Family skiing in Austria

Fully deserving its position in the ‘top ten’ of world ski areas, St Anton has also made successful efforts in recent years to make the resort child-friendly too.

The Nasserein area of St Anton is the perfect location for family skiing. Two of the main children’s ski areas are convenient to our chalets – one at the foot of the gondola and one at the top. The Pepi Gabl Chalet is just next to the gondola and the Markus and the Adler are a short stroll away to make life easy for our Esprit ski classes.

Meanwhile, it is the appeal of the biggest ski area in Austria which will make keen skiing parents’ eyes light up, with 260 kms of pistes and 180kms of unpisted ‘deep snow runs’ to choose from and a snow record to be proud of.  The new 8-person gondola from the village centre to the Rendl area has further opened up skiers’ choice of superb pistes to enjoy. Not only St Anton and St Christoph, but also neighbouring Lech and Zürs and the generally quiet but fabulous Sonnenkopf area (all reached by ski-bus), are covered on the Arlberg lift-pass.

As for the village itself, St Anton has retained all its traditional Austrian charm, and its part-pedestrianised centre makes an attractive and atmospheric heart to the resort, perfect for family skiing and a host of facilities to add to your holiday enjoyment. Our St Anton ski chalets are situated in the quieter Nasserein area, which has excellent access to the ski area with its own high-speed 8-person gondola up to Gampen, and a regular free shuttle-bus service for the short ride to the lively resort centre.

Obergurgl is one of Austria’s most famous and most sought-after ski resorts, and deservedly so – especially for Esprit family ski holidays! Set high at the end of the picturesque Ötz Valley, the village centre benefits from having no through traffic at all, and the ski area boasts an enviable snow record stretching normally from November right through until May.

Obergurgl works wonderfully well for family skiing holidays. The children’s kindergarten ski area and ski-school meeting point are now both conveniently located on the slopes 80m from our Chalet Verwall. For children who have progressed beyond the beginners’ stage, the blue runs of the Gaisberg provide the ideal area to move on to, and wide open slopes and superb snow conditions make for relaxed, enjoyable skiing.

Obergurgl has an attractive Tyrolean village centre retaining its traditional relaxed charm and a cosy, intimate feel, yet is big enough to offer an ample range of facilities, and a family friendly après-ski atmosphere.

The Obergurgl ski area meanwhile affords fantastically spectacular scenery, beautifully groomed pistes, and a fast, modern lift system, recently and massively enhanced by three modern and comfortable gondolas, plus the ‘Top Express’ gondola, connecting the Obergurgl and Hochgurgl areas at the mid-station level, and the amazing glass ‘Top Mountain Star’ bar/restaurant, perched at 3,080m with sensational panoramic views.

Now well established in our programme, Obergurgl has quickly become a firm favourite with Esprit families.