ischgl-samnaun ski area

we had one day of great skiing with fresh snow and lots of sun shine. I did not enjoy the very last trails to return to Ischgl. Next time I will take the gondola down.

In a previous review I rated Fiss Ladis Surfaus as my favorite ski area of 13 I had visited around the world, including some of the most famous ones. I think my visit to Ischgl may lead me to revise my previous assessment depending on personal circumstancesOn the positive side one has to say this is a vast and very well connected mountain. One can ski in and out of Switzerland on a variety of slopes. The signaling is excellent, so despite the size, with a minimum sense of orientation, you can easily find your way around.It also seems, that on average, the slopes are more challenging than in other resorts even when comparing equal difficulty levels (ie red with red). The view may be a bit biased as skiing conditions were difficult most of the time we were there in terms of visibility and continuous snowfall. We had, however, heard it before visiting from several other people too.There are also more blacks than in any other resort I have visited (tied perhaps with Vail, Colorado).On the negative side:- there is no possibility to ski out of any hotel is Ischgl. You always have to take a 15 min ride on a gondola that has a 0-50 minute line (within 4 consecutive days). This is also very inconvenient for the kids' ski school-we noticed that unlike in other places the slopes are never groomed during the day making life more difficult on days of heavy snowfall.So, if you area an above average skier, without a need for a kids ski school, it seems like all you could wish for.If you are a mediocre skier like myself you may find it challenging at times, especially under not so good conditions but it is still worth at least a visit, but you may want to settle for more user friendly resorts.

Surprisingly large area, with varied runs and terrain, spread across four bowls and another valley, I suspect with a bit more yet to come with the new gondola at the East end of the area currently serving only one run (but a lot of off-piste as well). The blacks are at the gentler end of the range in my experience, and were pisted flat when we were there, but there were plenty of good reds with nice variation. Lower down the home runs come through trees, useful in poor weather, but busy at the end of the day. Run 7, around the front of the home mountain, is an 'away form it' piste with a long final descent through a narrow valley towards the mid-stations. The home run is best attempted with good humour and a few weeks' experience at least; one particularly busy afternoon had me pondering whether, if I ever return, traffic lights to control the flow might have been installed: it was all very M25 at rush hour at times.Lifts were all modern, very few drags or slow chairs, and my initial surprise at the price of the lift pass dissipated slightly as the week went on; one of the access gondolas from town even has heated seats. All the restaurants we visited were good, usually with a waiter service option; these were sometimes a bit slow, but the food quality, and outlook, usually more than compensated, and prices were reasonable - positively cheap by comparison with France.The one real quirk was that all lifts stopped at 4, though they did start at 8:30. Restaurants and bars served through 'til 4:30, but they then looked to hurry skiers out and back down the hill.Overall, better then I expected, and in some ways better than St Anton - less extreme stuff, but more options for travelling around so that you didn't have to track the same pistes every day, and most pistes high and NW / NE facing. Plenty of off-piste, and plenty of that good for progressing on.

A large area with good vertical drops. Good snowconditions in the slopes, but a drawback that they used very long time to consider the avalanche risk some days, and therefor opened several lifts too late in the day. This caused completely overcrowded areas in the open slopes. Missing some of the cosy restaurant cabins that you will find in places like Kitzbuhel and Saalbach. The afterskis in town are crazy. Afterall, this is the best skiresort in Austria.

We were lucky with the weather. It was perfect for skiing. The only downside is that there does not seem to be a culture of queuing unlike Northern Europe. A lot of jostling goes on to get onto the lifts. With small children this can be a bit intimidating.

There are so many possibilities to go on ski or on snowboard. The best selection to go down to Samnaun-Laret is the "duty free run". To the village of Samnaun is also a good run, but snowboarder have to walk on the last mile.

Tremendous variety of runs now all in great condition.We travelled at half term so the slopes were packed, but the new cable car seating 20+ means that queuing is no more than a few minutes. There are now three cable cars shuttling people to the main Ischgl ski area from the town centre.Hats off to the investors of Ischgl who have staked a lot in investing on great lifts and equipment over the past few years.Although i didnt really seek it the apres ski seemed crazily full on, wihout the loutish elements.For older skiers like myself who appreciate the finer dining experience of ski holidays more apealing than the slopes themselves, i was disappointed that there wasnt more high-end dining availability on the slopes. Also it was the first Asutrian resort i have been to that hasnt had schnapps huttes on the slopes, much missed on a cold morning. But I will return for sure.

Highly recommend the ski area as it is big (for Austria), reasonably varied and with lots of long runs. We didnt have any snow the week we were there but if you were there in a snowy period it would be fantastic for sking off the edge of the piste. Quite a good selection of blacks (although these were largely indistinguishable from the reds) and a few mogul fields. Very few ski routes for the size of the resort. Our teenage sons loved the terrain parks.Lifts fantastic. Slopes could be crowded but we were there during a Dutch holiday so maybe that made a difference. Very few Brits.We skied one day at Galtur up the valley which was nice for a change of scenery but it is small. We skied until 2pm and then followed the cross country trail up the valley which made for a fantastic 2 hour walk if you fancy a change from the slopes. Also went to St Anton for the day, took about 50 minutes to drive.Having heard about the apres ski at Ischgl I was very disappointed with the apres on the mountain. One of the huge mountain venues had music/party atmosphere in the afternoon but that was the only place and you couldnt stay later than the lifts. Apart from that small moan I liked the ski area a lot and would return.

Great lifts up the mountain. Some exceptional long red and blue runs, esp. route to Samnaun in Switzerland. As good as it gets. Most of the up-mountain restaurants were on a canteen scale, rather than the much better, smaller, personal charming restaurants with ambiance, we are familier in St Anton am Arlberg/Lech. Queues weren't too bad for a 'full' resort. The downside are the later afternoon Red runs (we didn't see a blue) back to the town. Very crowded with a wide ability range of skiers, especially evident through areas of challenging terrain. The scope for collisions is too great. Two of my colleagues had to take serious avoiding action from skiers thundering past them, totally out of control. Accidents waiting to happen. Certainly safer to return via the cable cars. Using the latter is a must for families/children, even those competent on Red runs.

After 2 years in Serfaus we went again to Ischgl, it is really fantastic to see how they continiously invest in the skiing area : also if there ar lot of people, the ski lifts are so efficient that you never spend too much time in the queue. There are new slopes and skilift, I assume they will extend the area !As I was the guide for the friends and family they particularly appreciated the diversity of the slopes and the possibility to have long ones like the eleven (11 km)A place to recommend !!!

Too many queues for lifts - 40 minutes at the bottom one day. Too many runs coming back to the same point and too busy. Mountain restaurants not as good as other places. Snow good because of the altitude.

Very impressive area for all ski enthusiasts with lots of opportunities to enjoy a vast ski area.The area is very big and therefore it is very commercial, could be nice with some of the old cosy Austrian huts.

My first trip into the Alps, and what a place this was! A lot of great restaurants, pubs and after ski bars. Three gondolas take the skiiers into the Idalp, which has a good snow conditions thanks to the high altitude. From there many seat lifts take skiiers into the nearby peaks and Swiss border at 2600-2800m above the sea level.

Expensive ski lift tickets.. The rest is great... Most of the hotels provide hall board but there are nice restaurants to wat outside as well.. Silveretta lift is at the center of the town and it is very convenient if you pick an hotel close to Silveretta

Different slopes for all level, good off piste, but this year not enough snow. Good lifts, nice caffe, but too much people, sometimes queues on Idalpe.