I appreciate that ski resorts generally require a minimum booking in peak season but can anyone pls recommend a resort in Austria or Switzerland where we (family of 4) could try our luck to grab just a couple of nights in late Dec/early Jan as part of whirlwind European vacation? Looking for the experience, scenery not necessarily the skiing. Haven't confirmed rest of the itinerary yet. Many thanks.

I very much doubt your plan would work--most places would require 7nt min stay between Christmas and New Year. You'll also be paying premium prices--probably not worth unless you're really really into skiing (though no guarantee of good snow condition, unless you go up high altitude). Also, many places are 4-5hrs driving from the airport, which makes it less efficient just to stay 2 nights.

If you're not into skiing and just for scenery, would you consider Scandinavia or Germany instead?

I think you will find something if you can go early January, right after New Year's, rather than between Christmas and New Year's. I tried Engelberg, which is fairly close to the Z ürich airport (2 hours by train) and found at least one hotel that would offer you 2 rooms for 2 nights; total for all was 905 SFr. This was at www.Engelberg.ch

Ski resorts - forget them at this time of the year. They are overbooked, terribly, you will not be happy. Since you are not into skiing but looking for the experience and scenery, I would recommend to go to Salzburg (which is marvelous around New Years and relatively easy you will get accommodation) and plan to visit Königsee (abus trip of 35 minutes from Salzburg), just across the Austrian border to Bavaria, one of the most beautiful sceneries you can imagine. Look here:
www.austriatravel.ws/snapshots/xmas06.html
The boat trip with "echo" experience is fun for the whole family!
And at this time of the year it is not loaded with tourists, just a pleasant experience. I highly recommend it!
Karin
www.AustriaTravel.ws

I went last year to a hotel in Kaprun for 3 nights - including new years eve - no problem.

If you look around you will find something.

Whats your price range?

Thank you all for your replies, much appreciated. Lawchick, re price range, I am not going to stress too much about the cost for 2,3 or 4 days in the snow - it will be a highlight of the trip. We are after a "take your breath away" experience. Please keep the suggestions coming!

First, when exactly are you thinking of going? You will have exponentially more options if you choose before or after the holidays. Keep in mind that snow conditions can be sketchy all over Europe this time of year.

Second, what type experience, scenery etc. are you looking for. Traffic free high alpine village or down in the valley? Mega, purpose built ski resort with every amenity on and off the slopes or small, charming village with authenic local culture and cuisine? Atmospheric high mountain restaurants or wild, party-til-you-drop apres ski & nightlife? Champagne & cavier or Beer & bratwurst? Goggle tan or tanning salon? Fur coat or Northface?

You get the point....

If you are at all interested in the ski conditions, go as high as possible, ambiance be damned. If skiing is an after-thought, you really need to describe in as much detail as you can about what you are seeking.

If you want to "get high", try Bettmeralp, a lovely family resort at 1950 meters above the Rhone Valley. Here are some winter photos:

http://www.bettmeralp.ch/e/winter/wandern.html

Thanks again for the replies - ripit, you asked great questions... as far as a ski resort goes, I think we're after a resort with lots to do, great restaurants, basic snowboarding or skiing for our novice family, stunning scenery, great shopping. We want to spoil ourselves and experience something pretty glamous, something we won't easily be able to experience at home!This is really more for our sons, 21 and 16 - they love being around people, shopping, noise, the cafe scene etc Can you please advise the age that youngster are admitted to nightclubs in Switzerland, Germany or Austria? (16yo is desperate to join big brother on a night out - needs to be 18yo here in Australia.

Hello seasidesusi,

Where you are coming from and going to next should factor into your ski trip. On a whirlwind trip as you say, you'll probably be bouncing back and forth. We've all done it, I'm sure. It is exhausting but sure gives you, and your children, a good first glimpse of what's out there.

Having said that (and since you say you are looking for basic snowboarding, stunning scenery, restaurants, and shopping), look no further than Zermatt, home of the majestic and mighty Matterhorn.

Check out zermatt.ch, click on English, fill in your dates, and you'll see what's available.

I checked for 2 nights beginning 29 December and came up with this:

http://www.zermatt.ch/parnass/welcome.html

The location is great, center of town, near a ski bus.

Can't help out with the drinking age, but there are plenty of bars and restaurants. Seems like in other places in Europe it's 18, but I really don't know for sure. I do know that some really young kids seemed to be buying liquor in the grocery stores. Of course, I'm not recommending this, just a stated fact.

Happy travels!

I have to agree with the above recommendation for Zermatt. You will have the best combination of things to do to suite your whole family. There is a good mix of glamour and charm in the traffic-free village and a wide range of restaurants in town and up in the mountains. The scenery is among the most breathtaking in the Alps, dominated by views of the Matterhorn.

An added bonus is that this is also one of the most snow-sure areas of the Alps, so you will have the best chance having of decent snow conditions. The amount of skiable intermediate terrain is mind boggling. You can even ski across the border into Italy. The lift system is equally impressive, with some 70+ different ways to get up the mountain - from trams, cablecars, lifts, gondolas, a rack railway and a high-speed underground cable railway.

The downside to this is that everything in Zermatt is quite expensive, even by Swiss standards.

For what you describe, kopp's suggestion of Zermatt is definitely the best. I suggested Bettmeralp thinking you had small children. It's a very quiet place. Zermatt has everything you are looking for.

Our 16-year-olds get served in Switzerland (beer, wine) without a blink, but that is when they are with us. Hopefullys omeone else can answer about the "official" drinking age.

Thanks guys for the suggestions - Zermatt it is! Hope I didnt sound like a mum who was looking for a place for my 16 yo to "get a drink" ! His big uni student brother loves nightclubbing and dancing up a storm - the 16yo is desperate to join him just once! Unfortunately for him he has a couple more years of impatience!The more we've thought about this trip the more it makes sense to dedicate some time to ski resort - we definitely will be bouncing around a lot, going thru Austria/ Switz/ Germany/ France/England in 3-4 weeks! But we are thousands of kms from snow where we live in Oz. Another question - we plan to land in Vienna about Dec 20, then Salzburg for Dec 23/24/25 - from there to Zermatt. Is the Glacier Express the way to go? Any other suggestions? All suggestions welcome and considered! Thanks so much.

No worries about the drink---it's nice that they want to do things together, and if Europe offers the younger one a chance to "go clubbing" under the supervision of his older brother, there's nothing wrong with that.

Salzburg is a long way from Zermatt, unfortunately. The shortest route is via Zürich and Bern, dropping down to Brig to pick up the train to Zermatt. This is still over 10 hours. It only adds an hour or so to head south from Sargans to Chur, where you can pick up the Glacier Express. But you might like to break up wither trip with an overnight stop somewhere along the way.

Thanks Enzian, you've sent me diving for the Atlas once again! I am finding it so hard to get a grasp of times and distances! I guess it's no different for someone coming to Australia - is hard to explain to people who comes here how long it takes to get around this country, with a lot of "nothingness" in between in some instances!(eg parts of the outback, parts of the Nullabor between South Australia and Western Australia) In Europe there seems to be a confusing amount to see "in between"! Where to start!!

That's the trouble with Switzerland---so much to see! But I'm sure you can (with help here) find a charming town in which to spend a night on the way. And the train trip is lovely---lots to see on either route.

Or, perhaps people would be able to dome up with recco's for a nice ski/winter experience more to the east, closer to Salzburg. St. Moritz and Davos come to mind, but I haven't been to either one, so I don't know how they compare to Zermatt. Or maybe Engelberg, but it may not be high enough.

The main thing is to pick somplace at a high elevation to have a better chance of snow in the early season.

Wherever you choose, it will be very different from the vastness of Australia. One of my sons road a motorcycle around most of Australia (all but the west coast) a few years ago. I loved his stories and photos.

I didn't realize that you were coming all the way from Salzburg. Zermatt is a good hike from most places in Switzerland, let alone from Salzburg. My original thought was to suggest either Zermatt or Lech, which is in the Austrian Arlberg region. Given that you are coming from I would definitely consider a ski resort in Austria, especially since you are only planning a few days. It would be a shame to spend an entire day traveling. The ski resorts in Austria are certainly no slouches and in many ways, superior to those in Switzerland IMO.

Lech is a beautiful town. There is great intermediate skiing here as well. You there is a route called the Weisse Ring (White Ring) you can ski that begins on one side of the valley and makes a complete 22km loop around the village and ends back in Lech on the other side of the valley. The is hotels are a bit on the pricey side but are very picturesque and hospitible. There is great selection of excellent retauarants from which to choose and the apres-ski is very lively.

The variety of skiing here almost rivals that of Zermatt. The ski pass includes lifts in the nearby villages of Zurs and St. Anton. Zurs is accessible by lift and is a bit more upscale and subdued than Lech. St. Anton is a destination in and of itself and is connected by regular bus from the Lech/Zurs area. St. Anton is a bit bigger town with more lively nightlife and slightly down market from Lech. St. Anton has a reputation for mor extreme skiing, however you may find the conditions may not be favorable at that time of year since the slopes are mostly south facing.

The beauty of skiing in the Arlberg is that the area is so vast that you can almost always find something to ski. Also some of the best guides in the world are here and the rates are actually not bad to hire a guide for the day, and I recommend it.

To get to Lech you can take a direct 3.5 hr. train from Salzberg to Langen am Arlberg, which is the next stop after St. Anton. From here is is a short cab ride over the Flexenpass to Lech. There may also be a bus, but I am not sure.

You can also look into Ischgl, which I have never skied, but I hear is also beautiful and has a reputation for having the best snow conditions in Austria and is also renowned for its wild apres-ski atmosphere.