Summer in St Anton
I’ve sat here for a couple of hours, slowly working my way through the huge amount of photos, videos and memories I created in St Anton, Austria, last week. It was honestly one of the most lovely and memorable trips I’ve ever been on.
I felt lucky enough to visit in winter this year, with Visit Tirol in January and with Crystal Ski in February, but there was something really exciting about visiting in summer when the snow had melted, the sun was out and people were unwinding from a hectic winter season.
In January, we’d all sat around eating dinner at our hotel, discussing how great it would be to visit St Anton again in the summer to compare, and the lovely Wilma from the St Anton Tourist Board helped make it happen.
I visited again with my #ThisGirlCan squad: Sian from The Girl Outdoors, Annie from Tales of Annie Bean and Helen from the Manchester Evening News. The St Anton and Visit Tirol Tourist Boards squeezed lots of exciting activities into our 4 day itinerary, which I’ll be sharing over the next week or so.
Summer in the Alps is often associated with older travellers, so hopefully I can convince you all that it’s the perfect trip for adventurers of all ages!
What is Ebiking?
Before I arrived in St Anton, I’d eyed up our itinerary and immediately decided that ebiking was going to be the most challenging activity for me. Not yoga, which I’d never done before, or even the risk of paragliding off a mountain… yep, it was cycling that presented a challenge.
I learnt to ride a bike in the middle of a Toys R Us, when my dad decided we were all getting bikes for Christmas but didn’t realise I didn’t actually know how to ride one! I was too embarrassed to tell anyone, so I just gave it a go. So traumatic!
So yeah, since my haphazard intro to cycling, I’ve always been a bit of a nervous bike rider. I honestly didn’t need to worry though, because ebikes (aka electric bikes) are so much easier to ride than regular bikes.
They have a nifty little electric motor and although you still have to pedal the bike, the motor gives you a boost of power to get up those tough alpine hills. You can turn it off for a challenge or set it to ‘Eco’, ‘Standard’ or ‘High’, depending on how much help you want/need.
I found the ebike also felt much more stable than a regular bike too, so if you’re unconfident like me, you’ll be absolutely fine!
Once we’d had a very quick intro to the bikes, we all set off with ease on our ebikes. Since we all had varied experiences of cycling, the ebikes helped to keep us all together. If we’d been riding regular bikes, some of us might have been slacking at the back (me) and some of us miles ahead.
The beauty of the ebike ride was the scenery though. It wasn’t about powering in front of everyone else, it was about taking an hour or two to truly see the beauty around us. Although we stopped for frequent photo opportunities (bloggers be like), when we were actually cycling, it was so relaxing to take it all in without distractions.
Before I tried it, I thought ebikes were a bit of a ‘cheat’, but they’re the best way to cover lots of distance in a few hours, whilst seeing so much of the area. From grazing cows to turquoise blue lakes to soothing rivers, you’ll see nearly everything that’s beautiful about the Austrian Alps.
As for the cost of an ebike tour? The best bit is that it’s included with the free St Anton Summer Card, which you can collect from your host on the first day of your holiday in St Anton.
The Summer Card also gives you lots of other extras, including a guided hike, admission to the swimming pool at Arlberg Well and admission to Museum St Anton Am Arlberg (which you might recognise from Chalet Girl!).
Disclaimer: My trip to St Anton was complimentary of the Visit Tirol and St Anton tourist boards but as always, all thoughts & opinions are my very own.
Have you ever been ebiking before?
