Unforgettable: Packrafting in Austria

The level of this trail is, depending on your experience, medium to heavy.

On day 1, you’ll join our ‘Packraft Whitewater Essentials’ session. We start at the riverside, where your instructor teaches you the basics and lets you practice. After that, you’ll continue the trail on the water together with the instructor and the other participants. Days 2 to 5 you complete independently, after a clear morning briefing.

This trail is suitable for adventurers with:

• Confident paddling skills; some experience with packrafting or kayaking on easy, flowing water is recommended.
•  A good level of basic fitness; you should feel comfortable hiking around 12 km and paddling about 9 km per day in your packraft on this trail, on a mix of whitewater and calmer river sections.

Do you not meet these minimum requirements? Then check out our 2- or 3-day packraft trips to the German Eifel or Luxembourg’s Müllerthal. In the Eifel, you can even do a one-day bikerafting adventure, with your bike strapped to the raft!

On the first day, you’ll join a ‘Packraft Whitewater Essentials’ session guided by an experienced packraft instructor. You will learn all about paddling and safety techniques, water reading and your packraft material. Together with the instructor and the rest of the group you will continue the trail (day 1) by packraft on the wildwater river Lech. For the rest of the 5-day trail, you will set out independently after a comprehensive briefing from the instructor in the morning.

For safety reasons, we recommend not going out on the water alone. Being on the river with at least two people is not only more fun, but also much safer.

If you’re travelling solo, we’ll gladly help you out. Where possible, we’ll match you with another solo traveller so you can share the adventure. If there’s no other solo participant in your group, the instructor will join you on the water.

Solo paddling may be possible in some situations, but our guides will always consider the conditions and your experience before deciding if it’s safe to go alone. Your safety is always our main priority.

No, unfortunately not. Some parts of the Lech are too wild.

At Packraft Travel, safety and a great experience are paramount. In case of storm or rain, our trails always go ahead. Only with thunderstorms are you not allowed on the water. Our instructors take you through the day’s weather forecast in the daily briefing.

If the water level on the Lech in Austria is too high or too low, we replace the packraft activity with a nice hike in the surrounding area. This way, you still enjoy the unique nature and adventure adapted to the conditions. Either way, we always ensure an unforgettable trip, regardless of the weather or water level!

Before you travel, always check the weather forecast. This way you can prepare yourself well with the right (rain) clothes.

We offer the 5-day trail as complete as possible! Included in the trail is:

• A ‘Packraft Whitewater instructions’ session of 1-day (worth 99 euros) in which you will be taken through packraft and rescue techniques by an experienced packraft instructor. After successfully completing the course, you will continue the trail individually and receive a participation certificate.
• Whitewater packraft equipment; packraft, 4-piece paddle, helmet, life jacket and drybag.
• 70L waterproof backpack.
• Dry suit.
• Daily briefing by instructor.
• 5-day packraft trail.
• 2 nights at campsite.
• 2 nights in a double room in guesthouse incl. bed linen, towels, shower, toilet and SAT-TV.
• 2 x Breakfast at guesthouse.
• Luggage (sleeping equipment) transport from accommodation to accommodation.
• 1 x Bus ticket (public transport) from car park to starting point of trail.

Optional:
– Extra night prior including breakfast
– Expedition Foodpack
– Hiking poles
– Sleeping gear at campsite

15 days before departure the main booker receives an e-mail packed with useful information and a complete packing list.

The packing list includes: easy walking clothes (in layers), good walking shoes!, refillable water bottle or water bag (1.5-2L), sun protection, waterproof phone case (with cord) and water shoes or sandals.

And above all… Bring lots of good spirit! 🙂

Everything you need for your rafting adventure in Austria; white water packraft, paddle, drysuit, helmet and life jacket, is included as standard.

In addition, you can rent hiking poles for 15 euros for extra stability and to relieve your knees. You select these as add-on in the online booking system.

It depends on what you bring, but on average you carry about 10kg, including your packraft and personal belongings. Your camping gear and other personal belongings you don’t take on your trail, by the way. We provide luggage transport.

By car
From Utrecht and Antwerp it is about an 8.5 hour drive to Stanzach by car.

By public transportation
If you are traveling by public transportation, we recommend arriving a day early. You travel by ICE to Ulm. From Ulm train station, take the train to Reutte in Tirol. From there, take bus 110 in the direction of Elbigenalp/Lechtal and get off at “Stanzach Gemeindeamt”. From the bus stop it’s a short walk (±5 minutes) towards the meeting point.

Gathering point
We gather on day 1 at 08:30 at the free parking lot in Stanzach (exact location will still be shared via email). Your car will remain in this car park until the end of your trail. From the car park, we will depart together by bus to the starting point of the trail. We take care of transporting your sleeping equipment.

Extra night prior
You can add an extra pre-night at Camping Rudi when booking. Handy: you’ll also stay here on days 1 and 2, so your own tent – or one of our ready-to-use Basic tents – is already set up when you arrive.

This extra night includes an Expedition Breakfast (muesli meal with milk, nuts & fruit, juice and a piece of fruit), which you receive at check-in. From Camping Rudi it’s about 10 minutes by car or 30 minutes by public transport to the meeting point in Stanzach on day 1.

Although booking a packraft trail is a very sustainable choice, every form of travel has an impact on the planet. In order to offset the co2 emissions, we donate a portion of every packraft trail booked to our partner Greentripper. This way we actively contribute to climate projects and preserve the world for future generations. 

Packrafting combines hiking and rafting in a compact, lightweight inflatable raft. You easily carry your raft in your backpack while hiking and inflate it with a special air bag once you want to continue on a river or lake.

In National Park Eifel in Germany we offer a 2- or 3-day packraft trail on a lake, with the option to add one day of bikerafting, a combination of mountain biking and rafting with your bike strapped to the raft. In Müllerthal in Luxembourg you can join a 2-day packraft trail on a river. For the real adventurers there is the 5-day trail in the Lechtal in Austria, where you get more challenge on the whitewater of the River Lech, alternated with calmer sections.

All our packraft trails are individual trips: each morning you receive a clear briefing before you head out on your own. On the 5-day Lechtal trail, you also start with an extra whitewater introduction training on day 1.