Skiing in Austria

[winterrabbit]

Can anyone recommend good resorts for families? We have a 13 year old and 11 year old who are good skiers so will want intermediate slopes and fun things to do plus a 3 year old who may not ski that much so it would be nice to have a nice village/shops/swimming pool etc. Want to be as close to the slopes as possible, ideally ski in ski out but there doesn't seem to be many like that in Austria. TIA!

Question re entry.
2 adults - triple jabbed = need pre-departure PCR to enter Austria
1 teen - aged 14 (i.e. born after 2006) - follow rules for non-variant countries i.e. considered fully jabbed after 2 doses (which DC has) PLUS a pre-departure PCR
1 child - aged 11 - no need to present a pre-departure PCR test and excempt from vaccination

Is the above correct? If not, please let me know and if anything else is needed.

Thanks!

The FCO has rather given up and just offers a series of links, some of which are in German. From my own understanding, your statements on adults and an 11 year old are correct. I haven’t engaged with teenagers as we don’t own one.

www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/austria/entry-requirements#entry-rules-in-response-to-coronavirus-covid-19

OP, if you haven't booked yet, we have been skiing in Austria for 25 years since our kids were tiny.

We go to the Ski Welt which claims to be the largest ski area in the Alps where there are several linked resorts - Scheffau, Soll, Westendorf, Itter, Ellmau etc. It is very family friendly.

There are a few hotels that are right by the lifts, but most are in the villages with shuttles or a short walk. We actually stay outside the resorts and drive every day - parking is well organised and it's cheaper.

Here are a couple of places I know of right by the slopes: www.kraftalm.at/en/
waldhof.info/en

www.crystalski.co.uk/ski-holidays/bookaccommodation?productCode=994705&tab=overview&noOfAdults=2&noOfChildren=1&childrenAge=7&duration=7&flexibleDays=0&airports%5B%5D=BHX&flexibility=true&noOfSeniors=0&when=25-02-2023&pkg=1234527660/3/785/7&tra_o=1232543385/3930623&tra_i=1232543463/3930624&units%5B%5D=000973:RESORT&packageId=994705ATIN011316772832000001677283200000TOM764816778880000001677888000000TOM7649TW041234527660/3/785/7&index=2&multiSelect=true&brandType=C&bb=HB&room=&isVilla=false&searchType=SKI&durationCode=4115&monthSearch=true&rmpc=1|2|0|1|0|7&rmtp=TW04&rmbb=HB&fc=n&greatDealDiscount=0&bb=HB&price=pp

I took an 18 month old here, had a play ground and an indoor play area

At the moment adults can enter Austria without a PCR test if they have recently had Covid if they have proof of recovery.
Must also be fully vaccinated.
Not sure on rules for children.

Also important: the PCR test must have been done within 48 hours before arriving in Austria.

@Tulipomania

At the moment adults can enter Austria without a PCR test if they have recently had Covid if they have proof of recovery. Must also be fully vaccinated. Not sure on rules for children.

Are you sure? The FCO website doesn’t say the same.

Although the UK has become a virus variant area with effect from 25 December 2021, travellers from the UK (and the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway) can still enter Austria without the need to quarantine provided they are either: triple vaccinated (with the third vaccination done at least 120 days after the second); or double vaccinated following recovery from COVID (where the first vaccination was at least 21 days after a positive test or antibodies); or double vaccinated with Johnson and Johnson. Additionally, travellers from the UK will need to present a negative PCR test no older than 48 hours at time of entry.

Try Zauchensee - fabulous 5* hotels with pools etc spitting distance from the lifts (literally)....

We've done Kitzbuhel 3 times. Ticks all your boxes apart from ski in/ski out. But that's not essential, I don't think. It has very efficient ski buses (or a train, if you end up in one of the villages along the train line, which we have done before). You can hire a locker at the bottom of the gondola (don't have to get the lift down, there's a blue all the way to town), so you can have your ski gear right at the lift.

Austria is great with kids!

Lech, Zug and Zürs - I’ve been every year for the past 22 years and never rubbed shoulders with any of the tycoon/royalty types described above.

I love Austria for skiing. I’ve skied in France, Italy, Switzerland and Colorado in the US and for me Austria is the best, it’s practically their national sport, they invest heavily in it. My favourite place is Ischgl, we have stayed there, and also nearby Galtür. I also like the Zillertal as you gave lots of options around there to ski different places on different days.

I reckon Kitzbühel will be next.

For example, Saalbach-Hinterglemm has numerous hotels that are no more than 5 minutes walk from the lifts (and some that are ski-in/out). These hotels also tend to have swimming pools and childcare facilities, and are of course in the centre of the village

We stayed here
www.booking.com/hotel/at/post-saalbach1.en-gb.html?aid=1250365;label=huno.1%3ACj0KCQiAoY-PBhCNARIsABcz771c-GdSQPNp9jrF21FepJ2mj45LKzdy2oz_HnU2y9GmaLsE0S-6hPMaAndsEALw_wcB;sid=40166006ecb0bcd8fd0a73c780020903;checkin=2022-01-23;checkout=2022-01-24;dest_id=-1989883;dest_type=city;dist=0;group_adults=2;group_children=0;hapos=1;hpos=1;no_rooms=1;req_adults=2;req_children=0;room1=A%2CA;sb_price_type=total;soh=1;sr_order=popularity;srepoch=1642361055;srpvid=e86a886c0eaf027f;type=total;ucfs=1&

It was wonderful DCs were 6 & 8.

@Doubleraspberry Apologies, I got that wrong. You do need a negative PCR test.
Which is going to be tricky if you have had Covid within 90 days as you may still test positive (my DS did).

@lightattheendofthetunnel2021

The 14-year-old needs a Ninja Pass, which involves PCR and lateral flow/antigen tests. These need to overlap so that there is never a period when the child is not covered - the link below gives examples.

The pre-flight PCR test taken in the UK counts as the first PCR test. After that you need to have tests in resort - usually available at the local pharmacy (Apotheke) for a fee.

You can print off the Ninja Pass here >

info.bmlrt.gv.at/dam/jcr:ce3ad47e-7953-4ee2-bb6c-3acba00e8b02/Holiday_Ninja_Pass_e_barrierefrei.pdf

Be aware that timing is everything and allow time for test results to come back. In particular, if you are flying on a Saturday the PCR test for entry into Austria needs to be done on Thursday (make sure that this is within 48 hours of arrival in Austria). For the Ninja Pass, this test is valid for 72 hours, so until Sunday, but your child will need an antigen test in resort on Saturday in order to ski on Sunday and Monday and to keep the Ninja Pass valid - and then another test on Monday (a PCR will validate for Tues, Wed, Thurs) and another test on Thursday to cover Thursday and Friday (an antigen test will suffice).

Havana that's not the case if the 12-15 year old is double vaccinated, as they would meet the in-country requirements for entry to restaurants/lifts etc

Obertauern is absolutely brilliant for kids. We went there every year when my kids were small. It has a fantastic kids ski school that takes the kids all day (if you wish); most hotels are no more than 5 minutes from the lifts/ski school meeting place and there is a free kids ski shuttle from the hotels that are slightly further. Lovely, friendly people and overall a very child-friendly resort. It's not huge but there is a decent variety of runs for all levels of skiers. It's also snow-sure until late April or early May.

[quote Havanananana]@lightattheendofthetunnel2021

The 14-year-old needs a Ninja Pass, which involves PCR and lateral flow/antigen tests. These need to overlap so that there is never a period when the child is not covered - the link below gives examples.

The pre-flight PCR test taken in the UK counts as the first PCR test. After that you need to have tests in resort - usually available at the local pharmacy (Apotheke) for a fee.

You can print off the Ninja Pass here >

info.bmlrt.gv.at/dam/jcr:ce3ad47e-7953-4ee2-bb6c-3acba00e8b02/Holiday_Ninja_Pass_e_barrierefrei.pdf

Be aware that timing is everything and allow time for test results to come back. In particular, if you are flying on a Saturday the PCR test for entry into Austria needs to be done on Thursday (make sure that this is within 48 hours of arrival in Austria). For the Ninja Pass, this test is valid for 72 hours, so until Sunday, but your child will need an antigen test in resort on Saturday in order to ski on Sunday and Monday and to keep the Ninja Pass valid - and then another test on Monday (a PCR will validate for Tues, Wed, Thurs) and another test on Thursday to cover Thursday and Friday (an antigen test will suffice).[/quote]
Thanks but I thought the 12-15 year olds (born after 2006) would be able to follow the non-variant country rules which state that you are considered fully jabbed after 2 vaccinations?

Lightattheendofthetunnel you're right

@lightattheendofthetunnel2021 and @reallyagain

You're right and I have misunderstood the status of the teenager.

The Ninja Pass is only for children aged 12-15 who have not been fully vaccinated

[quote Havanananana]**@lightattheendofthetunnel2021* and @reallyagain*

You're right and I have misunderstood the status of the teenager.

The Ninja Pass is only for children aged 12-15 who have not been fully vaccinated[/quote]
Do you know what we need to prove that our 12 year old daughter is fully vaccinated? By half term she will have had two jabs and had Covid in November so shouldn’t really have to do the ninja pass. We have access to her records on our nhs apps so will that be enough? Thank you

You can apply online for the letter for 12-15 year olds, comes in the post

Hi! Looking to book obertauren for next year. Was the ski school any good? Which one was it?

We used the Ski School Silvia Grillitsch. The instructors were all so lovely and they took the kids back to their base most days for lunch. We found it particularly good for younger kids.

Just to add - the school was also very good for instruction. My kids spent their formative skiing years there and they're really good skiers now.