A Summer Honeymoon in the Austrian Tyrol

Twenty-seven years ago, I found myself in Austria for my honeymoon. It wasn't the obvious choice — plenty of people head to the Mediterranean, or further afield — but the Tyrol had been on my radar for a while, and a summer honeymoon in the mountains turned out to be one of the best decisions I ever made.

Arriving in the Tyrol

The moment you step off the plane and into that mountain air, something shifts. I suffer from hay fever back home, and the Tyrol in summer just cuts straight through it. The air is cleaner, fresher, and more alive than anything you get in a UK summer. I remember thinking it was like taking the best breath of air I'd ever had.

We drove through the valley into our village, past meadows and peaks that looked almost too perfect to be real. The hotel was run by a landlady called Maria — warm, efficient, and quietly proud of her corner of Austria. It set the tone for everything that followed.

The Heat, and the Evenings

People don't always think of Austria as a summer destination, but the Tyrol in July can hit 40 degrees Celsius. During the day you slow down, find shade, and let the mountains do the work. The evenings, though, are perfect. Warm enough for shorts and sandals, cool enough to actually enjoy being outside. We spent most of our evenings wandering through the village, stopping at whatever took our interest.

One thing that surprised me: the ski jump. In winter it's buried under snow and you barely register it for what it is. In summer, with the snow gone, you can see exactly what sits beneath the landing area. An old cemetery. I spent a moment longer than necessary thinking about the career choices of professional ski jumpers.

The Schnapps Distillery

This was a highlight I hadn't expected. A local schnapps distillery offering free tastings — and not just one variety, but a whole range from the mild and fruity right through to something that smelled faintly of diesel and contained enough alcohol to strip varnish. The landlady at our hotel had given us the tip, and she wasn't wrong.

I worked my way along the tasting counter with increasing caution. The fruit liqueurs were genuinely lovely — light, fresh, and nothing like the supermarket versions you find at home. The stronger end of the range was a different matter entirely. It doesn't so much have a flavour as an experience. I recommend it, once.

A Travelling Beer Festival

Our trip happened to coincide with a travelling beer festival passing through the area. Lederhosen, traditional dresses, long tables, enormous steins, and the kind of communal atmosphere that feels impossible to manufacture. We joined in, ate Wiener Schnitzel the size of a dinner plate, and spent an evening laughing with people we couldn't fully communicate with.

It was convivial, good-natured, and a very Austrian kind of evening — festive without being rowdy, generous without being showy.

Why It Still Stays With Me

I've planned a great deal of travel in the years since that honeymoon, and the Tyrol sits in a particular corner of my memory. It wasn't flashy. There was no obvious headline experience — no once-in-a-lifetime landmark, no bucket-list tick. What it had was an easy, unhurried quality that let you actually be somewhere, rather than rushing through it.

Austria rewards that approach. If you give it time and go without a packed itinerary, it gives a great deal back.

If you're thinking about an Austrian holiday and want to talk through what a trip there might look like, get in touch. I've been back several times since, and I'm always glad I went.

Warren Milburn is the founder of Kite and Compass Travel, an independent travel advisory based in Newcastle.