the pan (or standing up if you’re a guy)!

Once at the very top, there are many hiking routes, FunSportStation, a MountainPlayground, water zorbing, mountain scooter rentals and a couple of restaurants!

Paragliding

On nice days, the valley comes alive with paragliders jumping off the mountains in all directions!  There are several companies that offer flights of various length and is suitable for all ages from 6yrs+.  I didn’t have time to paraglide in Mayrhofen but I done it while in New Zealand, it’s very relaxing and peaceful.  If you don’t want to jump yourself, the top of the Penkenbahn is a great place to watch them taking off!

Plus there’s a swing set made from paragliding harnesses which you can enjoy for free!

Relax by Lake Ahorn

🗺Ahornstraße 853, 6290 Mayrhofen, Austria

Did I mention that this lake is actually at 2000m?!  Ahornsee re opened in July 2017 after a refurbishment, turning it into an area with sun loungers (yes it’s warm enough to sunbathe on top of the mountain), places to paddle and play on stepping stones! There’s even a balance beam activity in the lake, which is ridiculously hard to do when there is water moving either side of it! The water is FREEZING but ridiculously clear.

It can be reached by going up the Ahornbahn cable car, on the opposite side of the valley to the Penkenbahn. The cars on the Ahornbahn have a larger capacity than those on the Penkenbahn.

You’ll find a walking trail along AhornBachl Stream from Lake AhornSee to Eagle’s Stage Ahorn (approximately 10 minutes). This is Europe’s highest bird of prey sanctuary! The Birds of Prey show that runs daily at 2pm (except Friday) and a Silent Cinema on a Tuesday night (silent meaning you wear headphones…check to make sure the film is being shown in your language first!) both up the Ahorn and can be experienced for an extra fee.

Filzenstadl is a good place to stop for food and drink, they have deckchairs with mountain views!

Zillertalbahn Steam Train

In summer the Zillertalbahn steam train leaves Mayrhofen at 1.35pm on Tuesdays to Sundays, taking 1hr30 to get to Jenbach. A single ticket to the end of the line costs 19.60 euros. We were told that Jenbach is more of a crossroad town and there’s not exactly much there to do, so we got off after an hour at Fugen. The ticket was also a little cheaper at 16.20 euros.

My favourite part of the steam train is the outdoor carriage. On a warm Mayrhofen summer day it would be lovely to sit there and watch the world go by. It was raining the day of our journey but we stood outside none the less…it just meant the the soot stuck to our wet faces even more! All part of the experience! I think all trains should have an open air carriage!

Mini Golf

I love mini golf, I can’t help it, it’s a weakness. There’s a mini golf course in Mayrhofen but there’s also a couple more in the Valley. I went to the one in Fugen, pairing it with the steam train ride. I will say that if you are a competitive mini golfer, maybe don’t visit the Fugen course as some holes are a little subsided so the balls roll all over the place…I had a great time with my parents though, we found it hilarious.

Wander Around The Village

Make sure to spend some time wandering around the village. A river runs through Mayrhofen and there are lots of little cafes and shops to check out! If you want to buy something Austrian, Mozart chocolate liqueur is made in Salzburg. It comes in a range of flavours and it is very tasty. You can get them in 25ml size too, perfect for trying all of the flavours!

There are cute churches and buildings in typical alpine style. There’s also an outdoor swimming pool with a water slide (although I stayed at Hotel Neuhaus which has an indoor and outdoor pool).

Mayrhofen Things To Do Nearby

Zell am Ziller

Zillertal Arena Coaster

🗺Rohr 23, 6280 Rohrberg, Austria

The Arena Coaster is a 1450m alpine toboggan in the nearby village of Zell am Ziller (15 minutes by train).  Personally I think it’s one of the best alpine coasters I’ve been on, it’s definitely the longest, with a ride time of over 6 minutes!  It has both a 360 degree AND a 540 degree loop!

💰1 ride = 6.30 Euros

For those looking for an extra dose of adrenaline, the Zillertal Arena is also home to a BagJump!  This is literally a 3m or 6m structure that you throw yourself off, landing on a giant blow up air bag.  It’s a bargain at 1.50 euros for a jump.  I’ve done one before in the UK and I’m still alive to tell the tale!

Spruce Tree Castle Playground (Fichtenschloss)

While in Zell am Ziller, head right up to the top station of the Rosenalmbahn Zell cable car (next to the Arena Coaster) and marvel at the Spruce Tree Castle playground, honestly it’s amazing and if you don’t have kids, don’t worry…I’m nearly 30 and I dragged my parents on it with me.  Surely there’s not too many playgrounds in the world with a view like this one has!

There’s a huge 18m high lookout tower with a bell you can ring right at the top (my Mum’s favourite part), a netted treetop walk way (not my Mum’s favourite part…), a giant tube slide, water play areas, hammocks in the forest, just to name a few parts!  You can even buy sausages in a vending machine and have a barbecue!

(With the Zillertal Active Card, this cable car is included in the ‘daily’ allowance too).

Spruce Lake

Since I visited, they have now opened a new area called ‘Spruce Lake’, another mountain top lake with an elevation of 1700m. There’s a swimming area, diving platforms, stand up paddle board rentals and row boats that look like sun loungers!

Visit the Hintertux Glacier

🗺Hintertux 794, 6293 Tux, Austria

Skiing in Summer

Now I can’t ski (I ran over a small child during my first ski lesson), but for those than can, the Hintertux Glacier has open ski runs 365 days a year and is just 45 minutes away by public bus from Mayrhofen. Here’s a money saving tip, in ski season/winter the hotel that I was staying at adds 50+ euros A NIGHT onto the summer room rate. You could potentially save hundreds on a week long trip. Yes not all the runs in the valley are open but if you just want your ski fix, this could be an option.

Luis’ Glacier Bug Park has a free snow tubing area and a snow tyre carousel (open July to September)!

There are a series of 3 cable cars to reach the summit. A return ticket to the top allows you to stop at explore the area around each station. The Tuxer-Ferner-Haus mit Panoramabar, a short walk from the top of the 2nd cable car, is a good place to stop for food and drink. They have a outdoor terrace which is a sun trap in the summer months!

Explore an Ice Cave

You can still visit the Hintertux Glacier even if you can’t ski!  The Ice Palace is located a short walk away from the top cable car station (at an elevation of 3250m).  Guided tours of the underground ice caves last for around 1 hour and depart several times a day.  You can read more in this post: Visiting the Hintertux Glacier, Austria in Summer

Once back at the bottom of the mountain, take the short walk to Hintertux Falls waterfall. When visiting in summer, on the valley floor the temperature can be 25c, but at the summit it can be 0c! Dress with layers.

It’s also best to check the weather before your visit. Not only for the temperature, but if the top of the mountain is covered in cloud, then the visibility isn’t going to be good. The Hintertux Glacier website does have live webcams (and so did our hotel TV!), but obviously weather can change very quickly!

Get Your Adrenaline Fix

I signed up for the Rock N Roll Canyon Swing but unfortunately it didn’t run because the minimum number of people was not met (it requires 8 people). Canyon swinging is my favourite adrenaline activity so if you get the chance to do it, I highly recommend it! There’s also tons of Via Ferrata climbing routes, it’s still on my bucket list, I should have done it at the start of my trip before I had walked 10 miles a day and had zero energy left by the end of the week!

For those that like the water, there’s also the opportunity to go white water rafting or canyoning. If budget wasn’t an option, you could definitely have a lot of fun!

Where To Stay In Mayrhofen

Alpendomizil hotel Neuhaus

🗺Am Marktpl. 202, 6290 Mayrhofen, Austria

We loved our stay at the Alpendomizil Neuhaus, it was HUGE.  Our stay was on a half board basis, so we had breakfast and dinner included. Breakfast was buffet style and the dinner had a 4 course menu with a couple of fixed choices for each course (evening drinks were not included).

I loved the swimming pool and gardens. The gardens have large range of different types of sun loungers and chairs to relax on. The outdoor swimming pool had a door where you could then swim inside. As well as the outdoor pool, there was a separate indoor pool (which was warmer). There is also a sauna, spa, gym and indoor playground for children.

The St Josef wing (where my room was located) is across the road is connected by secret underground tunnels and it is right next to the bus and train station!

Useful websites: www.mountain-sports-zillertal.com

TRIP PLANNING TOOLS

✈️Search for flights with Google Flights

🏨Find hotels and accommodation on booking.com or hotels.com

🎒Pack these essentials: World Travel Adaptor with USB and BUFF Multifunctional Headband. I love in love with my Buff that I actually bought a second one!  They are light weight, fold up into literally nothing and keep you surprisingly warm!  Perfect for taking up the Glacier and I also wore it on a night hike I went on when it got chillier once the sun went down!

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