 Poster: A snowHead
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My parents are looking at flying to Munich (no good Innsbruck flights) and getting a train transfer to an Austrian resort in the last week of January.
They will spend pretty much all of their time on blue runs (+ red for my Dad, he can ski blacks no problem but doesn't actively seek them out).
Priorities: good snow (they're kinda scared of very low-lying resorts), limited budget, accommodation that's not miles from the pistes. They will get a self-catering flat.
Apres-ski not a concern at all.
What would you suggest?
I've skied in Austria in other areas than St Anton, but not extensively, so not sure what to recommend.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Tempted to say book a package, that week and only two of them, almost certainly get a good deal and quite probably Innsbruck or Salzburg flights
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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They're flying from Bucharest. They've had a look at packages and didn't find anything great - the market is very different over there. MAybe I should book them an accommodation-only package based on a UK offer...
They're used to flying DYI and meeting me in the resort.
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horizon, Waiting till the last minute in low season can overcome fears about snow,the only problem may be finding accommodation close to the slopes.
For two people a self catering flat may work out more expensive than a cheap guest house, which the Austrians specialize in.
The area around Flachau although fairly low has a reputation for reliable snow and though many of the runs are red they are at the easy end of that spectrum.
PS not sure what the train connections are like from Munich, I drove when I was there.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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horizon, 3 hours on the train from Munich will get your folks to almost any of the good eastern Austrian resorts, such as Bad Gastein, Zell am See, Saalbach-Hinterglemm (short bus ride from Zell am See), Leogang, Zillertal (Zell am Ziller, Mayrhofen etc). Some places require a short taxi or bus ride from the nearest station - e.g. Maria Alm and some other Ski Amade resorts.
Train connections are easy to find using the railway websites oebb.at or bahn.de - those in the know claim that the German Bahn.de often has better prices. Both sites are in English. There is an S-bahn station at Munich Airport and you change at Munich Ost for mainline services to the resort areas (so you don't usually need to travel all the way into central Munich)
For accommodation, use the booking services of the Tourist Office websites. These will show you self-catering apartments and B&B/Guest House/Pensions so that you can compare prices. Or Google.
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Mayrhofen is certainly easy to get to by train, I am doing with the family again this New YEar. Quite painless.
The Hotel Viktoria in Mayrhofen does quite reasonably priced Half Board. Haus Monika is a comfortable B & B right next to the Penkenbahn and is reasonably priced.
As T Bar says, an apartment may not work out any cheaper if they want to be in the centre of town.
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As above trains are great from Munich and very straight forward. The other option is 4seasons transfer https://www.tirol-taxi.at/ which also works out at a similar price to the train to the Zillertal. I am another one for going down the b+b route. Most of them will also have a deal with a bigger hotel restaurant where you can have an evening meal for a set price.
Also if they are not worried so much about the Apres, then they could stay in a smaller area. For instance in the Zillertal you have Zell am Ziller and Kaltenbach which are both great ski areas but a bit less lively than Mayrhofen
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I'd vote for Mayrhofen. We will be there 2nd week Jan as we have been for past 5 years. No snow problems at all as skiing don at 1750+ metres.
There are always plenty of things to do in the village if your mum needs a day off!!
We use https://www.tirol-taxi.at for transfer from Munich and find them very good. Its 85 euro return and door to door.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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kevinraine, With the transfer, have you found that there has been many stops on the way?
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googiew, The airport transfers usually travel directly to the resort and to your hotel. The usual vehicle is a minibus-taxi, so there are rarely more than 3 stops once in the resort.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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quinton, that seems a pretty decent seal then for 85 return. If you cant get a saver ticket on the train then that is similar money.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Check out their website in the post above. There may be a little wait at airport to fill up the bus but they say no more than 60 min. Total stops on route as said could be up to 3 but we have had only one in the same resort. For the return they text you your pick up time the day before.
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Have used the airport transfer services from Munich to Westendorf (Four Seasons I think) and they were fine. Half hour wait for a second flight and one other pair with us in a minibus. For some journeys by local train there is a "partner ticket" for up to 5 adults which can be a big saving. Bayern Ticket goes as far as Salzburg, (possibly Worgl but I am not sure of that) but cannot be used on IC or ICE trains.
Skiwelt could be good for lots of cruising mileage. There should be no problems with snow at end Jan
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You know it makes sense.
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Col the Yeti, Bayern ticket takes you to Kufstein on the Tirol side not as far a Wörgl. The only reason you can get into Salzburg on a Bayern Ticket is because it has one platform that is officially Bavarian territory. When I first started using this many years back, I had to produce my passport as well as my ticket when I got off the train in Salzburg.
quinton, You can get better rpices from the DB site even for trains going to Austrian destinations. Not sure why to be honest.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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We have done self catering with our kids with flights into Munich and pick up car hire. We always stay in Lofer and for us travelling with four kids it was a wonderful way to ski on a budget. However this year we have booked a package as they will only be two of us and there wasn't much of a difference in price. We have opted for Westendorf hich gives access to ski welt.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Except the option to hire a car for more flexibility, the the transfers mentioned above are ideal option.
Consider Zell Am See also...lovely place, and a glacier nearby....
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Coming back to this - thanks a lot for the help!
Mayrhofen looked good but I've read a lot about Penkenbahn queues...that bad?
Also, my mom is really keen on easy slopes - how red are the reds? how many blue runs?
Would they be happier somewhere else with their requirements? (Ski Amade? other?) They trust me to find a good area but I ski mainly offpiste so I really welcome comments from skiers who prefer long easy cruising runs, good snow, no queues, etc.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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horizon, have a glance at StJohann and Wagrain. I have taken a lot of people over there, Samerberg Sue, will back this up too, some great long blues and reds, wide and really confidence building. There are some fab huts too, and pretty much the only queues you will get are the ones on the new G-Link, but even that only takes about 5 mins.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Even if they built a 1000person gondola at Mayrhofen people would still talk about the queues. Never waited more than 2 gondola cabins at the Horberg lift at Mayrhofen, nor at Zell am Ziller, nor Kaltenbach. And if I ever did wait for 2 cabins, it was to have one to myself and not barge in with another group.
They still talk about the "new" Penkenbahn that has been there so long it's already due for upgrade/replacement.
Kaltenbach and Zell am Ziller reds feel less red to me than Mayrhofen ones. Gerlos even less red still, except for one steep black, that afiact you need to go on to access one area?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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I agree with Andy about Mayrhofen and the Zillertal. Its only 10 min by free bus to the Horberg. Here is the link http://www.mayrhofen.at/en/101008/101009/101117/skibus.html
I am staying at the Neue Post which is the best end of town for the ski buses and train station. The week you are talking about they do a standard double room inc ski pass for €770 pp. Which is a cracking deal. Great Spa too.
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Kooky, Ta for the heads up!
horizon, I can only echo what Kooky says - miles (or kilometres) of easy cruising fabulous huts and remarkably few if any queues. Best of all you don't ever need to use the few drag lifts still around - all the runs are served by modern chair lifts of cable cars (Gondolas - 4, 6, 8 or 10-man ones, plus the 130-man G-Link across the Wagrain-Kleinarl road, eliminating the need to ski to the bottom of the hill to get across to the other slopes.
For your parents needs I would suggest looking at Flachau or Wagrain as there are more choices for self-catering places in these resorts with little or no travel required. Altenmarkt has a lot of self-catering as do St Johann im Pongau and Radstadt, but you will need to you the shuttle buses to get to the slopes you fancy skiing.
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Fly into Salzburg instead.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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If your parents can get a flight into Salzburg instead of Munich, the transfers to any of the Sport Amadé are very easy and relatively cheap, 50 Euro return to the Flachau/Radstadt/Wagrain areas for example on last season's price.
Trains to most Austrian areas from Munich are not too much of a problem, but will probably involve a taxi from the final station to the accommodation itself. In addition they will most likely involve at least 2 if not more changes (Munich Ost - S-Bahn to Mainline trains and at Salzburg from German train to Austrian one). Transfers from Salzburg airport to the resorts is highly organized and competitive price-wise due to the excellent train and bus services offering similar services if not as convenient.
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Thanks all! My parents prefer B&B after all, but I couldn't find any reasonably-priced flights to Salzburg (and no direct ones).
Looks like I may have found an accommodation in Mayrhofen after all, close to both Penkenbahn and Ahornbahn. Too many options otherwise...
If it works out fine, I may try Flachau / Wagrain next year for them.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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The Ahorn area skiing, whilst fairly limited, may well suit your Mother, horizon. Gentle, undulating runs to get the ski legs back and a rather nice (and not overly tricky) longish red back down to the town.
I found most of the reds and blues in Mayrhofen to be fairly benign and straightforward. As the ski pass covers the Ziller Valley, it is well worth taking the train (free on the pass) to Zell am Ziller where there are some fabulous, cruisey reds and blues, and where it seemed a fair bit quieter.
Regarding the lift queues, the only time I noticed any big build up was on the downward trip. Get the time wrong and one can hang around. Probably worth taking the downlift to one of the villages and jumping on a bus (which is generally what I did when not sitting it out in one of the lively bars  ).
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Could do Munich-Oetztal and then the regular bus up to Obergurgl. I usually stay at a b and b opposite the bus stop, and Festkogl gondola.
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