Ski Resorts in Vorarlberg

Ski Resorts in Vorarlberg

Austria’s westernmost province of Vorarlberg features family-friendly ski regions offering great skiing on and off-piste, high-altitude ski touring and well-maintained trails for cross-country skiing and winter walking. They are also easy to get to from Zurich, Innsbruck, Friedrichshafen and Memmingen Airports.

Vorarlberg has plenty to offer discerning skiers and boarders: traditional Austrian hospitality in pretty villages, a good choice of accommodations, a consistently good snow record, efficient lift systems, well-groomed pistes, plenty of off-piste, and easy transfers by road or rail from the nearest airports. There’s value for money accommodation to suit all budgets from affordable 4-star hotels, including some great ski-in ski-out hotels, bed & breakfast pensions and self-catering ski apartments.

Bregenzerwald

The pretty Bregenzerwald region in northern Vorarlberg lies between Bodensee (Lake Constance) in the west and the Arlberg and the Tirol to the east. The area offers 259km of downhill skiing and 93 ski lifts between 600-2,050m, most of which is in three main resorts: Damuls-Mellau (89km), Warth-Schröcken (66km) and Au-Schoppernau (Diedamskopf) (44km), which are linked by excellent free ski bus services.  Warth-Schroecken is lift-linked to Lech-Zurs, Stuben and St Anton in the Arlberg, but has kept its separate identity. Vorarlberg resorts offer skiing and boarding for all abilities, including off-piste, ski touring, and over 300km of cross-country skiing (66km above 1,000m) and 200km of well-prepared winter walking trails. Bregenzerwald is a thriving tourist destination both in winter and summer, offering over 35,000 tourist beds across more than a dozen picturesque villages and numerous attractive 3-star and 4-star hotels, some of which are situated high in the ski areas.

Ultimate  Ski Guide to Bregenzerwald >

Montafon

The Montafon ski region in southern Vorarlberg has glaciers and 80 peaks over 3,000m. Montafon offers 219km piste skiing between 650-2,300m, mainly on Silvretta Nova, Hochjoch, Schafberg and Golm and 57 ski lifts carrying 90,320 riders per hour. Most pistes are blue (109km) or red (78km) with comparatively few black runs (32km), but lots of opportunity for skiing off-piste, great ski touring, three Snowparks, around 30 mountain restaurants and 144km cross-country skiing. Montafon has over 17,000 guest beds, including a wide range of accommodation in the main town, Schruns-Tschagguns, and ski villages Gaschurn, St Gallenkirch, Gargellen, Partenen and Silbertal and more beds lower down the valley.

Ultimate Ski Guide to Montafon >

Brandnertal

The Brandnertal region in the southwestern corner of Vorarlberg has 53km of family-friendly piste skiing between 890 and 2,000m on two mountains, served by 14 ski lifts carrying 20,200 riders per hour. There are ski lifts from the adjacent villages Brand and Burserberg, a cable car, a blue piste connecting the two mountain ski areas, and a free ski bus running between them. There’s also 27km of cross-country skiing and a good selection of family-friendly hotels.

Ultimate Ski Guide to Brandnertal >

Sonnenkopf in Klostertal

Klostertal is situated west of the 13km long Arlberg tunnel and home to the family-friendly ski area of Sonnenkopf above the villages of Wald am Arlberg, Danofen, Klösterle am Arlberg, and Langen am Arlberg. Sonnenkopf offers 39km of piste skiing and some excellent off-piste. There is also a frequent and free ski bus connecting it to Stuben am Arlberg (about 20 minutes away), in the heart of the Arlberg ski area. Sonnenkopf skiers have the option of buying either a local pass for just the Sonnenkopf area, or the Arlberg ski area pass that covers Stuben, Lech-Zurs, Warth-Schroecken and the other Arlberg resorts.

Ultimate Ski Guide to Sonnenkopf >

Stuben am Arlberg

Stuben is both a small, quiet mountain village (no smart shops, no nightclubs and whilst there are luxury 4-star hotels, there are more B&B guesthouses) and a genuinely pretty ski village offering more affordable access to the vast Arlberg ski area. Stuben is celebrated for its local Albona mountain, a magnet for off-piste skiers and freeriders, and its location in the heart of the Arlberg ski area with excellent connections to Lech-Zurs, Warth-Schroecken, St Anton and St Christoph. The latter two resorts are geographically and politically part of the Tirol, but only just, and share the Arlberg ski area with their Vorarlberg neighbours. Sonnenkopf is not lift-connected to any of the other Arlberg resorts, but it’s only 20 minutes away by bus (or 15 minutes by car or taxi) from Stuben.

Ultimate Ski Guide to Stuben am Arlberg >

Lech-Zurs

Lech and Zurs are among the most exclusive ski resorts in the world, favoured by celebrities and royalty (Princess Diana was a regular) and renowned for their luxury and comfort. Two separate villages, commonly referred to as Lech-Zurs, are part of the vast Arlberg ski area. ‘Lovely Lech’ has more charm and livelier nightlife, while high, purpose-built Zurs offers better snow and is better located for exploring the Arlberg’s most challenging skiing, between Zurs, Stuben, and St Anton. The expert-only off-piste itineraries that you can ski with a guide from St Anton down to Zurs, from Zurs to Stuben and from Stuben to near St Anton are all deservedly famous. And if you can not choose between Lech and Zurs, don’t worry: they share the same slopes and frequent buses run between them.

Ultimate Ski Guide to Lech-Zurs >

Kleinwalsertal

The Kleinwalsertal in north east Vorarlberg, close to the border with Germany, has 61km of piste skiing between 920-2,037m, mostly red (33km) and blue runs across three mountains served by a total of 30 ski lifts carrying 32,830 riders per hour (21km). Kleinwalsertal has three ski villages – Riezlern, Hirschegg and Mittelberg – and the cost of a lift pass and hotel accommodation for two people for one week is apparently cheaper in Kleinwalsertal than in other Vorarlberg ski regions.

Nearest Airports to Vorarlberg

Getting to the Vorarlberg is easy via Zurich, Friedrichshafen, Memmingen and Innsbruck. The advantages of flying via Zurich include numerous scheduled flights daily, a greater choice of airlines, and good road and rail connections. Transfer distances vary depending on which Vorarlberg resort you are visiting, but distances from the nearest airports to Bludenz in the centre of Vorarlberg are as follows:

Friedrichshafen 90km
Memmingen 131km
Innsbruck 132km
Zurich 156km

Getting to Vorarlberg by Rail

There are fast Inter City trains from Zurich and Innsbruck to Bregenz (for Bregenzerwald), Bludenz (for Montafon and Brandnertal) and Langan am Arlberg (for Sonnenkopf, Stuben am Arlberg and Lech-Zurs) with easy onward travel by private taxi to all destinations – ask your hotel to arrange the taxi for you. For Montafon, change trains at Bludenz and catch the local Montafonerbahn railway to Schruns.

Check train times and buy tickets online at Swiss Rail >

Check train times and buy tickets online at OBB Austrian Railways>

Airport Transfers to Ski Resorts in Vorarlberg

There are fast motorway connections most of the way from all of the abovementioned airports, and you can easily drive from those airports to any Vorarlberg ski resorts in approximately two hours or less. If there are two or more of you travelling, it’s often convenient and no more expensive to rent a car, but if you prefer not to drive or to travel by rail (and taxi), you can book a private transfer from the airport.

Check airport transfer prices and book online at Alps2Alps >

Check airport transfer prices and book online with Ski-Lifts >