Mayrhofen

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.

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

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.

Winter sports

 * {| class="wikitable"

!Name||Tel.||Altitude|| / / || /  / 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.
 * 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
 * }
 * Penken/Rastkogel/Eggalm|| +43 528562277 ||630-2500 m||38 Lifts: 9 / 15 / 14|| 124 km Pistes: 31 / 66 / 27
 * }

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.



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:

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:

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



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

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.

Go next

 * In the Lower Inn Valley:
 * Schwaz
 * Innsbruck
 * Wörgl


 * In the Tuxer Valley:
 * Hintertux