Three of The Best Ski Areas in Austria

Posted by Rachel in Austria on 11 14th, 2010 | No comments yet - be the first one!

Austria is blessed with numerous excellent ski centres and is the perfect place to visit in the winter for ski enthusiasts. Here are three of the best ski areas in Austria that each offer combined lift passes to numerous ski resorts, giving you a fantastic variety of ski options to enjoy.

1. Dachstein West Ski Area

The Dachstein West ski area, which has skiing above 2,000m, is generally pretty reliable for snow cover and has good ski facilities for a variety of abilities. There’s a total of 97 individual pistes to enjoy and the Dachstein West Lift Pass gives access to the ski resorts of Annaberg, Gosau, Krippenstein, Obertraun/Dachstein, Abtenau, Russbach and Katrin – Bad Ischl, so you get plenty of value and variety for your money.

It’s easily accessible for winter ski breaks, as there are three airports all located within two hours drive from the ski resort.

2. Arlberg Ski Area

The Arlberg ski area incorporates a number of Austrian ski resorts from 1300m and 2811m in height. Between them, this ski area has access to 248 individual pistes and the Arlberg Lift Pass gives you access to skiing and snowboarding in the resorts of Lech, St Anton am Arlberg, St Christoph am Arlberg, Stuben and Zurs.

There’s some fantastic snow coverage and the pistes cater for beginners, intermediates and expert skiers. It’s not just great for skiers though, as the Arlberg area is particularly recommended for snowboarders too.

The Arlberg ski area is easily reached by road and air, with four airports all located within a two hour drive.

3. Zillertal Ski Area

Austria’s Zillertal ski area has ski pistes from 560m to 3280m. There are good slopes for beginners, as well as plenty of ski options for intermediate and skilled skiers, and together the ski area gives access to 91 pistes.

The combined Zillertal Lift Pass provides you with access to the ski resorts of Hippach, Mayrhofen, Fugen and Finkenberg, so there’s plenty of variety to add interest and excitement to a week long skiing holiday. If you’re into snowboarding, or want to try snowboarding as an alternative to skiing, then there’s plenty of opportunities to give this a go.

For short breaks, Innsbruck Airport is only one hours drive away, plus there are other airports just two hours away.