Austria January Itinerary

A snowHead

Hi Snowheads, this is my first post! Very excited Smile

Four of us have booked flights from Australia to Austria end of Jan 2020.
Have booked 7 nights just out of St Anton, then looking to head to the Innsbruck resorts.
Thinking of maybe four nights in Stubai valley for Stubai Glacier and 2000, then three in town / Innsbruck for Kuhtai, Nordkette.

Does this sound like a good mix? Can’t work out whether you get to Axamer from the road to Kuhtai or Stubai?
Also, would it be worth a big day trip from St Anton to Piztal Glacier for the day? Don’t mind getting up early, but how would we get there, surely public transport would take too long? Thank you !!

A snowHead

@Magwere, Welcome. Not sure why you would think of going to the Pitztal glacier when you are based in St Anton. Generally the only reason for going to a glacier is if the snow is poor elsewhere and that is very unlikely at the end of January. The Arlberg has more than enough to keep you occupied for a week. If you really do get bored (unlikely) and have a car either Ischgl or Serfaus would make good day trips. Glaciers can be pretty unpleasant places in January cold and windy.

If you are looking for a second location I would suggest the Zillertal rather than the Stubaital as there is much more skiing. It is pretty near to Innsbruck too whether using a car or train.

There is plenty of skiing around Innsbruck though probably best for day trips. The local expert is Clarky who can normally be found on the Innsbruck thread.

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

And the Zillertal has Hintertux if you really want to try a glacier (and it is quite a large glacier at that).

You might want to try some lower Tirol resorts (other than Ziller valley) - all have excellent snow making; why not Kitzbuhel, or, a touch higher, Saalbach. Gets you down amongst the trees a bit more. Kitzbuhel easily reachable by train, as is Zell Am See which now has access to Saalbach, and a glacier again (Kaprun)

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@Magwere, Hi and welcome snowHead

Personally, I would stay in Innsbruck for the week and head out from there to give yourself more options. You really need to visit Stubai on a nice day – if it's windy they will often close it anyway, and it's worth avoiding on a windy day even if open, and if it's cloudy you won't see anything at all. Some of the lower resorts with more trees will still be ok on such days.

There are a couple of ways to get to Axamer Lizum, via Götzens or Kematen. Kühtai is also accessed from the Kematen road. Stubai is a couple of junctions south on the motorway first (€3 toll at Schönberg), but Schlick 2000 is pretty soon after the junction and only 30min from the city.

Sorry, can't help on Pitztal, but I'm not sure it would be better than St Anton...

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@Magwere, sounds like a fun trip!

1. Personally wouldn't leave the Arlberg to go to Pitztal unless the snow sucks for some reason
2. I'd probably do 3 nights in Stubaital - 2 days on the glacier, 1 day at Schlick
3. Then an extra night in Innsbruck, to ski Kühtai, Lizum, Nordkette and then either repeat one, or check out Glungezer or Patscherkofel or Hochötz, or take a train to Kitzbühel etc for day
4. Getting to Lizum:

- From Innsbruck drive along the motorway to Kematen. This is the same road to Kühtai, but just after Kematen you'd turn left to go to Lizum whereas Kühtai is straight on
- Or drive on the smaller road towards Götzens and on up to Lizum. Depending on where you start from this is kinda the way you'd go to Stubai, but only really until the edge of the city then the routes are different
- From Stubaital drive out through Mutters, Götzens then Lizum

5. For your stay in Stubaital and Innsbruck, check out this pass which covers the 13 resorts in the area + city attractions: https://www.innsbruck.info/en/skiing/ski-plus-city-pass/the-13-ski-resorts.html

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@Magwere, Just a suggestion but I'd have thought you would rather be skiing than travelling about? Why not stay your first week in St Anton and max out Galzig, Stuben/ Albona, Sonnenkopf and Rendl areas and then second week stay around in Lech, same area overall but based in Lech you can really concentrate on Lech/ Zurs and get across to Warth/ Schroeken and ski that area too which is a gem of a place with brilliant offpiste and easily accessed from Lech via the new Auenfeldjet gondola constructed 3-4 seasons back. You then get the real concentrated effect of both areas. Also possible to catch the bus in Warth and ski some more of the Bregenderwald resorts, Damuls etc (but not on same lift pass) Middle weekend maybe a day trip to Ischgl via taxi or bus (or hire car if you have one). Imo you'd be sacrificing excellent skiing week 2 and leaving the best Arlberg ski area to go to others which on your list aren't necessarly as good.....also your lift pass would be potentially cheaper, 2 weeks in one place rather than hopping around which is not as cost effective becasue you are buying 1-2 day passes which are expensive in comparison.

PS Lech doesnt have to be crazy money, there are some very good 3* better value places to stay, super clean and central for the lifts.

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

Thanks guys, I don’t have any experience with Glaciers so appreciate the tips. Sounds like a second week in Innsbruck gives more options. We liked the idea of utilising the Innsbruck area lift pass, but maybe we need to consider ziller or kitzbuhel as well. Don’t want to travel too far every day though.

After all it is free

St.Anton:definitely, with -indeed- Lech (same skipass) and a daytrip to Ischgl (1 hour drive, separate skipass)

Innsbruck: sorry, but that is a typical choice for people coming from overseas, but not for Europeans. Just not that interesting. City is nice for an afternoon, skiing is simply second rate compared with so many other interesting options.

Glaciers: again, not a logic choice, especially for january. Too cold, and glacier skiing in general is not that interesting

Instead of Innsbruck and glaciers, look at Kitzbühel, and Saalbach-Hinterglemm

Or, for something really different, yet just as close : Val Gardena or Alta Badia in Italian Dolomites (which used to be Austrian until 1918)

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@Magwere, what is the motivation for doing so many moves? What level skier are you? Are you travelling with your own skis or hiring? Where do you land in Europe and from where will you leave? This info might help people to give advice that is aligned to your wants.

IMHO, you are unlikely to get bored spending 2 weeks in the Arlberg. The area is huge and varied. I will be back in January for another 2 months (yup, months) - my 18th visit. Compared to some others here, I am just an Arlberg newbie.

If you really want to move, then perhaps limit yourself to one other area, eg Kitzbühel. You will not burn so much ski time travelling and maximise lift ticket value.

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@Magwere, We're there doing the same trip with friends as I described above at the same time as you are there, week 1 Lech, week 2 Anton, we have skied Arlberg for last 20 years 3-4 weeks a season and never get bored, always new stuff to find and ski and arguably the best 2 weeks of the season imo, quiet, powder and no school holidays.

BTW Innsbruck isnt second rate skiing....Clarky lives and works there, and he skis it as his home town, you'd not be disappointed i'm sure whichever way you decide.

@Magwere, a lot depends on what you want from your holiday. If you are mad keen skiers who want to be on the first lift in the morning and slide back into the valley as the sun goes down there are few better spots than the Arlberg, there are plenty of other good spots to ski too but probably not as good as the Arlberg. If you want to see some of Austria during your holiday then Innsbruck is perfect, it is a pleasant city set in the middle of the mountains, lots of accommodation and easy to get to. The local skiing is not the biggest but more than enough for day trips from the city especially if snow conditions are good as is likely at the end of January. As a place to visit it does not have as many "attractions" or historical buildings as Salzburg but Salzburg is often over run with visitors which can detract from the experience. Innsbruck has the better local skiing.

Difficult as this might be to understand, there is more to life than skiing Smile

You know it makes sense.

Not sure how close the pre birthday bash in the dolomites is to you but that could be a nice way to round off the month? Very Happy

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

A snowHead

Important questions on logistics...Which airport are you arriving at? How will you be getting around? Rental car or public transport?

What sort of skiing do you enjoy? Are you interested in anything beyond skiing?

Answers to these will help tailor the responses to fit your needs.

My opinion FWIW, the Arlberg is a great area, in a week you will only scratch the surface, difficult to explore the farther reaches from one base, but I'd plump for Lech. You can always do the legendary St Anton apres and get the Postbus back.

For the second week, I'd be tempted to cross the border into Italy to my other favourite areas in the Dolomites for a very different Alpine experience, base yourself in Selva or Corvara.

A snowHead

So two of us are flying into ZUR (train to st Anton) and out of MUN (bus from Inn) to get the best mix of travel time and price. Two are flying in and out of INN as one of the crew was always fixated on the Innsbruck ski pass, whereas it was my call to go to St Anton etc.

That really means that Austria only is pretty set.
We will do public transport only unless it makes sense to pay for a car transfer somewhere as we will all bring our own gear (one snowboarder, three skiiers).

We are all advanced. By Australian standards that is, could potentially get a rude shock in Europe. I know that my thighs are going to.
Only one of us has been to Europe before, but we have all been to the US, Canada, Japan.

Mix of on and off piste, but not back country unless w a guide. Personally I like going powder hunting in trees, so a bit of lower altitude terrain appeals to me, as long as it’s fresh. We had terrible luck in Japan this year, hit two weeks of almost zero snowfall, so are a bit focused on staying up high.

Life beyond skiing only extends to apres drinks on the way home, and dinner out most nights. That sports centre at Ishgal looks appealing as we are used to nightly onsen bath in japan.

We don’t mind a bit of travel to see some different places. St Anton area only is not an option as we would all prefer to see at least two spots. By the sounds of it, Lech is worth a huge focus while we are in the area, and we will be sure to get to Warth.

We are used to getting up for first lifts. And we are used to having to travel to our mountains. The slopes here are six hours drive and we do that most weekends in our ski season. Also, even once we are there, most of the time we don’t stay on snow.

Actually would be there for the Kitzbuhul downhill. But to be honest, we are there to ski, so maybe we could go there the day after it finishes and ski the course!

I think Saalbach might be pushing it from a travel perspective, although I know that it has a great reputation.

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

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@Magwere, St Anton is perfect with the train and it is easy to get to Innsbruck from there. Public transport is good in Austria but it is not always quick. Should be no issues with days out from Innsbruck as long as you dont have to go too far. It is a fair trip down to the end of the Stubaital for the glacier, not sure it is worth the effort when you could spend more time on snow rather than inside a coach or car. Though if the weather is good it would be worth it just to say you have skied on a glacier and there are some pretty big mountains in the vicinity.

Unless you are really keen on ski racing doubt it is worth the trip to Kitzbühel for the Hahnenkamm, big crowds and again a fair, though easy, trip from Innsbruck. You will find most mountain restaurants show the race so you can always stop for a coffee to have a look.

There are some other area passes but that would mean basing yourself elsewhere and you seem to be tied to Innsbruck (which is no bad thing).

It is easy enough to get round the whole of the Arlberg from St Anton, Warth does mean getting going early but perfectly doable with time for lunch. One thing the Arlberg is perhaps not so good for is skiing in the trees, Clarky and Scarlet should be able to advise of some good spots around Innsbruck (assuming decent snow). If the weather is good and your skiing is up to it getting a guide for a day in St Anton would almost certainly be worth it.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

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

Thanks all who helped us last year planning our trip. We have had a fabulous week in St Anton and are now in Innsbruck!.

Great day at Stubai today, in fact the cover was better than yesterday at St Anton.

So tomorrow is Australia Day. As Aussies we were wondering if there is anywhere special we should go tomorrow - mountain, or at night. Not too crazy!! Did that last week

After all it is free

@Magwere, that's an Aussie bar in the 'Bögen', which is basically a series of small bars and clubs set in the arches under the train tracks. Mostly kinda dive bars, but also intimate and can be a good time.

This is the Aussie bar: http://www.littlerock.at

Says it opens at 9pm... Normally not much happens at the Bögen before midnight, but may be different for an Aussie bar on Straya Day!

Help!!

Austria January Itinerary

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