Campo Felice Tenero near Locarno Lake Maggiore

After our quick stay at Garmisch we headed back into the Austrian Tyrol and then into Switzerland near Vaduz in Liechtenstein. We were headed for the Grand st Bernard Pass en-route to Locarno on the northern shores of Lake Maggiore.

Locarno/Tenero is one of our very favourite summer location's as its just south of the Alps and gets similar weather to southern France/Italy but is still in the mountains and not as busy as the seaside resorts.

Campo Felice is a VERY smart campsite on the shores of Lake Maggiore with its own Harbour and Sand Beach as well a nice restaurant and entertainment plus tennis/football/bike trails and more.

Locarno is like a Lakeside version of Monte Carlo or Cannes and also has an annual Film Festival in the town Centre.

Every day we were able to cycle from Tenero to Locarno along one of the most beautiful cycle trail we have found on our travels. It runs lakeside with amazing old properties and tropical gardens long it length. With the sun shining there are few nicer places to ride a bike.

On the far side of Locarno is the town Lido a huge modern Glass building stretching for hundreds of metres along the lakeside. Its has 5 Outdoor and 3 Indoor pools as well as Lake/Beach swimming and a high diving pool as well as a huge slide complex!

As you can imaging we spend a whole day at the Lido and rarely see the boys as they zip from pool to slide to diving pool. If you visit Locarno you must go here...

Yesterday we we spent the whole day relaxing at Campo felice while I planned our next trip to Zermatt via a very pretty route down the west of Lake Maggiore into Italy then back into Switzerland via the Simplon Pass....

Garmisch Partenkirchen

We arrived at Garmisch and headed straight for the Aire style campsite at the base of the Wankbahn (yes that is correct!). Its a large car park style site on the slopes of the mountain and is the ideal place to park while in Garmisch Partenkirchen.

We had headed for Garmisch as the boys were VERY keen to visit the towns swimming pool complex and its high diving boards, Wave Pool, Slides and Outside pools. We walked to the pool and spent the whole day there before walking into town for a nice meal and well deserved drink!

Berchtesgaden & Konigsee

We arrived in Berchtesgaden after a two trip from Kaprun and having crossed between Austria & Germany several times! I had just read a goof novel partly based on Konigsee so I was keen to see the place for myself. I was also aware of Hitlers "Eagles Nest" and the pretty town of Berchtesgaden.

We found a nice "Aire" style campsite only about 500 yard from the shores of lake Konigsee and camped before setting off to explore the lake. Its a busy tourist hotspot but the lake is very beautiful and we decided to hire a big rowing boat and set off up he lake.

We found  secluded spot about a third of the way up the lake and we decided to strip off and go for a skinny dip! It was cool & clear and very refreshing on a day that was sunny and 35 degrees...

On returning to dry land we found a lakeside Beer Garden and ordered a large Stein of Lager and a typical German dinner. Fantastic day in a spectacular place.

The following day we planned to get the bus to the Eagles Nest but after waiting for 30 minutes we were told that its incredibly busy and VERY hot up at the Nest. We decided to get a cable car up the Mountain by the lake instead and sent all day walking back down after having lunch at the top.

The following morning we set off for Garmisch Parten-Kirchen...

Zell am See & Kaprun

Its was only a short trip from Lofer south to another of our favorite campsites Sportcamp Woferlgut at Bruck at the head of the Grossglockner Pass between Zell am See & Kaprun. Its a great location as there a cycle routes to Zell am See, Kaprun and the Tauern Spa.

We also met up with our friends Andrew, Maggie & Tom who also spent most summers in their Campervan. This meant the boys had a friend to play with and we were able to relax and drink with adult company most evenings.

During the days we visited the excellent local Lido's including two in Zell on on the lake and one in the town, one in Bruck and the world renown Tauern Spa in Kaprun.

We were also able to have an excellent dinner at the Dorfkrug Hotel in Kaprun where we stayed this Xmas for a skiing break. While we were there we paid a deposit on a new year booking of the same suite for this new year.

On another day in Kaprun we visited the Gorge of river that runs from the high glacier reservoirs. Its about a mile long and you walk through it on wooden bridges and platforms. Quite an experience after the caving a week before!

We finally left Bruck for Berchtesgaden and Schonau on Konigsee....

Grubhoff Family Camping - Lofer Austria

We arrived in Lofer and set up our pitch at Grubhoff Family Camping Lofer Austria and immediately set off on a 12 mile bike ride to an amazing cave complex where you can follow tunnels into the mountain for 1.5k. Claustrophobia aside it's was a great experience! We also rode to the top of the National Park and saw some amazing views and tumbling streams. The mountain in Lofer is accessible by cable car and we used this to go up and then walk the trail all the way back down. We were very hot by the bottom station but where relieved by the cool waters of the Lofer Lido with its fab pools and a section of mountain stream you can swim in. We also visited Cafe Dankl. Several times for our fix of Apple Strudel and Cappucino