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I would like to find a place to ski in Austria that is accessible by public transportation

I will be in Austria for Christmas. I am looking for a place to ski that is accessible by public transportation. I will be traveling from Graz and going to Vienna when I’m done. This will be my first time skiing so it has to be a beginner slope with ski instructors. Any leads would be helpful. Thanks!

Posted by
1951 posts

How long do you want to be at the ski area? Spending the night? Several nights?

Length of stay will make a difference - if longer you'll want an attractive village with some amenities.

Since you are a true never-ever beginner, you don't need a famous super resort area. A lot of big terrain is useless to you, and will just make everything more busy, more expensive, and harder to manage. You do want a place that caters to beginners and families, smaller being okay as you won't use a lot of the mountain. You want to focus on the quality of instructors, not the ski area itself.

What will you need to rent? If just skis boots poles, you should be good anywhere. If also ski suit, goggles, gloves etc, you'll want to check ahead to make sure these things are available - often not at non-destination resort ski areas.

Posted by
1951 posts

Maybe the ski area on the South side of the Dachstein is a good call for you. Pretty area where the train comes right through all the towns. Not too far west for easy trip back to Vienna. Rode my bike through two summers back, and it is certainly pleasant country.

https://www.schladming-dachstein.at/en/winter

There are also many smaller family ski areas close to Graz, so if you want day trips of one night they would likely work. Mostly bus to those though afaik.

good luck, maybe someone more local will be able to help out. :)

Posted by
8922 posts

It was a long time ago, but I recall taking the train to Kitzbuhel in the summer and walking to the lifts for a ride up the mountain. Don't know if there's a beginner school there.

Posted by
215 posts

Please be aware, between Christmas and Jan. 6th is the peak-season in all ski resorts.
If you plan to stay overnight it will be hard to find accommodation.
Graz is not the best starting point.

Schladming, is one of the big ski resorts in Austria. It’s reachable by train in about 2.5 hours from Graz. It might be over-sized for a beginner, but for sure it offers any kind of winter activities and amenities as well.
You may also consider Tauplitz. OeBB offers a combined train-ticket and ski-pass for it. It’s about the same distance from Graz.
https://kombitickets.railtours.at/en/wintersport-kombitickets/tauplitz
https://www.dietauplitz.com/en/

Half-way on the train track between Granz and Vienna is the Semmering Pass. In Spital am Semmering there is the ski resort https://www.stuhleck.at/en providing all you would need.
As the elevation is not very high it’s worth to check the snow report before going.
https://www.skiresort.info/ski-resort/stuhleck-spital-am-semmering/snow-report/