Advice for family looking for ski resort in Austria?

A snowHead

Myself , my husband and 6 year old daughter are going to Austria on holiday in january around the 7th, we`re in our 20`s, not skiers , but we would like a resort where there will be good chance of snow in the village, we`re travelling to Munich airport so don`t want to be travelling over 3 hours on train. Has anyone any suggestions? Someone told me the stubaital valley would be a good choice, i was looking at Neustift and Fulpmes, which of the two would be better? we would like somewhere where there is plenty to do for children, good shopping and pubs. I`m very confused with all the choice of resorts we are also interested in Zell am See, Kitzbuhel, Myrhofen, but were told that the snow is very unreliable because of their altitude. Also, does anyone know if there is a train station in Neustift? What are the roads like going up the mountain in winter with snow if we have to get a bus?
I hope someone can help!!! Thanks!!!

A snowHead

If there is snow, go to Zell. I would leave it til the last minute, that is one of the cheapest and quietest weeks of the year so u should get a stupidly cheap deal.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

birba, welcome to Snow Heads snowHead

- the 7th is mid-week so you may have to shop around a bit for a non-standard stay. As Charlatanefc, says, you may well get a bargain if you hang on and they may be willing to offer your dates, but if you can do 3rd or 10th you'll have more choice I would think. Good luck

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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Thanks evreyone for your help will definately look into it, yeah will give skiing a go always wanted to. What do you all think of St. Anton? is it good for families with kids? around the dates we`re going should be a bit quieter do you think?
Thanks again!

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birba, welcome to snowHeads

Unfortunately it is impossible to say where will have snow at village level, and what sort of amounts. However I can recommend Zell and Kitzbuhel as nice places to visit.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Obertauern. High resort should have snow. Not much point in going unless you are going to play in the snow. snowHead

After all it is free

Hi, St. Anton can be good choice to, but you have to be aware that Zell is a lot cheaper than St.Anton. Take a look also at Soll. Its pretty scenery, gentle slopes, small attractive traditional village, good-value accommodation and lively nightlife attract a mixture of young singles looking for a fun time and families looking for a quiet time. If anyone was looking for a nice quiet holiday but with that little buzz of excitment, I would definitly recommend them having a look into Söll as it has everything you want; Skiing, Restaurants, Shops, Pubs, Toboganning & Great Scenery!
Or Ischgl-the slopes are extensive, high, snowsure and ideal for intermediate cruising - some of the best intermediate terrain in Austria.There are some fantastic runs and the the "duty-free" run into the Swiss Town of Samaun. The Apres-Ski is lively but not out of control and usually by 8/9pm things had quietened down considerably. The town itself is confusing at first until you work out that there is an underground tunnel that take you from one side to the other. Nice selection of bars and restaurants and lots of ski shops (with sky-high prices).

birba, Even the nearest resorts from Munich Airport are going to take you 3 hours by train (apart from Garmisch, 2 hrs approx). As you're not skiers I'd say best choice (and one of the nearest) is Kitzbuhel... not a village but a biggish town with lots going on. Very likely to have snow in the town at that time. Also a big enough bed base to make finding a mid-week to mid-week easier. Bung the tourist office an email or try the search online on their site.

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ok thought i had my mind made up for St. anton before i choose i will look carefully at all the ones you are all suggesting. Any more suggestions are definately appreciated. Is ishgl a bit cheaper than St. Anton? Is there a train station in it?
Sorry about all the questions its just that i`m so confused where to go, they all look lovely! I`m usually not so choosey but in 2006 went to Munich thinking there was snow in December (that was the really bad year for snow) and when we went to salzburg there was no snow either (obviously i diddn`t do enough research cos munich is a big city not a ski resort ) and when i asked at the train station if they knew of somewhere we could find snow they said there wasn`t any anywhere. Hopefully though this year will be a cold winter like it should be! In ireland we never get any snow, its a terrible place, just rain all year round.
Thank you evreyone your information was very helpful

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birba, Ischgl and St Anton are a long way from Munich if all you're seeking is some snow. Try Garmisch. Zugspitz glacier there means you will definitely see snow.

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I would agree with Kitzbuhl and recommend you don't go to st. anton -great if you're 20 something party animals who like to shred but a bit pointless given your requirements - as it's not the greatest of beginner areas.

I think you need to decide whether you and your daughter are going to learn to ski (why not! - it's great after all) or just are looking for a 'mountain ambience'?

We are in our 20`s (i`m just gone 26) but aren`t looking for anything too crazy because we are bringing our daughter. If we were going with friends would be a diffrent story. you were definately right about St. Anton being expensive, Angel Ski, just looked at appartments there and its not looking good. If you are all saying the same thing and try Kitzbuhel or Zell Am See then i think i will probably do that. I`ll have a look at accomodation there in a minute see what i can find.
I will learn to ski i`ve decided!

You know it makes sense.

birba,
A personal opinion is that St Anton is not a good place for a young family it is lively (rowdy) with not great nursery slopes and by Austrian standards quite pricey.

If you want to see snow you may be better off waiting untill closer to the time as others have said. You are going in very low seasonin which excess capacity is the norm and you can see where has snow as if it is a snowy year you are probably better off staying low but in a poor start you may need to go high or to one of the bits that has got lucky.

Garmisch is the closest to Munich although it is Germany not Austria and the slopes are a bit away from the town it looks lively though I have only passed through.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Another vote against St Anton. Doesn't sound like what you're looking for at all! The things it's good for are things you won't need and it's really not a good place to learn. Kitzbuhel is beautiful, but glitzy and expensive - Chanel Moonboot territory. Not exactly "gemutlich" - a little Austrian village on a smaller scale, with a few cheery bars and slopes close to your accommodation might be easier to manage. Soll sounds like a good recommendation though there's no harm in waiting a bit.

A snowHead

If you really want to go to the Arlberg region, I'd recommend Lech over St. Anton if you haven't skied before. Be aware though: Lech isn't exactly the cheapest town around. It's a great place to stay however, nice shops, people: the atmosphere is very nice!

If you don't want to spend Lech-money, just find a nice small town with 20-50km of skiruns. That's more then enough Smile

. Neustift is a good choice I think, as is Obergurgl (a bit further drive though).

A snowHead

birba, Do not think St Anton would be a good choice for you. Whilst I absolutely love the place, not for non skiers or beginners. Admittedly though the sports centre is fantastic and there is now indoor tennis and climbing wall too, but would be a reasonably expensive place to stay, although if you do look hard enough you ccan find some bargains. Think some of the resorts around Kitbuhel may be better for you - St Johann for example. Would also agree with Eyeopner - Lech or Oberlech would be a better place for you, having taken the family to Oberlecch this year - great toboggan run down to Lech which the kids enjoyes as much as the skiing. Would be expensive though and would be at least 3 hours from Munich. You would also have difficulty getting non Sat to Sat accommodation.
Serfaus should be on your shortlist as it has a fantastic childrens area with tonnes of non skiing activities - snow cats, tubing etc. Very family orientated place to stay.
Think you might be kidding yourself on though with a short transfer time to resort from Munich, you should try for Salzburg or Innsbruck if possible.

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you have convinced me, i won`t go to st. Anton especially if it can get rowdy,i will think about some of the other resorts you are saying. Today before reading all the messages i was convinced on St. Anton but now i definately won`t go. Just as well you warned me about it. The reason i had chosen St. anton was because i found a way of getting there which sounded straightfoward: train from munich airport to innsbruck ,2 hours (said on timetable) then train from innsbruck to St. anton over an hour and a half. For zell am see the timetable showed over 4 hours. Im i right? Anyway thank you all for your help, it has been very useful! I`ve decided that i will follow your advice and wait.

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birba, the problem with Austria and what you are looking for is that a lot of the resorts are very low, with you normally needing a gondola to get up to the skiing.

If you want to be reasonably sure of snow at resort level at that time of year, you need to be looking at one where the actual village is at 1500m or more, although you might be lucky anywhere. Last year, I was in Zell am Ziller at about the time you want to go, and there was no snow at all at valley level, but there was plenty above about 1300m - and last year was pretty good for early snow in Austria.

But the year before was indeed the worst year for 20 years for early snow, so don't be put off too much by your experience then.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

birba, have you already booked flights to Munich?

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birba, Its not that common to have snow in Salzburg
Been through the place lots in the winter and most times its been raining
If you have your flights sorted wait and see where there is good snow and book then
Unless there is only snow up high you well have plenty of places to stay at the start of January
One place to check if the snow is down low thats not been mention yet is Seefeld, direct train, nice village and fine for first week beginers

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Small question, what are you planning to do on the holiday? Take ski lessons, or is it just to be in the snow?

After all it is free

Hello! yeah my flights are booked they were very cheap only €250 between 3 of us so thats sorted. After that we can go to any resort i suppose. I will get skiing lessons , but the main reason for this holiday is just to spend proper time in the snow because in ireland never snows and my daughter never played in it. We`re also interested in horse-sleigh rides, shopping, mabey go to some of the swimming pools and then have a good choice of restaurants and pubs to go at night.
that`s about it i just always liked Germany and Austria, i like the fact they still have traditions ect. I`m wrecking my head about this holiday because i keep hearing that in the lower resorts it can be really bad for snow and don`t want to end up on another crap holiday! I`m Italian so any holiday i go to is always Italy to visit family, and rarely go anywhere else. Ok so what is the final verdict what does evreyone think of Neustift? I think i`ve come to the conclusion that i don`t want to go too low resort just in case. Or else like Garfiels suggested, Seefeld i was looking at there too, i don`t think it`s very high up though. Lech sounds really nice but i think would be a bit of hassle getting there. I think i will wait.

What abou Kühtai? You're sure about having snow there. It is small, so you won't find shops, but Innsbruck isn't far:

http://www.schneegarantie.at/en/winter.html

Another option may be Warth, but that's close to Lech so equally difficult to reach (but much much much cheaper):

http://www.warth-schroecken.at/xxl/_lang/en/_season/at2/index.html

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birba, Take a look at SEEFELD. Its a great family resort at 1200 mts so normaly fine for snow. Plenty of pubs and places to eat, but not roudy. Beginners skiing is right in the village in a field. Better skiers will head up to one of the two local mountains. Train station in resort, linked from munich. You will love it!

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Yep Seefeld would be a great choice - train station is right in the centre of town. It is a pretty little town with enough to keep you busy for your stay and you can even take a trip to Innsbruck for the afternoon to have a look around.

You know it makes sense.

We are off to Zell am See next year. I was there last year (well, at Kaprun, which is nearby) and chose Zell as the place for our first family trip. Not sure how easy it is to get to from Munich, but there is a good railway there. We were not sure how our daughter would take to ski-ing so chose this because of all the other stuff going on.

There is a lake, which freezes over (hopefully) and has curling and skating. Apparently you can walk all the way to the other side if it is frozen fully. The resort itself is scenic and looks very pretty (all lit up) in the winter pics we have seen. Also you can get the train to Saltburg for a good day trip. Obviously you can go up the mountain in cable car whether you are ski-ing or not.

If you are not intending to ski much, but just like the idea of snow, then don't forget that you can get cable car to the top, and play in the snow all day even if there is little snow lower down. The amount of snow cover might not be so important to you as you will not be trying to ski back to the resort in the evening (but getting the cable car instead).

Also don't forget that a snow holiday is a cold holiday. One with less snow might allow more opportunity for sunbathing (yes, it can get pretty warm at times so you could get snow and a sun-tan in one holiday).

HTH.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

birba,
A few general points if you have not been to a ski resort before.

If you are going midweek to midweek as a beginner it may be a little more difficult to do some things.

Ski lessons are cheapest done in groups and if you are having to start midweek it may be difficult to find a group. Two options are either to have private lessons which can be expensive or to take some lessons on a dry slope before you go to get the basics so you can join up with a beginners group , though even for this you would have to check wiht the ski school.

If you are looking for self catering accommodation it can be a little moer difficult to find midweek to midweek although low season you may find it, hotels and B&B's in Austria often offer great value. If eating out is important to you don't go for a really small resort, Austrian resorts are often more hotel based and don't have a great selection of reataurants in the evening in my experience.

If shopping other than for sports gear or tourist nic -nacs is important you may have to take a day trip or stay somewhere like Innsbruck ski resorts tend to be expesive and lacking in shopping opportunities.

Low resorts can be bad for snow in jamuary but in all honesty so can high ones on occasions though they are usually better. Although you may well not get snow on the streets since the widespread advent of snowmaking you would be unlucky not to get some reasonable skiing in most places and in an 'average year' you would expect to get reasonable natural skiing in any mainstream resort. To get the best chance of snow if it turns out to be a poor start it really is best in low season to wait and see where it falls as getting accommodation is rarely difficult.

Good Luck though and hope you enjoy wherever you go.

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Sorry alex_heney, Bode Swiller is right: I've skied four areas in Austria and was able to ski back to resort everytime.

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I've been able to ski back down to resort in some places too. Although one of those it was only a single small strip of man-made snow down the "home run" piste Smile

I'm not too sure how Bode Swiller, thinks he answered my question there though.

I know perfectly well aht tere are quite a few Austrian resorts where you can ski back to valley level.

But there are also lot where you can't (and "a lot" was all I said), or where it will only be on man-made snow usually. Those resorts will often not have large quantities of snow at resort level (which is what the OP was looking for), particularly that early in the season.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

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Hi Birba

I agree with a lot of the others - Kitzbuhel. We go there every year and my 7 year old learned to ski there when he was 3 years old. My daughters did too. Stay at the Edelweiss hotel (full board if you pack your lunches from the breakfast table, which they insist on!! )http://www.tiscover.at/edelweiss.kitzbuehel and you can walk 5 mins to the Kinder ski area. You really must try skiing while you are there. It is close to the Hahnenkamm gondola and centre of town as well. We fly into Munich (we live in Dubai) and it takes less than 2 hours to get to Kitzbuhel, an easy journey. It is an excellent introduction to Austrian ski resorts. We also find it cheaper to hire a car and drive than to get transfers but there are five of us. 2 adults and 3 children but reading another post above, Seefeld looks ideal also but I have not been there. Hope you have a wonderful time wherever you end up!

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Hi Carolwags,
kitzbuhel does sound lovely, what`s the snow in the village been like when you have been there? At the moment i`m actually looking into Seefeld which sounds good too (mabey not as good as Kitzbuhel) but snow conditions seem better, has a railwaystation (ithink a train is direct from munich), i found some very cheap and lovely apartments and its very close to innsbruck. We haven`t made any final decisions yet, i`m trying to wait as long as possible to see what the weather is looking like this winter, i just hope i`m not making a mistake and not find accomodation. another thing i hope is that Seefeld isn`t too boring.
Does anyone know what the shops are like? suppose for shopping i can just go to Innsbruck. If i decide to go to Seefeld, is Kitzbuhel worth a visit from there and is it easy to get to?
Thanks

After all it is free

Forgot to ask, does anyone know anything about these apartments in Seefeld? In the photos they look nice, just wondering how far they are from the town centre.
HAUS BACHER, HAUS KATHERINA, HAUS KIRCHWALD, HAUS DRESDEN, KLOSTER ARCADEN,
HOTEL SEELOS, HOTEL (APARTMENTS) FERIENHOTEL KALTSCHMID.
tHANKS AGAIN

birba, I fyou opt for Seefeld its worth getting the train into Innsbruuck just for the trip down and its only fifteen or so minute trip
There is a mix of the usal shops in the village along with bars and a casino if that's your thing
Ive only been in Kitzbuhel once and that was in the summer on a very wet day so that "clouded" my judgment of the place a bit.
If the snows down to the village I think it would be worth a trip if you have the time though I cant imagine wasting skiing time going on trips
Garmish and Mitinvald which you would pass on the train from Munich are close and both worth a visit if thats your thing

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I`m still waiting a few weeks before i book either of them but more than likely will be Seefeld. I made some progress though, i booked a hotel in munich for the last 2 nights of our holiday at least we won`t have far to travel to get to the airport, and we get to go shopping. garfield, we probably will take a trip to garmisch or mittenwald and definately innsbruck, thank you for the info. I can`t wait this will be our first proper winter holiday, i will make the biggest snowman!

Help!!

Advice for family looking for ski resort in Austria?

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