Best Dog-Friendly Hotels in Carinthia Lakes

Before you go

What happens when you get there

Where dogs can swim

Dogs aren't allowed in the public lidos on the Wörthersee or on most hotels' private beaches, but that's the paid bathing spots only, not the lake as a whole. Use the Hundebadestelle next to the Strandbad Klagenfurt towards Maria Loretto, the signed dog area on the Forstsee, the Hafnersee dog beach, the dog zones on the Keutschacher See, the dog beach at the ZIS Lauritsch lido on the Ossiacher See, or the western shore of the Silbersee near Villach.

The Faaker See

Region Villach asks that dogs don't swim in the Faaker See itself, to protect the water. Ask locally before letting your dog in, and use the Ossiacher See or the Silbersee for a swim.

Muzzles and leads

Dogs go on a lead in towns and villages. A muzzle is required on public transport and on the lake boats, and that's where it's enforced, so pack one. On the alpine pastures keep your dog on a lead and away from grazing cattle.

Boats and chairlifts

Wörthersee Schifffahrt carries dogs free, on a lead and muzzled. On the Weissensee the line boats take dogs, and so does the Weissensee Bergbahn chairlift if your dog will sit still. The Weissensee Naturpark bus takes dogs on a lead with a muzzle or halti.

Dogs at dinner

Most hotels here keep dogs out of the half-board dining room. The Falkensteiner in Velden and Hotel Moser are the ones that bring dogs to meals properly. GUT Trattlerhof and the Strandhotel am Weissensee set you a table in the bar area if you ask ahead, and Parkhotel Pörtschach serves you in the lobby à la carte area and on the lake terrace.

Getting there

Klagenfurt airport's Ryanair flights to London Stansted don't carry pets. With a dog, the practical routes are Austrian Airlines via Vienna or Eurowings via Cologne-Bonn or Hamburg, subject to each airline's own pet rules. Many owners drive, and the Koralmbahn now links Klagenfurt with Graz by rail.

Trains

On ÖBB, small dogs travel free in a suitable carrier. Larger dogs need their own ticket, a muzzle and a lead, and they sit on the floor.

Vets

Tierärzte Team Velden am Wörthersee, Fichtenhainstraße 1, 9220 Velden, +43 4274 50193. We couldn't confirm a 24-hour clinic in the region, so save this number and ask your hotel for its out-of-hours contact.

Best walks

The Wörthersee shore path between Töschling and Pörtschach and the Pörtschach promenade, the Saissersee loop above Velden (a little over an hour and a half) and the Römerschlucht Slow Trail nearby, the Slow Trail at the Millstätter See and the Millstatt promenade, the Bachweg in Sankt Oswald above Bad Kleinkirchheim, the Brennsee shore path at Feld am See, and around 250 km of marked paths round the Weissensee. For longer days, the Drauradweg R1 and the Wörthersee and Keutschacher Seental cycle loops.

When to go

May to September is lake season, which is also when hotel lidos are busiest and the dog bans bite hardest, so plan swims around the named dog spots. On hot days walk early and late and stick to the shaded valley paths, and expect cattle on the alpine pastures all summer. Late spring and September are the easiest months. In winter Hotel Moser opens its whole beach to dogs off lead. The Fellival dog and outdoor festival runs at the Faaker See as part of the Gates of Summer.