Alpine destination Montafon in Vorarlberg: Sustainable travel tips for families.

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The Montafon in Vorarlberg, an alpine destination nestled into the Silvretta mountain chain alongside the border with Switzerland. “Schöni Grüaß usam Muntafu”, as the local greeting goes in the far south-west of Austria. Making me smile in terms of its sweet sounding dialect, together with my memories of previous trips to the Montafon! I’ve been hiking, biking and climbing in Montafon before. And on the trail of the Montafon Sura Kees, the local mountain cheese speciality!

This time, it’s a different story altogether. We’ve come to explore sustainable travelling in Montafon. (How) Is that even possible? The answer is: yes, of course it is! Since 2024, promises of attractive mountain experiences are joined by the promise that guests can contribute significantly to sustainable development in the Montafon. It is more than just making tourism more sustainable. We meet Heidi Stoiser from the local development agency PIZ Montafon, who talks to us about promoting sustainable living spaces in the entire Montafon.

The PIZ Montafon, a kind of future lab and innovation hub run by Montafon Tourism Board, has a wide variety of players from the fields of technology, tourism and sustainability. As of recent, it has also been responsible for the certification process for the Austrian ecolabel, a highly valued quality label certifying sustainable destinations in Austria.

The goal? “Nothing less than to establish the Montafon as a model region for sustainable development, including its tourism industry”, says Heidi. “At PIZ Montafon, we bring together stakeholders from a wide variety of sectors. Together with my team, I work every day on the sustainable development of our entire area. I really enjoy that! We hope to inspire many more regions to become certified sustainable destinations like us.”

Check out their website on more local issues such as habitat protection, responsible travel behaviour and sustainability in the Montafon.

 

Sustainable travelling: Montafon by train and local bus connections.

Once again, my family and I choose to take the train to and from the Montafon. Coming from Vienna, it’s simply the best travel solution: the train connection is direct, it is “only” six hours travel time, no traffic jams on the road, plus the kids are well entertained in the so-called family train “Familienabteil”. The regional train runs from Bludenz in Vorarlberg to Schruns every 30 minutes; (hiking) buses distribute guests further, ideally suited to the local train connections.

We are lucky and only need two more minutes’ walk from Schruns train station to our eco-certified Hotel Zimba, where Christian Ladurner, his family and team, greet us warmly.

 

 

 

Sustainable accommodation: A green travel story from Hotel Zimba in Montafon.

The Hotel Zimba offers our family plenty of space to relax. Whether outside on the terrace, inside in the dining room or downstairs in the spacious pool and sauna area: my dad, my son and I are delighted by the many little things that make the hotel so inviting and cosy.

Hotel manager Christian Ladurner tells us that sustainability has always been part of their business DNA; having been awarded both the Austrian as well as the European eco labels is “just the icing on the cake”. Nevertheless (or perhaps because of this), Christian is just as open and interested in what his team and he can improve even further. The sustainable travel certification for the entire Montafon region is an important boost for local businesses like him.

 

 

 

 

Sustainable culture and foodie travel options: Montafon local history museum, guided tour of Schruns and St. Josefsheim restaurant.

You can also enjoy delicious regional cuisine at the nearby St. Josefsheim, less than five minutes away from Hotel Zimba and also in the centre of Schruns.

During the summer months, both the outdoor music as well as the local food truck invite you to linger. A small playground entertains the children while we get to enjoy our drinks in peace. Once delicious, home-cooked meals are brought out, everybody is back at the table!

 

A little later, my friend Janett and I take a guided tour through the historic centre of Schruns. We learn lots of interesting facts about the settlement history of the Montafon, including illustrious visitors to the area – Ernest Hemingway, among others!

The alphorn players in front of the community hall are another musical memory to take home with you! Check this out.

 

 

 

 

Sustainable hiking goals: Joining a climate hike to Wiegensee in Partenen.

For most of my fellow hikers, a climate hike is something they have never experienced before. I, on the other hand, have already done one such climate hike in Saalfelden-Leogang in Salzburg. Naturally, I’m curious as to how the Montafon does it!

Christian Fuggi, our hiking guide from Fokus Natur, explains lots of interesting facts about climate change around us during the hike. These changes are particularly evident in exposed, high alpine locations. Its 400 metres elevation gain all the way from the middle station of the Tafamuntbahn cable car in Partenen (easy to reach by public bus) to the high moorland landscape of Lake Wiegensee. The trail runs just below and above the tree line, taking us into the realm of very different animal and plant species. Christian’s relaxed approach, his many practical experiments and his precise understanding of the big picture give us a really good insight into the world of climate change.

And this is what a climate hike looks like in detail:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sustainable family travel tips in Montafon.

Looking back, I believe my six-year-old son would also have mastered the climate hike. Children are welcome guests everywhere in Montafon! Even though the mountains are high, many hikes are also suitable for younger ages. In our experience, kids enjoy both the (relatively quiet) hikes as well as the (loud, fun) mountain adventure centres in the Montafon. And luckily, there are quite a few of them around.

 

Magic mountain realm Golm: mountain playground, adventure, summer tobogganing.

While I joined the climate hike, my dad and Liam went in search of Golmi the marmot, taking kids on mountain adventures. Grandpa worked up quite a sweat over the many local discovery trails, playgrounds and summer toboggan runs!

Here are some fun photos of their mountain adventures – from a typical mountain breakfast at Haus Matschwitz to Golmi’s adventure trail and the forest slide park “Waldrutschenpark”.

 

 

 

 

Magic mountain realm Hochjoch (with downhill mountain carts!).

At the Hochjoch mountain, we are once again all together. Imelda Dönz, our local hiking guide, leads the way around 2,000 metres above sea level from the mountain station of the Zamang cable car. Their local nature fun trail is one of the many themed hikes on the Hochjoch mountain. It’s not just children who feel magically drawn to the individual stops along the way: We adults also willingly join in, creating wind, directing water, piling stones …

You can also choose to escape the more leisurely mountain crowds by hiking (or taking the chairlift) to the alpine hut Wormser Hütte. At 2,300 metres above sea level, your thoughts are sure to clear up once again.

Those who want to can then go down the mountain by mountain cart. These fun bikes can be hired from the Intersport shop on the Hochjoch mountain; it’s a four-kilometre ride from the mountain station to the middle station. Liam rides with me; children are only allowed to ride alone from the age of 10 or 140 cm tall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Family hike to Innerkapellalpe hut (and their famous local Montafoner Sura Kees cheese).

Walking on from our interactive nature trail, we continue through beautiful high alpine terrain in the direction of Innerkapellalpe hut. I have done this hike before and remember it well. This time, Liam is with me – and he masters the descent to the hut as well as the overall hike back to the mountain station really well (just under six kilometres with around 200 metres of altitude difference, his first ever hike of this kind in high alpine terrain).

Arriving at the Innerkapellalpe hut, it is a pleasure to see that Bernd and Anja Stocker still run the alpine farm and even remember our first encounter around four years ago! Among other things, they produce the tasty Montafon Sura Kees, in what has become known as one of the oldest cheese traditions in the Alps. You can find out more about this kind of mountain cheese culture here.

 

 

 

 

 

Disclaimer: I have been invited by the Montafon on this trip to Vorarlberg. All opinions are my own.