Tyrol: Innsbruck, the Zillertal and Alpine valleys
Innsbruck, the Zillertal, Achensee and Kufstein sit so close together that you can spend a whole week among Tyrol's valleys with barely any transfers. You set up base at a single campsite, head for the mountains travelling light and sit back under the awning in the evening. One week takes in a fortress above the Inn, a lake in the saddle between two mountain ranges, a glacier reached by cable car and an old town with a bay window of gilded shingles — and running through it all, the same motorway along the Inn from which every valley branches off.
The drive from the Czech Republic runs through Bavaria and crosses into Austria at Kufstein, so your first Austrian minutes behind the wheel already belong to Tyrol. The exit drops you straight into the Inn Valley, which you then follow for the rest of the week. Spend the first night right in Kramsach — several small lakes lie around the village, and an evening swim is exactly what you need after a whole day in the driver's seat.
The fortress stands on a rock directly above the Inn and the Panoramabahn Kaiser Maximilian carries you up, so climbing on foot is optional. The Bürgerturm houses one of the largest open-air organs in the world, the Heldenorgel — it plays daily at noon and, in July and August, again at six in the evening. Time your visit so that you are there for the recital; it can be heard across the whole town and it is the reason people come to Kufstein.
From Brixlegg a mountain road climbs up to Alpbach — it is passable with a motorhome, but forget motorway comfort, these are hairpins with buses coming the other way. Parking in the village itself is limited, so leave the vehicle on the edge and walk among the farmsteads. Strict local rules require the houses to have wooden façades, which gives the village a unity few others have. In the afternoon move on to the Zillertal, where you stay for two nights.
Achensee is the largest lake in Tyrol and lies in the saddle between the Karwendel and the Rofan, so steep rock walls rise above the turquoise water on both sides. On the western shore at Pertisau the road ends and the side valleys of the Karwendel begin, to be explored on foot or by bike. Maurach and Pertisau both have jetties for excursion boats, so you can also cross the lake by water. In the evening you return to the Zillertal.
Beyond Mayrhofen the valley rises and the road ends in the village of Hintertux — you cannot drive a motorhome onto the glacier itself, and there is no need to. The cable cars run all year round and finish at 3,250 metres, so you get from the valley floor into permanent snow in a matter of minutes, and the viewing terrace is open the whole year. Summer skiing, however, is not a given — in recent seasons the glacier ski area has closed for several weeks over the summer, so if you want to ski in August, check the current operation in advance. Bring warm clothes even in summer; the weather up there behaves differently than below. For the night you return to your campsite in the Zillertal.
On the way to Innsbruck stop at Swarovski Kristallwelten in Wattens — it is open daily from nine until seven in the evening, last admission at six, and the garden with its play area and pond will happily keep children busy for half a day. In Innsbruck head for the old town and the Golden Roof, a late Gothic bay window with gilded shingles built for Emperor Maximilian I. The Nordkettenbahn leaves straight from the centre for the ridge above the city, so a single ride takes you from baroque façades into high alpine terrain. You spend the last night at a campsite above the village of Natters.
The way back mirrors the way out — down the Inn Valley to Kufstein and home through Bavaria. Set off early in the morning: queues build up on the Austrian A12 and the German A93 on summer Saturdays, and an early start is the surest way to avoid them. If there is time left, have a last coffee in Kufstein on the riverside below the fortress.
Up to 3.5 t, which covers most of the motorhomes sold today, an ordinary Austrian motorway vignette is enough. According to the ASFINAG price list valid from December 2025, the ten-day vignette costs €12.80, the two-month one €32 and the annual one €106.80; buy the digital vignette before you set off, it is activated immediately. Above 3.5 t the vignette does not apply — such a vehicle falls under the GO system, needs a GO-Box on-board unit and pays toll according to the sections driven, the number of axles and the emission class. You cross the German part of the route toll-free; no toll is charged there for motorhomes. There is no separately charged section on the route, but the cable cars are paid: the ride up to the Hintertux Glacier and the Innsbruck Nordkettenbahn both have their own fares independent of the vignette, so budget for them separately. Should you want to turn off onto the private Zillertal High Road, it charges a toll of its own and you should check the conditions for motorhomes in advance directly with its operator.
Camping Seeblick Toni, Kramsach (by Reintaler See, the base for the Alpbachtal) · Campingplatz Stadlerhof, Kramsach-Voldöpp · Karwendel Camping, Maurach am Achensee · Alpen Caravan Park Achensee, Achenkirch · Camping Aufenfeld, Aschau im Zillertal · Campingdorf Hofer, Zell am Ziller · Ferienparadies Natterer See, Natters near Innsbruck
Austria does not permit wild camping and Tyrol is one of the regions where you notice it — you spend the night at a campsite or on a designated motorhome pitch, not in a car park under a ski lift or on a lake shore. Around Achensee you will find that out fastest: the car parks in Maurach and in Pertisau are paid and overnight stays are governed by the road signs, which you should read before you get the levelling ramps out. There is a designated motorhome pitch right in Kufstein by the Kufstein Arena sports hall in Fischergries. Otherwise stick to campsites and book ahead in high season — the Zillertal and Achensee tend to be full in August.
The simplest approach is to deal with water where you are sleeping anyway. Camping Aufenfeld in Aschau im Zillertal sits on the road you drive twice in the Zillertal — on the way to Hintertux and back to the motorway — so you can fill up there without a detour. Before the journey home, Ferienparadies Natterer See above the village of Natters plays the same role, as that is where your last night falls. Do not automatically take water from public fountains in Tyrolean villages: it is usable only where it is explicitly marked Trinkwasser, elsewhere you will usually find a Kein Trinkwasser sign.
Adria Compact
This route is built on narrow valley roads — the climb from Brixlegg to Alpbach, the tight Zillertal and parking in mountain villages where every centimetre counts. At 2,120 mm wide and under seven metres long, the Adria Compact is slim among semi-integrated motorhomes, and you notice it immediately on hairpins and in a small car park.
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