Skiing In Flachau: Is It Worth A Trip?

Last Updated on 25th July 2024

Last August a good friend of mine began raving about a ski resort in Austria called Flachau.

I’d never heard of it. Speak to the average Joe in the street and they probably won’t have heard about it either.

Flachau is located 1 hour South of Salzburg, with the more well known ski resorts of  Zell am See & Kaprun to the West, and Schladming to the East.

Flachau – together with Wagrain and St. Johann & Alpendorf – form the Snow Space Salzburg, a ski area in the middle of Ski Amadé in Austria. There are 120 km of pistes and 45 modern, fast lifts to whisk you around the ski area.

So why was my friend raving about it? Well, for the following reasons:

1. It is much cheaper than neighbouring, larger, more well known Austrian ski resorts
2. The transfer time is 1 hour from Salzburg airport – perfect for a short break (which is what we were after)
3. Lastly, and most importantly, the presence of the ‘apres ski temple’ known as the Hofstadl

What Is The Skiing Like In Flachau?

Whilst this is a decent sized ski area with some good runs, don’t get too over excited.

There are plenty of reds and blues, but nothing overly steep. I like to cover as much of a ski area as possible, and based on my Ski Tracks stats, that means around 30km, on average, on a good day. In Flachau we managed an average of 25km. Not too far behind, but because there are no really long runs (other than the the red piste number 4 to the base of the Achterjet), you spend more time on the lifts. The snow was softer too, which meant slower speeds.

The other issue is the ski area around Flachau tops out at 1,980m, and the village itself is at 1000m, so most of the runs are between 1100 – 1600m. We went in mid-March and it was fairly decent, the best snow was certainly on the top runs. Safe to say, it was slushy down in resort!

But overall the blues and reds were great, and there is some good off-piste and a couple of ski routes if you fancy something different.

What Is The Apres Ski Like In Flachau?

I’ll be writing a separate post on this, but safe to say the Hofstadl in Flachau is a truly unique, unforgettable experience.

There are other apres ski bars in Flachau, such as the Dampftkessel, but the Hofstadl is the place to go.

A seemingly quiet place before 4pm, with a few people having an apres ski beer, the transition from ‘social’ drinks to ‘apres ski’ drinks is heralded by the unusual sound of the 2001: A Space Odyssey theme, mixed with a jet engine starting up.

The lights go down, the DJ sets up and away the party goes.

Over 4 nights, we only met one other British couple. This bar is filled with Germans, the Dutch (of course), Belgians, Danish and Austrians. The music is typically Europop with a few British songs mixed in. And it is brilliant.

All the Austrian apres ski songs get belted out, dancing on tables is a must, and if you manage to get the small, up the stairs booth, you get your own personal trolley to send down drinks orders and a payment card, and back comes a receipt, a giant sparkler, your drinks and a note saying ‘Danke!’.

And Flachau, just like most other Austrian resorts,  the apres ski shuts down at 10pm. Then you get some food, and go to bed at a reasonable time, ready to do it all again the next day.

The Hofstadl has been lovingly run by the same family for 40 years – check out their Instagram for some of the history and to meet the family in charge. You’ll find the Hofstadl at the base of the Spacejet lift. There is a main indoor rustic room, and a larger umbrella type bar area. Head to the former. And when you’re done with apres, there’s a slide to exit the bar if you can’t manage the stairs.

What Are The Prices Like?

Simply put: much cheaper than other Austrian resorts. Lunch on the mountain is cheaper. Lift passes are cheaper. Accommodation is cheaper. Beer is about the same.

We got a two bedroom apartment (1 x double, 1 x triple) for the 4 of us, and it worked out at £240 each, for 4 nights, including breakfast. We stayed at the lovely Wechslerhof, a guest house with rooms and apartments, set on a quit farm, a 5-minute walk outside the main drag.

I challenge you to find those prices in St. Anton, Saalbach or Ischgl!

View of Flachau from Wechslerhof

Should I Go Skiing In Flachau?

If you’re looking for an affordable short break in Austria, with good apres ski, then yes, Flachau should be on your shortlist of ski resorts to go to.