★ Meet your Dream Team ★
Benny
Head of Quality ControlFluffy, sophisticated, convicted sex offender. Travels exclusively in a designer bag. Rates every destination on sofas, snacks and attention.
Lapi
Chief Crag OfficerBlack, fast, fearless. Has been to more crags than most climbers, usually by backpack. Rates every destination on sticks, sun and belly rubs.
PHOTO NOT AVAILABLEMufík declined the photoshoot
Mufík
Senior Grumpiness ConsultantDistinguished elderly gentleman. Grumbles on the way there, then quietly has the best time of anyone. Rates every destination on warm spots, soft rugs and good company.
★ Choose your adventure! ★
stay from€200
1. Frankenjura
The Climber's Paradise™3 h · dogs ★★★★★
stay from€250
2. Vienna Woods
Imperial Luxury!3.5 h · dogs ★★★★☆
stay from€250
3. Hallstatt
Alpine Postcard Dream!4–4.5 h · dogs ★★★☆☆
stay only€115!
4. Hrádok / Piešťany
Super Saver Sun Deal!4 h · dogs ★★★★☆
stay only€200–250per person!
Destination 1
Frankenjura, Germany
The Climber's Paradise™ — 10,000 routes. TEN. THOUSAND.
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Driveabout 3 h (290 km)
Base campPottenstein, Gößweinstein, Muggendorf or Behringersmühle
Price€€ (mid-range)
Dogs★★★★★
The climbing
One of the biggest sport climbing areas ON THE PLANET: over 10,000 limestone routes, with loads of them in your 4a–6c sweet spot. Approaches take 5–15 minutes. Can't find a sunny, south-facing crag? Impossible. There are simply too many.
But wait, there's more!
- Hiking: loops through river valleys past rock towers and castles perched on cliffs, glowing in autumn colours. Good walks are Pottenstein to Tüchersfeld, and the Gößweinstein viewpoints.
- Bamberg (45 min): one of Germany's prettiest old towns and a UNESCO site. Try the smoked beer (Rauchbier). It tastes like a campfire, in a good way!
- Nuremberg (45 min): a huge castle and the old town.
- Wellness: Obermain Therme (1 h) has very strong saltwater thermal pools, outdoors and steaming. Float like a pretzel in brine!
- Teufelshöhle (Devil's Cave): a dripstone cave right in Pottenstein.
Why you'll love it
- The BEST climbing of all four options, by a mile
- The shortest drive with no motorway tolls
- Cosy villages and cheap, hearty Franconian food and beer
The small print*
- Many crags sit in forest, so in late October they're chilly, damp and slow to dry after rain
- The classic routes are polished (worn slippery) from decades of use
- No big "wow" hike. The walks are lovely rather than jaw-dropping.
★★★★★
"They let me INSIDE the beer hall. I sat under the table and gave this exact look until someone dropped a pretzel. Works every time. Best trip of my life."
— Benny, Head of Quality Control
Dog facts: Germany is very dog-friendly. Most guesthouses take dogs, dogs are normal inside restaurants, and short forest approaches mean they can come to every crag. Only the cave and the spa are off-limits.
Accommodation: about €200–250 per person for all 5 nights. Plus toll-free motorways, the shortest drive and cheap beer: more money left for chalk!
BOOK NOW!*via the group chat
stay€250–330palaces incl.!
Destination 2
Vienna Woods, Austria
Imperial luxury by night, limestone by day!
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Driveabout 3.5 h (330 km, via Brno and Mikulov)
Base campBaden bei Wien, a spa town 30 min south of Vienna
Price€€€ (premium)
Dogs★★★★☆
The climbing
- Peilstein: Vienna's classic crag, with around 600 limestone routes, lots of them in easy to mid grades, and short approaches.
- Hohe Wand: sunnier walls facing south and east, which is just right for late autumn. It also has longer multi-pitch routes for the ambitious!
But wait, there's more!
- Vienna (30 min): palaces, coffee houses, cake and markets. A full rainy-day programme, served on silver trays!
- Wellness: Römertherme, a big thermal spa right in Baden. Climb in the morning, soak in the afternoon.
- Hiking: the Hohe Wand plateau with its Skywalk and huge views, plus forest walks in the Vienna Woods.
- Seegrotte: a boat ride on Europe's largest underground lake, in an old mine. Very James Bond.
- Heuriger: cosy wine taverns in the vineyards of Gumpoldskirchen.
Why you'll love it
- The BEST mix of everything. In bad weather you have a capital city, a spa and wine all within 30 minutes.
- Baden is an elegant, walkable base
The small print*
- Peilstein is in forest and polished, much like the Frankenjura
- Higher prices than Germany or Slovakia
- More driving between activities, and Vienna traffic
★★★★☆
"I arrived in my designer bag, so Vienna understood me immediately. Very elegant. Many fancy smells. But I had to wear a muzzle on the tram and they wouldn't let me into the bath. Minus one star."
— Benny, travels in style
Dog facts: Dogs are welcome in most hotels (usually for a fee per dog per night), in restaurants and at both crags. They need a muzzle on Vienna's public transport. The spa and the Seegrotte are without dogs.
Accommodation: about €250–330 per person for all 5 nights. Eating out costs more in Austria too, you'll need a motorway vignette (toll sticker), and many hotels charge per dog. But: PALACES.
BOOK NOW!*via the group chat
stay€250–330Alps incl. FREE!
Destination 3
Bad Goisern / Hallstatt, Austria
As seen on a million postcards!
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Driveabout 4–4.5 h (370 km, via České Budějovice and Linz)
Base campBad Goisern (quieter and cheaper, 10 min from Hallstatt), Bad Ischl or Gosau
Price€€€ (premium)
Dogs★★★☆☆
The climbing
Limestone sport climbing in the Echerntal valley right behind Hallstatt, plus smaller crags around Bad Goisern. It's much smaller and less developed than Frankenjura or Hrádok. The secret weapon is via ferratas: climbing routes with fixed steel cables and ladders, like the Echernwand route above Hallstatt. Perfect when it's too cold to stand around belaying!
But wait, there's more!
- Gosausee: an easy lake loop with the Dachstein glacier mirrored in the water. One of the most beautiful spots in Austria. Your phone storage will not survive.
- Ewige Wand (Bad Goisern): a path carved into a cliff face high above the valley.
- Hallstatt: the famous postcard village on the lake. Go early in the morning, before the tour buses arrive.
- Salt mine: the oldest salt mine in the world, with wooden miners' slides inside and a Skywalk platform above the village.
- Bad Ischl (20 min): Emperor Franz Joseph's summer resort, with the imperial villa and the legendary Zauner pastry shop.
- Wellness: Salzkammergut Therme in Bad Ischl (20 min).
Why you'll love it
- By FAR the most spectacular scenery: real Alps, lakes and a glacier
- Via ferratas: a climbing-like adventure the other places don't have
- Plenty to do when it's too cold or wet to climb
The small print*
- The weakest sport climbing of the four. Fewer routes, and the deep valleys get little sun in late October, so the rock is cold.
- Many lifts and caves close for the season around late October (e.g. the Dachstein cable car and ice caves). Check what's still running.
- Higher chance of cold, rain or early snow than the other options
- Hallstatt is overrun with tourists even out of season
- The longest drive
★★★☆☆
"The lake walk was MAGNIFICENT. Then the humans clipped into a via ferrata and went up a cliff on a ladder. Not even my backpack could follow. I waited below and protested like this (see photo). Three stars."
— Lapi, Chief Crag Officer
Dog facts: The hiking is superb with dogs. But dogs can't do via ferratas or go into the salt mine or spa, and Hallstatt's packed lanes aren't fun with three dogs. Someone has to stay with them during several of the best activities.
Accommodation: about €250–330 per person for all 5 nights in Bad Goisern. Staying in Hallstatt itself costs noticeably more. Add Austrian restaurant prices, the vignette and dog fees.
BOOK NOW!*via the group chat
SUPER SAVER€115–165per person!
Destination 4
Hrádok / Piešťany, Slovakia
Sun! Spas! Castles! At HALF the price!
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Driveabout 4 h (380 km, via Brno)
Base campPiešťany (spa town), Trenčín or Nové Mesto nad Váhom
Price€ (bargain!)
Dogs★★★★☆
The climbing
- Hrádok: Slovakia's most popular sport crag. It's limestone, faces south and soaks up sun, so it's the warmest rock on this list in late autumn. Short approach, and the grades suit you perfectly.
- Manín gorge / Súľov (1 h): a dramatic limestone gorge with more sport routes, easy to combine with a hike.
But wait, there's more!
- Wellness in Piešťany: a classic spa town with thermal water, healing mud and a whole spa island. The best wellness on this list, at Slovak prices!
- Castles: Trenčín, the clifftop ruins of Beckov, and Čachtice, home of the "Blood Countess" Báthory, who allegedly bathed in blood. (Dramatic, but please use the spa instead.)
- Hiking: the Súľov rocks, a fairy-tale maze of rock towers, arches and windows, plus Manín gorge. For a proper mountain day, Malá Fatra is 1.5 h away.
Why you'll love it
- The WARMEST climbing, because Hrádok is sunny and faces south
- The CHEAPEST option by far
- Top-quality spas
The small print*
- Hrádok gets crowded and polished on holidays (such as 1 November)
- The base towns are less charming than Bamberg or Baden
- One of the longer drives
NO PHOTO"I said no."
★★★★☆
"Hmph. Long drive. Far too sunny at the crag. Not allowed in the spa, which is typical. …But the rock was warm and very good for my old bones, the apartment had a soft rug, and somebody dropped a whole langoš. Four stars. The fifth goes to whoever finally lets me into a spa."
— Mufík, Senior Grumpiness Consultant
Dog facts: Lots of apartments accept dogs, often with no extra fee. Dogs are fine at the crags and on the hikes. The spa and castle interiors are without dogs, and restaurants allow dogs inside less consistently than in Germany or Austria.
Accommodation: about €115–165 per person for all 5 nights. Food and spa visits also cost roughly half of Austrian prices, which more than pays for the longer drive and the Slovak vignette.
BOOK NOW!*via the group chat
| Drive | Climbing | Hiking | Rainy day | Dogs | Stay p.p. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Frankenjura | 3 h | ★★★ | ★★ | ★★ | ★★★★★ | €200–250 |
| 2. Vienna Woods | 3.5 h | ★★ | ★★ | ★★★ | ★★★★☆ | €250–330 |
| 3. Bad Goisern / Hallstatt | 4–4.5 h | ★ (+ via ferratas) | ★★★ | ★★ | ★★★☆☆ | €250–330 |
| 4. Hrádok / Piešťany | 4 h | ★★★ (warmest) | ★★ | ★★★ (spa) | ★★★★☆ | €115–165 |
Prices are rough estimates for accommodation only: per person for all 5 nights, in a shared apartment split three ways. Food, fuel and activities come on top. They cost the most in Austria, a bit less in Germany and roughly half in Slovakia.
Our travel consultant recommends
- Climbing first? Frankenjura. It's also the easiest with the dogs.
- Worried about cold rock? Hrádok: sunny, south-facing and the cheapest.
- Want a bit of everything? Vienna Woods.
- Scenery over climbing? Bad Goisern / Hallstatt.