This year's trip is a hiking holiday in the west Tirol region of Austria. On this page I share all my research and after the trip I will update with reviews and lessons learned.

Why are we going back?

Last summer's holiday far surpassed my already high expectations. The trio of alpine villages (Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis) that are connected by 7 cablecars was a paradise for an active holiday no matter what your fitness level is.

The key things that are luring us back are:

• Endless trails of all skill levels for hiking, biking and nordic walking
• No need for a car during your stay. Travel between the villages by combination of foot and cablecars (free)
• Few English speakers makes it feel like you are really traveling and not just one of a hoard of tourists.
• Hotel Barbara can't be beat for value and comfort with all food including afternoon cake and coffee all inclusive.
• Friendly and helpful hiking guides, shop keepers and hotel staff.
• Unbeatable views everywhere and great weather.

Last year we tried all sorts of options and settled on flying from Washington DC direct to Munich and renting a car from there. The 3 hour drive to Serfaus was scenic, but hard on my husband who didn't sleep on the plane and he did not enjoy the drive.

This year I managed to find a way to avoid this drive. We are flying from Washington to Innsbruck with a layover in Frankfurt. The first flight arrives really early and we have almost 3 hours to navigate customs and immigration and catch the next flight and we end up landing in Innsbruck before 10am. We could be in Serfaus by 11 or 11:30am compared to 4pm last year.

To continue on to England after our week in Serfaus we will drive to Salzburg. We could have returned to Munich like last year, but last year the traffic once we crossed into Germany was unbelievable and we reached the airport hour later than planned. We have flown into Salzburg before and I know it is a very small airport. This translates to less traffic and easier navigation to return the rental car.

Staying there - We're back!

We didn't even read any other hotel descriptions this year. We were 110% pleased with Hotel Barbara last year and they are a large part of the decision to return. For 55 Euros each per night we get:

• Half board (Breakfast and dinner included) with vegetarian options (4 course dinner with salad buffet)
• Freedom to pack a lunch from the breakfast buffet to take on our hikes
• Free coffee, tea, and cake every afternoon in the lobby
• A comfortable smoke free, double room with balcony, TV and shower
• Free Sommercard that entitles us to ride the cablecars and 4 station subway for free
• Free use of the Sauna and steam room in the hotel

Attractions and Activities - Hope to try some of the things we missed last year

For a full list of all the things there are to see and do, go here. Below is a sampling of things we hope to squeeze in while we are there.

• Ride the Fisser Flitzer toboggan - Fabulous. Last year we rode 3 times each and still didn't tire of it. The 3-attraction ticket saves you money. Instead of 6 euros a go, it works out to 5 euros each. Hint: You have to get a number ticket and wait to see your number on a board. One afternoon the wait was 2 hours, but if you go when the open in the morning, there are no lines.
• Ride the Fisser Flieger - Maybe. We rode it last year and it was fun, but the wait was a long. We are glad we rode the Flieger, but it wasn't as much fun as the Flitzer. I hope to do it again though.
• Ride the Skyswing - Tame. I rode this once. There was no wait and I actually rode alone. It was fun, but the main thrill is the anticipation before the first drop. If it was free, I would ride more. If I have to pay, I will save my money for the other two rides.
• Take one or more of the free guided mountain hikes - Fabulous. We took two guided hikes. The first was well labeled as to difficulty level. The second which included an Alpine Dairy tour, turned out to be very strenuous and I elected to only do the dairy tour. My husband did the whole thing and felt it was the hardest hike he's ever done. This one had no rating. In future, I will always look for ratings.
• Do one or more of the Mountain bike routes (bike rental option) Fabulous. Last year Graham did a strenuous bike ride while I chose to go hiking. He loved it, but it would have been too hard for me. However, Bacher bike rental told us they run tours every day for every level. This year we hope to l book one of these to do together or just rent bikes and do our own route.
• Take a Segway tour - You have to try it!. Last summer we chickened out and decided to book the lesson and practice time (20 minutes total) before committing to a 2 hour tour. We attracted lots of attention doing our obstacle course in the parking lot. Now we feel brave enough to do a real tour.
• Experience the Nature High Rope Park Didn't do it. We were so busy doing the activities in Serfaus and Fiss, that we didn't feel we had time for this, but I still want to try it. I am hoping we can squeeze it in. The bookings are done in Fiss near the Segway place so perhaps we will book it early so we don't chicken out.
• Do several of the self-guided hikes - Incredible. The entire region is crisscrossed with numbered, way-marked trails. I did two by myself and one with Graham. There are endless possibilities. This summer we plan to buy the more detailed trail book for 5.50 euros. We didn't know it was available until mid-week last year. I have been studying the one page map and have already worked out some routes I want to try.
• Take the Naturthemenweg Fisser Gonde circular route and see the tree house - Graham liked it. He did this trail with the guide on our first day. He didn't see the treehouse, but liked the trail. We have friends joining us for the first weekend who have a young son, so I hope to do this with them.
• Experience the Bergsommernacht - Incredible. For a mere 5 euros you get a fabulous night of entertainment with singers, dancers, acrobats, a laser show and fireworks. An option we might try next time is to take a guided hike down the mountain after the show with lanterns. We saw this tour from the cable car when we were riding down and it looked like fun. We have a fingers crossed that this event will fall in our week there. Last year it was every-other-week and we will be so disappointed if we can't see it again!!

Day Trips - perhaps Italy!

Last year we had grand plans to do a day trip to Lindau, Germany - a two hour drive from Serfaus. However, Serfaus was so much fun and our days were so filled that we couldn't bring ourselves to dedicate a whole day driving somewhere else. We would have missed something on our "must do" list if we lost a whole day.

This year we know we can't count on the same beautiful weather every single day, so we have identified a day trip we could do if we feel like we can't hike. There is a village that was flooded (deliberately) just over the border in Italy where the church steeple sticks up out of the lake. I'd like to go there to see it and to say I've been to Italy, but only if we have an afternoon with nothing better to do.

I would also love to visit Zammer Lochputz which is nearby in Landeck and only costs 3.50 Euros. It has suspension bridges, mysterious caves and waterfalls. The visit including the multi-media show takes 1.5 hours. We may stop here on our way to Serfaus since Innsbruck is so close and our room may not be ready for us if we arrive too early.

We are bringing our new GPS with us which should make the navigation to these places a bit easier too.

What's the food like?

I will come back to finish this page soon and I will describe some of the dishes we enjoyed at Hotel Barbara last summer to give you taste of what to expect.