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  1. #1
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    Seeking Input on Planning a 2023 Ski Vacation in Austria

    Why Austria? Because it's cheap and so am I. Plus, I had so many great ski days there in the late 80s/very early 90s. Plus I speak passable German but no French or Italian.

    My next door neighbor at Magic is retiring in 3 weeks and we want to go to Yurp for his retirement present. He's skied in the Kitzbuhel area and also in the Dolomites. Wives are coming on this trip. His wife skis almost as much as we do but my wife, not so much any more. My goal (not approved by Mrs. MNIAW yet) is to stay for 2-3 weeks to maximize the possibility of getting some snow.

    Input topic #1 - Timing: Yeah, I get it, wait until the last minute and go when/where it snows. But the logistics of arranging dog care (both families have dogs) and the wives' fear of not having everything planed out to the minutest detail makes a last-minute dash a non-starter. My memory is foggy but it seems like we usually had decent snow by the 2nd or 3rd week of January. I was thinking Jan 21 - Feb 11 as a staring point. Pretty sure that avoids all the big vacation periods....

    Input topic #2 - Where to Go: We'll have a rental car (wives won't put up with using public transportation) and because we're cheap, we won't be staying slopeside. I was thinking a Ferienwohnung (think VRBO condo) in a central area that will allow us to make short-ish drives to skiing and also for the wives to go shopping for groceries, bier, und wein. It's easier for me to list the major areas I haven't been to: Skiwelt, Schladming, Soelden, Zell am See/Kaprun, the Gurgls.... I'd like to go someplace new if they're worth skiing but also could live with skiing the Arlberg/Ischgl for the entire time.

    Input topic #3 - Where to stay: The sites I've looked at so far (VRBO, AirBnB, and HomeToGo) don't have a lot available in ski country. I know there's a lot more out there. Anybody have any insights on good websites to peruse? What I have seen so far is 2-3 bedroom apartments (or even entire homes) in the $2,500 - $4,000 range for 21 nights which seems pretty acceptable when split 2 ways.

    Input topic #4 - Should we consider other places (not Austria): I hate being the ugly American and not at least making a passable attempt at communicating in the local language (I actually got pretty good at the Austrian dialect which is far different from what is spoken in Berlin) but maybe limiting ourselves to just Austria is too...limiting. I know they speak German in most of Switzerland but my memory of CH is that it was more than 2X as expensive (lodging, skiing, food) as Austria. Is that still true?

    Hoping some of the locals on this board will offer some insider insight.

  2. #2
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    Benson Profance, global local, is the only source you need.

  3. #3
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    https://www.mt-lodge.com/

    Ask vendul.

    I do not think the old maxim of Austrian value is true anymore.

    I can find places for less than $120 a night in Murren or Klosters. But vendul in Rueras will give you the best experience and a great deal. Go read the threads.
    Merde De Glace On the Freak When Ski
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  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by byates1 View Post
    Benson Profance, global local, is the only source you need.
    Isn't that true for everything under the sun?

    Quote Originally Posted by Buster Highmen View Post
    https://www.mt-lodge.com/

    Ask vendul.

    I do not think the old maxim of Austrian value is true anymore.

    I can find places for less than $120 a night in Murren or Klosters. But vendul in Rueras will give you the best experience and a great deal. Go read the threads.
    Oh, I've read the threads...Andermatt is definitely an option.

  5. #5
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    Base out of Landeck for ten days, hit St Anton, Ischgl, Serfaus, Obergurgl, Solden, etc. Then move east stay near Zillertal for a week, then last few days near Kitzbuhl. Just so much skiing all close together. Get apartments on VRBO, done.

  6. #6
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    Nothing on VRBO, HomeToGo, or AirBnB west of Innsbruck in Austria for that timeframe that I could find. Need 2 bedrooms.

  7. #7
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    A couple of options:
    Look into an apartment between Dieni, Rueras, Sedrun or Disentis. Andermatt proper has gotten expensive and the little towns on the East side of the Oberalp Pass are less expensive.
    Get a place in Chur from there it's 40 minutes to get to Davos/Klosters or Lenzerheide/Arosa and an hour to get to Disentis. Chur is a decent sized town and centrally located with St. Anton 1.5 hours and an hour to Schruns/Silvretta.
    Split your time between St. Moritz (Samedan is the best location for more reasonable lodging and the location of the hot springs), Klosters (The Wynegg) and Rueras (Mt-lodge). I see places in Samedan on vrbo for less than $200/night for a 2 bd place: https://www.vrbo.com/search/keywords...hildrenCount=0
    Merde De Glace On the Freak When Ski
    >>>200 cm Black Bamboo Sidewalled DPS Lotus 120 : Best Skis Ever <<<

  8. #8
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    I would recommend staying semi slopewise or ski Bus range much easier.

    For the arlberg ischgl area I'd stay in kappl. It's git it's own resort and is an easy connection to to big ones.

    Consider the Montafon as well plenty of decent skiing without the masses and price cool little villages. Good freeride.


    East is more Tricky. Major resorts in the Zillertal are all lacking the feel. Hochfügen is much nicer, but it's harder to get to the other areas if you stay up there. Not my favorite region.

    East ist further apart, but a base in the Gasteinertal gives you options.

    Sölden/ Gurgl are a one stay option. I'd go to Gurgl though Sölden is rather ugly and drunk.


    Switzerland apart from the usual suspects has some German speaking options in the northeast or in grison like lenzerheide. They are more Tricky snowwise. Central Switzerland like andermatt, disentis, airolo(not German though)?and Engelberg Covers a lot of snow options. Bernese Oberland is more complicated, a bit more expensive and harder to access casually then Areas in the east.
    It's a war of the mind and we're armed to the teeth.

  9. #9
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    Gasteinertal has a lot of options with Dorfgastein, Hofgastein, Bad Gastein, Sport Gastein and the tunnel to Mallnitz with access to the Moetaller glacier and hot springs . Bad Gastein has an old Casino and a ton of old hotels.
    Merde De Glace On the Freak When Ski
    >>>200 cm Black Bamboo Sidewalled DPS Lotus 120 : Best Skis Ever <<<

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by subtle plague View Post
    I would recommend staying semi slopewise or ski Bus range much easier.

    For the arlberg ischgl area I'd stay in kappl. It's git it's own resort and is an easy connection to to big ones.

    Consider the Montafon as well plenty of decent skiing without the masses and price cool little villages. Good freeride.


    East is more Tricky. Major resorts in the Zillertal are all lacking the feel. Hochfügen is much nicer, but it's harder to get to the other areas if you stay up there. Not my favorite region.

    East ist further apart, but a base in the Gasteinertal gives you options.

    Sölden/ Gurgl are a one stay option. I'd go to Gurgl though Sölden is rather ugly and drunk.


    Switzerland apart from the usual suspects has some German speaking options in the northeast or in grison like lenzerheide. They are more Tricky snowwise. Central Switzerland like andermatt, disentis, airolo(not German though)?and Engelberg Covers a lot of snow options. Bernese Oberland is more complicated, a bit more expensive and harder to access casually then Areas in the east.
    Great info, thanks.

    I've probably skied more days at Hintertux (Zillertal) than any other place in Austria and I agree on the "feel".

    Any thoughts on the best way to find "semi-slopeside" lodging? Is there a European equivalent to VRBO? The wives are going to want to have a kitchen because they are cheapskates and will want to cook rather than eat out. My memory is that most "hotels" could include breakfast and dinner for one price. I remember it being great but I was 28-31 and solo.

    Hearing great things about Montafon...would definitely like to ski there I think.

    I know it's a long slog from anywhere but I want to show my neighbor Obertauern and Gamsleiten 2. Only skied there once but I remember it being very good (it was a big snow year).

  11. #11
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    Sölden/ Gurgl are a one stay option. I'd go to Gurgl though Sölden is rather ugly and drunk.
    Sölden is a shithole in my experience, but skiing is good. I like the skiing in obergrugl, not sure I'd want to stay there for a whole week tho, it's tiny. I'd second Kappl in Paznaun, easy access to ischgl galtür and stanton. Galtür is also nicer to stay in than ischgl, but right at end of valley.
    Not much experience of the montafon, but like to spend more time there.

    Serfaus/fiss/ladis has enough skiing to keep you busy, but never stayed in the villages. Kaunertal is close and with a car it's halfwayish between stanton/ischgl to west and ötztal to east. Oh and Serfaus is car free like Zermatt, so maybe that's something interesting?

    Others can correct me, but I feel that in tirol snow has become better end of Feb-middle march?
    At least in innsbruck region beginning of Jan it has been dry the last 5-6 years (except for the occasional freak dump with avi 5 levels of snow). Beginning Feb has become my most hated window with the föhn blasting every thing. Generally march seems to bring in more regular weather fronts. I have no facts to back this up and no professional know-how like subtle, just my gut feeling. Maybe Nordkette can chime in and say if I'm talking absolute bullshit!

  12. #12
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    Sölden might be dump but the 2000k more than make up for it.
    So many good suggestions on here.
    Your dates should work well, Germans vacation the last two weeks in February, I’m assuming the Dutch as well.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by MyNameIsAugustWest View Post
    Great info, thanks.

    I've probably skied more days at Hintertux (Zillertal) than any other place in Austria and I agree on the "feel".

    Any thoughts on the best way to find "semi-slopeside" lodging? Is there a European equivalent to VRBO? The wives are going to want to have a kitchen because they are cheapskates and will want to cook rather than eat out. My memory is that most "hotels" could include breakfast and dinner for one price. I remember it being great but I was 28-31 and solo.

    Hearing great things about Montafon...would definitely like to ski there I think.

    I know it's a long slog from anywhere but I want to show my neighbor Obertauern and Gamsleiten 2. Only skied there once but I remember it being very good (it was a big snow year).
    Semi slopeside usually means walking 10 -15min to the nearest lift.
    Edit: but your time frame should easily yield 5min walk options in any area for a decent price.

    Or in a village 2km outside the major resorts but with a ski Bus Station in Front that runs every 20min in the morning and afternoon. Usually advertised in the appartement Text.

    For holiday Appartements use.

    www.fewo-direkt.de german speaking very well equipped in Austria.

    Edit: and for montafon: stay in gargellen. It has this nice end of the road feel, high base lift, good terrain and Tons of lift assisted Tour options. You have to drive down a bit to the other montafon areas, but definitely the nicest base of operations.

    Edit: and don't stay in galtür for the ischgl valley area. Cool place but the ski area sucks. I hang around the area a lot in the summer because it has good high alpine lift accessed bouldering.
    Last edited by subtle plague; 06-24-2022 at 12:51 PM.
    It's a war of the mind and we're armed to the teeth.

  14. #14
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    Solid info. Thanks all. Since we don't have to worry about work schedules, I'll look into mid-March as a starting point.

    Maybe we try a couple of basecamps...since we can't stay a month like we did in Wydaho (big discounts here in the US for month+ stays), not sure there's any reason to stay locked in to one spot. Maybe one in the west and one more in the east (of Innsbruck) as was suggested above.

  15. #15
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    I'd definitely go with your earlier time frame. March is complicated because many areas have a 1000m base and it's cheaper.
    Edut that sounded weird. End Jan and early feb is cheaper.
    Last edited by subtle plague; 06-25-2022 at 12:02 AM.
    It's a war of the mind and we're armed to the teeth.

  16. #16
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    The last couple years I’ve had some of the best days of the season in late March / early April in Klosters.

    From Gargellen, you can also tour over to Switz for a day of skiing in Klosters (Madrisa and Parsenn).


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  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by bw_wp_hedonism View Post
    The last couple years I’ve had some of the best days of the season in late March / early April in Klosters.

    From Gargellen, you can also tour over to Switz for a day of skiing in Klosters (Madrisa and Parsenn).


    Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums
    This year for example. But you could barely ski to 1200m north facing, in Engelberg, the epicenter of the dump. So Austria would have had problems there. Statistically speaking the base below 1500m has not been there during the last few years in late March.
    It's a war of the mind and we're armed to the teeth.

  18. #18
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    What are you VRBO'ing? Use Landeck Region. Put in two bedrooms. I used 21-28 JAN and found a ton of places that look good and are really reasonable.

    Found a bunch of places like this from 21-28 JAN. Recommending moving around and don't stay in one place. Be ready to escape south to the Dolomites, day in Verona, Vicenza, Venice or Bolzano to keep the Mrs. Happy. Plus gorge yourself on Italian food and hit a grocery store there.

    https://www.vrbo.com/2656585ha?adult...unitId=3202991

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by MyNameIsAugustWest View Post

    Maybe we try a couple of basecamps....
    this is what I would do. One basecamp in Austria and one in Switzerland. Close geographically (and German will be a benefit both places), but quite different vibe culturally. I like Subtle's recommendation for something that will let you get to the Arlberg easily. I spent a couple of days in the Montafon in 2020. It's very nice, but this sounds like a trip of a lifetime, so I'd go for the bigger place. Biggest downside to Arlberg is that it can be crowded, and, in places, expensive, but your timeframe ameliorates both. In Switzerland, as Buster recommended, either on the Dieni side of Andermatt Ski Region or around Klosters. Easy day trips from either if you want to check out other places (but you need to get the wives on board for training for that--it's dead easy in Switzerland and so much more convenient and comfortable than trying to figure out driving and parking). If you end up in Klosters, BWP Hedonism can give you advice, and Vendul can do it over Andermatt way. If you end up around Dieni in an apartment, you should definitely see if Vendul can accommodate your for dinner a night or 2. He'll provide good food and all sorts of good advice.

  20. #20
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    Here are some examples for late Jan per week.
    https://www.fewo-direkt.de/search/ke...otalPrice=true

    Slopeside.
    You probably want the 2 bedroom ones for up to 6 people.
    It's a war of the mind and we're armed to the teeth.

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by AmmergauerTele View Post
    What are you VRBO'ing? Use Landeck Region. Put in two bedrooms. I used 21-28 JAN and found a ton of places that look good and are really reasonable.

    Found a bunch of places like this from 21-28 JAN. Recommending moving around and don't stay in one place. Be ready to escape south to the Dolomites, day in Verona, Vicenza, Venice or Bolzano to keep the Mrs. Happy. Plus gorge yourself on Italian food and hit a grocery store there.

    https://www.vrbo.com/2656585ha?adult...unitId=3202991
    Thnx! I was looking for the entire 3 weeks for all of Austria and nothing was coming up west of Innsbruck. Will narrow the dates and see if zooming in on the search lands any fish.

    Quote Originally Posted by Mr. Mike View Post
    this is what I would do. One basecamp in Austria and one in Switzerland. Close geographically (and German will be a benefit both places), but quite different vibe culturally. I like Subtle's recommendation for something that will let you get to the Arlberg easily. I spent a couple of days in the Montafon in 2020. It's very nice, but this sounds like a trip of a lifetime, so I'd go for the bigger place.... If you end up in Klosters, BWP Hedonism can give you advice, and Vendul can do it over Andermatt way. If you end up around Dieni in an apartment, you should definitely see if Vendul can accommodate your for dinner a night or 2. He'll provide good food and all sorts of good advice.
    Not really the trip of a lifetime. I've skied somewhere close to 200 days in Austria in the late 80s/early 90s. Even my wife has skied there (Lermoos, Hintertux - in July!). Our friends have skied both the Kitzbuhel areas and the Dolomites. We just want to get back there since it's been a long time for both families.

    Quote Originally Posted by subtle plague View Post
    Here are some examples for late Jan per week.
    https://www.fewo-direkt.de/search/ke...otalPrice=true

    Slopeside.
    You probably want the 2 bedroom ones for up to 6 people.
    Thanks! Was off-grid over the weekend but I'll search tomorrow since it's supposed to be a rainy day.

  22. #22
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    St. Anton. Hotel San Antonio. Ski down to Nasserein Gondi. Late Jan or early Feb. Did this 4X in the early 2000s. Win every time. Zekk am See is also really nice, but snow is not nearly as good as Voralberg
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