family travel guide
Every ski resort in Austria has something special to offer. Mayrhofen has the headline-grabbing 78% Harakiri and the 3,000-metre-high Hintertux Glacier.
Everything else — lifts, pistes, hotels, restaurants — has no special features: Austrian goodness is known far beyond the borders of the country.
Mayrhofen is also great for families. There are ski schools with activities for children, family-friendly hotels, slopes for beginners and pros, lots of outdoor activities, a good summer programme — and only an hour's drive from Innsbruck (which means you can tick the 'excursions' box).
Kidpassage has put together all the information you need about holidays with children in Mayrhofen: Find out when it's best to visit and what to do when you're not skiing.
Mayrhofen is a resort town in the western part of Austria, in the state of Tyrol. It is part of the district of Schwaz (the administrative centre is the town of Schwaz). The distance from Mayrhofen to Schwaz is 41 km, to Innsbruck — 68 km, to Kitzbühel — 85 km.
The Ziller Valley, where Mayrhofen and a few other towns and villages are located, has long been known as a powerful skiing area with half a thousand pistes of varying difficulty. A third of these are in the Mayrhofen-Hippach area.
It is difficult to talk about the ski resort of Mayrhofen without exclamation marks: how else to convey the excitement? The mountains! The beautiful slopes!
Children's ski schools (envy mixed with excitement)! If you were to tone it down a little, the best way to describe a holiday in Mayrhofen would be to say it lived up to expectations.
However, the resort in the Zillertal is not much different from other Austrian resorts. Everything is of high quality, well organised and designed to make tourists feel at home. This makes it a popular destination for families with children, despite the fact that there are cheaper resorts in neighbouring countries.
Mayrhofen is most popular with children in winter or in the first half of spring when the mountains are covered in snow.
It's easy to get your child interested in skiing at the resort: the schools are so much fun that little ones look forward to each new lesson. For those who are more confident, it will be fun to hit the real blue slopes.
And since there is no limit to perfection, you can already start looking out for red and black slopes.
There is also plenty to do for children in Mayrhofen in the summer. There are plenty of playgrounds for the little ones, and older children can go on hikes and excursions.
The main value of a trip to the mountains, whatever the season, is to relax in the fresh air, away from the noise of the city. This is why babies and toddlers come to Mayrhofen to enjoy the peace and quiet and the lack of heat.
It is important to note that ski heights in Mayrhofen, excluding the Hintertux Glacier, reach up to 2,000 metres. Usually children adapt easily to such altitudes, but in winter, especially if there is severe frost, it can take several days to acclimatise.
The winter season in Mayrhofen is a busy one: the resort is packed with tourists at Christmas, and there is plenty of skiing and relaxation until mid-Spring.
There are fewer visitors from mid-January to mid-February and then from mid-March to the end of the season. The best time to plan a holiday with a child is in spring, as there are bitter frosts in winter.
The start of the summer season is less noticeable in Mayrhofen. However, there are still plenty of people here in the summer, although not as many as in the winter.
Mayrhofen is mild and ideal for excursions, and many families take their young children with them: If you come to Mayrhofen with an infant, you can hire a pushchair, child seat or baby carrier.
To get an idea of when it's best to come to Mayrhofen, you can find out more about the resort's climate.
Mayrhofen's climate may seem harsh to those not used to high altitude weather. But for skiers, winter in Mayrhofen is a feast: frosty, snowy, sunny and, above all, long.
The first breath of winter is felt as early as November. Daytime temperatures range from -2°C to +2°C, with night-time temperatures dropping to -5-8°C.
The snow cover in November is scarce: a good layer of snow only forms in the second half of December. On the other hand, the Hintertux Glacier is cold and snowy for most of the year (it's a pity that the ski bus doesn't start running there until just before Christmas).
Calendar winter brings frosts of -3-9°C during the day and -4-15°C at night. A hard frost usually lasts for a day or two, after which it thaws and snow starts to fall. January is the month with the most snow: freeriders know this and plan their holidays in Mayrhofen for January to go snowboarding.
Frost is rare in March, with temperatures ranging from -5°C to +3°C and occasional snowfall from the sky. The early spring weather promises the best holidays in Mayrhofen with children: the cold does not prevent ski school or walks.
Temperatures have been steadily rising since April, and are no longer below freezing during the day. There is still snow on the slopes, but towards the end of the month the snow gives way to rain.
Rain will continue to fall on Mayrhofen well into the summer. Temperatures range from +12-22°C during the day and +1-6°C at night. However, there are more sunny days than frosty ones in summer and a mountain holiday is a real pleasure.
Temperatures can drop to 13°C in September and 8°C in October. Temperatures are expected to drop, and keep dropping, down to below zero at night.
Winter transport in Mayrhofen is provided by a ski bus which takes skiers to the lower lift stations and to the Hintertux Glacier. The skibus runs every 20 minutes from 8:00 to 16:30. Timetable from December to April.
With the ski pass you have free travel, not only in Mayrhofen, but in all resorts in the Zillertal Valley.
From May to November you can travel around Mayrhofen on the 8327 bus. It follows the route Ramsau i. Z. - Hippach - Schwendau - Burgstall - Mayrhofen and runs once an hour from 7:00 to 19:00 with a break from 10:30 to 14:30.
A single ticket costs €2.70. There are also buses from Brandberg, Gerlos, Hinzling and Schwendberg to Mayrhofen.
Public transport in Mayrhofen-Yenbach is also provided by the vintage tourist train. Adult tickets cost €17.4 (one way), children under 6 are free and children 6-15 pay 50% of the normal price.
You can also get around by taxi. A trip within Mayrhofen and the nearest villages will cost between €15 and €20.
If you are travelling by car, there are no parking problems, but there are not always spaces available near the lifts and in the centre of Mayrhofen.
A family holiday in Mayrhofen doesn't usually mean skiing from morning till night. What else can you do in Mayrhofen?
If you and the kids like the outdoors, spend some time at the ice rink: there is an ice disco on Friday evenings. Next to the ice rink there are two curling rinks — in Bavaria and Tyrol they call it "Icestock".
Sleigh rides are a popular attraction for children. Not everywhere, however, are the toboggan runs as long as those in Mayrhofen.
The longest track is 7 km long and can be ridden in the evening. The more modest trails range from 800 m to 4 km in length. There is also a snow tubing track in Mayrhofen, where you can ski in an inflatable snowmobile.
The challenge of walking with your child in winter resorts is also solved in an unusual way. You can stroll along the streets and check out all the shops and cafes, but it's much more fun for children to strap on their snowshoes and go hiking in the mountains.
The easy family walk up the Ahorn is 2.2 kilometres long and climbs 135 metres.
What to do in Mayrhofen if you want to escape the cold and snow?
Eternal summer reigns in the indoor swimming pool. There's a large pool with some steep slides, waterfalls and a whirlpool, as well as a paddling pool for the little ones. In the warmer months, the resort has an outdoor pool with several attractions.
Many hotels also have swimming pools. In the larger hotels you can also expect a children's playroom, board games and children's TV channels.
Mayrhofen has everything a skier could want: modern gondola and chair lifts, challenging and varied pistes, including Austria's steepest harakiri, glacier skiing, virgin snow for freeriding. But even beginners will feel right at home in the resort.
The best ski area for beginners is the Achorn. The altitude is low and there's a ski school, so it's a good place for children.
Skiers of all levels will enjoy the Penken ski area with its varied pistes (Harakiri is here) and snow park. There are lifts from Mayrhofen, Hippach and the small villages of Finkenberg and Schwendau.
Interesting skiing is also available in the Rastkogel, Horberg and Eggalm areas.
The Hintertux Glacier offers challenging pistes and a snow park. Altitudes here reach up to 3,000 metres and are comparable to Stubai and Sölden. Although the glacier has blue runs and a children's slope, Meirhofen is a good choice for low-altitude skiing with children.
The ski schools in Mayrhofen offer special courses for children. Lessons for young skiers last 2-4 hours, the instructors make sure the children have fun skiing and praise the students.
After a few days the children go to their first competition and at the end they all get a medal. The minimum age for children at the various schools is 3 to 5 years old, and the courses are equipped with their own lifts and everything they need to practise their skills.
| General season | December - April |
| Elevation difference | 630 m-3250 m |
| Ski slopes |
136 km — total |
|
Ski lifts |
67 total, incl.
|
| Ski routes | 20 km |
| The longest ski run | 10 000 m |
| Interactive scheme of ski slopes and lifts | https://www.mayrhofen.at/service/seilbahnen-lifte |
The cost of a ski pass in Mayrhofen does not vary according to the season, but only according to the age of the skier. For example, a one-day ski pass costs €65 for adults, €52 for young people (16-18 years) and €29.5 for children aged 6-14.
If you are planning to ski for more than one day, you should buy the Zillertaler Superskipass.
It is valid on all slopes in the Zillertal, including the Hintertux Glacier. The two-day Super Ski Pass costs €128.5 for adults, €102.5 for youths and €58 for children. From the third day, the cost of each day's skiing decreases.
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Mayrhofen has around ten rental shops for winter sports equipment. Skis, snowboards and boots are in excellent condition and the range is constantly updated.
Adult ski rental for one day costs between €23 and €30, depending on the class of equipment. An adult ski set costs between €29 and €37. Children's ski hire starts at €17 and a set of skis, poles and boots costs €19.
Children's skis can be hired for €16, while a ski set costs €20. A snowboard can be hired for a day from €25 and a snowboard and boots from €28. Hiring a helmet costs another €5-6.
Many ski hire shops in Mayrhofen offer online booking and discounts for those who book in advance.
Summer holidays in Mayrhofen can be described as: Not a day without a discovery. There is such a full programme of family activities and excursions that there is no time to be lazy. Here are just a few ideas for summer activities in the mountains.
Of course you can also try some of the resort's more extreme activities such as rafting, canyoning and paragliding.
A holiday in Mayrhofen with children can easily be supplemented with excursions — and unusual ones at that. There are no large, internationally renowned museums in the area, but there are plenty of places for children to enjoy themselves.
For example, you and your children can visit the Ice Palace on the Hintertux Glacier in Mayrhofen in both winter and summer. All the halls and corridors in this palace are natural.
Also on the glacier is the Spannagel Cave, the highest cave in Europe. Inside there is a small museum of treasures from the bowels of the earth. What else can you do in and around Mayrhofen?
Well worth a visit is Innsbruck, the administrative centre of Tyrol, an old and beautiful city. Take the kids to the Alpine Zoo and the magical Swarovski Museum.
Lovers of old castles will be faced with the difficult decision of whether to stick to Ambras Castle or go to Kufstein and Trazberg?
A wonderful place for a family day out is the silver mine in Schwaz. Going underground in a real mine car, old mining equipment, wax figures of miners — it makes an impression.
We also recommend a trip to Kramsach to show your child what life was like in Tyrol centuries ago. The open-air museum recreates authentic Tyrolean farms and hosts concerts and workshops during the holidays.
And for something completely non-serious and lots of fun, The House Upside Down in Terfens is another option for children. Isn't this how a fly, a bat or (sometimes) Spider-Man sees the world?
You can buy a combined ticket for this attraction and Dinoland.
The decision about where to stay in Mayrhofen with children during the ski season should be made at least six months in advance. There are many hotels and apartments in the resort, but they are all booked up at the start of the season. In the summer there is less demand and available accommodation can be found just before you travel.
Good accommodation is available in all parts of Mayrhofen, both in the town itself and in the neighbouring villages of Hippach, Finkenberg, Laubichl, Holenzen, Eckartau, Schwendau, etc. There are ski bus stops almost everywhere and Hippach and Finkenberg also have their own lifts to the Penken ski area.
There are no specialised kid-themed hotels as such in Mayrhofen. The availability of family rooms, a cot in the room, a playroom, children's TV channels and board games can help you decide where to stay with children.
Chalets and apartments are often rented for independent holidays in Mayrhofen with children. When researching options, check the distance to the ski bus stop and the nearest shops.
It should be added that large supermarkets (SPAR, Billa, MPreis) are only available in the centre of the village. There are small grocery shops in the villages around Mayrhofen.
Note that there are several other interesting ski resorts in the vicinity of Mayrhofen: Zell am Ziller, Fügen-Kaltenbach, Inneralpbach.
The nearest airports to Mayrhofen are Innsbruck (65km), Salzburg (170 km) and Munich (190 km). Flights to Innsbruck are mainly from Austria and Germany, while flights to Salzburg and Munich are from many countries.
The resort can be reached from either airport by rental car, taxi or by booking a private transfer.
Other options for getting to Mayrhofen from Innsbruck Airport:
There is a train station in Mayrhofen where trains from Jönbach arrive once or twice an hour. If you are coming from Innsbruck or Salzburg, you will have to change trains in Jenbach. The train timetable is available on the ÖBB website: https://www.oebb.at/
Regional bus no. 8330 runs between Innsbruck and Mayrhofen. There is also a bus from Jenbach to the resort. Tickets can be purchased at the bus station.
How to get to Mayrhofen:
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