Do not hesitate to contact us. We are an expert team and we are always happy to talk to you.
01694 723600
You matter to us & we promise to provide you with a superb walking & social holiday, tailored specifically to your needs. We provide walking holidays for walkers & as walkers ourselves, we appreciate & understand the requirements of a walking holiday.
The walking here is quite superb with a great variation of stunning scenery in all directions. Our solos guided walking holiday will introduce you to the very best walking in this beautiful landscape.
We specialise in offering guided walking holidays for solos and singles in beautiful locations in both the UK and Europe. Solos and Singles Guided Walking is our unique speciality – unlike other walking holiday companies. We also design bespoke holidays for special groups.
If you decide to book this holiday, please complete the Quotation Request Form in full – this is the first part of the booking process… (as per ATOL requirements).
Initial Quotation based upon flights information
What’s not included
Additional days
We can arrange extra days at the end of your holiday/ coming out earlier.
We stay right in the centre of Schadlming at the four star Hotel Post
Four star comfort, with 40 rooms, (many of which are new), excellent cuisine, modern spa facilities and the warm hospitality of our team make a holiday at the Posthotel Schladming so special.
The hotel in the centre of Schladming consists of the traditional Hotel Post, the Styrian Restaurant “Johann” and the bar “Cabalou”, right on the main square of Schladming.
Each room has a shower, bath and a separate w/c, they are spacious and have a phone and a TV.
Twin Rooms
Single Rooms
There are two lounges a bar and a large dining area. Free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel
Breakfast is self-service with a wide range of breads, cheeses, hams, yogurt choices, seeds, nuts, six kinds of cereals, excellent fruit and more. Jams honey etc. The usual teas, coffees and fruit juices are also available. There will be a cooked option, mainly scrambled egg and ham and of course the inevitable sausages.
Dinner is pre order from a choice of three starters/mains and sweets – including vegetarian option for mains. There is an extensive salad bar which is excellent. Dinner is served to you.
On one evening it is likely that there will be a hot buffet and if the weather is good we have a barbeque outside on one night.
Sole Occupancy Supplement
Unfortunately, for sole use of a twin room, there is a supplement of £16 per night.
Our base in the Schladming/Dachstein region of Styria is one of Austria’s best mountain walking areas. The lakes have water so pure it can be used as drinking water . In the mountain inns, you are usually treated to home-made Austrian delights, regional specialties and sometimes even produce right from the Alpine pastures in front of the hut. Cold plates are popular (such as the famous Austrian “Brettljause”) and breads with all types of spread, but also traditional warm dishes such as Wiener Schnitzel, Schweinsbraten, Käsespätzle or Kaiserschmarren.
Most regions offer summer cable cars or chairlifts to get up the mountains and to enable all hikers access to the most panoramic trails and to visit the most scenic summit platforms without hours of strenuous ascent on foot.
Hiking has a long tradition in Austria and is the country’s unofficial national pastime. There are many villages in the Austrian Alps that really dedicate themselves to hiking or mountaineering. Austria’s Hiking Villages are a perfect base for a hiking vacation with easy to difficult day hikes. Austria offers a huge variety of different hiking options and themed walks. Climbing up one of the countless mountain peaks, hiking from pasture to pasture, following a long distance hiking trail or just enjoying a leisurely day hike – all of this is part of the Austrian hiking experience!
It is an awesome place !
As from 13/12/21 – we will quote all our 2022 holidays in two stages
Stage one – the price for land only
Stage two – the flight cost from your selected airport to your chosen destination and return
The combination of the two will add up to the total price we are quoting you.
Our policy is to enable you to fly from your local airport, wherever possible. However flights into Salzburg from Edinburgh/Manchester/Birmingham/Bristol do require 1 change at an European airport.
Flights to Salzburg direct go from London Heathrow.
Salzburg airport is approximately one hour from Schadlming. When you wish to book a holiday with us, we research all the available flights, Charter and “No Frills” airlines from the airport of your choice, we will give you an individual quotation. Dependent on the time of year, specific dates, and air seat prices relevant at the time of booking, then there may be flight supplements. Our partners in Secret Hills Walking Holidays in Europe, New Experience Holidays will provide the individual quotation. They provide us with ATOL bonding.
Note- we always try to advise that you fly from your local airport- this is one of the unique selling points for our holidays. The advantages in cost and convenience however far outweigh any additional local airport supplement – and to support the environment – reducing the overall carbon footprint is good policy.
We will meet you at Salzburg airport for onward transfer to Hotel Post .
Transfers – as you have the choice of airports and flight times- where this is practical – we arrange transfers that accumulate clients together for onward transfer to hotels/and return to the airport. This can mean small delays whilst we accumulate clients together for group transfers- un avoidable- and this policy impacts favourably on the cost of your holiday.
Should you want an individual transfer- to avoid any waiting time – then there will be an additional charge for this
Occasionally – dependent on the numbers on the holiday and the times of your flight, rail transfers may be used to transfer you from the airport at Salzburg to the hotel in Schadlming – the station is 300 metres from the hotel.
Return transfer is included in the holiday price as well.
It may be cost effective for you to fly to Innsbruck, as there are many flights from most UK airports – but the transfer time is longer, though the overall cost of the flight plus transfer may be acceptable, particularly if a number of clients are flying into Innsbruck.
The Walks
Our base is the Schladming/Dachstein area of Styria – one of Austria’s favourite waking areas. Walking in Austria’s marvellous alpine hills, with stunning vistas of lakes and river valleys. There are alpine meadows to amble through, and fast flowing rivers, with many waterfalls.
Simply stunning alpine mountain scenery walks take us over stunning ridges, and down beautiful valleys. There are larger peaks to conquer as well, but we use Ski and Chair lifts and mini buses to get us to within striking distance of bigger summits, the last few hundred metres can be steep, but the views are worth the effort, and there is a variety of scenery for the discerning walker. We grade the walks as moderate with some short strenuous stretches. An easier shorter option is available on each day. Five days walking during the week’s break, with one day as a rest day. Walking is moderate, we don’t rush the hills and ridges – talking, looking, learning about Austria- tends to slow the pace a little.
After a mini bus journey to the walk start, we walk for about five and a half hours, returning at about 4.30 pm – time for a swim, or simply rest before dinner in the hotel’s dining room. There is always a cooling breeze so early mornings require a top layer, but after that, it is shorts and tee shirt walking.
Your walk leaders
Secret Hills Walking Holidays work with The A team, the best Schadlming guiding business. Two guides are provided for each walk, with back up from the Secret Hills team. The guides will structure a balanced programme of walks to suit the ability of the group. We also have two walks per day, around the same area, giving the opportunity for a shorter and less demanding walk. Your Secret Hills tour guide is responsible for all aspects of your holiday in Austria
Sample Walks
Each day we will take transport to the areas mentioned below and conduct two separate walks. There are numerous walks in this area, here are a few we may chooses from:
Weather
The average temperature in July is between 18 and 22 degrees but don’t forget we are in a mountainous area, so early mornings will be chilly. At night, expect the temperatures to go down to about 8-12 degrees. Some days may be warm, remember we are in high mountains at 2000 metres high, so you will need warm weather clothing early in the morning.
It will almost certainly be very misty in the early mornings, but that is not an indication of what the days weather will be. The 64,000 dollar question is – will it rain? Probably, and maybe around four o’ clock, it can have a good shower. Our guides carry umbrellas in their rucksacks – they say it takes 90% of the rain and protects their clothes – we cannot fault their logic and will be doing the same. One thing you will need is sun cream and after sun – at 2000 metres it may feel cool – the sun is very strong.
Exclusions
Although our leaders are well trained and experienced in dealing with different capabilities of our walking clients, if they have any concerns about any clients ability or suitability to undertake safely any walking activity we plan or they feel that participation of an individual may affect the groups safety and cohesion, then they have full permission to exclude that client from an activity.
They will try at all times to provide an alternative suggested activity, though this may involve the client in additional local cost.
We rarely have to enforce this above recommendation, but it is a sensible and necessary protection for the individual client, the group and the leaders.
Underfoot conditions are good, with some loose stones, and many tree roots on some paths. Green path walking is frequent. Climbing is steady, with the occasional steep short stretch, not to be rushed, and downhills are … well downhills – always a pull on the old knees. Distances are 7 – 9 miles a day.
Paths in Austria are well marked, well maintained and designed for the discerning walker. Good walking boots or walking shoes are obligatory and we recommend you bring walking poles.
It’s all about meeting new friends. Each holiday is designed to be a friendly, relaxed and stress-free occasion. Talking is as important as walking on Secret Hills Walking Holidays. We don’t go in for discos, we may use an event that is taking place in the area we are in to boost the weekend’s activities – but it’s good, old fashioned chat that makes our short breaks successful.
“Make new friends that turn into old friends” – that’s our motto.
You might be surprised by what fun you’ll have with people who are older or younger than you during a holiday with us, and that’s exactly the sort of atmosphere we encourage; people find it very rewarding. It doesn’t matter what your reasons for travelling with us are, we’ve had people who are single, divorced or widowed, people who have partners that are unable to travel, and people who can’t holiday with their friends anymore as they’ve all got married themselves. There are people who want to make friends, see sights, and experience something completely new. Whatever your reason, we’ll welcome you with open arms and our friendly hosts will help you to get the most out of your holiday.
Don’t worry if this is the first time you have ventured to join a group holiday – its always a bit daunting – but we will look after you and ensure that you get used to being amongst friends again. Trust us to to get you back into the swing of things.
Oh – by the way – it’s not a dating agency – over the years we have had people meet and fall in love – but that’s just chance. Our aim is that you make like-minded friends – just relax and enjoy.
Just arrive and enjoy.
There are other walking holiday companies that cover Europe but we believe we offer the best value for many reasons….
Do not book on line at this point. Read on and follow the instructions
In order to conform with ATOL bonding requirements, prior to you reserving a holiday with us, we need to provide you with an official quotation. This will contain all the details and costs of the holiday and your requested choice of flights and airports. You will find a GET QUOTE button at the top of the page, use this and fill in the form in order to start the quotation process. Once you have filled in the Quotation Request form, you will get an email confirmation from us.
We partner with New Experience Holidays who provide the ATOL bonding, so all quotations will be sent by them, and you will reserve and pay for your holiday with them.
The quotation process – ATOL BONDING requirement- the quotation is the first part of the contract between us and you.
The quotation will include
– the basic price of the holiday as advertised- the land only price
– the flight cost from the airport of your choice
– single supplement if this applies
– a choice of flights if this is applicable
– any specific requirement such as additional nights/ sea view rooms etc.
– final price and payment information
The Quotation stage – who sends you your quotation
In order to conform to ATOL bonding protection rules, New Experience Holidays will send you your full quotation normally by email- please ask if you want to receive the quotation by post.
Your contacts at New Experience Holidays are Matthew Newcombe, Anna Brown and Paul Sawyer.
We need to know your preferred departure airport. We can guide you about the right airport and options – simply read the web pages for the country you are wanting to visit, or email us for flight advice.
The Booking Process
Once you have accepted the quotation, fill in a New Experience booking form (this can be done online) or send in the completed form, and pay both the deposit – normally £250 – plus the additional flight costs to New Experience.Holidays Final payment is also made to New Experience Holidays.
Once you have booked, you will not be sent a reminder of when to pay the full amount, so please diarise this.
About three weeks prior to departure, New Experience Holidays will send you holiday joining details, including your flight details with instruction to print off your boarding cards.
Once you arrive at your holiday destination
Secret Hills Walking Holidays (Slovenia Walking Holidays) organise all aspects of your holiday– including guiding, transport to walks start and provide you with an experienced tour guide. You make your won arrangements to get to the airport in the UK, we meet you at the airport you are flying to, and help you with your transfer to the appointed hotel.
It is important to read New Experience Holidays’ Terms and Conditions – click on the tab on their web site – before you sign the booking form.
Our Partners in Europe Walking
Secret Hills Walking are pleased to be associated with New Experience Holidays, who organise flights, accommodation and transfers for these holidays and provide you with ATOL security.
All your joining instructions and individual flight arrangements will be made by them. Once you have committed to a holiday, and have accepted the individual quote we send, New Experience will send you a reservation form and all deposits / final payments will be made to them. Secret Hills Walking is responsible for marketing and selling the holidays and for arranging your itinerary when you arrive at the airport in the country you are visiting. You will receive individual attention throughout your holiday from us.
ATOL Bonding – New Experience Holidays REGISTRATION
Insurance – you need to be fully covered
It is a condition of joining any of our holidays that you must be fully insured against travel, medical and personal accident risks (to include repatriation costs and air ambulance or helicopter rescue services where appropriate). Our partners New Experience holidays will ask for this information as a condition of reserving a place. If you are a UK citizen and travelling in Europe you should obtain the UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) which is available only online from the UK Government website. This gives you medical care at a reduced cost, and some cases for free, in many European countries, but should not be considered a substitute for adequate travel insurance.
Whether you prefer gentler nature experiences or you are drawn by the high peaks – as you explore the hiking paths of the Schladming-Dachstein region, you are certain to discover one destined to become your all-time personal favourite.
Schladming is a small former mining town in the northwest of the Austrian state of Styria that is now a popular tourist destination. It has become a large winter sports resort and has held various skiing competitions, including most notably the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2013.
It is now designated as a city – has a large river running through it, with the Centre is on its banks. The River Enns, and this is joined by the River Untertal close to the city Centre. Just before it joins the bigger river it bounces down a series of waterfalls. The city stands at 750 meters above sea level. The local population is 4500 but it has trebled that number in the height of the tourism season in winter and late July and August. It is surrounded by super mountains with the Dachstien peak looming over the northern side of the city at 2900 metres.
The shopping area has many cafes, bars, restaurants and a variety of shops that cater to tourists. Shops include wide range of sports gear shops, ladies clothes shops. Monday is market day –The stalls are mainly crafts and local cheeses and hams.
See more at http://www.schladming.at
The magnificent city of Salzburg is just one hour away and easy to get to by bus and train. It’s a must for your day off – there is so much to see and do.
Lonely Planet writes –
“The joke ‘If it’s baroque, don’t fix it’ is a perfect maxim for Salzburg: the storybook Old Town burrowed below steep hills looks much as it did when Mozart lived here 250 years ago. Standing beside the fast-flowing Salzach River, your gaze is raised inch by inch to graceful domes and spires, the formidable clifftop fortress and the mountains beyond. It’s a backdrop that did the lordly prince-archbishops and Maria proud.
Beyond Salzburg’s two biggest money-spinners – Mozart and The Sound of Music – hides a city with a burgeoning arts scene, wonderful food, manicured parks, quiet side streets where classical music wafts from open windows, and concert halls that uphold musical tradition 365 days a year. Everywhere you go, the scenery, the skyline, the music and the history send your spirits soaring higher than Julie Andrews’ octave-leaping vocals”.
Art, culture and a unique history: Since 1997, Salzburg has been a proud member of the UNESCO World Heritage List – a city of “outstanding value to humanity”. We invite you to experience it for yourself, as you pay a visit to the historical district of downtown Salzburg!
Visit the Castle, The Mozart museums, but most of all the cafes and squares of the old town- for sumptuous cakes and tea, and lots of people watching
I had an excellent time. Everything seemed very well organised. Very much enjoyed the guided walking.
I had an excellent time. Everything seemed very well organised. Very much enjoyed the guided walking.
Would you reserve another holiday with Secret Hills Walking, and would you recommend our Holidays to others?’
Yes, and yes. Alan Garner very kindly took a group of us to Salzburg for the day and walked us around the main tourist spots and highlights of the city. This was really appreciated by all of us and this is where Alan goes over and above to provide good value to the customer. Thank you so much, Alan is AWESOME!!!
My initial enquiry was dealt with promptly and then all subsequent communication was handled well. The food in the hotel was of an excellent quality and I enjoyed a variety of different meals throughout my stay.I found both Alan and Mike to be friendly and professional during my interaction with them. On our rest day we went to Salzburg for the day. Can I please extend my thanks to Alan for facilitating our day out, and for showing us around? I know that this was over and above the ‘call of duty’. Overall, I had a lovely holiday with an interesting group of people, and I would be interested in looking into some of your UK walking weekends. Thanks again to Alan and Mike for their hospitality.