 Poster: A snowHead
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hi
looking at our first group trip to austria, been looking at the following;
Schladming, Mayrhofen, Soll, Sallbach (sorry if spelt wrong!)
we are looking for somewhere that isn't a hike/bus to the lifts and with a few bars with some live music.......huge extent of slopes isn't a big deal to us but we do like easy cruising and a few trees...........we've never been to austria before and have always been to Italy, resorts being Madesimo/Folgarida/Pila and once to France, Morillon..........
any suggestions/thoughts much appreciated, we are a bit 'lost' when it comes to austria!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Saalbach or Westendorf (better end of the SkiWelt than Soll, and nicer village) would be worth a look.
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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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Lech - Heaven on earth and not as expensive as you think!
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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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Went to saalbach last year and was fantastic. Going to westendorf. In February and that looks good too
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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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Flachau, Wagrain and the Alpendorf part of St Johann im Pongau all fill those criteria in the Sportwelt Amadé region. Großarl would also do that but I don't think any UK tour operators go there, so you would have to do DIY.
Schladming would more than meet your requirements but it depends on when you are intending to go as the World Chanpionships are taking place there at the beginning of February so accommodation prices will be higher than usual in the town itself. The skiing is more than extensive enough to keep you happy as they do not close off much of the Planai slopes and there are three other mountains to ski.
Saalbach is great skiing but can be a bit of a "party central" if you are in the wrong part of town so there it is "location, location, location" in terms of where your accommodation is. I prefer Hinterglemm to Saalbach as a base as it is a good party location but not so wild.
In Tirol I think Westendorf is quieter than Söll and more intersting skiing. Brixen im Thale, the next resort up the road, is also an interesting jumping off point for Ski Welt. Fügen and Hochfügen are really nice areas in the Zillertal area and not as heavily populated as the slopes around Mayrhofen.
Other places in the western Tirol that would meet your requirements would be Serfaus-Fliss, the Silvretta region around Montafon, Kappl next to Ischgl (not quite so expensive), Stuben and Zurs in the St Anton area. Lech is good but if you are using a TO they tend to market it as being upmarket with upmarket prices.
If you can define your requirements a bit more and include the time frame, then people could give you better and more precise advice.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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hi
we will be travelling in january, doesn't really matter what week - we've done 'diy' more then packages in the past so that dosn't bother us, in fact we prefer DIY to package.......
for ease with the group we also prefer halfboard options...........
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i guess ellmau would also fit the criteria? what about apres ski in ellmau, anything going on?! everything i've read indicates its pretty quiet?
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I would be interested in any one of the Austria resorts that is modest in size say with 100km piste but could not meet the OP's requirement.
For Austria it pays to identify the region too. Tirol and Salzburg are possibly the two most popular destinations.
Also the Austrian resorts when comparing with the French are not well linked together but accessible by ski buses. Like the Swiss and the Italian the Austrian resorts are developed with preserving the mountain in mind so all of them tend to be smaller in size as no huge apartment blocks (for sudden large influx of visitors like those in France are permitted). Multiple day passes normally permit the holder to visit the resorts within the entire valley.
In Austria I find skiing the domain is more relevant like
Ski Welt : fully linked together at the top by 8 satellite resorts including Soll, Ellmau, Westendorf
Zillertal Valley : With Zillertal Arena, Mayrhofen, Hintertux..
Saalbach/Hinterglemm/Leogang : Fully linked together on two sides of a valley
Ski Amade : Which include Flachau, Schaldming, Alpendorf, Wagrain, Gastein Valley............(the biggest domain on one pass after the Italian Dolomites)
Arlberg : Including ST Anton, Zurs and Lech (upmarket resorts)
Silvetta Valley : Road closed in the middle I believe with one side with Kappl, See, Ischgl (linked with Swiss Samnaun) and Galtur while the other end has Montafon
None of them would disappoint. If one want easy and large area then go for Ski Welt or Saalbach as these two are fully linked. For upmarket resorts with nice settings, 4-5 star hotels and modern infrastructure go for Arlberg and Ischgl.
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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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cbowls30, how many are absolute definites for your group? That would be a factor in whether you can seek out a few options with the intention of booking later. Many of the hotels will still have flexibility and capacity at that time if you are looking in the time-frame after January 6th. Many places now have the week around January 6th as a busy period because more and more Eastern Europeans are coming to celebrate the Orthodox Christmas and New Year around that time.
What standard of hotel will you be looking at - 2/3 star or 4-star? There are few genuine 5-star hotels, but many 4-star Superior ones. Real 5 Star have to have 24 hour service available as well as a fully manned Reception 24/7, so the Austrians have this 4-star Superior grade that include all the facilities for 5 star except the 24/7 manning of reception and kitchens.
Thinking about travel, will you all be travelling from the same airport or will you be meeting up in resort so to speak? If travelling from multiple airports, then the choice of resort location in respect of transfer distance and costs should also be a consideration.
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Hi
We've been really happy in Italy in 3 star hotels, would be fine. We are only a small group of 6 and would travel together probably fly easyjet or Ryanair from stanstead ...then minibus/taxi to resort ...
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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cbowls30, That is what 3 rooms? You should try and do your homework in terms of resorts and then pick over sites like Booking.com and Hotels.com to actually read the reviews and get the locations. Don't book via them though as both you and the hotelier apparently pay the online company for the pleasure. From the online booking service look for the home page and book via that. I would tend to book as soon as you can to be sure you get what you want, depending on exactly which week you are committed to. If you are flexible then you could wait and see what the season start is like and book later when you have a better idea of how the season start has gone.
Many of the Salzburgerland resorts do inclusive packets of 6 nights half-board including the ski pass which is really worth looking at. I'm not sure if resorts in the Tirol do the same, but look for "Pauschal Angebote" on the web sites. I'm pretty sure nearly all the areas do something similar.
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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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I agree with Samerberg Sue that ypu can get an inclusive deal with ski pass and half board thrown in for many Austria hotels and pensions. The deal is great and is a lot cheaper than paying separately in other countries. Some Italian and French resorts also do half board if requested but I haven't run into those offering the ski pass too. Austrian resorts are unique in this aspect but not every hotel and pension offer it though so please check.
In any case the ski pass is probably the best value in Austria as it encourage you to use it on other neighbouring resorts. Ski Amade pass is one of the best ski pass around that covers some 25 skiing facilities, 860km piste and the use of 270 chairlift at the price not much dearer than skiing just one of the resorts. You need to go across the pond to see how cheap the Alpine ski passes are. Austrian resorts are orientated towards skiers visiting them with own transport. Thus if you have own transport you could ski the entire Ski Amade in one trip (will need 2 to 3 weeks though). Parking is always free in every Austrian resort I have been.
I also book my accommodations with hotel.com, expedia, Google map, booking.com etc for all my holidays whether there are for skiing or not. I would say the current Internet booking is pretty advance and reliable. If one find a hotel in Google map and prices from it own web site, other agents like hotel.com then one can choose a source with the lowest price as the accommodation will be the same for all sources.
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hi, yeh we have always booked direct with the respective hotel when we go..... there will be 3 rooms........ we can be very flexible and just book up a couple of weeks or even a week before when we know where to find the best snow!! i have had a look at a few hotels in both soll/schladming/saalbach directly on thier websites and noticed you can often book a halfboard deal with liftpass, looks perfect......... thanks for all the advice, we shall watch where the snow falls and probably go for either saalbach or schladming............
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You know it makes sense.
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cbowls30, Remember Schladming will be preparing for the World Championships from the end of January, so rooms in 3-star places may be in short supply later on in the month. I know Flangesax has workers staying at his place already booked in. Why not make a provisional booking in a hotel in Hinterglemm and Schladming and confirm at a later date. I have never had to pay a deposit on provisional bookings. Look for an "unverbindliche Anfrage" and firm up nearer the date. might be worth a punt.
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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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cbowls30, Since Saalbach is one of your preferred options, let me know if I can be of any help, and feel free to PM me your e-mail address if you'd like a copy of my comprehensive guide to the Saalbach-Hinterglemm-Leogang 'Ski Circus' (which covers, inter alia, flights, transfers, skiing, apres-ski, equipment hire, ski schools, restaurants, bars, etc., and which other  s have been kind enough to say nice things about - although it's possible they were just humouring me).
Easyjet are currently offering some very reasonably-priced flights to Salzburg. Any of the three villages would provide a suitable base, provided you find accommodation close to the slopes and in a good, strategic position for accessing preferably two or more of the main lifts (there are 10 valley gondola cable-car stations, so, if you don't have local knowledge, a little studying of the piste map would not come amiss). Hinterglemm and Leogang are at opposite ends of the area, whilst Saalbach is more or less in the middle, which lends itself very well to planning itineraries in one direction or the other. Leogang is somewhat 'out on a limb' and not very sunny in January, but it does tend to have excellent snow on its predominantly north/east-facing slopes, as well as two of the best mountain restaurants - the Alte Schmiede and the Asitzbraeu.
It is correct to say that this area is 'party-central', both during the 4pm - 7pm 'tee-dancing' phase and also later in the evening, when the live music venues, bars and night-clubs kick off, but the latter tend to be confined to the village centres and usually in relatively sound-proof basements, so non-would-be participants are unlikely to be disturbed by late-night revelry, unless they choose to stay in rooms right in the centre and overlooking the main village street.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Tatman's Tours, can you advise a good taxi transfer company to Saalbach-Hinterglemm? We're a family of four, so will be looking for a private taxi/shuttle.
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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triffic, Assuming you're flying to Salzburg, I can recommend three firms, which offer a similar personal service: www.transferservice.at which offers a vehicle for up to 8 people for a standard price per vehicle of EUR 99 each way. This is better and cheaper than the 8 times a day Holiday Shuttle for a group of three people or more - your chauffeur collects you at an appointed time and no waiting around. www.touristik-oberkofler.com/ and www.transferbus.net operate in a similar way – worth considering when the transfer service is fully booked.
Please don't tell everyone! 
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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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I must appear to be an employee of Saalbach tourist board. However another vote for Saalbach. Probably the perfect ski resort for some adults who still have a bit of life in them.
I know the location of Tatmans tours apartments and can concur they are the most perfect location in regards to both ski lifts, pistes and apres.
Only downside of the ski circus is the lack of off piste, not a problem for my party but some others might miss it.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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ianbradders, Plenty of offpiste too, not as good/extensive as the Arlberg, but enough for most people.
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