Mayrhofen is a skiing resort in Austria. It's also the main base for skiing on the slopes of the Ziller Valley.

Understand

The city brochure found in the tourist office is unexpectedly useful and comprehensive—surely grab a copy for your stay. It includes timetables for all trains and buses running from and around the city (including the skibus lines around the Ziller Valley) and lists most businesses you may ever need in the city. It largely duplicates content from the Mayrhofen official site. Russians are the most frequent visitors, followed by those from the UK and Benelux.

Tourist Information, Am Marktplatz 219, ☏ +43 5285-6760, fax: +43 6760-33, info@mayrhofen.at. From Dec 19: open M-Sa 09:00-18:00; reduced hours on 24-26 Dec, 31 Dec, 1 Jan. 

When to go

Most agents (and therefore hotels themselves) sell lodging in weekly packs, Saturday afternoon to next Saturday morning.

This results in higher prices for some services (e.g. private instructors) for Su-Tu, and lowest prices for F-Sa.

Arrival day

To get the most of your time at the resort, use your arrival day to prepare everything you need for getting onto the slopes from the early morning of the next day. Plan to arrive at your hotel no later than check-in time, and go for preparations immediately.

Here are the average open hours for Saturday of different businesses you will likely need:

• 14:00: check-in time at your hotel
• 08:00-18:00 (Su 09:00): business hours for most skiing schools. Allow at least 15 minutes to settle all details.
• 08:00-18:00: business hours for most ski rental shops. Allow at least half an hour for fitting, plus queuing time.
• 08:30-16:30: business hours for the skipass sales counter.

Other hours for a typical day

• breakfast at hotel: 07:00-10:30
• skiing schools, group courses: 09:45–12:15 / 13:00-15:30pm (start time is for a meeting point up after ski lifts)
• dinner at hotel (typical half-board): 19:00-22:00

What things cost

• skipass 5 of 7 days: €180 ; 6 days €205
• ski equipment rental: €50-60 per week per person
• ski school (group courses, 2.5 hours per day): €102 / €111 for 3 / 4 days
• ski school (private instructor, 4 hours per day): €180 / €165 / €160 per day for Su-Tu, W-Th, F-Sa
• ski rental + 5 days' group course package: €169
• average lunch (soup + average main): €20
• double room in an average 3-star hotel: €110-140 in Jan-Feb

Get in

By train

Mayrhofen train station only sells tickets for the narrow-gauge railway, so make sure you purchase return tickets before you travel at Austrian Railways (ÖBB).

From Vienna

Trains to Mayrhofen depart from Vienna Westbahnhof, not from Wien-Mitte

Getting in from Vienna to Mayrhofen by train is really comfortable compared to rented car, especially if you book your seats in a carriage with compartments, and is a good option if travelling with children. The journey takes 6 hours and you'll need to make a connection, but the connection in Jenbach is quite comfortable: there are lifts and no stairs to overcome; the train to Mayrhofen departs roughly every 30 min so you won't have to wait long. There is also a restaurant coach on board which is quite comfortable for children.

From Munich

Direct trains from Munich Hauptbahnhof to Jenbach. Once in Jenbach go to the Zillerteilbahn platform (ZL), from where the train departs to Mayrhofen every 30 min. The journey takes about 1 hr 30 min and costs around €7. You can buy the ticket directly on the train from the ticket man. The Zillerteilbahn becomes very busy with skiers towards the end; if you have luggage, store it so as to make room for everyone.

From Milan

Trains from Milan to Jenbach also are available. Once there, complete the journey to Mayrhofen as above.

By car

You won't need tyre chains to drive to Mayrhofen from any major city.

Get around

Any point of Mayrhofen can be easily reached on foot by an able-bodied person; it takes maximum of 1 hour to walk from one end to the other.

There's no need to have a car for skiing on other slopes of the Ziller Valley; ski buses take you everywhere, and for free most of the time. They also don't mind boarding a parent with a toddler and a pushchair, you don't even need to ask nicely most of the time.

Do

Winter sports

The Penkenbahn

Name	Tel.	Altitude	/ /	/ /
Ahorn	+43-5285-62277	630-1970 m	6 Lifts: 1 / 2 / 3	18 km Pistes: 9 / 3 / 6
Penken/Rastkogel/Eggalm	+43 528562277	630-2500 m	38 Lifts: 9 / 15 / 14	124 km Pistes: 31 / 66 / 27

There are two ski lifts in Mayrhofen itself: Penken and Ahorn. Besides them there are about dozen ski lifts in nearby villages, all of them easily reachable from Mayrhofen thanks to free ski buses. Those include Hintertux glacier.

Skipasses can also be purchased with a discount at Ascent Travel, which can be found in the lobby of Sporthotel Strass.

Unlike some other ski resorts, helmets are not mandatory to enter pistes, but as always the common sense thing is to wear it whenever on piste.

Basics of skiing resort

Grab a copy of pistenplan at the Skipass sales office or at tourist information; keep it with you while skiing. There are some maps on the slopes, but too few for an inexperienced skier.

Ski cellars. Most hotels have a special room called a ski cellar for storing guests equipment. This is also a place to dry your boots overnight, which is absolutely recommended, as otherwise your next day will be uncomfortable skiing in wet boots. The topmost rack is most effective, since the lower racks can be "rained on" from above by snow melting off others' boots.

Skiing schools

There are about 10 skiing schools in Mayrhofen. To give you idea of their services, prices and conditions, below are two most widely sold and prominently located schools. Be careful with "the only school with certified instructors speaking your language here" touting: in most cases, it only applies to private instructors who are much more expensive than group lessons.

• Die Rotten Profis, ☏ +43 5285 63900, +43 664 2104546, info@skiproaustria.at. Daily 08:00-18:00. In group courses, those who joined at the beginning of week are forced to repeat the same set of introductory exercises day after day as new members are allowed to join the group every day. 
• Skischule Mayrhofen 3000 (main office), Hauptstraße 455, ☏ +43 5285 64015, +43 664 4637490, skischule@mayrhofen3000.at. M-F 08:00-11:00, 15:00-18:00; Sa 08:00-19:00; Su 08:00-12:00, 13:00-18:00. 

With children

Skiing schools accept children for training from 3 years old.

Ski rental

There are more than 10 shops offering equipment rental, and the competition is quite tough so expect their services and quality to be quite similar to each other.

No cash deposit is required in exchange for the equipment you rent.

If you choose to learn with a skiing school, the easiest option is to rent equipment directly from them. After the declared "special discount for school clients" it's a maximum of 10% more expensive than from a dedicated rental shop.

In any case, most shops (and schools) offer a good choice of equipment levels, from very beginners to quite advanced.

You take the full set of equipment for the duration of your rental and return it to the shop only on the last day. During that period, you either store it in your hotel or leave it at one of the ski depots (i.e. paid storages) at the base station or near the ski lift station. The only exception is SkiZone rentals, who offer free nightly storage of equipment you rented from them.

With young children

Young children will find walking around the village terribly boring, and this is best avoided as much as possible. Leaving kindergarten aside (see Cope section), there are several things to do in Mayrhofen:

• Sledding on a small children's slope just near the exit from Penken lift. Rent them for €3 per day from a depot, or buy rounded sled in any shop down in the city. You'll need a second Skipass for this activity; a half-day pass is usually sufficient.
• Spend time in the swimming pool and wellness complex.
• Make sure you stay at a hotel with its own playground, as there aren't many public ones in the village.

Healthy alternatives to après-ski

Activities:

• swim and take sauna at the wellness complex
• skate on the rink near the wellness complex

Places:

• Erlbenisbad Mayrhofen, Waldbadstraße 539, ☏ +43 5285 62559, fax: +43 5285 62559-50. Swimming pool: 10:30-21:00; sauna: 12:00-21:30. The sauna complex is mixed-sex only and has four types of sauna, a soaking pool, and an outdoor balcony to walk on the snow or sit down at a deckchair and cool off for a while. The swimming pool features two indoor water slides, a lazy river, a jacuzzi pool for 6-7 people, and a number of outdoor facilities open in summer only. The sauna and swimming pool have separate entrances and changing rooms, but once you're in you can walk from one to the other via an electronic ticket barrier. Sauna+swimming pool: €14, all day. Towels can be rented for €1, plus a €10 deposit per group. 

Piste details

Penken

• #7: has 2 or 3 points of misleading navigation and two nearly horizontal pieces. This is easy to overcome if you gain enough speed before them. Worth it for a long wide-and-safe sector for a good speed.
• #8: very comfortable for safe and speedy skiing, from beginning to end. Perfect for those bored by #2 and #20 and find #7 too difficult to navigate.

Hintertux

• #2: although it's marked as red, it's quite comfortable for intermediate skiers. To have enough control, having even snow here is more important than for many other pistes, otherwise you'll bump on snowdrifts too often; head here in the early morning.
• #15: mostly oriented towards beginners; very simple and short
• #17: has two sections which are safe for speedy riding.

Buy

There are five or six equipment stores in the city. They will help to cover a missing piece in your kit, but don't expect to find many serious brands or professional-level equipment.

Beyond skiing equipment, there is some choice of perfumes and toys, but prices are generally higher than in Innsbruck or Vienna.

There are also several discount stores selling high-street brands.

Food specialities

Wine:

• wine store, near Gasthof Bruecke. until 6pm. Features ice wine for €12 for a small bottle. 

There are 2 or 3 pharmacies where you can buy baby food and nappies.

• DM Drodgerie Markt (pharmacy), Dursterstrasse 220,, ☏ +43 5285650200. Arguably the best choice of baby stuff: two or three brands of nappies, several brands of baby food, plus fruit puree in speciality packaging. 

Eat

Mid-range

• Kostner (cafe and confectionery). Probably the most popular in the city among families with young children. Lovely cafe selling snacks and light meals, mostly sandwiches and pasta. The key feature for children is a cave leading to a heated balcony full of toys where "no parents are allowed" (cave is too small). Also features an outdoor terrace open in winter. Try their strudel. Desserts around €3; glühwein €3.90; cappuccino about €3. (updated Jan 2018)

Splurge

• 1 Edhof, Kapfingerstraße 11, 6263 Kapfing, ☏ +43 6764467402. Steakhouse supplied by Zillertal farmers. They have a standard menu, but the it's the steaks you want to visit for. The standard €27 steak gets you 250g with a sauce of choice. There isn't a lot of seating capacity so it's recommended to reserve in advance. (updated Dec 2023)

Sleep

Mid-range

• Gasthof Bruecke (guesthouse). Check-in: 14:00, check-out: 10:00. A decent choice for young families. Sold in Sat-to-Sat weeks most of the time in winter. Large double rooms with three wardrobes. Half-board dinner is good value for money and filling, while breakfast is just normal. Dedicated room to store guests' skiing equipment. Free private sauna complex with several types of sauna. Loud early evening après-ski and late-night weekend disco in nearby buildings; ask for a quieter room when booking if you are not that type. Very unhelpful reception. Wi-Fi available only near reception and in the bar area, at €5 per hour. double with halfboard: Jan-Feb: €140. 
• 1 Hotel Giessenbach, Schöffstallstraße 1, 6263 Fügen, ☏ +43 528862901. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 10:00. Modern hotel with rooms and apartments, well suited for families. Next to the busy main road through the valley so not exactly quiet. (updated Dec 2023)

Splurge

There are only four hotels rated as four- or five-stars in the village:

• Hotel Neue Post, Haupstraße 400, ☏ +43 5285 62131, info@neue-post.at. 700-m walk to Penken ski lifts. 
• Hotel Neuhaus, Am Marktplatz 202, ☏ +43 52-856-7030, info@alpendomizil.at. double with half-board, €144-240. 
• Sporthotel Strass, Hauptstraße 470, ☏ +43 5285 6705, info@hotelstrass.com. Featuring large wellness complex; just next door to the Penken ski lift. €87-112 in Dec-Feb for a regular double, half board. 
• Hotel Elizabeth, Einfahrt Mitte 432, ☏ +43 5285 6767, info@elisabethhotel.com. 600 m walk from the Penken ski lift. 

Connect

Mobile

There are four or five shops selling mobile contracts, but all are quite far away from the main street. Consult the tourist office brochure for exact addresses and directions.

Internet

Internet access is rare and expensive in the city; there are only one or two cafes offering free Wi-Fi, while most hotels charge something like €5 per hour.

Cope

Weather conditions on the ski slopes are very close to what is in the Mayrhofen itself; it's only significantly colder (and more wind) on the Hintertux glacier: expect the temperature there to be 5°C colder.

With children

• Ski kindergarten at Penken, by Total SMT ski school (Skikinderhort am Penken), Skihuette Penken, ☏ +43 5285-63090. 09:00-15:30 daily. Supervises children from 2 to 4 years in their own playroom, on an hourly or daily basis. 
• Wuppy's Kinderland (kindergarten), Waldbadstraße 539, ☏ +43 5285-63612. M-F 09:00-17:00. Welcomes children from 3 months to 7 years. Book your stay at least the day before to secure a place. €20 for half a day; €30 for a full day. 
• Tourism Association Mayrhofen (babysitting service agency), ☏ +43 5285-6760. Call Mayrhofen tourist info office for details 

Go next

• In the Lower Inn Valley:

• Schwaz
• Innsbruck
• Wörgl

• In the Tuxer Valley:

• Hintertux

Routes through Mayrhofen

Hintertux ← Tux ← Finkenberg ←

W  E

→ END