Zillertal and Achensee in Three Days: A Tyrol Loop by Car

The Zillertal and the Achensee sit east of Innsbruck along two different valleys that only really make sense together with a car. This three-day loop threads a working silver mine, a glacier that never fully closes, and Tyrol’s largest lake into one route, with an evening drive back into the city each night.

Why a car changes this itinerary

The bones of this route exist on public transport. The Zillertalbahn, a regional railway that has run between Jenbach and Mayrhofen since the early twentieth century, covers the Zillertal leg reliably, and buses continue up-valley toward Hintertux. The trouble is combining it with everything else in three days. Add Schwaz on the way out and the Achensee on the way back, and each connection adds waiting time that a car simply removes.

None of the three days below is technically difficult by car — mostly valley roads and one climb up to the Achensee — but a rental with winter tyres fitted between 1 November and 15 April is worth arranging before you go; see driving in Tyrol for the vignette and toll basics. If you would rather stay on rails and buses, our guide to public transport around Innsbruck’s valleys is the place to plan an alternative, slower version of this same loop.

Day 1: Schwaz and the silver mine

Leave Innsbruck heading east along the Inn valley; Schwaz is about 30 minutes by car. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries this was one of Europe’s richest mining towns, and the reason is underground: the Schwazer Silberbergwerk once produced roughly the majority of the silver mined anywhere in Europe, funding a good part of the Habsburg treasury in the process.

A small mine train takes visitors into the mountain, followed by a guided walk through cool tunnels lined with original tools and mining machinery — allow about two hours for the full visit. Our Schwaz silver mine guide covers tickets and what the tour actually involves, and the blog post on the mine that funded an empire fills in the history if you want the longer version before you go underground.

Schwaz’s old town, smaller than Innsbruck’s but genuinely medieval, is worth an hour on foot afterward — narrow lanes, a parish church with one of the largest bronze bell foundries in the region nearby, and none of the crowds of the capital. If time allows, Rattenberg, Austria’s smallest town by population and a short drive further east, and Kramsach with its open-air farmstead museum both sit close to the route and make an easy half-hour detour rather than a full stop.

From Schwaz, continue east to Jenbach and turn south into the Zillertal itself. Base yourself in or near Mayrhofen for the night — it has the widest choice of restaurants and hotels in the valley and puts you closest to tomorrow’s glacier.

Day 1 at a glance

Stop	Time needed	Notes
Schwaz silver mine	~2 hours	Book ahead in peak season
Schwaz old town	~1 hour	Compact, walkable
Rattenberg or Kramsach (optional)	~30-45 min	Short detour on the way east
Drive Innsbruck → Mayrhofen	~1 h 15 total driving	Via Jenbach

Day 2: Mayrhofen and the Hintertux glacier

Mayrhofen sits at the head of the Zillertal, where the valley splits into four smaller side-valleys, and it works as both a summer hiking base and a winter ski town. The reason it anchors this itinerary is what lies about 25 minutes further up-valley: the Hintertux glacier.

Unlike the Stubai Glacier west of Innsbruck, which closes for stretches of spring and autumn for maintenance, Hintertux keeps at least part of its slopes open every month of the year — it is the one genuinely year-round glacier ski area accessible from this side of Tyrol. For a direct comparison of the two, the Stubai versus Hintertux blog post lays out which suits which trip.

Even outside ski season, the cable cars up to the glacier run for sightseeing, and the views over the Zillertal’s highest peaks are worth the ride on a clear day. Back down in Mayrhofen, the town itself has a lively centre with mountain outfitters, cafés and a genuinely local, unpolished feel compared with some of Tyrol’s more manicured resort villages.

The Zillertal is also one of the region’s better bases for paragliding, and Mayrhofen and nearby Fügen run tandem flights that need no experience — a way to see the whole valley, glacier included, from above rather than from a cable car platform.

If that appeals, an early morning flight is an early-morning tandem flight over Fügen before the valley fills with cloud, or later in the day a tandem paragliding flight above Mayrhofen that finishes with a landing near the town centre. Neither requires prior booking months out, but reserving a day ahead avoids disappointment if the weather window is short.

Anyone drawn to water rather than air can look into a canyoning trip through one of the Zillertal’s turquoise gorges instead — a summer-only alternative that fits the same afternoon slot as the paragliding options above. Overnight again in Mayrhofen, or shift base toward Achenkirch if you would rather shorten Day 3’s drive.

Day 2 at a glance

Activity	Duration	Season
Hintertux glacier cable cars	Half day	Year-round
Mayrhofen town and valley views	1-2 hours	Year-round
Tandem paragliding	~2-3 hours incl. transfer	Weather-dependent, spring-autumn best
Canyoning	Half day	Summer only

Day 3: The Achensee and the drive home

Drive north from the Zillertal back through Jenbach to the Achensee, Tyrol’s largest lake by surface area, stretched about 9 km along a narrow trench between the Karwendel and Brandenberg ranges. A boat cruise along its length, running from spring through autumn, is the easiest way to take in the setting — steep forested slopes dropping straight into clear, cold water, with the odd lakeside village breaking up the shoreline.

For anyone with an extra hour, the Achenseebahn is worth the detour: a narrow-gauge, partly cog-driven railway that has climbed from Jenbach to the lake’s southern shore since the 1880s, still largely steam-hauled in season. It is unapologetically a heritage-tourism ride rather than practical transport, but families and rail enthusiasts tend to enjoy it precisely because of that. It pairs naturally with a stop in Hall in Tirol on the way back into Innsbruck, whose medieval old town is, somewhat surprisingly, larger than Innsbruck’s own.

From the Achensee, the drive back to Innsbruck is straightforward — down to Jenbach and along the valley motorway, around 45 minutes to an hour depending on the exact stop. This is the day the car earns its keep most clearly: covering the lake, an optional train ride, and a possible old-town stop, then getting back into the city for the evening, would be a considerably longer day by bus and train alone.

Day 3 at a glance

Stop	Time needed
Achensee boat cruise	1-2 hours
Achenseebahn (optional)	+1-1.5 hours round trip
Hall in Tirol old town (optional)	45-60 min
Drive Achensee → Innsbruck	45 min-1 hour

Planning notes before you go

Pack for temperature swings: valley floors in the Zillertal sit at a comfortable altitude, but Hintertux is a genuine high-mountain glacier environment even in July, so bring a warm layer regardless of season. Cash is still useful at smaller Gasthöfe and mine-shop counters along the route, even though cards are accepted almost everywhere else. If three days feels tight, this loop compresses reasonably well into two by dropping either the Achenseebahn or the Rattenberg/Kramsach detour on Day 1; it also extends naturally — travelers who want a longer version of this general route with more stops built in can look at the week-long Tyrol grand tour for comparison.

For activities beyond what is listed here, the things to do in the Zillertal hub rounds up more options by category, and the caves and mines category covers Schwaz alongside Tyrol’s other underground visits.

Zillertal and Achensee loop: frequently asked questions

Can this itinerary be done without a car?

Partly. The Zillertalbahn runs from Jenbach to Mayrhofen and covers that leg well, but Schwaz, the Achensee and an evening return to Innsbruck in the same three days mean several changes and tighter timing. With a car, Day 1 and Day 3 in particular are considerably simpler.

Is the Hintertux glacier open all year?

Yes. Hintertux, at the head of the Zillertal, is the one glacier in this region that stays open for skiing every month of the year, unlike the Stubai Glacier further west, which closes for parts of spring and autumn.

How big is the Achensee compared to other Tyrolean lakes?

It is Tyrol’s largest lake by surface area, roughly 9 km long, sitting in a narrow valley between the Karwendel and Brandenberg Alps. Boat services run along its length from spring to autumn.

What is the Achenseebahn, and is it worth the extra time?

It is a narrow-gauge cog railway, in service since the 1880s, that climbs from Jenbach to the lake’s southern end. It is slow and touristy by design; steam-train enthusiasts and families with time to spare enjoy it, but it is an optional add-on rather than a requirement for the day.

How deep is the Schwaz silver mine tour, and is it physically demanding?

Visitors ride a small mine train into the Schwaz mountain and walk sections of the historic tunnels with a guide. It involves some walking on uneven underground ground and cool temperatures year-round, but no climbing or scrambling.

Which town makes the better overnight base, Mayrhofen or somewhere near the Achensee?

Mayrhofen has more restaurants, shops and an evening atmosphere, and it sits closer to Hintertux. A base near the Achensee is quieter and closer to Schwaz and Innsbruck on the way back, which suits a shorter Day 3.

Can this loop be combined with Hall in Tirol or Rattenberg’s old towns?

Yes, both sit close to the driving route between Innsbruck and the Zillertal and work well as a short stop on Day 1 or Day 3 if the schedule allows an extra hour.