Travel tips for staying at Austrian hostels and sightseeing

Introducing the Austrian youth hostels

Österreichische Jugendherbergsverband (OEJHV) is part of the Hostelling International network and was founded in 1946. It now owns twelve hostels throughout the country and also has a contractual relationship with a few others. All hostels together comprise around 3,000 beds. The organisation advocates quality and affordable accommodation for groups, schools, families and individuals. Its vision is to offer young people a clean, comfortable and safe place that will make them feel good and enable them to socialise with other travellers from all over the world, subsequently broadening their horizons. OEJHV strives for sustainable development of its hostels. It also has three regional organisations in Upper and Lower Austria, and Carinthia. It’s partnered with many other organisations as well and frequently co-operates with them. These organisations also take care of OEJHV hostels. Special offers for school groups, which include hostel accommodation and sports, educational or social activities, are often available. But there’s also another organisation in Austria that’s part of Hostelling International, namely the Österreichisches Jugendherbergswerk Junge Hotels (ÖJHW).

Where to stay in Vienna

OEJHV hostels offer discounts for groups. Many of them have meeting rooms which can be used by groups for numerous activities. 1200 Vienna Brigittenau Youth Palace in Vienna has seven meeting rooms and halls of various sizes and with essential equipment for lectures. The hostel has only double rooms, while the large garden and a TV in each room are perfect for relaxation. The hostel has the Austrian Ecolabel. The building that houses the hostel was built using low-energy building materials. It uses groundwater as its heating source – the groundwater warms the building in the winter and helps cool it in the summer. Rainwater is collected in reservoirs and is used to flush toilets.

Travel tips for staying in Carinthia

Austria is well-known for its numerous ski resorts that are located on rolling hills or high up at the bottom of glaciers where you can ski all year round. No wonder then that the OEJHV has a special ski hostel category.

Under Austria’s highest peak, the Großglockner, lies the small village of Heiligenblut with a Gothic church that boasts a tall bell tower. The Heiligenblut family hostel offers a peaceful rest in the mountains. You can spend your free time skiing in the Heiligenblut Ski Resort in the winter and driving up the mountain road in the summer. After returning from your trips, you’ll be greeted by two common rooms and will be able to catch some ray on the balcony. Don’t worry, there’s a special room where you can store all your skis and bikes. The hostel is located in the High Tauern National Park. In co-operation with the park, the hostel organises special project weeks for students and groups of young people that include climbing, hiking, wildlife watching and experiencing pristine nature. Recently, the hostel’s windows have been replaced in order to save energy. You’ll find great food there and lots of opportunities for trips. Situated in Velden am Wörthersee, on the shore of the lake, is the HI Cap Wörth that offers rooms, accessible to people with disabilities, and a private beach. There are also lots of opportunities for other sports. The basement houses the hostel’s own café, pub, sauna, gym and a meeting room. All hostels in Carinthia reuse old plastic containers for storing honey and jam. All fruit, vegetables and pastry are delivered unpackaged and stored in reusable boxes.

Sleeping by the water

You can cycle down the beautiful blue Danube and head to the Bicycle Youth Hostel Krems afterwards. The hostel was designed for cyclists and has a large garage for all the bicycles. The attractive garden is filled with smells from grilled food. Krems an der Donau is a town with a history of over 1,000 years and abounds in landmarks. It is only an hour’s drive away from Vienna. The cycle path between Vienna and Passau sees 350,000 cyclists going along the Danube each year.

Austria is a land of lakes. These lakes have beaches and are suitable for swimming as well. One such example is Lake Wolfgang with Sankt Gilgen where one can find the traditional half-timbered house, home to the St. Gilgen hostel. The latter is situated right next to the lake and offers plenty of opportunities for water sports. It also has special offers for families, while school groups can enjoy a week of teambuilding for groups through sports activities or a week of experiencing nature. Just like other HI hostels in Upper Austria this one also uses reusable cups and bowls. It has been reducing waste and recycling it for several years now.

What to do in Austria

In Austria, members of Hostelling International can enjoy several discounts. Your membership card will get you discounts in museums as well as other attractions, including a 20% discount on entry to the Chocolate Museum in Vienna. If miniature worlds are your thing, you should head to Klagenfurt and visit the Minimundus where you can take a look at the miniature models at a discount of 20%.

You can experience the best views of Vienna from the giant Ferris wheel known as the Riesenrad, without having to line up in a queue. The guided tour of The Sound of Music filming locations in Salzburg and its surroundings is a must for all those in love with the musical. And when you’re in Salzburg, it would be a shame if you didn’t go on a trip to Hallstatt, a lovely village on the shore of Lake Hallstatt and underneath the beautiful and steep mountain peaks. You can take the cable car which will take you all the way to the salt mine. In the other part of the country, another cable car will take you 2300 m high up above Innsbruck. In the evening, you can visit the Gundolf family and enjoy in the Tyrolean song, dance and good food, not to mention the yodelling. It’s time for a bicycle ride through the picturesque Wachau wine region where you can visit numerous wine cellars of small winemakers. But there’ll also be time to visit the landmarks of Austrian history, since the valley was chosen as the world’s best historical destinations of 2019. Austria is known for its numerous castles, one of which is also a monument of medieval history, namely the Hohenwerfen Castle in Werfen.

The Schönbrunn Palace, the home of the Habsburgs, always attracts large crowds, so you should buy your ticket for the guided tour online. To complete your Austrian adventure, I suggest taking a dip in the spa and visit the saunas below the Zell am See-Kaprun glacier ski resort.