 Poster: A snowHead
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Not long back from a mini road trip to Austria and thought I'd share some info.
Drove from Glasgow overnight to get early morning ferry to Calais - thankfully missed all the nightmares at Dover a few weeks ago. Stayed in Reimes on the Friday to see the city. Sadly it was chucking it down so did not see it at its best. Left before 9am to head to Lermoos. The French autoroutes were as usual a dream to drive. Went via Strasbourg and spent a few hours in Uberlingen on the Bodensee - really nice lakeside town and was buzzing with holiday makers. Drove through horrendous rain in the Black Forrest and arrived in Lermoos around 9 at night. Stayed at the Larchenhof http://www.laerchenhof-lermoos.at/ for 2 nights. Great value, fantastic room (genuinely one of the best rooms we've had in Austria) and served my favourite pint - Kaiserbier 
We chose Lermoos for a couple of nights as it seemed to be en route to Area47. Lermoos is in a stunning location but very quiet - not sure how good it would be for a ski holiday. Went to Area 47 on the Sunday which was excellent - the kids absolutely loved it.
We left on the Monday to go to Mayrhofen. Went via Bergisel ski jump in Innsbruck to break the journey up. Have been years ago and def worth a visit. We were lucky enough to see some ski jumpers in action whilst there.
Stayed at the Hotel Berghof in Mayrhofen for a week. I stayed at the Berghof around 30 years ago on my 1st trip to Austria, which was part of the reason for going back. The hotel had great facilities which was the main reason - tennis (outdoor and indoors), outdoor pool, volleyball, free bike hire etc....We chose a suite that had a sauna and was a bit disappointed with the room. Very disjointed and dated. Was also a bit disappointed with some of the reception staff - couple of them verged on rude and others were fantastic. Had issues with the water temp in the rooms, and the management (very nice) took €70 a day off our bill which was welcomed. Most of the staff wore casual gear which I thought was a bit odd for a 4 star hotel. I'm not sure if we had stayed in the main part of the hotel, that we would have had a better experience or not. We didn't have a bad experience but we would not exactly rush back to the hotel. Mayrhofen itself was an excellent place to stay. This was my 3 visit in the summer. Was nice to see that the majority of new developments are being done in the traditional styles, unlike say St Anton or Zell am See where they are going modern. There is so much to do in the area. We went canyoning one day with Outdoor Adventures - really was the highlight of the holiday for me. Lift pass is a bit of a rip off compared with winter prices. Think we paid around €65 for 6 days but this is for one trip and one down on any of the lifts each day. Given that you're paying c. a quarter of winter prices you're actually only using a fraction of what is available. Anyway loved Mayrhofen and the Zillertal in general and will definitely return. I'm not a fan of getting a lift back down at the end of the day so not convinced I would go in winter for that reason. Oh, and Zillertalbier is awesome.
Then we headed off to Zell am See to stay at my sister's house for 5 days. Went via Krimml to go to the waterfall and waterpark, which we done 9 years ago. Had a great time in Zell too. Spent a day at the outdoor bathing area in Thumersbach which must be one of the most stunning places to swim in the Alps. Water skiing was €12 a go which I thought was fairly reasonable. Managed to mono first time which I was quite chuffed with, given that it's been around 20 years since I last waterskied. Daughter managed to go all the way round at second attempt - youngest son did not 
Came home driving via Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium and then stayed in Calais overnight to catch an 9.30 train on the tunnel. Think I prefer the ferry.
Anyway had one of the best summer holidays ever
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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oh forgot to add
Roads in the UK suck BIG time. Why can't we get it right? The condition of the roads in France, Germany and Austria were fantastic.
The Austrian's really do small things that can make a big difference very well - eg but ugly car park in Saalbach has a climbing wall on one side, as did some other buildings throughout Austria. Various 'fitness' areas along a lot of the walks.
Pretty much every village, no matter how small has an outdoor pool, tennis courts and good football pitch. Do they pay horrendous taxes to pay for all of this, or is it financed by the tourist industry?
Free doggy poo bags on the majority of walks we went on (certainly in and around the villages). I am not aware of any councils near me that do that.
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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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We 'did' the Solden valley for a fortnight this summer (via Innsbruck flights) and cannot agree more about Austrians doing things well. From the road network, tidiness of everywhere (driving back from Gatwick on return came as a real shock in comparison....), organisation of visitor attractions-fantastic place and we'll be back next year-part of the time to Zell so good to hear about it. The one thing Solden lacked was a lake for some watersports when hot and sunny, although it had lots of pools-and its summer activity card was great value.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Leaving Weds 17th for our annual 10 day roadtrip to Arlberg, love St Anton in summer......mountain-biking, hiking, wellness, fresh air, food and drink, cant beat it (until the snow comes of course!)
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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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@Markymark29, had texted Hage from the Snowtones to see about meeting up but he was gigging in Italy for a wee while. It was only when it was too late that I realised that I had misread his text to say that he was gigging at Pic in St Anton a couple of Saturdays ago, which I would have gone to. Never been to St Anton in summer - scared it would be a patch on it's winter version 
@snowhound, Zell is lovely. Have been 3 times in the summer now (once staying in Kaprun). Zell has changed quite a lot since my first visit 20 years ago, and it has been taken over by the Arabs in the summer. It did not bother me in the slightest but my sister and hubbie chose to go to their house during Ramadam for that very reason earlier this summer. The lake is a fantastic temperature, so was great for any water activities. As usual loads of things to do outdoors
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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No trip up to Hintertux?
Also what was your thinking in Calais vs Newcastle to Amsterdam? I'm undecided which way to go next year.
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we did hintertux for the day but not for skiing. Ironically we bought a new set of twin tips for my youngest in kaprun
Cost was the main factor in doing Dover. Around £1k cheaper. Have done hull before which was great but just costing way too much to justify.
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Thanks, there will be just the two of us, looks like about £400 via Newcastle and £100 via Calais, plus say an extra 30 gallons of fuel so still a lot cheaper.
Also the DFDS ferry from Newcastle is a horrible experience I would not want to repeat, but then again these queues down at Dover looked even worse.
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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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We go Hull/ Rotterdam P&O - great service, good food, decent sleep and reasonable price if booked early.
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@JimboS, second Hull/Rotterdam. Not done it for a very long time (maybe 30 years  ), but was good at the time!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@JimboS, I'll third Hull Roterdam, don't forget when costing it if you go from Dunfermline via Calais you will need to factor in the cost of an overnight stay somewhere.
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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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Another vote for Hull/Rotterdam. Use it every time I head to the Arlberg. Cost not much more than if I were to drive down to the south coast and get a hotel en route, but a hell of a lot less driving.
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Blimmin long drive. I usually end up on the Newcastle one when I do Aviemore, but there's only me. Hull ferry is much the same, bit more on the road, bit less ferry fare. And as I have to drive the whole way, I'd rather have a few beers and a bed than a whole extra day on the road (each way). Rosyth ferry was more convenient. Newcastle ferry prices have doubled though since I first used them.
Never been to Zilltertal in summer. Been meaning to for years, but just never got round to it. Downlift at the end of the day is no big deal, and in fact I do that, rather than endure the black run carnage with beginners on the slushfest that goes down to the valley (remembering the town is at 550m).
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You know it makes sense.
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Thanks for the suggestions, looks like Newcastle and Hull are about the same price ~£400 to £500. The drive to Switzerland/Austria is just a real pain and my wife really hates it, I may drive on my own and pick her up in Munich, that would make for a more relaxing journey. Our plan is to go for 3 weeks next summer.
@boabski, any grief from your family for the drive?
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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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@JimboS, I live in the Midlands and drive to Les Arcs 2 or 3 times a year, which is about 14-15 hours door to door. My wife and I alternate the driving - 3 hours on, 3 hours off. Our son sleeps the whole way. Certainly no grief. The big problem at the moment is that while I love talking books while driving my wife hates them. A fair point - she wants to sleep wile I drive
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Poster: A snowHead
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@JimboS, never had any issues with any of our trips abroad in the car - we've probably done 6/7 now - twice to Austria and 4/5 times to various parts of France. My eldest was not with us this year (19) but the other 2 were fine (12 and 16).
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I took my family (wife + 5yr old + 7 yr old) to Mayrhofen for a long weekend in May. One of the best trips we have done as a family. Flight to Munich as only weekly flights to Innsbruck that time of year. Very easy drive, quality roads and trip out was evening so quiet roads too. Booked an apartment easily.
Weather was very kind for most of the time. Managed to visit the newish pool complex at Fugen which was clean, good value. Massive outdoor pool with slides wasn't open yet but indoor slides and wave pool did the job. We also went to the alpine coaster at Zell Ziller which was really great fun.
(https://www.zillertalarena.com/en/arena/sommer/arena-coaster.html)
We drove up to Hintertux but it started to chuck it down. Quite funny seeing the ski teams and boarder dudes waiting at the bottom lift at end of May. They had fresh pow next morning
We will be going back.
I agree the summer lift costs are a rip off.
Lift down in winter at end of day is fine for me. Or you can ski to one of the other villages and get the bus/drive back.
Oh and new Penken lift is awesome. Really really good.
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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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Welcome to snowHeads @Bennyboy1 
I had the same reaction to the messiness of the UK when getting back from trips to France (both the Alps and northern France) this year. I had quite a long walk around Carteret, a beach resort in Normandy, on a very warm August day, with plenty of people around and saw practically no litter at all. It's very rare to see litter on the paths in the alps too - even the relatively busier ones.
Though I think the UK is improving - certainly London stations are much tidier than they were 30 years ago,.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Great trip report and thanks for sharing
We spent a week in mayrhofen during autumn, a few years ago, and had a great trip. Even without a car, we managed to get to various places (Hintertux, Zell am ziller, Achensee) via train or bus. The lift passes may not be good value, but the reduced prices for hotel rooms during September/October, more than made up for that
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