St Anton 2013

olaola

So we’re defo going to St Anton Jan 2013. We’re booking it ourselves, so want to get it sorted soonish. Some hotels have already come back to my saying that they’re fully booked for our week!

This year we’re going for the Hotel Garni situation, and then eating out at night. Looking for a decent spot – what’s the layout of the land like there? Where are the lifts/village etc? Can you ski back to the village?

a148pro

You can ski back to the village, in which case you're looking for a place near the Galzig bahn. There is also the Nasserein Bahn but that lift is not as well suited for access to all areas. Galzig seems to be the centre of the resort and you may find yourself meeting other mates there so aim for close to that if possible.

Basically the closer to the centre the more expensive. St Jacob and Nasserein are away from the centre, kind of beyond walking distance as far as I know so it'll be ski bus from there. Then there's satellite towns like Pettneu where you can get accomodation very cheap.

Be sure to ski Zurs if you get a chance, some of the best pistes over there.

I'm looking as well but without success as I'm straddling two weeks so they're not biting.

olaola

a148pro wrote: »

You can ski back to the village, in which case you're looking for a place near the Galzig bahn. There is also the Nasserein Bahn but that lift is not as well suited for access to all areas. Galzig seems to be the centre of the resort and you may find yourself meeting other mates there so aim for close to that if possible.

Basically the closer to the centre the more expensive. St Jacob and Nasserein are away from the centre, kind of beyond walking distance as far as I know so it'll be ski bus from there. Then there's satellite towns like Pettneu where you can get accomodation very cheap.

Be sure to ski Zurs if you get a chance, some of the best pistes over there.

I'm looking as well but without success as I'm straddling two weeks so they're not biting.

Thanks for the tip! Will help me narrow it down

jony_dols

Thinking of staying in Sonnenkopf (cuz its a bit cheaper). Has anyone stayed there before? Does the Arlberg ski pass cover Sonnenkopf's slopes? Is it far from St Anton by the skibus? Is there a night bus that travels to Sonnenkopf from St Anton, for the Apres Ski? Sorry for all the questions, but it's damn had to find out info about SF...

a148pro

Hi, been to St A twice but never managed to make it to Sonnenkopf, I did hear good things about it last time with regular visitors saying you should try and get there for a day's skiing, very few crowds. Pistes above St Anton, particularly those leading down to the Moose can get very busy.

AFAIK its included in the Arlberg ski pass but I can't tell you about buses, either night or day. In terms of saving money there are other satellite towns (Stuben and others whose name I can't remember) and suburbs which you might also find somewhere cheap.

jony_dols

a148pro wrote: »

Hi, been to St A twice but never managed to make it to Sonnenkopf, I did hear good things about it last time with regular visitors saying you should try and get there for a day's skiing, very few crowds. Pistes above St Anton, particularly those leading down to the Moose can get very busy.

AFAIK its included in the Arlberg ski pass but I can't tell you about buses, either night or day. In terms of saving money there are other satellite towns (Stuben and others whose name I can't remember) and suburbs which you might also find somewhere cheap.

Cheers for the info, opted to get some cheap accommodation in Pettneu instead (mainly because Sonnenkopf has little-to-no Apres ski & is too far out from St. Anton). I heard though that board/ski rental is a rob in Arlberg resorts. Going to be in Zurich for a few hours before getting the train to St. A, does anyone know a reasonably priced rental company in the city?

a148pro

Yep Arlberg is renowned for expensive rental. Ischgl the only place I've ever paid more. Zurich would be a good idea on paper and when I got the train to St Anton Zurich HB was crawling with people with skis, but its also one of the most expensive cities in the world so not sure how much joy you'll have.

You might find somewhere cheap in Pettneu, no?

Northern Monkey

We are hoping to go to st Anton ourselves in January. Can't wait!

Northern Monkey

Booked St Anton today. Now the hard part of trying to get fit for it.

olaola

Just looking at the Aer Lingus flights to Zurich for St Anton, they're quite late in the day (arr 20.30 & depart 21.30)

Does anyone know if they bring out an additional flight for the ski season?

Northern Monkey

olaola wrote: »

Just looking at the Aer Lingus flights to Zurich for St Anton, they're quite late in the day (arr 20.30 & depart 21.30)

Does anyone know if they bring out an additional flight for the ski season?

The Crystal flight to Innsbruck leaves at 6.45 in the morning. Might be worth contacting them to see if you can get flight only or flight and transfer.

olaola

Northern Monkey wrote: »

The Crystal flight to Innsbruck leaves at 6.45 in the morning. Might be worth contacting them to see if you can get flight only or flight and transfer.

AFAIK the flight only options for charters can be a little overpriced. I'll have a look anyway, I think we might go with Swiss Air or Aer Fungus from Munich, it's not that much further.

a148pro

Aer Lingus get in just about 10 mins late for the train to St Anton, quite annoying, but just rent a car if there's enough of you? A car is handy there to drive to Lech and Zurs, the latter prob has the best pistes in the Arlberg.

One year I flew out with Swiss and back with AL which allowed me to get the train, but since then I think the direct flight to Zurich with Swiss has stopped, or else they don't let you fly one way for some reason.

Lufthansa to Friedrichshafen via Frankfurt is also an option, even closer to St Anton by car and you can in theory go by train that way too. I think a few other British airports also fly to Friedrichshafen.

Hard to beat the AL flights for convenience to be honest.

olaola

a148pro wrote: »

Aer Lingus get in just about 10 mins late for the train to St Anton, quite annoying, but just rent a car if there's enough of you? A car is handy there to drive to Lech and Zurs, the latter prob has the best pistes in the Arlberg.

Hard to beat the AL flights for convenience to be honest.

We usually organise our own transfer, means we can all relax & have a pint - and not worry about snow chains I think we'll be going to Munich with AL. It's only 30 mins or so of a longer transfer than Zurich. So not too bad.

Northern Monkey

26 cms due to fall in St Anton tomorrow. Let's hope that is a sign for the season ahead.

micko123

Olaola, where are you looking at re: accomodation? Going ourselves and wouldn't mind some advice.

Thx.

olaola

Hey Micko, from chatting to other people, I've basically narrowed it down to an area on the map. So I've more or less emailed every half decent looking B&B & Hotel Garni in that area.

From all accounts, you want to be near the Galzig lift. So we're aiming to be in in walking distance of that lift & the centre of town. If you look on this map, there is a hotel called Skihotel Galzig, so lets say a few streets left & right of this and down as far as the railway tracks. Me being me, I've put together a spreadsheet of all the spots I'm interested in (& some details) so if you want to dm me, I'll send it on.

a148pro

olaola wrote: »

Me being me, I've put together a spreadsheet of all the spots I'm interested in (& some details) so if you want to dm me, I'll send it on.

!

From my experience there sounds like your search criteria are correct anyway. If you're renting skis also bear in mind that the places beside Galzig have lockers you can leave them in so you won't have to lug them up and down whereever you are.

olaola

a148pro wrote: »

!

From my experience there sounds like your search criteria are correct anyway. If you're renting skis also bear in mind that the places beside Galzig have lockers you can leave them in so you won't have to lug them up and down whereever you are.

That's handy - thanks! I think minimal lugging of eqpt is preferable

micko123

Instead of creating a new thread I'll piggy back this one if that's ok?

Transfers from Munich appear expensive and my gang are not keen on the train - does anyone know of any company that does reasonably priced transfers? I was hoping to get them for €100 return - is this feasible or am I dreaming?

Also, I realise that Galzig is the place to be yet a lot of affordable accommodations appear to approach Nasserein. Is it a bit of a disaster to stay in this area or does it make a whole pile of difference?

Thanks guys.

a148pro

Not sure how much transfer costs but you could drive which is relatively painless and means you'd have a car to drive to the adjacent resorts, particularly Zurs which has the best pistes.

Nasserein always has cheaper accom and more availability. I think its about a 15 minute walk from the town centre. Generally when skiing I don;t think you really want to be walking, so its ski bus or taxi at night. There is a lift in Nasserein but from recollection it doesn't open early enough to allow you to ski down to the first life in Galzig. Then again, it being St Anton you mightn't be getting the first lift very often, if at all.

Basically, you'll get accom now and cheaper in Nasserein, staying in town prob more convenient but unless youre staying Sat to Sat those places won't take bookings until a few days before.

CHAYES1

Hey, we've stayed in the Europa Hotel Garni in St Anton for the last three years and would highly recommend it. The front door is a 2 min stroll to the Nassarine gondola and a 10 min walk into the centre of town.