Saalbach ski trip costs and recommendations

A snowHead

Hi all, trying to figure out if out ski trip costs seem reasonable. We're a family of 5 ( kids will be 4, 6, 8 ) heading to Austria in Feb from Cork. I always do DIY, as tour operators can never quite fit our requirements and I always try to keep our budget as low as possible. But this year, things just seem so expensive. So I suppose ( acknowledging inflation), I'm wondering if there's anything I've missed re the cost of flights/accomodation etc. My husband doesn't like to drive in winter, so we usually try to go to Austria to take advantage of the trains.
So here's what I've got:
Saalbach Feb 1- 10 2024, family of 5

Return flights Cork--> Munich : 1050 eur
overnight in Munich: 200 eur
Train Munich-->Saalbach: estimated 80 eur
Accomodation (B&B), 2 bed apartment 8 nights: 3100 eur

Then I'm guessing ski rental, lift pass and ski lessons for the kids will be somewhere around 1k

so total cost is around àpprox 5300 for 9 nights

Do this sound reasonable to others? Or crazy expensive?

Thanks all

A snowHead

Overall about 1k per person including gear, passes and lessons for a good resort on a 9 night trip seems reasonable and a quick search shows you are comfortably beating package prices. I'm looking at about the same per person going by train to Austria 17-24 Feb.

The accommodation looks a bit higher than I have found but I'm looking at a smaller resort (Seefeld) and you might be booking something better located or higher end than me.

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

Looks good to me. I've done that trip a few times DIY. Although you're last bit of travel might be on bus.

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Sounds pretty reasonable to me...

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I think ski rental, lift pass, kids lessons will be closer to E2k. Ski pass alone likely to be >E1k for 5 people. Kit rental 250, lessons E200 per child.

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A lot depends on the exact conditions of your trip, but it's in the vague range that I would expect for a February (peak time) trip, and of course you haven't included food and drink in your costs which will be about €15-20 per adult and €7-10 per child per day for lunch on the mountain, then the costs for breakfast and dinner in your apartment and maybe 2-3 meals out.

There are factors which can be varied to bring the cost down:

- Saalbach is a top resort, and can charge accordingly. The lift pass is needed for kids lessons from day 1, and is relatively expensive. The benefit of DIY is that you're not tied to the places that tour ops go, so maybe look elsewhere, eg Skiwelt, Flachau/Wagrain, Maria Alm, Zell im Ziller, etc.

- since you'll be dropping the kids off and collecting them, your own skiing time will be limited, so is the higher lift pass price worth it for you?

- the whole of February is peak time, and everywhere in Austria operates on 7 day stays with changeover usually on Saturday. By asking for an apartment for 8 days you are likely to be leaving the owners with the risk of no one wanting the 6 days they are left with, so they will have bumped the price considerably to cover their risk and also the fact that their cleaner may only be available on Saturdays so they may have to clean it themselves.

- the overnight in Munich is an unnecessary expense when flying. Fly to Innsbruck or Salzburg instead, even if that means a change in London, Amsterdam or Frankfurt, and you won't need it. Also, from Munich I wouldn't be going to Saalbach - always Salzburg for me, as from Munich you have to drive past at least one good ski area then continue on for another hour to get to Saalbach, or on the train it's a long way round. Hence Skiwelt or Zillertal...

A decent apartment with two rooms and close to the slopes with space for 5 could be anything between €2000 and €2750. Anything higher than that is either luxury top end spec, or you are overpaying, and I've yet to find an Austrian owner who doesn't publish their rates and stick to them. If you are prepared to take a short bus to the slopes, you can remove €500 from the price.

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Haven't been with young kids for a while so I'm not sure of costs for them and discounts available but 1000 Euro for five for 6/7 day lift pass equipment hire and lessons looks a little light to me.
In your Apartment can you prepare food if not eating out could be a little pricey.
I always found DIYing beat the brochure prices for a family though so well done.

After all it is free

Are you sure the train for 5 is only 80euro (assuming a return)? Even with railcard it sounds cheap @ 16 euro per person!
I would be surprised if you can get an apartment for 8 nights - usually sat-sat or sun-sun rentals.

We often did eight day trips with an extra night to give us an extra days skiing, but the extra was usually in a hotel near the airport.

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I agree that Lift Passes (prices have gone through the roof)/Hire/Lessons will be substantially more than you have hoped for.

Eating out/up the mountain has also gone up - so also agree with keeping costs down by maximising eating in your apartment.

It might be worth plumbing your rough dates into Crystal Ireland - who currently have a "Buy one L/Pass, get one free" offer atm - and usually have bundles for Hire and Ski School. If it doesn't meet your needs, it will at least give a benchmark on price (albeit for 7 nights), for a holiday that will fly you from Cork/Dublin to Salzburg and includes coach transfer to the door of your accommodation.....so no added costs of an overnight stay.

EDIT. Crystal don't seem to have any B&Bs listed - at least to that resort. They should though, if prepared to go elsewhere - so not ideal (unless their pricing is tempting).

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@Skifamily, I always work on initial budget and then add 50%, i'd say you'll be very tight on your budget and looking more like E7k+

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Hi all,
Thanks so much for the replies and feedback! So it seems like I'm not being totally frivolous or mishguided Razz

Yup, I've already booked flights and accommodation, I just had a momentary panic that our budget had spiraled out of control.

We've learned the hard way to always do at least 8 nights with the kids, one of them will inevitably get sick etc, so 7 nights has always been too short in the past.

I suppose we are paying for convenience to at least some degree- trying to balance ease of travelling with three small kids with keeping the budget reasonably under control. Eg We've decided to avoid the 3.5 hr drive to be able to fly out of Dublin, and the only reasonably priced flight I could find out of Cork was to Munich. ( a 2 hour layover in Schipol is much better than a 7 hr round trip drive in the dead of winter in Ireland.) Otherwise I would have definitely preferred to fly to Salzburg!) other flights were coming out at 1.5-2k, which I just can't rationalize.

I've just looked back to last year-we took the train from Munich to Serfaus last year and it was 60 eur one way for the 5 of us. So i've actually underestimated it above, but still quite inexpensive really.

Good point about Feb being a peak time to go- we're going the first week in Feb to avoid half-term break. Unfortunately we can't go any earlier due to work commitments next year, otherwise I would have booked for January as in previous years. But I've taken note that my lift pass/rental/lesson estimate is too low- I'll definitely revise upwards!

We went to Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis last year and thought it was more/less perfect, especially for the kids. (I'm Canadian and grew up skiing in Ontario, I couldn't believe much better Fiss is set up for kids than anything I experienced in Canada.) But I couldn't find any available accomodation for our dates in Serfaus of Fiss for under 3.5K (for 8 nights), and Ladis is a little bit too far away for our preference.

I actually booked Saalbach after reading back through previous snowheads posts and responses- based on previous recommnedations. It seems as if would be the resport to suit all of our needs: husband is an advanced skiier, so loves blacks,and a bit of terrain to explore, I'm a timid intermediate so naturally love my blue runs but can make my way down reds without proble, and the kids are all still learning. Also looking for a compact village with a bit of life. But if anyone has any other suggestsion, please do weigh in!

thanks again everyone

@Skifamily, Saalbach/Hinterglemm is a good choice and our kids learned there over several years, but it comes with a higher price tag. If you are happy with that, go for it.

You know it makes sense.

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

ok, serfaus is probably one of the best resorts in Europe for kids, however in AUT ist (i think) the second more expensive as regards as accommodation
But i found saalbach in general better as resort with more blue slopes (a minus that it is not so high as SFL)

I manage to keep a 7-8 days ski trip under 2.500 Euro however that means driving with own car (and from Germany not UK), searching for a budget but decent option as regards as appartment (with kids 6 and 8 y old is not a problem at all, at least at present) and we pay only lift pass and ski school but school only for the children.

When you drive with your own car and have own equipment can you not save enought money?

A snowHead

A snowHead

When coming from Australia I don’t bother counting too much.
You can’t put a dollar value on the experience.

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

In the past I have considered a budget of £100 per full day skiing per person as a barometer of value. I usually smash that easily by skiing in Scotland on sunny days, and to do it abroad you are on a budget holiday.

So your trip sounds like about £130 per person per day, and I made the assumption of 7 full sunny ski days with good snow.

This is at the budget end, but probably more than I would pay.

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@Skifamily, SnowHead @tatmanstours has a 'guide' to the area which he will send to you.

https://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=5134091&highlight=guide#5134091

That particular thread has a lot of general information on the area

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@Skifamily, PM Tatman on here - he does a fact sheet (he lives there). edit your opening post (little cross to the right of the post) and add Saalbach then more people with experience will see it and come in

@Bigtipper, but you do super low cost and do it alone - nothing like the OPs reqts

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

After all it is free

@Skifamily, we have booked Saalbach but for 16th dec as kids are off school then. One observation is that I find going self catering with kids can be better, having access to a kitchen doesn't prevent you eating out but B&B you have no choice. My kids can be a bit fussy and like to eat earlier than we could find places serving.

https://www.sunweb.co.uk/ski/austria/skicircus-saalbach-hinterglemm-leogang-fieberbrunn/saalbach/residence-saalbach-apartments?Participants[0][0]=1992-03-20&Participants[0][1]=1992-03-20&Participants[0][2]=1992-03-20&Participants[0][3]=2009-09-09&Allocation=2&originList=search-result

This is where we booked, nb sunweb includes lift passes

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@Skifamily, me again! Ski bus, it stops at 5pm something that frustrates us, your hotel shuttle will probably stop around the same time, taxis are plentiful and one should cost you around €18.00 .

A night bus service “Night Rider” has been introduced at €5 per person, I haven’t been able to figure out the times from the Shattberg Xpress to Jaursen, it’s geared to run frequently up to Hinterglem, you can take the 680 bus, which isn’t included in your lift pass, however depending on how busy it is with other skiers the drive may let everyone on without paying.

Given the ages of your children this might not be an issue for you.

The ski club of GB are in Saalbach it might be an option for your husband if you are planning on lessons, you get one day without membership and if you like it you can join up.

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@Skifamily, Have you considered the kitz ski area and staying in Kirchberg?
Huge area, great lift system, great snow making, good ski schools skiwelt on the same lift pass and easily assessed opening up even more skiing. I'd hazard a guess you'd get half board for not much more than youve budgeted for, we certainly did last year €270 a night for the 4 of us in a decent half board hotel over xmas and new year. Closer to Munchen flughafen,

Hi all, apologies for the radio silence over the past few months. Life, work, back-to-school got in the way of any more travel planning, Thanks so much for all of your advice above! Yup I'm a little bit nervous about the Ski Bus stopping at 5pm, but I figure that the kids will be wrecked by that point anyway. If not, we'll just have to go with taxis, which definitely isn't the end of the world. I ended up booking the saalbach avenida mountain lodges, worked out to be 3100 eur for 8 nights (breakfast included) for a two-bedroom suite for 2 adults and 3 kids. So I think that seems like pretty good value for the beginning of Feb. Flights out of Cork to Munich for the 5 of us were 1K with KLM.

I've also booked my 4 year old into Skill ski-school for 4 days and will do the same with the other 2 kids. The plan is to take the hotel shuttle into Saalbach and then the Skill shuttle have said they can collect us from one of the gondola stations in Saalbach. I just really like their set-up/approach, especially their acknowledement that 3-4 year olds aren't up for more than 2 hrs of ski lessons per day and that they start formal lesson time at 10 am. I'm pretty sure they have a ski-depot too which will help make travel easy. I figure we'll spend the last few days of our trip skiing on the blue runs with the kids up at Saalbach. My older two girls should be definitely up that after a few days of ski lesson ( and Serfaus last year). Hopefully my husband will have our 4 year old on a harness.

So all up, I suspect the entire trip will be approx 6K. Not too bad for 5 people I think...or at least that's what I'm telling my husband Very Happy

We're planning to be taking the train from Munich, has anyone ever done a short transfer in Worgl? Looking at trainline, the transfer time is 7mins at Worgl station for the train we'd like to catch. It just seems an awfully tight transfer time....

You know it makes sense.

@Skifamily, train travel in Germany and Austria is very reliable, and changes are planned into the system in a way that makes a lot of sense.

That said, a 7min change requires you to be quick unloading your luggage and finding the next train - chances are that it will be sat alongside the same platform with the doors open and waiting for you, but if you have to use the underpass to change platforms then it could be a little tight with younger kids. I'd plan for 15 minutes to be less stressed.

The journey planner at https://www.oebb.at/en/ is pretty good, and buying tickets in advance is much easier than via a ticket machine or office where there might be queues.

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

@Skifamily, how long is the gap between the train you want and the next one? Wörgl isn't a particularly big station, so you should be able to get between platforms ok, as long as your Munich train is on time.

My experience recently is that trains between Munich and Wörgl aren't always on time, but not by huge amounts. That train from Munich direct to Wörgl is likely the train that carries on to Innsbruck and beyond to Italy, so it starts in Munich Central, and then you catch it in Munich Ost, so at least that gives you a chance that it'll be on time as you're only the 2nd stop.

A snowHead

ahh great, thanks @ousekjarr, and@swskier, i think we'll catch the earlier train to make the 14 minute transfer time in Worgl then.

A snowHead

@Skifamily, worth while if you can. Just be aware that the S Bahn trains between Munich Airport and Munich Ost station aren't always running to time, so if I were you, get on the first S8 train from the airport you can, they run every 20 minutes, and if you're early for your train at Munich Ost, then there's a number of cafes/shops downstairs under the platforms you could grab a drink etc from while you wait.

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

I'm guessing that Ireland is a bit more lenient with taking time off school than here in the U.K. otherwise you'd be needing to factor the fines into your budget as well Laughing

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I think ski rental, lift pass and ski lessons for the kids will cost more than 1k. Your accommodation sounds a little bit on the expensive side too I think. We went skiing in Saalbach and Zell am See last year in Feb half term. We booked flights from Gatwick to Salzburg with BA independently and hired a car in Salzburg airport for a week. We booked a 4* half board hotel called Hotel Victoria which was just between Saalbach and Zell am See. There was a regular ski bus to take us to and from the ski resorts. We booked the hotel via Sunweb (which I can really recommend) and lift passes for the whole ski area were included in the price. In total, our 7 day holiday came to £5200 including food on the mountain (which we found more affordable than in France & Switzerland), parking at Gatwick airport, car hire in Salzburg airport, petrol, insurance, tourist tax, ski hire through Alpinresorts, some new ski gear, etc. We are also a family of 5. So with a bit of advanced planning (and advice on this forum), it can be done on a budget!

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@Motherofthree, was thinking of you as we drove past the Victoria, did it all work out ok?

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@radar, It was really good thanks! It worked great for us to stay in Maishofen and it was a good compromise to stay there to be able to get a nice hotel for an affordable(ish) price. There was only one time when the ski bus didn't turn up and the next one was full, so we had to wait for over an hour for the next bus. I got a lot of useful information to help us plan for the trip here on this forum - thank you!

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

@Skifamily, accommodation sounds like you could shoot lower. I've been hitting ~1200 Euros for a week in peak season for 2 bedroom apartment, but you def need to shop around to find the lower rates and book early. Some accommodation costs are eye watering tbh.

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Saalbach ski trip costs and recommendations

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