Bad Hofgastein ski resort guide & reviews Ski areas, apres-ski, things to see & do in Gastein
Reviews of Bad Hofgastein
Bad Hofgastein ski resort is just over 1 hours drive from the festival city of Salzburg and sits in one of Austria's most beautiful valleys just over the Brenner pass from Italy.
An authentic high mountain Austrian spa town, Bad Hofgastein is steeped in history with the first spas being established over 2000 years ago by the Romans. Today, the village is busier in summer than in winter with tourists from all over the world coming to experience the treasures of this beautiful part of the world.
Wellness & spa
Bad Hofgastein has several spa hotels for relaxation and wellbeing - quite similar to the ski and spa resort of Leukerbad in Switzerland. There are 17 hot springs that feed into Gastein's spas where, after a day on the slopes, you can immerse yourself in these radon rich therapeutic waters. Alpentherme thermal spa Bad Hofgastein is one of the largest spas with indoor and outdoor pools, themed areas and is very popular throughout the year.
Après-ski
Bad Hofgastein has an extensived après-ski scene that tends to continue well in to the early hours. There are many good bars and restaurants dotted around the pretty pedestrianised zone for an evenings entertainment if partying all night is not your thing. The casino is well worth a visit too and even has a relaxed dress code.
| Key information (whole area) | |
|---|---|
| Altitude | 860m |
| Top lift | 2686m |
| Family | |
| Beginner | |
| Intermediate | |
| Expert | |
| Piste (km) | 220 |
| Longest run | 8 km |
| Off piste | |
| Cross country | 70 km |
| Season | Dec - April |
| Snowboard parks | 1 |
| Heli Skiing | ✘ |
| Summer skiing | ✘ |
| Glacier skiing | ✘ |
| Babysitting | ✘ |
| Creche | ✔ |
| Apres ski | Relaxed |
Bad Hofgastein ski area
Ski holidays in Bad Hofgastein means, if you don't mind driving or catching a bus, you have virtually an unlimited number of pistes to explore. This is because the ski resorts in the Gasterinal valley are members of "Ski Amade" area where one lift pass gives you access to 860km of pistes serviced by 270 lifts over 5 superb and varied ski areas.
This sounds like the ski terrain is far larger than say Les 3 Vallees which is true but the problem is that not all the pistes and resorts are linked - thankfully, there are ski buses to ferry you to the various lift stations. The local ski areas of the Gastein valley offer a good range of ski terrain for competent intermediates totalling 220km of linked pistes.
Beginners
First timers are best starting their ski career at Angertal which has the largest beginners area. Most of the other green and blue runs are dotted around the ski areas making it more challenging to explore the terrain as there are few instances where one green or blue connects with another or when there is, part of the piste requires the technical skills of a good intermediate skier.
Intermediate
The whole Gastein area is geared towards intermediate skiers. However, at the top of the valley, about 20 minutes drive, is Sportsgastein which is the highest resort in the valley and typically has the best snow. If you like speed, this is the place to head to plus there is an excellent black run back to the base station. The other area is Dorfgastein with it's tree-lined pistes and the valley's longest run at 8km.
Advanced
For the advanced skier, there is not much on-piste to challenge you in Bad Hofgastein or around the valley for that matter with most of the terrain suited to good intermediates. However, the off-piste can be exceptional with many back-country routes that are best explored with a guide.
Cross-country
There are 70km of cross country ski trails around the Gastein Valley plus when it goes dark, there are the floodlit trails in Bad Gastein-Böckstein and in the Kurpark of Bad Hofgastein. For something a little different, you could venture out to the Dachstein-Glacier near Schladming where you can try cross-country skiing at 2700m on 18km of trails!
Snowboard
For snowboarders, there is a terrain park and 3 half pipes.
Things to see & do in Gastein
If you don't fancy skiing or the weather is not that great, then there are plenty of other activities to keep you occupied....
- Take a guided snowshoe tour into the Hohe Tauern National Park which is the biggest nature sanctuary in the Alps
- Ice skating
- 100km of winter walking and snow shoeing trails
- Fitness center
- Tobogganing on a 2.5km floodlit course - great fun
- Parapenting
Our view on Bad Hofgastein
Bad Hofgastein is a good option for family ski holidays (especially if there are no beginners in your party) where relaxation is high on the agenda. A few suggestions...
- The "Gastein Card" is free and gives you discounts of up to 50% on various activities such as entrance fees to spas and introductory lessons for cross-country skiing and biathlon, - check with the Tourist Office more information
- Try the skiing in the Hochkonig area for a day. This is covered on the Ski Amade lift pass
- Definitely worth experiencing is a walk along the 140m long footbridge on the Stubnerkogel, 28m above the ground and, at 2400m, is Europe's highest suspension bridge
- Take the lift up to the "Glocknerblick" lookout platform that gives you panoramic views of the surrounding peaks and valleys
If you like the Bad Hofgastein, you may also want to look at the spa resort of Leukerbad in Switzerland.
