Skiing in Austria
 

Hi everyone! I am trying to coordinate a ski holiday for four adults in Austria and I am overwhelmed by the sheer volume of resorts. I have no idea what is a good area to stay. Anyone have any suggestions? I want something that is very close to the lifts, but other than that no preference on resort area as I don't know the difference! Please help!

Choosing a ski resort can be a bit daunting at first. It will depend on your group's interests, level of skiing and other factors.

The Telegraph has a good guide which might help you to narrow the choices based on these factors.

http://telegraph.ifyouski.com/resorts/

Good luck

Fieberbrunn, St. Johann, Kitzbühl area. Stay in Fieberbrunn, explore the other places skiing.

I've only been to St Johann in Tirol. Thoroughly enjoyed the skiing and the pretty village. Also we found the medical care there very good!!

Check out www.ski-europe.com. You can plug in the resort attrubutes your group is looking for and the site will identify the places best suited for you.

By the way, we skiied in Obertauren a few years ago and had a great time. We stayed at Enzian, a wonderful hotel with ski-in, ski-out access to the lifts. Obertauren gets very few Americans which, for us, added to its charm.

Austria is great. Get a hotel with a spa (sauna and whirlpool). That way, if the weather is terrible, you can spend a relaxing day in the hotel.

Oh, and yes, people are naked and of mixed genders in the spa. For puritan Americans (like me) it might take some getting used to. My Swiss husband enjoys it very much.

They wear swimming suits in the whirlpool.

Place I have skied and liked: Kitzbuehl, Seefeld, various places in the Saalbach Tal(Valley);Schmittenhoehe (above Zell am See, easy drive from or to Saalzbach), St. Anton, Arlberg. All of the above are among the "in"places in Austria. Kleine Walsertal (an Austrian enclave, accessible through Oberstdorf/Allgau, the Vail of Germany)and lesser known areas: the Wildschoenau above Woergl; various locations in the Zillertal (east of Innsbruck) and the Stubaital (southwest of Innsbruck.) All these places have websites.

I have just booked a trip to Austria and will be staying in Innsbruck. The hotel is Insbruck Hotel. Their you can bus over to any number of ski resorts and you get to stay in Insbruck. That is my suggestion

Because you're asking the question now, I'm assuming you plan to book well ahead and commit to a particular week (or whatever). That's important because some of the Austrian resorts - Kitz is one that comes to mind immediately - are at rather low elevations and have an "iffy" snow record. We've been traveling to ski in Austria and elsewhere in Europe for several years, and the last thing I want to be worrying about is whether there's going to be enough snow when I get there.

Two Austrian resorts that we've skied, and which have no issues with snow, are Ischgl and Lech. Both offer extensive skiing for intermediates, with somewhat less terrain for beginners and experts. Both offer the opportunity to walk from any number of hotels to several lifts, which you indicate is of importance. In fact, the area of Lech known as Oberlech offers true ski-out/ski-in from just about every hotel. Ischgl attracts a young crowd and the apres-ski spills out into the streets until the wee hours. Lech is somewhat more sedate. Both have excellent, extensive and varied slopes with top-notch lift facilities and excellent mountain restaurants. Overall, I give the nod to Ischgl, which is my favorite resort in Europe, but either would be a fine choice.

Flyfish what about skiing in Innsbruck. How is that for a place to go to different resorts. I understand you have a number of choices on where to ski from there. Let me know is that is a wise choice

karlsrugirl:
From your screen one might assume you are from Germany...maybe an agent just gathering information?

Flyfish gives you some good info!

Frankdaddy: Innsbruck usually has some cheap packages...but you have to bus to and back to ski! To get the true Austrian experience I would suggest staying at a resort town, getting a meal plan/ticket package, and take in the beauty of the Austrian Alps!...You can always take a day trip to Innnsbruck to see the town!
John

I have already booked the package and, yes, it was inexpensive for 7 nights and we are staying at the Hotel Innbruck. It really satisfies my wife who is not an avid skiier and likes cities to sightsee. We went to Cortina last year and it was fabulous. I would go back but the cost to Italy is 2,000 more. I understand you need to take a bus to go skiing but I do not think the ride is long than 20-30 minutes. How are the ski slopes in the area. Which areas would you ski in. Any suggestions??? let me know Thanks.

Innsbruck is quite different from Cortina. The first is a (small) city with a pop. of more than 100,000 and the latter is a small town. It would not be my choice to stay for a week in Innsbruck for skiing reasons.

Anyway, there is a small skiing area almost right in town - Hungerburg/Nordkette (rather challenging runs, sunny, watch the snow conditions). There are a couple of small skiing areas just south of Innsbruck, accessible in 20-30 minutes by bus - Patscherkofel, Glungezer, Axamer Lizum (the latter the biggest of them), all with about 5 lifts and 10-20 km of groomed slopes. I'd say each is good for a half or a full day of exploring, depending on your level of skiing.

The most popular skiing area in the surroundings of Innsbruck is the Stubai valley. Worth exploring are Schlick2000 above Fulpmes and of course the glacier - but it takes almost 1.5 hours by bus to the glacier.

Ischgl sustained some damage in the August floods. Several hotels and businesses had to close temporarily for repairs...most will be ready to re-open by November but if you pick Ischgl, check to make sure everything is back in order.
We had planned to spend a week at a 5 star hotel in Ischgl in late September, but when we checked to re-confirm our reservation, the hotel said they had to close for repairs and won't be reopening for several more weeks.