Ischgl Info Required

A snowHead

Hi Folks,
Back in October a group of us booked a trip to Ischgl for this February and I found snowHead

s really helpful for getting info on the resort - many thanks to all who helped Very Happy

16 of us are flying from Dublin to Friedrichshafen with Ryanair, then getting 2 people carriers to Ischgl and staying in Hotel Garni Schmid for 1 week.
As it's getting close (well 4 weeks away) to when we're going I would like to see if I can get some more info from all the helpful snowHead

's. Any info on the following would be really appreciated:
1. Ski gear - recommendations for where to rent from - looking for a good selection at a good price. I have emailed all the shops on the Ischgl site - but I would like to know if there are any shops I should avoid!!

2. Ski Lessons: There are 4 beginners with us, about 6 that have skied once before and 6 that have skied more than twice. I presume it is possible to book into the ski schools that Inghams and the other travel agents book - but how would we go about doing this? Would we be better off booking with a place such as:
http://www.schneesport-akademie.at/
If anyone can recommend a good ski school to cover beginners and intermediates it would be great.

3. I have been reading on the forum about the VIP lift passes and the Silvretta area lift passes - I presume that beginners would only need to get the VIP pass - is there any point in Intermediates in getting the Silvretta pass - or is there enough skiing to be covered on the VIP pass for 6 days?
4. Good restaurants to eat in in the evenings - and if you had a bad experience please let me know.

5. Good bars to go to?? (and again any to avoid).

6. Any other info that would be useful for the trip to Ischgl.

Thanks in advance,

Killeagh

A snowHead

Killeagh, I've not found a great deal of difference between the shops. Don;t rent myself but have been with people who do. The ones near the lifts are hands as they'll ususally let you leave your skis and boots there overnight for a small fee to save hulking them back to the hotel every night. Interport at the bottom of the Pardatscgratbahn is good.

There's only one ski school in Ischgl.

I'd just get the VIP pass which covers Ischgl and Samnaun. No real need to go to Galtus or anywhere else for that matter. There's over 200km of pistes in Ischgl. More than enough for a week.

All the restuarnants I've visited hae been good, if a little pricey at times.

Depends which side of the village you're ataying for apres, although it's easy to get cross town using the undergorund moving walkway. I like the bar outside the hotel Elizabeth at about 3.30-4pm, followed by Nevada Alm, Kitloch and Niki's Stadl. At the other side of town the Trofana Alm is rocking from 4pm. Apres in Ischgl is very "German", starts early and finishes late.

While you're there it's worth having a go on the toboggan run - open Monday and Thursday I think. I understand its one of the longest in the alps at around 7km - great after a few beers!!!

The runs down to Samnaun from the top are very good, secluded and long. Lunch in Samnaun is a must, and you can buy duty free booze there abit cheaper thanin Ischgl.

Also, the runs on the far right of the piste map from Palinkopf down to Gampenalp are excellent, as in the lunch at the bottom.

There's a great ski route from Velital down to the pistes just above the village which is wicked if conditions low down are good.

The Alp Trida Bowl has some nice reds and blues, but some are a little short

It's the best lift system in europe so you spend max time skiing and min time on lifts and queueing.

Steer clear of Idalp area in the mornings as thats where the ski schools tend to go... unless of course you;re in ski school.

Beware the runs down to the village at the end of the day. Can be very icy or sugary and lots of skiers / boarders who've had far too much to drink on them too. That's where the accidents happen in this resort.

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

We are off to Ischgl in late February as well. We are driving there and have booked an apartment. As we will probably want eat out every night could anyone give us examples of prices in restaurants please? Also how much does beer cost?

thanks

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Can't really remember the prices in restaurants as there's always beena big group of us and we've usually had too many beers to care!!! I would say it's very similar price wise to St Anton and definitely one of the pricier resorts in Austria.... still probably cheaper than most of the big French resorts though wink

There are plenty of informal Pizza places and the like. You don't have to go OTT eating on flash places every night.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

SnowGod, do you have to book the tobogganing as it is something we would really like to do or do you just turn up on a monday or thursday ???

You'll need to Register first of course.

Tobogganing
Tobogganing Evening
Our floodlit toboggan run makes sure of fantastic winter fun. With a length of 7km and a difference in altitude of 950m it is one of the longest toboggan runs in the Alps.

Toboggan evenings take place no matter what the weather decides to do on Mondays and Thursdays.

Ascent with the:
Silvrettaseilbahn von 19.00 - 20.30 Uhr

Prices
Adults: € 11.00
Children: € 4.50
OAPs: € 11.00

Toboggans can be rented from SILVRETTA SPORTS at the Silvretta lift station for a price of €8.00.

Many lift passes, with the exception of a season pass, are not valid for lift rides when tobogganing. Enjoy the musical entertainment in the Idalp Restaurant.

Attention: the toboggan run is closed use during the day.

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

Can anyone tell me how patchy the snow is on the lower slopes of Ischgl?

After all it is free

wl, Apart from coming home to the village after a skin full hardly anyone uses the lower slopes. Vast majority of the skiing is bove 200om and my spies tell me it's fine there at the moment.. even when the snow is pretty good there, which is most of the time, the lower slopes are generally like sugar due to all the artificial snow, unless there's been a recent fresh fall on top of it...

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SnowGod, is the route down via velilltal (blue 8 red 7 and 7a) a good alternative to the apperentley doddgy 1 and 1a

also does anyone know a bar or hotel where we will be able to watch the last game of the six nations rugby england v wales as we arrive on the 17th march
it should be on at about 18:30 local time
if there are any other snow heads about at that time it would be great to meet up for a beer or to and watch the rugby snowHead

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Is there much snow in the village? We're bringing people with us this year who have never skied before and I promised them a Winter Wonderland!

snow reports

Neilski, I've never seen a bar in Ischgl showing premiership football, never mind 6 nations rugby!!! Yo be honest, unless you find a hotel with a wide range of stallite channels I think you'll be struggling.

The ski route is a nice run in good snow. Not as crowded or dangerous as the main runs down to the village. I've only skied it once and it was snowing at the time so nice and fluffy.

I'm there 4th - 11th April... you'll be long gone by then unless you decide to stay on for a couple of extra weeks!!!!

wl, Luck of the draw wi. Don't think there's much at the moment but Ischgl is in a so called "snow pocket" and can get a lot of freak snow falls... look at the huge avalanche which flattened Galtur (next village up the valley) a few years ago. Fingers crossed eh

Thanks SnowGod. Hopefully we won't get flattened by an avalanche but a snowy village would be nice! Only 13 days before we go - yippee!!

You know it makes sense.

[quote]I'm there 4th - 11th April... [/quote]

Hey Snowgod,

Will there still be good Snow in Ischgl in April? Am starting to look at a late break but I do not want to take too many chances with the snow. Any other suggestions for this time of year?

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

Hi all,
Thanks for all the info - I'm sure it will come in handy. I emailed all the ski rental places on the Ischgl site and they all came back offering between 10 and 20% discount if everyone in the group rents from the one place.

Snowgod - you seem to be a regular in Ischgl - can you recommend a couple of good restaurants? We will probably try a different place every night but we like to go to one which we know is good on the last night!!

Thanks again,

Killeagh

A snowHead

Killeagh, Depends what you're after. If you like Gourmet food at a price then the Trofana Royal Hotels restaurant is exceptional (The paznauner stube). This is the top hotel in the village (arguably) and also has a good pizzeria. Most of the hotels have good restaurants. I like the ambience in the Hotel Ysclia (??? not sure if thats the correct spelling) restaurant on the main drag. I think the retaurant is called the Allegro or something similar. There's also a good asian fusion type place called Indochine, and The Grill Alm is good for local specialities from the Paznaun Valley area.

We tend to just grab a pizza most nights, after having had a decent lunch on the mountain before the apres "beerfest" !!!! There's some lovely places on the mountain including the two restaurants at the bottom of the Fimbatal runs on the far right of the piste map, a couple in Alp Trida bowl and a couple of fine ones down in Samnaun at the bottom of the long run down from Palinkopf which we always visit at least once. I would say that the prices have in the past seemed a little cheaper in Swiss Francs on the Samnaun side (they also take euros) but not been yet this year so got no up to date info... have to wait til April!!!!

A snowHead

Hi All,
Heading to Ischgl last minute on 28th Feb. (Wed.) until the following Tuesday 6th March and cannot find ANY accommodation for 2 Irish girls.... All hotels seem to prefer when you arrive on a Sat. until the following Sat.... I've used the great interactive online map at ischgl.com and emailed dozens of places all over, Does anyone have any ideas or know anyone in Ischgl with an appartment or hotel that's not tooo far out...Accommodation does seem to be available is Mathon but don't fancy being out that far. Help would be much appreciated !! Puzzled

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

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thanks a million that's really helpful, i'll give it a shot... cheers!

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Hi SnowGod,
Thanks for the info - we were in Livigno a couple of years ago and went to a fondue bar - it was really good and pretty cheap (worked out about €20 each) and they then had live music afterwards. If you know of a similar place in Ischgl that we could get averagly priced food followed by good live music it would be great. We tend to try and just stop for a short time for lunch - get as much skiing time in as possible and then have a decent meal in the evening - but would try and keep it around €50 each including a beer or two.

By the way - roughly how much does beer and cigarettes cost there?

Ornait - we're going to Ischgl on the 24th of Feb - the place we are staying (Hotel Garni Schmid) had one room available for the week when we booked back in October - I would say at this stage it's gone, but you could try emailing Simone to see if there is any room left - info@schmid-ischgl.at - I hope you get sorted

All the best,

Killeagh

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Thanks kellagh- I will try but have a feeling I have already contacted them, I've lost track at this stage with the dozens of places I've been in touch with. The issue is our being awkward and arriving on a wednesday... Work Sad

.. it gets in the way of everything !!!

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

Hi Ornait - Another place that some of us are staying is next door to Garni Schmid in Tanzer - again you can contact them - they reply in German - so hope you German is upto scratch.

After all it is free

Hi Killeagh,
Ja mein Deutsch ist prima.. danke Smile

Killeagh, if you're still there, my thoughts from our trip last Jan are as follows:

Liftpass-wide, I would agree just get the Ischgl-Samnaun one, there really is more than enough for one week and the other areas are smaller. The liftpass is expensive enough anyway so I really wouldn't spend the extra money 'just in case'!

Restaurants, Salz & Pfeffer just by the main lift station (Silvretta) is nice modern food and not too Austrian (if you want a break!)

There are lots of pizzerias, in the village and on the slopes.

We never paid more than EUR30 per person and that usually included two or three courses and copious amounts of wine, so it's not dirt cheap but it won't break the bank either. Most of the evenings, we paid closer to EUR23 - EUR25 which is a lot cheaper than you would expect a meal for over here.

I would avoid having lunch in the mountain restaurants on the swiss side - they were expensive (EUR23 for a bowl of goulash soup, a toasted sandwich, a large fanta and a large beer)!

Can't recommend particular hire shops, but do need to mention insurance . I never hire as I have all my own gear so I don't know what the norm is, but a guy in our group got stung as he lost his hire skis (in deep snow - don't ask!), and when he went to the hire shop to report it, he was told he would have to pay for them and claim it back on his own insurance. When he tried to do this his insurance company would only pay for lost skis if you owned them, not if they are hired. SO he ended up paying EUR450 for a pair of skis that he will never see again. I speak almost fluent German and really did explore all avenues with the police and the hire shop etc. Interestingly, if they had been stolen (from outside a bar or whatever) the hire shop would have covered them. So maybe a question worth asking (although maybe you would anyway!).

Have fun, Ischgl is fab!

Happy sliding
D

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25cm new snow in ischgl Razz

starting to look better for my trip in march snowHead

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

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Hi Deliaskis/SnowGod,
Thanks for all the info - now I know what to look for food/beer wise. I have a list of emails from different skihire shops offering different discounts - will just print them out and take them with me. When we get there we can check which shop is closest to the lift we will use in the morning.

One final question - 4 of the group are beginners - can people recommend a couple of nice blue/easy red runs for them?

Neilski - yip a nice dump of snow this week - hopefully some more will fall during next week to set us up nicely for our trip Very Happy

Thanks again for all the help!!!

Killeagh

SnowGod, we must have picked the wrong place then. I know the lunch we had on the swiss side of the mountain (not down in Samnaun, I think at Alp Trida) was the biggest rip off I encountered out there.

Still, cost of obtaining swiss francs for one lunch probably wouldn't have bene very economical either!

D

You know it makes sense.

Deliaskis, I always seem to have a couple of hundred unspent swiss francs lying around from some trip or other so always take them to Ischgl... I seem to rcall we had an expensive one in the Alp Trida bowl too, but can't for the lift of ma remember whih retaurant it was. The Samnaun one was good though, and seemed reasonable at the time.... wonder if the bottle of swiss red had anything to do with my perception of value wink

Killeagh, In my opinion the best thing for a beginner is to get up to Alp Trida using the Fimbabahn or Silvrettabahn gondolas (depending on whereyou're staying). From there take the Flimjochtbahn chair and do blue 11 a couple of times before the ski schools srrive and it gets busy. Then take the Idjochbahn chair and ski down to Alp Trida bowl on Blue 62 or 63. From the bowl there are several easyish blues off N4 N5 and N6 Chair Lifts from the Alpe Trida bowl. They may be a little steep in places but they're nice and wide, no edges or orange netting Shocked

and you can see them from the bowl to chose which one to do... Apologies but I can't remember offhand which of these runs is the easiest but I seem to recall they're much of a muchness.... If progression is fast then the reds on the other side of the Alp Trida Bowl are only slightly harder than the blues... Unless they're advancing quicky, are fit and have bottle, Beginners should probably steer clear of the long runs from Palinkopf down to Samnaun and the reds on the far right of th episte map down to Fimbatal / Gempenalp

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

Hi ,
I'm heading to Ischgl and can some one pls recomend ski rent shop in Ischgl , and if you have experience renting trough http://www.j2ski.skiset.co.uk/ where you can get discount
thanks for your help

A snowHead

baba4ko, I've used a couple of skiset rental places in Austria, although not in Ischgl, and didn't particularly rate the quality or condition of the equipment, although it was dirt cheap. I've tended to use Intersport which is more expensive but quality guaranteed, but always take my own ski's now unless I'm only going for a couple of days.

A snowHead

Thank you SnowGod

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

anyone in Ischgl this weekend ?

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masmith, afraid not, out there 17th to 24th march, can't wait snowHead

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

masmith, I'm off on the 10th March and really, really looking forward to it now. If you get a chance, could you keep us posted on the conditions. Enjoy.

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masmith,

Yes , SWMBO and I are staying at the Jagerhof. HH ski suit red top, grey trousers. Am taking an umbrella and galoshes - where you going to be?

Steve

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

neilski I'm counting as well 17th-24th March.

After all it is free

stevepick, hi, we're staying in Kappl Sat/Sun nights but heading into Ischgl day and night (couldn't get anywhere in Ischgl). PM on way.

baba4ko, only two weeks to go, we are on the first flight from manchester so hope to get half a day on saturday,maybe see you there snowHead

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It snowed yesterday and is forecast to snow again today. 110cm at the top now. Conditions should be great. I'm there 4th April so fingers crossed it will still be good. Historically Ischgl is a good place for a late season break.

Help!!

Ischgl Info Required

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