 Poster: A snowHead
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Apologies if this has been asked before, did not find any search results! We are looking for a kinder hotel in Austria with a good ski school for beginners (both kids and an adult) but also intermediate (blue) slopes for other members of the group. We’d like to keep it simple for our first time in Austria and not rent a car, but I’m not sure which (if any) kinderhotels are easily accessible by train from Munich? For example, we were looking at Almhof but that seems like it would require transfers and I don’t know how practical that would be with kids and luggage. Any suggestions would be welcome.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@starrynight, cant help with the Kinder hotel question but would point out that train transfer from Munich airport is not necessarily straight foward. Firstly you need to get an S bahn (metro) into town, probably to Hauptbahnhof (main train station). From there you either take a regional train to Kufstein and then further trains in Austria or there are EC trains once every two hours which go to Innsbruck and various stops in between. Other options possible too like going to Salzburg. However as you can see there is a certain amount of faff involved which may not appeal. Generally (sadly) you are better off hiring a car or sorting a transfer (normally a mini bus so no issue with luggage). If you are flying to Munich, areas to look at might include Ski Welt, Kitzbühel & Zillertal.
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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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Thank you- that is good to know, this confirms my suspicion it might be too complicated! I didn’t realize there were transport shuttles available in the region so I will search for those too. Our main hesitation with renting a car was not knowing what road conditions are like in winter, so a shuttle service might work well. I will check those regions- thanks again.
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Can't offer any advice on the hotels, but regarding trains from Munich you're better off getting the S Bahn to Ostbahnhof rather than Hauptbahnhof. From there it's possible to get a direct train to several resorts. I've travelled to St Anton and Bad Gastein in the last few years and found it pretty straightforward. Mind you I was travelling solo, not with kids!
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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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Most Austrian resorts are in the valleys at around 750-1000m elevation, so you typically do not have to drive up windy mountain roads (though there are some exceptions of course). Most of the driving would be on motorways and A-road types which are cleared very frequently. Also rental cars will come with winter tires in the periods between November and end of March. So I wouldn't rule out car rental, as with kids that may still be one of the best ways to travel, as you can always stop for the bathroom when you need to and you can bring your car seats. Plus Munich car rental is usually quite reasonably priced. Probably less hassle than having to change trains 2-3x with luggage and kids.
Alternatively, yo may find some Kinderhotels on UK tour operator packages, so you can then book with them and transport to the resort will be facilitated.
I think the primary consideration should be finding a Kinderhotel which is close to both nursery slopes and main lifts. For example I think the Almhof you mention has its own nursery slope for kids, but I believe to reach the main ski area you have to take a bus. Also Gerlos/Zillertal Arena is mostly reds.
One resort that has a large proportion of big wide blue slopes is Saalbach-Hinterglemm. You can pretty much ski the entire area by just staying on blue slopes (exception is the connection to Fieberbrunn). It is easily accessible by car from Munich (there may also be bus transfer connections too). There are plenty of Kinderhotels in Hinterglemm and quite a few in Leogang. There are also plenty of other family activities to do such as tobogganing and the fairy tail forest.
We have stayed in Oberschwarzachhof in Hinterglemm, which I don't think is an official Kinderhotel, but it is very family friendly and kids focused. The best thing was that it was directly adjacent to the ski school meeting point and next to the night skiing slope. There is also Ellmauhof nearby.
Another area that could work well is SkiWelt, which is family focused, has plenty of blue slopes also appears to have a few Kinderhotels dotted around it.
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@starrynight, No need to worry about winter driving, all cars rented from Munich will come with winter tyres. Unless you hit a snowmageddon then all the main roads will be kept clear (unlike UK) and driving is straight forward. I cant remember the names of the transfer services (regularly see them waiting at the airport) but it is common though assume would be more expensive than car hire.
Ellmau (part of SkiWelt) is probably a good option and reasonably close to Munich, Saalbach also good though a bit further away
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Thanks so much- you’ve given me a lot to consider. Sounds like either a car or shuttle is the way to go. There are so many choices it is a bit overwhelming! One question about Saalbach-Hinterglemm- I see the world championships would overlap with the week we’d be going. Best to avoid? It’s probably slightly further than I was hoping for anyway, but looks like a lovely area.
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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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| munich_irish wrote: |
| I cant remember the names of the transfer services (regularly see them waiting at the airport) |
Four Seasons is what I see mostly round here.
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Alpbach would be a good shout
don't worry so much about being close to the slopes if you have a car. Yiu can drive every day to the lift station. I find that so much easier
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@starrynight, I've mentioned this place on other threads. Very good and very easy to get to by train (to Radstadt) and by car. https://www.zauchenseehof.com/ Super ski area for beginners and low intermediate skiers.
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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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@RedandWhiteFlachau, @starrynight, my S-i-L and family stayed several times at Zauchenseehof and loved it. Ski area great for your abilities for sure.
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| starrynight wrote: |
| Thanks so much- you’ve given me a lot to consider. Sounds like either a car or shuttle is the way to go. There are so many choices it is a bit overwhelming! One question about Saalbach-Hinterglemm- I see the world championships would overlap with the week we’d be going. Best to avoid? It’s probably slightly further than I was hoping for anyway, but looks like a lovely area. |
The FIS world cup runs until the 16th of Feb, so if you are going UK half term there is some minor overlap.
Hinterglemm is around 3h drive, so may be a bit far, however Leogang on the other side of the ski area is about 2.5h. Smaller village, but also has tobogganing and night skiing.
For closer to Munich SkiWelt and Kitzbuehl are great options. The former having quite a few kinder hotels dotted around (e.g. Der Baer in Ellmau)
@RedandWhiteFlachau Zauchensee looks amazing, but wouldn't the roadworks on the A10 be an issue coming from Munich? Currently considering changing my own half term plans to Obertauern because of this. The more I read about it the scarier it gets haha.
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You know it makes sense.
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@ski_free, As mentioned elsewhere, the train from Munich to Radstadt is a really good option. There's a Bavarian "Family Ticket" that costs about €30 for a family and is valid in Salzburgland. https://int.bahn.de/en/offers/regional/regional-day-ticket-bavaria. The journey to Radstadt, assuming trains connect is around 3hr 30 mins, which is about the same as going by car on a good day. A free bus to Zauchensee meets the train and you won't need a car when you get there.
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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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Poster: A snowHead
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@RedandWhiteFlachau, Thanks for the feedback. Thought I'd flag it here as it could impact the OPs decision on where to go. Last thing you want coming back from holidays is stressing out about making your flight because you are stuck in a 2h traffic jam.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| ski_free wrote: |
| @RedandWhiteFlachau, Thanks for the feedback. Thought I'd flag it here as it could impact the OPs decision on where to go. Last thing you want coming back from holidays is stressing out about making your flight because you are stuck in a 2h traffic jam. |
Thanks- I appreciate both the resort suggestion (it looks great!) and the heads up about the road construction because that would not be a good surprise for sure.
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