 Poster: A snowHead
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I'll try and keep it simple!
Planning a self drive self catering (via Rotterdam) for January / February next year. Family of four, two small kids, beginner wife. Been looking at Postalm (St Wolfgang) and it looks ideal for a lot of reasons (small, quiet, good for beginners / families, cheap lift passes, decent snow) but are there any alternatives you can think of a bit nearer in Austria (the thin bit instead of the fat bit!)
I just think the drive looks a bit too long and I'm not keen on the 35 minute bus commute each way via "windy mountain roads".
Any suggestions welcome, don't want or need expensive, multi-area linked lift passes, just some family fun.
Thanks.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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shootingmike, I don't know Austria well - but I suspect there are absolutely loads of better places than St Wolfgang. That bus journey each day would be a bit of a killer, and the ski area is tiny. Not only that, it seems that quite a lot of the very few runs are red (ie probably too difficult for beginners).
For beginners, especially small kids, having the ski lifts near your accommodation makes life a lot easier. One place I nearly went one year, when we were all beginners, was Westerndorf - which looked ideal. It was all bookedhowever, and so we went to St Oswald, another very small place, which proved good for us. We stayed in some self catering apartments which at that point were offered by one of the British tour operators, but aren't featured any more. The apartments were great, and there was a hot-spring fed swimming pool in the garden, which proved a big hit with everyone, from our 4 year old daughter to her grandma, who came with us.
But one problem with little places like that is instruction language in the ski school. I was in a wholly German speaking group. I had done O level, and one of the other pupils was a Dutch nun who was fluent in both English and German and helped out on the complicated bits. 2 of my 3 kids had 100% German instruction too - it was OK, but not ideal.
Lots of people on this forum know Austria well and could recommend somewhere more accessible, geographically and linguistically, if Austria is where you want to go.
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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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Have a look at the Montafon valley. There are a number of small resorts there that are well suited to beginners, and it's not well used by the English!
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shootingmike, we have a lot of races up on Postalm and I would echo what pamw said, the drive up is a bore, there are not many runs ,it is very cheap though ,you are right. Also look at Flachau, It is great for beginners,loads of cruisy easy blues, wide pistes,very good ski school for the 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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You'll need to Register first of course.
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shootingmike, Westendorf has already been mentioned as a suitable resort, with which I agree, although virtually any resort in that area (Grossraum/Wilder Kaiser) would be suitable ie Soll, Ellmau, Scheffau etc, and the ski schools will have good English speaking instructors. Alternatively the Zillertal has several suitable resorts, with Mayrhofen being the most well known.
Once you've settled on a region you may find this site helpful for accomodation (select apartments as the accommodation type):
www.tiscover.com
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shootingmike, "the thin bit" looks nearer but doesn't take less time to get to from Rotterdam. Maybe have a look at Erhwald (probably the nearest and very under-rated), Seefeld or, further East the obvious family-friendly places like Ellmau.
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Glatur? Quiet with lots of nice wide runs and some interesting off piste for the more advanced. Cheaper than Ischgl down the road which is a great area. There are a couple of other small resorts in the valley as well.
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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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isn't that Galtur?
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Aye, thats nice as well 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Rohrmoos.
Superb beginner terrain with loads of steeper stuff when you are ready
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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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shootingmike, I went with our family to Kappl this year (Paznaun valley with Ischgl/Glatur and it's nearby sister resort of Galtur  ). Was really impressed with it. Done a report on it here in Jan this year http://www.snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=5047&start=160 We liked it so much we've booked already for next year at Gasthof Alpenfrieden which is right on the slopes and a short walk to town centre - c.€50 pppm for adult and €35 for the kids - half board. We did not stay at this place last year but always thought the menus looked really nice (as our hotel food was pretty rubbish).
There should be no need for the car once there as I found the skiing in Kappl great for the family. You do of course have the option to go to Ischgl Galtur and See - all of which have a free bus link if you felt the need to explore more of the valley. Good value resort too with most drinks costing €3 and lunch for 5 of us costing €35.
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You know it makes sense.
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shootingmike, Westendorf has all you need. Have a look at www.pensionchristoph.at . 5 minute walk to the lifts and ski school. They also have self catering family apartments. Easy links to gondola and access to Brixen and the skiwelt. Also fairly easy to Kitzbuhel if you fancy a look round.
ps. we were going to drive via the route you've mentioned but in the end it was cheaper to fly Lufthansa to Munich.
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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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Kuehtai? Or as Elizabeth B said Schruns in Montafon? Or what about Fuegen?
Kuehtai is still my favourite small resort, totally family friendly, excellent for beginners...
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Poster: A snowHead
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Thanks all we've looked at some of the suggestions... Rohrmoos and Erhwald seem about right.
Tried looking at that Montafon website but it seems I can see everything but ski pass prices!
. GeorgeVII - I've had a look at that link but it seems the apartments are over 900 euro a week, even self catering or am I looking in the wrong place?? Also, aren't the lift passes dear as it's in the skiwelt?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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shootingmike, if you're thinking self catering I would take Kappl out of the equation - although there are tonnes of appartments, there is now a huge choice of restaurants in the town.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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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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fatirishman, Kuhtai is ok for early intermediates but imv not that good for beginners because there are hardly any accessible blues and most of the pistes are easy reds (or blacks). Great resort though 
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I'm surprised that no-one has yet recommended the Wildschonau (Niederau, Oberau and Auffach). An excellent beginners resort with superb progression and for any others who have a wee bit more experience, the Ski Welt area is just down the road!
There is a regular update thread here with lots of happy skiers comments . It might be worth looking at as the prices are very reasonable. My previous school always organised its Year 7 ski camp there because of the cost-effectiveness. BTW that is a German Year 7 not an English one!
This is the thread: http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=46151
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shootingmike, you're right, those apartments seem quite expensive - but at the moment the whole season is the same price. So if you want to go at a peak time (e.g. half term) the prices are really quite good - Westendorf sounds lovely and 940 euros for an apartment at half term is good value. But if you can go in, say, late January, you could get a decent apartment for half that in a whole range of places, including our resort in France (Les Saisies) which is very good for beginners. The lift passes are comparable - the Ski Welt is more expensive at peak times but much the same in lower season (as they drop their prices then). Looking at some of the ski school websites it seems that private ski lessons are much more expensive in Westendorf than here.
Ski hols are expensive however you do them, actually! But if you can go out of peak holiday times then apart from being cheaper you'll also find less crowded pistes. I've been skiing for 2 hours this morning on stunning snow, with almost completely empty pistes. Mind you, it is snowing hard and blowing a hooley! 
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| boabski wrote: |
| shootingmike, if you're thinking self catering I would take Kappl out of the equation - although there are tonnes of appartments, there is now a huge choice of restaurants in the town. |
If you are actually intending to self cater rather than eat out you do not need restaurants in great numbers. Possibly one for a special night out.
We have been to Kappl for three consecutive years self catering and not eaten out at night. Find it easier that way though we usually have a blow out lunch on the last day. A bigger problem for self catering in Kappl (and indeed other small Austrian resorts I have been to) is that there isl ess of a selection of food in the local rather small shop than in many other places. The shop also gets very crowded after skiing. A car is very handy for a big shop down in Landeck.
Aside from that I agree Kappl has excellent childrens facilities and good varied skiing. Not so sure about the suggestion of Galtur for a family with young children in Jan/early feb. It is north facing and at the head of the valley in my experience it gets very cold. A huge advantage if there is a warm winter and you are booking late but if the weather is seasonally cold a warmer spot is probably going to be more enjoyable.
Saying which I will return to my familiar theme if the OP is going low season and particularly if they are driving there is an awful lot to be said for waiting and checking where the snow is good. In spite of all its advocates Austria along with every other alpine area suffers from the occasional snow shortage or warm spell when snow is not easily made. Relatively early in the season this is more common and simply waiting to see where the snow is falling can avoid dissapointment at a time when accommodationis easily found.
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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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I'd agree with T Bar about waiting. If you can go low season, definitely wait till much nearer the time to book. Also about restaurants - I just love it when people say "we are self catering, can anyone recommend 6 good restaurants". What they mean is "we are renting an apartment but intend to eat out". A family wanting a low cost holiday is likely to steer clear of restaurants, but a good choice of food to buy in-resort is certainly useful. A family on a budget, wanting to save money, can pack a useful amount of food in their baggage even if they are flying, provided they are good at packing light.
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