Ski Holiday rentals in Austria book direct

Book holiday accommodation rentals villas and apartments in Austria direct.

Book Austria ski accommodation direct with owners chalet or apartment.

For beginners and cautious intermediates seeking reassuring surroundings rather than challenges, it's difficult to beat Austria's blend of friendly and often pretty villages and similarly captivating ski areas. Most of its ski areas, however, do lack the extent and/or the altitude that French resorts offer, and there are lots of experienced skiers who won't consider going to Austria except to visit steep, snowy St Anton or to ski one of the several excellent glaciers. The good skiers who take a different view are mainly those who like the lively nightlife that is a particular feature of Austrian resorts.  They have expanded enormously since the war, but practically all the development has been in traditional chalet style; the German demand for summer holidays Is as important to Austria as skiing, and the villages of the Tyrol have to look good without the snow that is the saving grace of many French and even some Swiss resorts. The skiing is often quite limited. There are many Austrian resorts that a keen skier could explore fully in half a day.

Those who start their skiing careers in such resorts may not be worried by this - and it certainly means that there is nothing to distract you from concentrating on learning to ski properly. But those who have developed a taste for travelling around on skis find that the list of acceptable Austrian resorts is quite a short one. Unfortunately, several of the resorts on that short list bring you up against another problem - low altitude, and therefore poor snow conditions. Kitzbuhel is at 760m, Soil at 700m, Zell am See at 755m, when considering altitudes, you do have to remember that in winter Europe gets colder the further east you go - so 700m isn't as low in skiing terms as 700m would be in France. But it's still low, and the top heights of Austrian resorts are relatively low too - typically 1800m to 2000m. And snowmaking is not as widespread here as in France, Italy or Switzerland.

• The resorts of the Arlberg area, at the western end of the Tyrol - St Anton, Lech and Ziirs, stand apart from these concerns, with excellent snow records and extensive skiing. And there are other resorts where you can be reasonably confident of good snow, such as Obergurgl and Ischgl, not to mention the reliable year-round skiing on glaciers such as those at Hintertux, Neustift and Kaprun.
• But for most other resorts our advice is to book late, when you know what the snow conditions are like. Nightlife is an important feature of Austrian skiing for many regular visitors. It ranges from lively hotel bars selling large volumes of beer, through Tyrolean evenings and activities to much more sophisticated nightclubs in resorts such as Lech, Ischgl and Kitzbuhel.

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