Austria Alps Glacier Ski Safari
A Self-Guided Road-Trip Skiing the Austrian Glacier Ski Resorts
The Austrian Alps Glacier Ski Safari takes in the seven major glacier skiing resorts of Austria on a self-guided, self-drive adventure.
The tour encompasses the highest & snowiest ski areas in Austria & includes all the classic ski experiences associated with a winter journey through the Alps. Starting & finishing in the world's greatest ski city of Innsbruck, travel from west to east on a tour that includes:
Austria is such an easy place to get around by car, so we highly recommend this DIY tour for your next ski holiday in the Alps. Having a car provides the autonomy to go where and when you want to go. Major roads link the various valleys throughout Austria. The mountain roads to a few resorts can be challenging, particularly Kaunertal, but most are a relative doddle with base areas quite low in the valleys. If you don't feel confident driving in winter mountain conditions, you can still self-drive between the towns and take a local ski bus up to the different mountains each day.
To shorten the trip dramatically, one could drop both Kitzsteinhorn and Mölltal Glacier off the list and concentrate on the five glacier ski resorts of the Tirol instead!
When to Go
The glacier ski resorts of Austria all operate from October through to May. Several are open for longer periods, with Hintertux Glacier open all year round. Early in the season, terrain can be quite limited to the upper reaches of the resorts. Prime time to visit is from December to mid-April. This period has a higher likelihood of powder snow, abundant open lifts & terrain plus a range of alternative ski resorts will still be operating. Try to avoid the school holiday periods around Christmas/New Year and in mid-February. Whatever you do, go sooner rather than later as the Alps' glaciers are disappearing at an alarming rate...
Tour Location
The Austrian Alps Glacier Ski Safari starts & finishes at Innsbruck. The tour is predominately in the Tyrol state but includes parts of Salzburgerland & Carinthia, plus Italy on the return journey. It first travels west to the Kaunertal Glacier, then journeys east back along the Inn River & side valleys via Innsbruck into the Salzburg state & Kitzsteinhorn near Kaprun. After Kaprun a fascinating journey, which includes a car-train between Bad Gastein & Mallnitz, to Moelltal Glacier tops off the adventure. A drive back to Innsbruck via the northern fringes of the Dolomites (where you could feasibly duck down to the Marmolada Glacier!) & the town of Vipiteno, then over the Brenner Pass is the cherry on top of a memorable road trip.
Click on each tour location on the map below to get more info on each location. Alternatively just type the name of ski resort into the 'Search' bar at the top of any Powderhounds.com page.
Flights
The Innsbruck (INN) airport can be easily reached from multiple origins within Europe or the UK. For travellers from outside Europe or the UK, a connection will be required, or simply fly into Munich (MUN) or Zurich (ZRH) airport & drive or take a train into Austria from there.
Search & book your flights to Innsbruck, Munich or Zurich.
Car Rental
Whilst the tour could be done using trains & buses, it is best conducted with the use of a rental car. The best fully winterised rental cars are available at the Innsbruck airport. Availability may be low during high season (Christmas New Year & February), but other rental locations can be utilised as well. Simply ensure the vehicle has winter tyres and is preferentially AWD or 4WD.
Search & book your car rental here.
Accommodation
You will find accommodation suggestions & links throughout various ski resort pages on Powderhounds. Search & book hotels, apartments, guesthouses & chalets via the links. Alternatively, you can book accommodation anywhere in the Austrian Alps on the link below.
Search & book Austrian Alps accommodation.
Other Ski Resorts to Visit on the Tour
Interspersed throughout the tour are a range of the Powderhounds' favourite non-glacier ski resort options worth visiting on bad weather days or when visibility on the glaciers is low. Resorts like Hochzeiger, Obergurgl Hochgurgl, Mayrhofen, Kitzbuhel, Skicircus Saalbach, Zell am See, Schlick 2000 & the Gastein Ski Region provide the goods when it is blowing up high on the range or are just great additions to any ski tour of Austria.
We will add a full itinerary page at some in the future, but until we do, if you have any questions about this tour, CONTACT US.