 Poster: A snowHead
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After several seasons of planning to get there and failing miserably I am now all booked up for Serfaus for w/c 3rd March 
Going as a family group, grandparents, sister and all staying in apartments at the lifts end of town and have a couple of questions and know a few Snowheads have been here.
1) Ski School(s) – looks like just the one in town, is that right? If so any experience with them? Two of us thinking of booking group lessons but may go for a few private lessons instead. I probably won’t make all group lessons due to spending time with the little uns – any chance they’d allow you to book and do something like 4 out of 6 days group lessons? Otherwise private may be the better bet.
2) Favourite pistes – what are good for a bit of a warm up, top views, any favourites must dos etc? Also any that are best avoided in the afternoon, i.e. sun affected / serious moguls (I’m really not good on moguls!!).
3) Good eateries – both on mountain and in town, we’re self catering but will probably pop out to a restaurant or two during the week. Child friendly ones preferably.
4) Ski hire – have boots but need to hire skis, any recommendations and anyone know of pre-bookable discounts for ski hire in Serfaus?
I know it’s a good resort for children, one of the main reasons for wanting to give it a go, but does anyone know how the child friendly areas work? I understand there’s one actually in the village of Serfaus itself, Bertras over Fiss side and the area at Komperdell too. We’re considering trying my son on skis, he’ll be just shy of 4 when we get there but will play it by ear and see if he fancies it or not, don’t want to force him. If we do go for it though are their kids lessons at each location or does it depend on existing ability, i.e. young would definitely be down in the village? Also do you know if you can just go sledging in them or need a kids lift pass?
Any other tips, places to go, things you must see very welcome  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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A group of us went last spring & we absolutely loved the place so very Jealous
This is despite us being a male group who normally like to party and drink as much as ski
The place is definitely not lively at all, but we still thought it was a cracking resort just on the skiiing alone
will dig out the piste Map & give you some favourites. It's one of the few places where i can picture loads of enjoyable runs we went on,
Other resorts they often blend into one.
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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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wrongsideof30, that would be great thanks. Glad you liked it, its been on my list to get to for a few years so glad we're finally going there. Not too worried about the apres but will no doubt find a bar at the bottom of the slopes for a couple of drinks at the end of the day's skiing some days. More the odd gluhwein up on the mountain normally for us though so any recommendations on huts also welcome.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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We went 19 to 28 March two years ago with kids, and had a wonderfull time. There is a nice little round umbrella bar as you come down last run just before cable car station, but very little rowdy apres as normally expected in Austria.
We hired skis from shop inside said cable car building, booked it on alpinresorts.com beforehand.
Did not see childrens area in town, but at first plateau out of cablecar is great learning and playing area, also where skischool meets and teaching starts.
Sorry about lack of detail - porridgebrain!
Read our report and advice of others in Forumsearch for Serfaus , sorry too stupid to link it.
Enjoy , its a great resort.
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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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Thanks lizski, will investigate Alpinresorts for the ski hire, could be quite convenient as we're staying at the cable car end. Found your thread too:
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=1500678&highlight=serfaus#1500678
I find the search can be useful but sometimes tricky to find what you're looking for. With your name and Serfaus found it though ta  Sounds like the group lessons were a bit high on numbers, am I right in that there is only the one Ski School? We'll try to find the Leithe-Wirt, where abouts is it on the mountain?
Still to sort transfers but from Innsbruck, lots of internet trawling to do on that. Any recommendations on tranfer firms from Innsbruck, we're a group of 7? Thanks again.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Using search better now found my own previous query from 2009, though different questions now I've actually booked it 
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Child friendly - many restaurants have play areas, don't remember any names.
There is a childrens area by the church, two magic carpets, begginers slope, and on nice days they run a carousele. This area is really good for riding sleds
Instruction - we had a very good instructor for private lessons, Fred (Frederique, don't remember the last name)
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sugardaddy, thanks, I thought I'd seen a kids area in the middle of the village on the maps, that must be it by the church. Assuming that's where absolute begginers children lessons would be. Did your kids try them there?
That said if my lad sees the carousel it will probably be difficult to get him off it and onto the slope! If anyone knows of restaurant names with play areas that would be great.
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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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Hey what a great thread, I'm off to Serfaus this Feb half term with a by then just-turned-4 year old and 20 month old. Will try to give a report when I get back. From looking at the resort website I'm pretty sure that kids under 5/6 ride for free on the all lifts. The child friendly areas are free but I'm not sure how the dynamic works with ski school groups work e.g. do they pretty much take over? We're going with my in-laws and will be taking it in turns to look after the kids and hopefully get the 4yo confident on some skis. Should be fun.
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Tirol, yes definitely be very interested in your report, you sound to be in exactly the same position as us with age of kids so be keen to know your experience of the lessons for kids etc.
Have a fab time and leave some snow for us, plenty there at the moment
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Bump!
Transfer wise got an online quote from ATS for a return private transfer Innsbruck to Serfaus for 7 people for just under 300euro. Seems to be the best price I can see online, anyone experience of dealing with them, are they reliable? They appear to be a booking agent rather than actually providing the transfer themselve hence slightly hesitant ...
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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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Hi
I was in Serfaus two weeks ago and loved it, it's a fantastic place.
There's a large restaurant on the Komperdell called the Panoramarestaurant and a snack bar called Snack Murmli that we used as a meeting point for lunch. There's a pasta bar called Nudel & Co that seemed child friendly (I don't have any kids).
I booked my ski's at the Komperdellbahn Talstation, it's at the main lift station and for 10 euros I could leave my trainers there during the day and my ski gear overnight, it has the added advantage of being a short walk to the gondolas once booted.
I'm told that the slopes above Ladis can get icy because of the cold wind that blows from up the valley, I tended to stay on the pistes above Serfaus but friends in my group ventured over to the slopes above Fiss and really enjoyed it, if you get a chance try and get to the top of Pezid.
Can't suggest any transfer companies as we joined friends who live in Innsbruck and drove to Serfaus, returning at the end of the week by taking a bus to Landeck then the train to Innsbruck and a short taxi ride to the airport.
With regard to ski schools I didn't use them, maybe next time, but I think there is a ski school office opposite the entrance to the underground train (Dorfbahn) at the Komperdellbahn Talstation end.
Hope this helps.
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Rowlski,
I'll be around the same time, so will be watching this thread closely. I got a quote from Taxi Kammerlander in Fiss for 300€ (Innsbruck-Serfaus with return), so the price seems ok. Don't know anything about ATS, though.
I think your son will love skiing, so definitely let him try it. It's a very good age to start and the instructors are sure to make it a fun game. But, it will be tiring for him, though.
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You know it makes sense.
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Will be there Saturday, can't wait
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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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Tirol, very jealous I want to go now!! Conditions look amazing at the moment and I'm constantly checking the webcams. Be interested in your experience and any tips.
Lacuto, the Komperdell restaurant looks like being a good place for us skiing types to meet the non skiers up the mountain, no doubt lots of people do that, is it very busy there? I've had a hunt around for the ski hire and looks like I can book through Alpinresorts for the shop at the base station you mention so going to go for that. Interesting on the Ladis side getting icy but guess conditions so good currently that not a major problem. Glad you liked it out there!
Any recommendations on favourite runs and also good warm up slopes to get the legs going without being too challenging?
SkiingDad, are you out there the same week? That sounds like a decent quote, I am about to try the Serfaus taxi companies direct, just trying to write in vaguely comprehensible german - will get my wife to check it as she speaks it far better! I am very keen to get my boy started on skis, think he'll love it once he gets going, been looking more at the ski school site and they do a taster day without having to book full week so am going to try that I think.
4 weeks to go!!
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Poster: A snowHead
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Rowlski, yep, arriving on the 3rd. I'm sure you'll make yourself well understood with the taxi companies. I think the local services give better deals than the major companies servicing all of the alps.
The taster day sounds like a great idea. Mind you, the first day or two will probably go without hitches, but you might have to do the most persuading for the third or fourth day, if the novelty wears off a bit. Or... you'll have to drag him away from there kicking and screaming every single day.  (If he's at all like my son, that is.)
I'm told that the Gampenabfahrt right by the Familienbahn and Dinowald should be nice. Also the Zanbodenabfahrt is supposed to be nice, as long as you don't take a wrong turn and end up in a red run. This is all hearsay, mind you.
Tirol, looking forward to reading your report.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Hi Rowlski,
Sorry I should of mentioned it was Alpinresorts, the company I used, to book my ski's and as I say very convenient for catching the gondola. The popularity of the restaurents at the top of the Komperdell varied through out the week, obviously lunchtimes were busy, but to be honest I didn't struggle finding a table.
I agree with SkiingDad, as a slope to warm up on is the Gampenafahrt, I'd also recommend the Barenpiste, the Mittelabfahrt a 3.5km run is good and takes you back down to Serfaus to the gondola station that you would take to go up the Komperdell, it does have a couple of steep slopes towards the end as you approach the village; the Zanbodenabfahrt is good also. For a great view get to the top of Pezid and take Arrez Non-stop back down. What I understand about the slopes about Ladis being icy is that they are north facing and don't get to much sun, but can't confirm this as I never ventured that far.
As something different, every Wednesday night at 9pm they have a show on the Komperdell, a ticket can be bought from the ticket office opposite the main gondola station in Serfaus. Lots of fireworks, freestyle skiers and snowboarders, etc.
The best recmmendation I can make about Serfaus is that I will definately be going back next year, I'd be interested to learn what you thought of it on your return.
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I didn't try the black runs, not brave enough yet, lol. But what I did see of them, and you are right, they are steep!!!!
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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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Re food do try out the Rodel Hut amazing ribs if they are on the menu. Its off Waldabfart but wont spoil your fun by telling you exactly how to get there. Just watch out when you rejoin the piste after a liquid lunch, you have to cross the tobogan run and the piste can be busy.
Do venture over to Ladis the run down is a lovely fun gentle blue with some lips for the more athletic and a great bar just above the resort. Also the runs on the far right of the piste map are great with a brand new super restaurant at the bottom fn park, with one of those air bed things, speed run, slalom course and a downhill run for the serious skiers. All served by dedicated gondolas.
The red run down from Schonjochl back to Fiss is stunning again with a good restaurant Frommesalm.
Hotel Goeis in Ladis is pratical perfect in every way for a romantic quiet holiday.
Enjoy.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Forgot to mention for kids there is a big kids area at the top of the run down to Ladis with a kids friendly restaurant moving carpets all sorts.
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If anyone can advise me how to get ski passes quickly, I'd be most delighted. We're arriving late on Sat. night (around 8pm, if all goes well) and I don't expect anything to be open by that time. It also seems like you should pick up your guest card at the accommodation before buying, to get a reduced rate.
I'm so annoyed, since our original flights would have had us arrive late afternoon, but we got rerouted. I had it all planned... Pick up the passes, get skis for the wife, take everything to ski depot before going to bed early, but alas...
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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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RussellT, thanks for the tips, I'll try to locate the Rodelhut, sounds interesting! I'd seen the "Bertas Kinderland" on the website and it does look rather good, are the facilites there better than the kids place at Komperdell? We're going to be based in Serfaus and whilst I could get there suspect I won't be able to get my boy there very easily though might be worth giving it a go.
oofaafuu, have a great time, hope the little flurry of snow here doesn't give you any travel problems. Look forward to your report once you're back! Love to know how long it takes you to drive there too for future reference.
SkiingDad, bummer on your journey, who are you travelling with? Didn't think any TOs operated there so is it airline changing your flights? We're Easyjet to Innsbruck and not getting in too early either. Figure seeing as we're close to lift station I hope we can sort stuff out fairly quickly on the Sunday morning ... fingers crossed.
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Skipass office is a stones throw from base station , ski hire etc. - found them very efficient .
Have you asked your accommodation if they maybe can do the skipasses for you?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Rowlski, I originally booked with Austrian Airways through Vienna, but a connecting flight was canceled, so we're flying Lufthansa+Tyrolean via Frankfurt. The flights should be ok, I suppose. It's just that arriving late means we really have to focus on making sure the kids are fed and put to bed properly and we have to sort out everything in the morning. I think the skipasses will probably be the least of our worries, actually. The biggest hassle will be carrying the equipment. I was hoping to be able to have everything waiting in the depot in the morning. Not so much for myself, but for my wife who's going to the alps for the first time. Ah well... We'll just have to take it easy on Sunday morning, I suppose.
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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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| Rowlski wrote: |
RussellT, thanks for the tips, I'll try to locate the Rodelhut, sounds interesting! I'd seen the "Bertas Kinderland" on the website and it does look rather good, are the facilites there better than the kids place at Komperdell? We're going to be based in Serfaus and whilst I could get there suspect I won't be able to get my boy there very easily though might be worth giving it a go.
oofaafuu, have a great time, hope the little flurry of snow here doesn't give you any travel problems. Look forward to your report once you're back! Love to know how long it takes you to drive there too for future reference. |
OK, got back at 5pm today (North West - the grim but homely bit!)
So our thoughts on a 7 day visit to Serfaus:
Journey:Outbound drive there from Dunkirk (via Aachen overnight stop) took 10 hours at a relaxed pace (70-80mph cruise).
Return via Luxembourg (sat nav with it’s own agenda?!%&!) staying overnight in Aalst.
Accommodation:Hotel Rex - booked direct from the UK - excellent value for money - reviews were accurate as were most of the objective stuff I'd read about Serfaus. Very comfortable, food was good and the wellness was compact and bijoux.
General/Resort/Equipment:Our skiing experience was excellent, the snow was in good order and improved over the first few days although we elected not to ski on the Wednesday as it was very cloudy/snowing, well that and we were already suffering a bit after caning it for the first few days.
We booked ski hire through SKISET using the Snowheads discount code and got two pairs of “Top”skis for £100 for the week.
Mine were new Elan 160s and the wife’s were Rossignols - rented from Bacher Sport Center just outside the main lift station in Serfaus.
The resort is a long thin place, with a steady uphill walk from one end to the other, it’s traffic free (largely) as all the day trippers park at the beginning of the village and then use the Underground railway which takes them to the lifts. This means that you can get to the lifts from pretty well anywhere in the resort without walking too much.
Despite this, we walked the 500 metres from our hotel to the lifts every day as a bit of a warm up and used the underground only out of curiosity.
Apres-ski/Entertainment:
There were a few reasonable après-ski venues, Bam Bam near the lifts and the George further down in the town (and better, albeit with a kaleidoscope of drunken Dutch folk) and the umbrella bar across the road from the George.
On the Thursday there was a bit of a festival in the town with a few stalls and some live music which was quite pleasant (not sure it happens every week).
The Skiing:
The important bit - skiing in Serfaus Fiss Ladis (SFL):
Bear in mind that we are two 40-somethings who aren’t into extreme skiing, but we effectively did ski all but a bit of this resort over five days.
The blue resort run down to Serfaus from Komperdell has a bottle-neck just above the lift station that can become quite congested in the afternoon. Better to use the red if you can.
Komperdell is the middle station above Serfaus where there is what appears to be a good ski kindergarten, and a very wide blue that you can “up and down” all day, using the aptly named Familienbahn (or there is a decent blue and three reds down from the Planneseggbahn chair).
Going west from Komperdell via the Lazidbahn there are a good selection of red and blue pistes going down to the Lawensbahn chair which returns you to the top of the Lazidbahn. These pistes are a good practice area to re-find your ski legs!
There are a couple of reds down to the Scheidbahn from the top of the Lazidbahn are on the blue side of red (as are most of the reds we skied in SFL).
The two blacks from the top of the Lazidbahn only take you back to the bottom of the Lazidbahn and the lift back to Komperdell.
Further west from the top of the Schiedbahn, you ski down a very pleasant (if a little short) red called “Moosabfahrt” at the bottom of which you will find the Pezidbahn lift which takes you up to 2770m. From the top of here you have three options, two blacks and the curiously named “Arrez Non-Stop” blue run.
The first 500m of this blue follows the road route and is a bit tedious, but thereafter the blue which runs down to the bottom of the Pezidbahn/Moosbahn is great, as are the reds that return you to the short chair that takes you back up to Komperdell.
To the east from Serfaus lift station we used the Sunliner chair (does every resort has one called Sunliner?) and then skied down to Moseralm, and then on down to Fiss.
Like Serfaus there are three lifts going up from Fiss, and given that there is the Sonnenbahn Fiss-Ladis that takes you straight up to Bertas kinderland. On this basis alone, I think Fiss probably makes more sense as a base if you’re travelling with youngsters. There is also one of the most pleasant blue runs we’ve ever seen (Ladisabfahrt) which runs from Bertas down to Ladis (where was this when we were learning to ski years ago???).
This run is a snow-plough/stem turn paradise and takes 3.2km to drop 340m vertical (or about 1 in 10 in old money). Easy, safe and the other bonus is that to get back up you use the gondola, so you can tempt those without a great deal of chair/button/t-bar confidence to practice and develop and practice on the important stuff – skiing.
As far as the children’s facilities go – the Bertas kinderland looked exceptional, with all sorts of areas set aside for different parts of the ski learning journey.
A couple of points that I feel it is worth making before I completely bore you to tears, is that the reds were quite mild and some of the blacks were that only in name and that the pistes were all named rather than numbered which is a pet hate of mine.
This was typified by a comment from a ski-instructor I talked to on one of the lifts, when asking about the “Trujeabfahrt” red from the top of the Lazidbahn to the Cervosa Alm restaurant. He said “it’s more of a blue red than a black red”, so it’s an easy(er) resort than many of the other’s we’ve skied at over the last 15 years in Austria.
Mountain restaurants:
Weiberkessl above Ladis – ate there twice (Grostl both times) – very good
Komperdell Panorama – ate there once – good food
Lassida above the Moosbahn – OK (sausages and chips is hard to do badly!)
Leither Wirt below the Konigsleithenbahn was OK (but soup is also quite hard to do badly).
All in all, after skiing SFL I think it’s a good extensive ski area, with good facilities, but lacks the vibrant feel of places like St Anton, Saalbach-Hinterglemm or Kitzbuhel.
Would I go back again – probably, but next year is Ischgl (before I’m too old!!)
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Just got back from my week in Serfaus. Went with my wife and two kids (boy = 4 and girl = 1) and met up with my wife's parents.
Journey: Got up early on Friday morning, did Dover-Calais on the ferry (more of a break and more fun for the nippers than the tunnel) then headed for overnight stay near Stuttgart via Luxembourg. Took about 4 hours from there on Saturday morning. Pretty hassel free expect the extremely cold weather actually froze the rubbish screen wash I got from B&Q. Filled up for petrol in Luxembourg and again once in Austria. Both were considerably cheaper than Belguim and Germany. Drove into and out of Austria via the Fernpass. This was mobbed in both directions on our return journey so may consider a different route next year.
Accommodation: A self-catered apartment in Haus Central in Serfaus. Lived up to it's name being bang slap in the middle of the village. Great location, handy for the Underground stop, the supermarket, restaurants etc. Would happily stay there again.
General/Resort/Equipment: You can see why they went for the underground system as the village is long and thin and a busy road through the middle would decimate any ambience. When you arrive at the start they only let you through if you're staying in the village, if you're just visiting for the day then you have to park up and get the underground.
Pretty typical of what you'd hope for from an Austrian ski village. Great mountain views, very orderly, good range of shops and restaurants.
Apres-ski/Entertainment:We were there with yound kids so not fussed with the night life which is probably a good thing as it is very quiet. If a post ski party is an important part of your skiing experience then you might want to give the resort a miss.
The Skiing: We were initially attracted by the resort's reputation for being good for kids. We weren't dissapointed. There is a great little kids area in the heart of the village (Murmlipark) which has a couple of conveyors and a gentle slope which was great for sledging and trying to teach my just turned 4 year old the basics of skiing (he loved it, enjoyed going fast, not so interested in learning how to stop!). The ski school has a base here and used the area but it was no problem to use the area if your child wasn't part of the classes. You can ski to the top of the kids area from the main runs if you take the Sudabfahrt run down from the Komperdell area. There were other bigger kids areas further up the mountain but we didn't use them.
We didn't use the ski school as we wanted to spend time with kids ourselves plus we were there with my in-laws who also wanted to do the same. I can't comment directly on the ski school but several people we bumped into all remarked that the resort has a great reputation for teaching kids. Not sure that many of the groups had many English kids in them but we did often hear the instructors using English.
Really enjoyed the range of skiing on offer. I’ve been to Stubai, Solden, Obergurgl, and Zell-am-See/Kaprun before in Austria and in my opinion the ski area is superior to each of them. We only skied in the afternoons for 2-3 hours at a time so missed quite a few of the runs but pretty much got across the whole area. Unlike the previous poster I didn’t feel the reds were generally on the easier side of Red (with the exception of the main run back to Fiss which should definitely have been a blue (maybe I’m just not as accomplished!)) but there was a lot of variety in the difficulty levels of the reds. The blacks from the Lazidbahn back towards the Komperdell area and the blacks around Pezid looked pretty steep and intimidating, certainly put me off. Enjoyed the red runs off the top of the Plansegg chair and the reds (on the right of the piste map) that were reached from Schonjochbahn gondola.
On Wednesday night we did the night skiing in Serfaus (kids with the Grandparents). Due to the snow storm the number of visitors was lower than expected so they cancelled the show and closed the lifts early which I thought was poor but they did refund the 10 euro cost of the night ticket. That night we also hired a sledge each and took the floodlight Rodalbahn route back down to the start of the gondola. Great fun but pretty fast and bumpy.
The lift system was pretty impressive: Gave me the impression that a lot of money has been invested in the resort in recent years. Only had a few short waits to get on lifts and it was pretty easy to find less busy runs and lifts.
Conclusion Would definitely go back again, loved the ski area and thought they catered for kids really well.
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You know it makes sense.
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oofaafuu & Tirol, great and detailed reports, fantastic!
oofaafuu I'd been looking at Alpinresorts, not aware of the Skiset discount (doh) and now I've checked Skiset with discount is indeed cheaper so glad that my laziness meant I hadn't yet booked!! I'm not well up on ski makes/models, presume the ones you had were fine? I'm not after anything fancy so think those TOP skis (I think equivalent to "Econonmy" on the Skiset descriptions) would be ok for a standard intermediate like me. Nice descriptions of the runs, will aim for some of those nice blues to start with and warm up the legs. Did you try the blacks off Pezid at all btw? Also useful to have some good Grostl recommendations, have to have that a few times when up the mountain for it to be a proper Austrian holiday!
Lack of major Apres ambiance not a problem for us with the kids though will try the Bam Bam no doubt.
Tirol, glad to hear that you can use the Murmlipark with or without lessons, good news for sledging and general mucking about with the kids. Good too that your 4 year old got on with the speed skiing hope mine will! Shame about the show being cancelled, that's one thing we are hoping to see. Did you try and restaurants out in town with the kids in the evening?
Interesting about the long / thin resort comments, we're at the ski lift end so sounds like we'll have a bit of a trek uphill when coming back from the centre of the village, or get the train I guess, what time does it run to in the evening?
Hope the conditions are nearly as good when we get there, just under two weeks to go now and very excited! Looks like warming up considerably this week so the lower runs may be better avoided when we get there, hopefully the snow gods will provide some nice fresh just before we arrive 
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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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oofaafuu, Tirol, thanks for the reports. Less than two weeks to go now, so I'm veery excited.
Did you happen to try how to get from Serfaus to Fiss or vice versa? The reason I'm asking is that I'm seriously considering booking a private instructor for a day for my son. However, we are living in Serfaus, whereas an instructor speaking Swedish would only be available in Fiss. Hence the need to transfer. Connecting gondolas should work, but I've no idea how fast it would be.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| SkiingDad wrote: |
oofaafuu, Tirol, thanks for the reports. Less than two weeks to go now, so I'm veery excited.
Did you happen to try how to get from Serfaus to Fiss or vice versa? The reason I'm asking is that I'm seriously considering booking a private instructor for a day for my son. However, we are living in Serfaus, whereas an instructor speaking Swedish would only be available in Fiss. Hence the need to transfer. Connecting gondolas should work, but I've no idea how fast it would be. |
If you take the Sunliner from Serfaus towards Fiss, you can get down the Walidbahn Gondola straight into the main lift area at Fiss without skiing or you can take the red Walidbahnfahrt and walk the short distance into the Fiss lift area. Either of those options or from the top of the sunliner, take the blue down to the Rastbahn chair and take the lift, then ski down to Fiss on the blue/red resort run past the fun park.
If you're up at the lift when it opens, you'd be in Fiss within 20-30 minutes queues permitting. There are several routes back to Serfaus, either using blues or reds.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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SkiingDad, as oofaafuu has already explained it is pretty easy to get from Serfaus to Fiss. Perhaps the easiest thing would be to arrange to meet the instructor at the top of Sunliner. Be careful at the end of the day though. There is no free ski bus linking the resorts. If you miss the last uphill departure from Fiss then you need to walk down into Fiss and get the Post-Bus or get a cab - we mistimed things and ended up paying €12 for the cab.
Rowlski, the weather was pretty bad so wasn't too surprised that it was cancelled. Snowing hard and strong gusts above the tree line.
The "Dorfbahn" runs until 6pm in the evenings and until midnight when the night skiing is on. The walk from the centre back towards the ski lift end is fine if you're not in ski boots and carrying skis. If you go on the Dorfbahn with the kids then try to go at the very front or very back as this is where the only windows are. We ate out one night with the kids in a pizza place roughly halfway between the ski lift terminal and the MPreis shop. Sorry can't remember the name but it was cosy and fairly good.
Can't believe that it is less than a week since I was there but I'm sooo jealous of those with skiing still to come!
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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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| Tirol wrote: |
SkiingDad, as oofaafuu has already explained it is pretty easy to get from Serfaus to Fiss. Perhaps the easiest thing would be to arrange to meet the instructor at the top of Sunliner. Be careful at the end of the day though. There is no free ski bus linking the resorts. If you miss the last uphill departure from Fiss then you need to walk down into Fiss and get the Post-Bus or get a cab - we mistimed things and ended up paying €12 for the cab.
Rowlski, the weather was pretty bad so wasn't too surprised that it was cancelled. Snowing hard and strong gusts above the tree line.
The "Dorfbahn" runs until 6pm in the evenings and until midnight when the night skiing is on. The walk from the centre back towards the ski lift end is fine if you're not in ski boots and carrying skis. If you go on the Dorfbahn with the kids then try to go at the very front or very back as this is where the only windows are. We ate out one night with the kids in a pizza place roughly halfway between the ski lift terminal and the MPreis shop. Sorry can't remember the name but it was cosy and fairly good.
Can't believe that it is less than a week since I was there but I'm sooo jealous of those with skiing still to come! |
Tirol, we were usually in the pub already by the time the lifts stopped running!!
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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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oofaafuu, Tirol, thanks! Good to know that the "commute" is reasonably short. And the queues? Were they reasonable in the mornings as well? I'm thinking I could reserve an instructor for 10am and hopefully that should give me ample time to get to Fiss, if I get to the Sunliner at 9.
Should be no problem getting back in time. Mind you, sometimes my son never seems to tire.
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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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SkiingDad, didn't see much queuing anywhere to be honest. There are three gondalas all going from the same point in Serfaus. Of these Komperdell always seemed the most popular. Even then the lifties keep it moving and you shouldn't have to wait more than 5 mins or so. Mrs Tirol and I sometimes went through the singles line when it was busy and always managed to get on the same gondola. The Alpkopfbahn was the least busy. If you take this one and turn left once you've got skis on you can ski through a giant wooden bear head followed by a very gentle ski down to the Komperdell area. The Komperdell is the quickest route to the above the tree line skiing on the Serfaus side. If you get either the Alpkopf or Komperdell up then you can either ski back down to get the Sunliner or ski across to the Konigleithbahn chair and then ski a long red down towards Fiss. Either way is easily doable within an hour for anyone above beginner level. More straightforward is obviously to get the Sunliner and ski straight to the Fiss area.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Tirol,
Thanks! That really sounds good. When transferring to Fiss, I will be bringing my son along, so the bottleneck really is his speed. So the Sunliner is obviously our best bet.
It seems everything is falling into place now, somehow... The weather is getting sunnier and I'm just overwhelmed with confidence that we are going to have a lovely time. I'm just bursting with anticipation! 
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Tyrol - did you travel in an E-Class Estate? 
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Ok... Less than a week to go and all excited.
Does anyone have experience from the different ski-depots by the gondola station? Apparently there are (at least) two, the Patscheider Check In and the Sportcenter Serfaus (Bacher).
Patscheider seems to be closer, but only the Sportcenter offers a reservation-link. Also, I'd like to have uninterrupted service. (Ie. leave all gear for the night, leave everything extra (shoes and such) for the day. Any experience or info on these?
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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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My father-in-law used the Patsheider Check In and said it was very slick. He only did a few half-days and wasn't there during peak times though. They also have a big shop at the top of the Komperdell gondola and one near the church.
Not sure about the situation with lockers, I'm pretty sure there were some available but don't know exactly where etc.
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Yes just till Saturday for me too now, very excited and raring to go! Looks like sun-cream will definitely be required for the first day or so. Scarily high temps this week and the weekend, looking like cooling down a bit from Tuesday ... the snow levels will undoubtedly fall but hopefully still ok given the good depths they've had this season so far.
Another question to those who have been recently, anyone find any cafes/bars with WiFi??
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FAQ
