Female Couch Surfing in Villach

Solo travel experience

I have been to Villach working as am Au Pair in August 2023. The city is located near the Italian border, but it’s not so easy to reach if you don’t live near Venice. From Venice there is a Flixbus that takes you directly to Villach and it’s quite cheap. Staying the nights in hotels can also be quite expensive, so I would recommend going to Austria as an hiking/sporty trip and camping in one of the many camping villages around the area. This is the best option even because the city here are quite small and quiet, so there isn’t much to visit and see, but I would highly recommend making some trips and hikes on the mountains around the areas! The nature here is beautiful and vibrant, and everything is very well preserved and taken care of. The signals to hikes are always clear and well places, it’s difficult to get lost. There are bikeways to get pretty much everywhere! And lots of beautiful lakes. Austria is a great place to visit in both in Summer and Winter. If someone desires visiting some museums of main big city, the main ones are Innsbruck, Salzburg, Graz and Wien (the Capital). A little city near Salzburg that’s definitely worth a day trip to is Hallstatt. It’s quite touristy and difficult to reach so I would suggest going in off season. Some suggestion: - Mount Gerlitzen, over the Össiacher See (lake). There is a bikeway that in less than two hour gets all around the lake. The top of the mountain is reachable both by foot (but it’s really long) or with a chairlift. It’s a well known place for parachuting. There are a lot of camping sites around the lake. On the mountain there are both attractions, services and places to eat. - Mount Dobratsch: it’s one of the best place to witness the rising sun. You have to get near the top with the car or bus, but then the is a big and easy road in the nature toward the top (1h30). For the more adventurous, the are many side ways. Main attractions in Villach: - there is a nice little museum of the city - a giant 3d map of the area - there are three to four small churches - in winter there are the traditional festivities and local activities - in summer there is the “Kirstag”, a week of festivities, music, beer. An lots of local foods In the end Austria is quite magic and worth visiting; it’s not the cheapest place but very safe and ideal for nature lovers and sporty people. Contact me if you have any questions or needs suggestions! Hope it was useful:) Take care!