 Poster: A snowHead
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Any ideas of a slopeside (or near the lifts) hotel or pension in one of these resorts? Thinking of going mid-March if snow is still good. Also anybody tried organising it themselves - re nearest airport, transfer etc??
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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 would say, stay in Soll. The best ski-ing is on the Soll side and you can asscees the rest of the area if snow is good.
nearest airport is salzburg 2 hrs by coach
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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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Not sure about Soll but certainly in Ellmau, if you want to be slopeside you'll probably be away from the centre of the village so there are disadvantages. All the villages have frequent ski bus services too.
As for organising the trip yourself, it's very easy. Just find the website for the resort you fancy - eg, www.ellmau.at - and it'll give you a list of hotels, pensions, etc. Most of them will be contactable by email. The Ellmau site also has a pdf map of the village and gives grid refs for each hotel, so you can see exactly where they are.
I'm off to Ellmau on Sunday for a few days - 40 quid ryanair flights to Salzburg, then shared taxi (prebooked - 125EUR) to the resort.
Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Thu 26-01-06 15:05; edited 1 time in total
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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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Is there a raillink from Salzburg??
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tessaventer, there are direct trains from Salzburg to St Johann in Tirol which is about 15km from the Ski Welt area. You can take a local bus from there or a taxi. It takes over 2 hours (plus time getting to/from the train stations at either end) so I'd discounted it for my short trip. If you're going for a whole week, though, it may be worthwile. See www.oebb.at for timetables.
There is also a transfer service - www.transferbus.net - which runs regular buses from the airport to St Johann but its prices are high - 59EUR e/w when I tried to book (so, as long as there are at least two of you, a taxi would be cheaper).
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Marshboy, thanks for the info. I've transferred from Zurich within Switzerland before by train, it was veryconvenient as there was a station at the airport. Is this the same with Salzburg?(' ')
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Soll doesn't have any slopeside/liftside hotels really. There will be a short walk involved. From the centre of town approx 5 miute walk to the main gondola. From the back end of town 15/20 miutes. Ellmau town centre did seem to be closer to the lifts. However, Soll's nightlife is brilliant. I am a massive fan of Soll and paid my deposit, to go there next season, yetserday. Skiing on the skiwelt is good all over. Try looking at Scheffau too.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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tessaventer, no - it's a 20 minute bus/taxi journey to the station from the airport.
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Marshboy, What about Innsbruck or is that too far away?
Last edited by Ski the Net with snowHeads  on Fri 27-01-06 10:42; edited 1 time in total
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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tessaventer, The transfer is slightly shorter from Innsbruck to Soll. We've stayed at the Feldwebel which is right on the main square and walking distance to the main gondola. It's a great hotel, with decent food and very comfortable rooms. You can store your ski gear at the main gondola for a small fee which makes the walk more comfortable. There is a hotel at the bottom of the nursery slope which is about 2 mins from the gondola where friends of ours stayed called the Bergland (I think that's the right name).
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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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hayley t, when you say walking distance, how far do you mean?!
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tessaventer, about 7 mins (in normal shoes) from the Hotel Feldwebel to the gondola. I'm presuming that you walk at a reasonable pace!
Just checked for you and some hotel descriptions describe it as 1km from the lifts but it didn't feel that far.
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You know it makes sense.
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There is a place close to the gondola station where you can keep skis and boots overnigh to save carrying them, but as hayley says, it ain't that far really.
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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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Some background on Soll - the little town is gorgeous, with cute church, bars, shops and lots of hotels. Its a 10 minute ish walk up to the gondola station. There are some hotels by the gondola - but I think you do miss out on not being in the town if you stay there. There's a ski hire place midway - where lots of people would leave skiboots/skis, but not sure if you've got your own gear if you'd want to do that - but probably ok if you've hired from there...
Either way the distances weren't major and even though all my previous holidays have been ski-in ski-out places in France I found that I didn't mind it not being doorstep skiing.
p.s. we found that we actually enjoyed the walk - warms up the muscles a bit in the morning although others would catch the skibus if they had gear. (We had own boots and left hire snowboards at the hire shop)
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Poster: A snowHead
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Innsbruck is nearer to Soll than Salzburg
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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tessaventer, Hi, try Munich airport so easy for rail link.
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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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tessaventer, as clive ward says, the train transfer from Munich airport is easy. Trains go to Kufstein (about 1:45 if I remember correctly) and it's a 20 min taxi ride from there to Soll. The village is pretty small so getting around is easy. We usually stay in the Tulpe, about 2-3 mins from the gondola and a 5-10 min walk into the town centre, and I'd thoroughly recommend it (staying there mid March again this year). It's a great resort though - we rarely go anywhere else 
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Nononononono... there's loads of virtually slopeside accommodation in Ellmau that's all of 45 seconds walk to the middle of the village!
Lovely place, thoroughly recommend it.
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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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carled, tell me more about Ellmau ...
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Blimey... erm... lovely little village, really well situated for access to skiwelt slopes and has the terrific funicular just outside town easily accessed by the regular bus if you don't fancy a few ups & downs on lifts to get to it on ski/board. Has some lovely quiet nursery slopes near village for kids/timid skiiers and a terrific swimming pool complex...
Me & the family adored the place - can thoroughly recommend it!
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carled, I'll vouch for that on Ellmau. There are a good selection of village lifts for real beginners. Access to main ski area is via the funicular HartKaiserbahn, with immediate access to masses of intermediate ski-ing with good ski connections to Brixen, Scheffau, Hopfgarten, Soll and Itter. Loads of mountain "hutte/mountain restaurants" - don't miss the Rubezahlalm above Ellmau or the Leitnerhof just above Brixen. We have stayed twice at the Hotel Christoph about 400 metres from the funicular. Soll is lovely village but it is not really walking distance from the lifts.
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Innsbruck is closer than Salzburg.
I'd like to recommend Westendorf, short (but crowded) bus link to Brixen (on Ski Welt), it's own largish but quieter ski area with a four man chair and a gondola out of the village and a very nice bus link at the farside of the domain to get into the Kitbuhel area. I get the impression from what people are saying here that you really can't go wrong in the SkiWelt area!
I think my mum was quoted 70euro for Innsbruck to Westendorf private taxi transfer - takes about an hour.
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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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Ian Hopkinson,
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Innsbruck is closer than Salzburg.
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- Agreed, however Innsbruck for the independent traveller is likely to be more expensive as there are not nearly so many flights to choose from as Salzburg. When I have been to Ellmau with friends many of them find Munich fine with the train to Kufstein and onwards by bus or taxi.
You are right about Westendorf being quieter but the ski-ing area is not big as that of Brixen and Soll etc.
From Ellmau we have skied to Brixen and picked up a taxi to Westendorf and of course a taxi back to Brixen around 14:30 - a good day out with a nice lunch in a mountain restaurant right on the extremities of the Westendorf ski area.
However did I hear that Westendorf is linked or going to be linked to Kitzbuhel?
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DAVID SNELL, as luck would have it I've just written about the new Kitzbuhel link:
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=245347#245347
The new link is in place and we used it a couple of times last week, ski-ing all the way into Kitzbuhel on the second occasion (takes about 2.5 hours from the Westendorf nursery slope to the bottom of the Hahnenkamm gondola.
Interesting regarding the flights, we're thinking of going independent next year and so we might need to branch out to Munich or Salzburg.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Ian Hopkinson, presumably Westendorf is on the same ski pass as the SkiWelt?
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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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Ellmau streets ahead of Soll if you want easy access to SkiWelt and Tirolean charm  . Try the Hotel Kaiserblick for quality accom. Ski from door to lifts and main run back into resort passes back door of hotel. Really nice intermediate skiing available above Going and generally quite.
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wib, sounds perfect!  The Kaiserblick was somewhere I had already identified as being possibly suitable but it is difficult to place its location on the Ellmau website; not the best ski website I've ever visited
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You know it makes sense.
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tessaventer, if you stay in Westendorf you have a choice of lift passes to buy - Westendorf, Westendorf+rest of SkiWelt and Westendorf+SkiWelt+Kitzbuhel.
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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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tessaventer, Kaiserblick situated about 300 metres (uphill) from centre passed the church. Ski across to short lift (chair from memory) which links with funicular. Hotel owned by really nice family with great rooms and nice food. Ellmau is not St Anton when it comes to apres but plenty to keep you oiled and occupied for a week.
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Poster: A snowHead
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OK, now the transfer accommodation info is sorted, where is the best skiing to be had in the SkiWelt? Any favourite runs? and suggestions for mountain watering holes?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Can anyone recommend a pension or appartment in Ellmau. I've found one at the top of the small Kirchbichlift & wondered if it's possible to walk or ski from there to the funicular or if it would be better to stay in the centre.
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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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Just booked the Altepost hotel in Ellmau (located in Dorf, which says it's in the centre. Very difficult getting accommodation as everything full.
Anyone any experience of this hotel? Also how far is the main road through the village from the lifts - this hotel appears to be just the other side of the main road.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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tessaventer, if it's the one I think it is just the other side of the road near the golf club, then I'd say you have a 10 minute walk to the lifts. Maybe a bit less if you walk fast! There's a underpass/tunnel thing that you can walk through, then up a skight slope to the vilage centre. It's then a fairly level track over to the nursery slopes area. However, if you wait in the village centre (< 5mins from your hotel), you can get the regular bus to the funicular (which would otherwise take you 20 minutes+ to walk to) instead. It is possible to use the nursery lifts to go up, down, up, down and across to the funicular if the snow is ok but it's a bit of a slog to get up to the first lift still. I think that the ski bus might even stop right by your hotel, to be honest.
The area served by the funicular is by far the best skiing (and the only way into the main skiwelt bit). If you go way left from the village centre, there are several underused chairs over towards Going that access another part of the mountain - very much quieter over 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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Thanks carled, it sounds from what you say as if you can ski back to quite close - is this right? Any good bars near there for a last drink?? 
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Well... sort of close. When coming back down the slopes around the funicular, there's a chairlift that takes you back up just above Ellmau again and you can ski back down to the nursery slope/ski school meeting point. From there, its a downhill walk of approx 5-10 minutes back to your hotel. As you walk back down to the village from the nursery slope area, you'll come to the high street (can't remember what it's called, I'm calling it the high street to differentiate it from the murderous main road that is another 100 metres or so further away!).
Once there, with your back to the nursery slope area (you'll see a big "Spar" type supermarket on your left on the point of a "Y" junction) turn right and walk down the slight hill on the high street. On the left hand side where the road just starts to curve around to the left is a bar with a raised wooden platform and benches and tables outside, with a few patio heaters dotted around. The ski bus stops right outside it too. This was our favourite bar for end of day drinkies - nice and lively without being too brash and a good range of drinks and friendly bar staff.
I dare say there'll be others, but you know what it's like once you've found somewhere you like!
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Carled, you are a mine of VERY USEFUL TRIVIA on Ellmau! What would I do without you as I book my holiday?
Last question (of the day), do you advise booking ahead the train from Munich to Kufstein or do you think it would be safe enough to turn up on the day. I am reluctant to book ahead in case of plane delays etc but would hate to get there and have to wait a couple of hours for the next train!
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tessaventer, The Trains run every hour at about 3 mins past the hour. Make sure you ask for a family ticket 5 people travelling together 27 euros. No you do not have to be related just traveling together. You have to take slow train but it is only 15mins longer because you have to change at Rosenhiem. If you take fast train 51 euros for 2 people you just change at Munich east
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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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tessaventer, When you get to Kufstein make sure you agree price with taxi. Last time cost me 35 euros to Soll on the meter,20 euros on the way back standard fare agreed before start. ps might be better to go to Worgle next stop for Ellmau
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tessaventer, as clive ward says, the trains run very regularly and I think that it's similar to rail travel here in that you can get the next train if you miss the one you're booked on. You do get the good discounts on the secondary rail rather than the intercity thing, but the travel time difference isn't massive, to be honest. By pre-booking you've got a better chance at sorting out a discount ticket and it may well be more advantageous to buy a group ticket than a pair one... don't know - I think I gave you the German and Austrian rail websites, didn't I? Let me know if not.
I think I have a record at work (I'll look tomorrow) of the taxi firm we used last time from Kufstein. I'll let you know who it was if I track it down.
Make sure you pay a visit to the swimming pool one evening. Really nice. The big outdoor pool will be closed, but the indoor bit and a small outdoor torrent type pool will be open still. Nice food in the cafe there too. The free ski bus will take you right there although it's probably only a 10-15 minute walk from your hotel, to be honest.
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FAQ
