St Anton am Arlberg. Steep skiing, a compact village, and Innsbruck little more than an hour away.
St Anton sits at about 1,300 metres at the Tyrolean end of the Arlberg, with pistes running up towards 2,800. It is a little over an hour from Innsbruck and about two and a half from Zurich, and unusually for a serious alpine resort it also has a main-line station in the middle of the village.
The place
A skier's resort that is easy to reach
St Anton am Arlberg is in the Tyrol, at the eastern foot of the Arlberg pass. It has a reputation for demanding terrain and for an après-ski scene that starts on the way down and does not let up, and both are deserved. What gets talked about less is how straightforward the logistics are: the village is compact, the main lifts start from it, and the roads in are motorway and expressway rather than mountain hairpins.
The skiing is part of Ski Arlberg, which links St Anton with St Christoph up on the pass, Stuben over the other side, and Lech and Zürs beyond that. Guests regularly ski from one side to the other and want collecting from the wrong valley at the end of the afternoon, which is an easy thing to arrange if somebody knows in the morning and a slow one if they find out at four o'clock.
The village centre is small, largely given over to pedestrians, and busy in the evening. Hotels sit either on it or on the slopes just above, so the last part of an arrival is usually short. Where it is not, we say so in advance.
At a glance
What you need to know
- Village altitudeAbout 1,300 mTyrol, Austria. Pistes run from around 1,300 up towards 2,800 m.
- Closest airportInnsbruck (INN)About 1 hour to 1 hour 15 by road. A category C airport where crews need specific training and approval.
- Reliable alternativeZurich (ZRH)About 2 hours 30 by road. More aircraft availability and no alpine approach.
- The Arlberg tunnelAbout 14 km, tolledThe all-weather link between St Anton and Langen am Arlberg. The pass road above it can close in snow.
Getting there
Airports and typical transfers
| Airport | By road | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Innsbruck (INN) | About 1 hour to 1 hour 15 | Straight down the Inn valley on the A12 and onto the S16 Arlberg expressway. Fast and simple, but the approach into Innsbruck is demanding and föhn conditions can force a diversion. |
| Zurich (ZRH) | About 2 hours 30 | The dependable choice. Motorway to the Rhine valley and Bludenz, then the expressway and the Arlberg tunnel. Also the best rail option, with direct trains into the village. |
| Friedrichshafen | About 1 hour 30 | A smaller German field near Lake Constance, frequently the quickest answer for light and midsize aircraft. Handling and hours are confirmed for your dates. |
| Munich (MUC) | About 2 hours 30 to 3 hours | The large-airport fallback, useful for bigger aircraft or when Zurich is congested. |
Realistic ranges in normal winter conditions, not promises. Saturday changeover traffic on the Inn valley motorway and heavy snow on the Arlberg both add time. Outside London and Manchester our cars are arranged through operators we know, with winter tyres and chains.
An unusual option
The train is genuinely worth considering
St Anton is on the Arlberg railway and has several direct trains a day from Zurich, arriving in the middle of the village a short walk from most hotels. For a party arriving into Zurich in poor weather, or on a Saturday when the motorway is solid, the combination of a private terminal, a short car transfer to the station and a comfortable train is sometimes faster and always calmer than sitting in traffic. The journey is typically around two and a half hours.
It is not the right answer for everybody. Large parties with a great deal of ski equipment, late arrivals and anyone travelling with small children are usually better in cars. But we will put it on the table when it is the better plan rather than quietly defaulting to the road, and we can arrange a car at each end so that the only part you handle yourself is the seat.
Local realities
What experienced visitors do
- Say in the morning if you intend to ski over to Lech or Zürs. Being collected from the far side is easy with notice and slow without it
- Plan Innsbruck for speed and Zurich for certainty, and agree the fallback before you leave rather than in the air
- Ask about Friedrichshafen for smaller aircraft. It is closer than Zurich and usually quieter
- Give us the hotel name and a pin. The centre is compact and pedestrianised in places, and the slopeside hotels above it are reached on narrow service roads
- If your trip is a summer one, ask us to check the Arlberg tunnel schedule. It has been closed for months at a time in recent summers for reconstruction, always announced well in advance
- Book New Year and February half-term in the autumn. St Anton is popular with British and German guests at the same time
Around the trip
Related pages
Airports and routes
Other resorts
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Dates, numbers, the hotel and how much ski kit is coming. We reply with aircraft options into Innsbruck, Zurich and Friedrichshafen, the road plan, and where the train from Zurich would actually be the better idea.
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Questions people ask
About St Anton
Innsbruck or Zurich?
Innsbruck is a little over an hour away and hard to beat when the weather is good. It is a category C airport with a demanding approach, so crews need specific training and approval and diversions do happen. Zurich costs you another ninety minutes on the road and gives you certainty.
Is the train really worth it?
Sometimes, yes. There are several direct services a day from Zurich into the middle of the village, typically around two and a half hours. For a small party in bad weather or on a busy Saturday it can be the calmer journey.
Can we ski to Lech and be driven back?
Yes, and plenty of clients do. Tell us in the morning which side you expect to finish on and a car will be there. Last-minute changes are harder because the road round is much longer than the lift link.
Will the car reach our hotel?
Usually. The village centre is compact and partly pedestrianised, and the slopeside hotels are on narrow service roads. Send the address in advance and we will tell you where the car can stop.
Do you have your own cars in Austria?
Our own cars and chauffeurs are in London and Manchester, and a trusted global network covers everywhere else. Austrian transfers are arranged through operators we know, and one contact at Odyssey holds the whole itinerary together.
One contact, wherever you are