Incredible view at the top of the Kaprun Glacier, Austria by Jasmic

Austria is sought-after destination also due to its Free-ride opportunities, which are really a lot. Austria is a paradise also for snowboarders, because almost every resort has some kind of a snowboard park. Austria offers a high standard of services including ski schools and ski instructors.

Better ski resorts are mostly above the forest and the cable car rides often to three thousand meters above sea level, while cross-country trails are mainly in the Alpine valleys.

Skiing and winter tourism is in general one of the main sources of income of the Alpine country. Today, Austrian Alps is an International term – more than 70% of visitors to the Austrian Alps are coming from abroad. Although the Austrian Alps do not have a record altitude or length of the ski slopes, but thanks to snow cannons offer favourable snow conditions from early October to late May. Austrian mountains usually have enough natural snow, so artificial snow is often used only for certain parts of the slopes.

Ski Accommodation in Austria

Austria is known for excellent quality accommodation, mostly in the style of a typical Austrian Alps (interiors are wooden, clean and airy, homely hospitality and cozy atmosphere). Austria offers a complete range of accommodation – from hostels to five star hotels, often including at least sauna or Turkish steam room. Four-star hotels are usually greater relaxation centres (often with a pool). Some ski resorts, such as Kaprun Ski Hotels offer a spa, many of them have great water parks and offer lots of Après-ski opportunities.

Skiing in Austria is one of the biggest attractions in the country and if you are skier, you shouldn’t miss this destination!

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Photo by oetztal.com

Ötztal Valley Resorts have a total of more than 300 km of ski slopes, which lie at an altitude ranging from 1377 to 3340 meters above sea level and thus can boast an elevation of nearly 2,000 metres. The most famous ski resort of Ötztal is exclusive Sölden, which offers about 150 kilometers of ski slopes, spreading partially on two glaciers and three peaks with a height exceeding 3,000 meters above sea level. This makes Sölden really a unique ski resort in Austrian Alps. More than 100 kilometers of slopes has another luxury resort Obergurgl-Hochgurgl. But Ötztal is also suitable for cross-country skiers as you can find here around 185 kilometres of cross-country trails.

Ski pass prices and opening hours
Lifts in the Ötztal runs from 8:30 to 16:30. One-day ski pass costs €45 in the most popular resorts like Sölden and Obergurgl-Hochgurgl, and six-day ski pass costs about €230.

Also an offer of après-ski activities is on a high level in Ötztal. In addition to restaurants, bars, shops, you can try out all sorts of winter sports and the icing on the cake is a luxury aqua park situated in the town Längenfeld.

For further info visit oetztal.com website.

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Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by raffaele sergi

Area of Via Lattea boasts in total 400 km of ski slopes, which are situated in the mountains at an altitude of 1350 – 2823 meters above sea level. There are 200, mainly red, interconnected pistes, from which you definitely should not miss the Olympic slopes located in Sestriere or Sansicariu. Another resort of Pragelato is a place of the Olympic cross-country trails. You can try a total of 79 lifts here that are able to transport more than 105,000 skiers within an hour.

Via Lattea offers several snow parks, ski schools and have over 30 restaurants directly on the slopes. An offer of après-ski activities in the area of ​​Via Lattea is fully sufficient thanks to shops, bars and restaurants where you can taste the specialties of delicious local cuisine. Those, who are even after returning from the skiing day still full of energy, can skate on ice rinks in the areas of Sestriere, Sauze d’Oulx and Claviere.

One day ski pass costs €20, if you are coming for more days, it is better to buy a ski pass that can be used on all of the 400km of slopes. For such 6-day ski pass you should pay €231.

For further details visit official site of Via Lattea.

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