A Week-Long Grand Tour of Tyrol by Rental Car

A Loop That Only Works With a Car

Tyrol’s valleys fan out from Innsbruck like spokes, and the regional bus network is genuinely good at getting you into any one of them. What it is not built for is a week that visits six of them in sequence: the connections between valleys, as opposed to between a valley and the capital, are slow or non-existent on public transport. This itinerary assumes a rental car from day two onward, picked up in Innsbruck and dropped off there (or at Innsbruck: Tyrol’s Capital Between Two Mountains again) at the end.

The Austrian motorway vignette is mandatory for every driving day on this route. The separate toll on the Brenner motorway is not relevant here — it only applies south of the city, heading toward Italy, and this loop never goes there. See Driving in Tyrol: Vignette, Brenner Toll and Winter Tyres before you collect the car, and if you are travelling between November and April, check the winter tyre requirement in the same guide.

Day	Region	Driving from previous stop	Car needed
1	Innsbruck & the Nordkette	—	No (park it)
2	The Stubai Valley	~45 minutes	Yes
3	The Ötztal	~45–60 minutes	Yes
4	Seefeld plateau	~45 minutes	Yes
5	The Zillertal	~1 hour	Yes
6	Kitzbühel & the Hahnenkamm	~1 hour	Yes
7	St. Anton & the Arlberg, back to Innsbruck	~1 h 15, then ~1 hour return	Yes

Day 1: Innsbruck and the Nordkette

Leave the car at the hotel or a park-and-ride garage today — this is the one day of the week you do not need it. Start in the Innsbruck Old Town, where the The Golden Roof (Goldenes Dachl) and the arcaded streets around Maria-Theresien-Straße, Innsbruck’s Grand Avenue can be walked in a couple of hours. Then take the Hungerburgbahn: Zaha Hadid’s Funicular to Hungerburg funicular — its stations were designed by Zaha Hadid in 2007 — up to Hungerburg, and continue by cable car to Hafelekar and Seegrube: High on the Nordkette at just over 2,250 metres.

The trip from the city centre to high mountain terrain takes about 20 to 25 minutes in total on three linked lifts, and it is genuinely the fastest such ascent from any European city centre; see The Nordkette Cable Car, Stage by Stage for timetables and what to wear. Come back down for dinner in the old town and an early night, since day two starts the driving.

Day 2: The Stubai Valley and Its Glacier

Pick up the rental car and drive south-west into the The Stubai Valley, about 45 minutes from Innsbruck. Base yourself around Neustift or Fulpmes and head up to the Stubai Glacier, Austria’s largest glacier ski area, where the TOP OF TYROL platform sits at roughly 3,210 metres — full detail at Top of Tyrol: What You See From the Stubai Glacier Platform. If the weather is calm, this valley is also one of the best places in the region to try tandem paragliding over an Alpine backdrop:

book a tandem paragliding flight over the Stubai Valley

Note that the glacier has a long season but is not open every single day of the year — Hintertux, visited on day five, is the one that is.

Day 3: The Ötztal — Sölden, Aqua Dome or the Gorges

From the Stubaital, cross back to the Inn valley and drive west into the The Ötztal Valley, roughly 45 to 60 minutes depending on your overnight base. This is the day to pick a mood rather than try to do everything. Skiers and thrill-seekers head up to Sölden: Glacier Skiing and 007 ELEMENTS in the Ötztal for the gondola ride to 007 ELEMENTS on the Gaislachkogl:

ride the Sölden gondola up to 007 ELEMENTS

Those who want to slow down instead can soak at the AQUA DOME Längenfeld thermal spa in Längenfeld, and adventure travellers can book a canyoning descent through one of the valley’s gorges rather than staying on the road at all. One important correction worth knowing before you go: Ötzi, the prehistoric mummy, was found on the Italian side of the Ötztal Alps in 1991 and is displayed in Bolzano, not anywhere in this valley — do not plan a visit around seeing him here.

Day 4: Seefeld — Olympic Snow Without the Crowds

Backtrack toward Innsbruck and continue north-west to the Seefeld plateau, about 45 minutes from the Ötztal base. Sitting at roughly 1,180 metres, Seefeld hosted Nordic events at both the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics and again at the 2019 Nordic World Ski Championships — background at Seefeld’s Olympic Nordic Heritage: 1964, 1976 and 2019. The funicular up to the Rosshütte is an easy way to get above the plateau for a view back toward the Karwendel range:

take the round-trip funicular to the Rosshütte

Seefeld’s pace is gentler than the previous two days, which makes it a sensible place to spend a second night if the driving is starting to add up.

Day 5: The Zillertal and the Hintertux Glacier

Drive east into the The Zillertal: Innsbruck’s Valley of Skiing, Glaciers and Gorges, around an hour from Seefeld, aiming for Mayrhofen at the valley’s upper end. From here the Hintertux glacier is the one ski area in this itinerary that operates all year round, which makes it the natural choice if you are travelling outside the main winter season and still want snow. If you would rather stay at valley level, Mayrhofen is also a strong base for tandem paragliding or canyoning in the surrounding side-gorges:

try a canyoning descent through the Blue Lagoon

Anyone wanting one more adrenaline option before moving on can also look at tandem paragliding directly from Mayrhofen. The wider valley, including the Achensee and the Schlegeis reservoir, rewards an extra day if you have the time to add one.

Day 6: Kitzbühel and the Hahnenkamm

Continue east for about an hour to Kitzbühel, the best-known name on this route outside Austria thanks to the annual Hahnenkamm downhill. Outside the January race week, the town is a relaxed base for a mix of cable-car rides, an old-town wander and, depending on season, hiking or intermediate skiing on the surrounding Kitzbühel Alps. It is worth reading Kitzbühel vs the Olympia SkiWorld Innsbruck before booking lift tickets here, since Kitzbühel’s pass is separate from the Innsbruck-area Olympia SkiWorld pass used on days one through five.

Day 7: The Arlberg and Back to Innsbruck

The last driving day heads west to St. Anton am Arlberg, about 1 hour and 15 minutes from Kitzbühel, before doubling back to Innsbruck to return the car — a further hour or so depending on traffic.

St. Anton anchors the Arlberg, one of the largest connected ski regions in Austria in winter and a solid hiking base in summer; treat it as a half-day stop rather than a full stay if you need to be back at Innsbruck: Tyrol’s Capital Between Two Mountains for a flight out of Innsbruck Airport, which sits only about 4 kilometres from the old town. Build in a buffer of an hour or two beyond the driving times above — mountain roads and weekend traffic through the Tyrol’s Valleys, Compared valleys are rarely exactly on schedule.

Planning Notes for This Loop

Book the rental car well before arrival, especially in the January to March ski season, and confirm the vignette is either pre-fitted or bought at the border or a petrol station on day two. Fuel up in valleys rather than assuming a station at altitude — several of the smaller side valleys have none. Pack for a temperature swing of 15 to 20 degrees between the valley floor and any cable car or glacier stop; it can be warm in Kitzbühel’s old town and near freezing at the top of a gondola on the same afternoon. Displayed prices in Austria already include VAT, so what is on the menu or ticket window is what you pay, though a small round-up tip of 5 to 10 percent is customary in restaurants.

Tyrol Grand Tour Questions

Do I need a car for this Tyrol grand tour?

Yes, for the loop as described. The Stubaital, the Ötztal, Seefeld, the Zillertal, Kitzbühel and the Arlberg are each reachable from Innsbruck by regional VVT bus or train, but connecting them to each other on the same short trip, on the schedule this itinerary follows, realistically needs a rental car.

Do I need the Austrian motorway vignette for this route?

Yes. The vignette is required on Austrian motorways and expressways for the entire week, including the stretches used to reach the Ötztal, Seefeld, the Zillertal, Kitzbühel and the Arlberg. Buy it before you drive; rental companies based in Austria usually include it.

Will I have to pay the Brenner toll on this itinerary?

No. The separate toll on the A13 Brenner motorway only applies south of Innsbruck, on the way toward Italy. This loop stays inside Tyrol and never crosses the Brenner, so the vignette alone is enough.

What is the best time of year to do this loop?

Winter, roughly January to March, suits it best if skiing matters to you, since Sölden, Seefeld, the Zillertal and Kitzbühel are all working ski areas then. Summer, June to September, works well too, for hiking, the Nordkette and gorge activities, but check each cable car’s operating dates if you travel in the shoulder months of April, May or November.

Can this itinerary be shortened to five or six days?

Yes, at the cost of one valley. The most common cut is to combine the Ötztal day with an early Stubaital start, or to drop Kitzbühel and drive the Arlberg directly from the Zillertal side; either way you lose depth rather than a full destination.

Is the Hintertux glacier really open all year?

Yes, Hintertux at the head of the Zillertal is the one glacier ski area in this region that stays open for skiing year-round, unlike the Stubai Glacier visited on day two, which has a long but not continuous season.

Do I need winter tyres for this trip?

Winter tyres are legally required in Austria in wintry road conditions between 1 November and 15 April, and the mountain passes on this route, especially around Seefeld, the Zillertal side valleys and the Arlberg, see snow well within that window. Confirm the requirement with your rental company.

Where should I sleep each night to keep the driving reasonable?

The most efficient version of this loop bases in or near Innsbruck for days one to three, moves to Seefeld or the Zillertal for days four and five, and finishes near Kitzbühel or St. Anton for the last two nights, rather than returning to Innsbruck each evening.