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The hills are alive with the sound of happy families in the Austrian ski resorts: we haven’t found one that wasn’t brilliant for broods, but we’ve managed to shortlist a stonkingly good top ten.
With world-class ski schools, winter fun in many forms and fairy-tale villages that drive imaginations wild, the best Austrian ski resorts for families have all the ingredients for a cracking week of quality time together and fun on the snow.
Austria: Top 10 Ski Resorts for Families
Soll’s locals have moved mountains to trade its old party town reputation for a more family focussed one, and helmets off to them, they’ve done a stellar job. While the Skischule takes tots aged 3+ out for their first snowploughs, the Snow Pirates kids club will ensure younger or snow-shy sprogs won’t miss out on the fun, letting Mum and Dad ski their socks off on the mighty SkiWelt. There are plenty of easily pitched looong runs to ski all together, even right before bedtime: Soll has the most floodlight slopes in Austria (13km of the stuff, for various levels), with a crackling atmosphere in the surrounding restaurants for a hot choc before you turn in. If you’d rather pass a few afternoons back down in the village, there’s heaps going on. Reward their excellent progression on the planks with a milkshake at Hexenalm or, if you still have bags of energy left, dog sledding is a delightfully fun activity you’ll look back on for yonks.
Little ones can run wild in tiny Obergurgl, where traffic’s rare and the ways are quiet. While parents sit back and concentrate on schnapps, fondue and all that rippling mountain scenery. A modest ski area (110km), and lack of any real expert territory, means slopes are blissfully quiet too and free of too many experienced, speed-hungry skiers - so everyone can focus on connecting those turns without playing dodge. There’s more than enough for learners - cut your teeth on the Mahdsthul nursery slopes, and progress with confident kiddos at the end of the week to the long blues and reds around the Gaisberg lift- there’s even frequent night skiing for a little extra practice before ski school. Throw in some of the surest snow conditions in Austria and a transfer of under an hour from Innsbruck (no “are we there yet?”s over here) you’ve all the ingredients for a terrific week together.
If there are a few restless travellers in your clan, the fact that Mayrhofen’s within an hour of Innsbruck airport will be music to the ears. The ski area’s conveniently split into the ‘action’ and ‘leisure’ mountains, letting different family members choose where to spend the most time depending on their style of skiing: take the Ahornbahn gondola to easy-going slopes and let sprogs pretend they’re in Antartica while you enjoy a sit down at the Igloo Village. Or nip on the Penkenbhan lift, where you’ll find gradients ranging from friendly to fearsome and the teen-favourite Penken Park. Old-school Austrian winter fun can be found throughout the season in the form of tobogganing, horse-drawn sleigh rides and skating, but for a real treat, bring the brood at Christmas for a totally traditional Austrian yule of markets, carols and torch lit walks.
With two separate ski areas, eight magic carpets, and two bumbling mascots (messieurs Snowly and Leo), this resort is all geared up to give gaggles of children a good time, while also laying a good foundation. Before you can say the mountain name, little ones will soon be speeding past you on the blues from the "Spieleckkogel". Once your little Franz Klammers graduate from there, there’s the whole Skicircus area to take on together. A world-topping ratio of high speed lifts lets you increase slope time and minimise the chances of cold fingers and toes. Instagram-addicted teens, rejoice: there’s WiFi available from a number of the top stations. Take a family ski trip over to Saalbach, where you can refuel at the Schattberg Stube next to the Schattberg Express lift – with pizzas, steaks and typical Austrian dishes, everyone’s a winner.
There’s no better backdrop for next year’s Christmas photo than the prettiest village in Austria and you’ll make plenty of stories to fill the annual family letter with… For those who are new to skis, the nursery slopes by the village are graciously gentle. When it’s time to turn up the tempo, a 5 minute bus trip unlocks a hefty 145km of well-groomed, varied terrain with a smattering of nursery slopes to ease you in gently. The ticket office often have family deals on lift passes (in recent years under 15’s could ski free), which saves some cents for those all-important hot chocolate and glühwein stops. You’ll find some charming old farmhouses for a family supper – the Bischoferalm has an excellent kiddies menu and better yet, after sharing a fondue, everyone can toboggan back down to the village.
Sleepy little Ellmau attracts people for skiing rather than shindigs, making it a shoo-in with the family crowd. Kids have a hoot with the Ellmauer or Top Ski Schools, which have their own fun parks and play areas (complete with a bouncy castle and snowtub merry-go-round). While they’re being well looked after, the nation’s largest linked ski area is your oyster (if the Kaiserbad’s spa facilities aren’t calling…). For hours of fun without the skis, head over to the tubing Funpiste, which often stays open after sundown.
If the local legend of the Wildschonau dragon doesn’t drive imaginations wild, this valley’s fairytale villages should do the trick. For a real ‘winter wonderland’ experience, the toboggan run from Lanerköpfl provides some good old fashioned alpine fun, on top of igloo building, horse-drawn sleigh rides and the delightful Leisure train from Auffach. If you need a break from the great outdoors, the Worgl swimming complex has a wave pool, double looping waterslide and spa which should go down a treat with tots, teens and parents alike. Onto the slopes, there are many ego boosting pistes for newbies who will be in good care under the wing of the 1st Ski School using the beginner lifts by the village, while others can head off to roam 145km of blues, reds and blacks.
Enjoying the access to the same ski area as St Anton but without all the gung-ho après, you’ll be able to get nippers to bed nice and early in Lech - at least on the nights you’re not taking one of the magical night-time sleigh rides. We love the immediate skiing here for beginners and improvers, with long, wide routes like blue Weibermahd that let you really pick up a tempo and work on technique (Skischool Oberlech do fantastic tuition for 3 and a halfs and up). The Arlberg area is also Christmas come early for experts, who can tackle the infamous White Ring and ski some of the world’s best off piste. As we always say, if it’s good enough for the royal family…..
We like to think of colourful, medieval Kitzbuhel Village as Switzerland’s answer to Diagon Alley, but you don’t have to be a family of Harry Potter nuts to get a sense of the magic here. These scenic surrounds make a wonderful base for a week of adventure on the snow, where Rote Teufel and other highly ranked ski schools will take care of learners and improvers. Relatives with more experience can tackle steep blacks, the Hanglalm snowpark and off piste galore. If by the end of the week you’re not quite ready for a knee-trembling group descent down the Streif, there’s a family route that graciously skips the trickier sections with the same sense of achievement. Oodles of fun’s to be had later on, like ice skating on the Schwarzsee Lake, and numerous kiddie-friendly restaurants (we can’t get enough of the pizzas at Centro).
Kaprun’s 50km ski area is all easy-going from top-to-bottom and quiet as a whisper, making it pretty much perfect for tots. Parents aren’t confined to standing and watching all week - it’s just a short bus trip to the Kitzsteinhorn glacier and an ocean of snow-sure terrain at 3000m, ideal for Christmases or Easters when conditions can be a bit touch and go elsewhere. For all its pint-sized proportions, the village is jam-packed with post-skiing activities – like iceskating and swimming in the Freizeitzentrum sports centre to round out your holiday.
Austria’s awesome for families of all age groups, but if you’re keen to look at other countries before you choose your resort, we also have Top Ten lists for France, Italy and Switzerland.
To take your holiday up a level, make your destination one of the world’s greatest family ski resorts. Have a read of our worldwide best 10 and book your favourite for a true family ski trip to remember.
Austria - best family ski resorts
| Resort | Best features |
|---|---|
| Soll | Good ski school & kids club, big ski area for all levels |
| Obergurgl | Snow sure ski area, hotels with childcare, good ski school |
| Mayrhofen | 2 mountain ski area, igloo village, cracking Christmas festivities |
| Hinterglemm | Fabulous family hotels, linked ski area |
| Alpbach | Charming Austrian village, tobogganing, nice nursery slopes |
| Ellmau | Quiet ski resort, good ski schools, big linked ski area |
| Niederau | Fabulous family activities, big ski area, charming village |
| Lech | Super snow record, varied Arlberg ski area, pretty town |
| Kitzbuhel | Top notch ski schools, excellent ski area, plenty to do & see |
| Kaprun | Gentle local slopes, nearby glacier, quiet resort |
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