Kühtai

Austria’s highest ski village, Kühtai is known for its exceptional snowsure slopes and family-friendly facilities.

The road up to the resort of Kühtai at 2,017 metres above sea level is long and winding, passing through stunning alpine landscape as it makes its way up to this sunny plateau with many hotels and home to what is Austria’s highest ski village. Thanks to their exceptional altitude, Kühtai’s slopes sometimes even remain open until early May. It is a 40min drive from Innsbruck and a free ski bus connects it with the capital of Tyrol.

Kühtai is first and foremost known as a family-friendly ski area. Advantages range from special hourly ski passes and very reasonable prices to excellent facilities such as conveyor-belt lifts and easy draglifts designed for the needs of children. Snowboarders and freestylers will enjoy the funpark, while advanced and expert skiers can explore the resort’s many red runs. Away from the marked slopes there is plenty of interesting terrain for ski touring enthusiasts, especially around the Sulzkogel (3,016m) and the Pirchkogel (2,828m) mountains.

As well as the resort’s many huts, Kühtai also has plenty of pubs and restaurants such as the Dorfstadl. Twice a week the slopes are lit up for night skiing, with the piste down from the Zum Kaiser Maximilian hut open right through until 11:30pm. Lift passes for Kühtai are also valid for the nearby resort of Hochoetz, which can be reached using a free shuttle service. When you visit between 03.-17.12. and stay at least 3 nights then your ski pass is added at no extra cost.

The Welcome Card

Even before you consider buying your SKI plus CITY pass, if you stay in the Innsbruck region, including at Kühtai, you’ll be given a free Visitor Card by the majority of accommodation providers when you stay for two nights or longer.

The free-of-charge Welcome Card includes services such as free public transport in the city and region, some free lift rides up in the mountains and a wide variety of leisure activities even before you get on the slopes! (With a stay of 3 nights or more at our partner establishments, you receive the Welcome Card plus, which includes 4 free trips on selected lifts and cable cars. This includes 4 free trips on selected lifts and cable cars.)

If you’d like to try something different for a day or even half-day, or perhaps have some non-skiers in your group, the Welcome Card gives you access to hiking, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing or ski touring on beautiful, scenic routes, some with free guiding by professional guides included as well.

As the Welcome Card also includes free use of public transport including ski buses, it means a mixed party of skiers and non-skiers can each choose their card and meet up at the base of the ski areas for lunch or at any time the non-skiers want a break from the shops, cafés and other city attractions while the skiers want to take a breather from their exertions too.

Besides public transport and guided hiking, the Welcome Card has more to offer as well, with many  discounts for holders on other winter-sports activities, family attractions, swimming pools and wonderful urban cultural attractions. 

Getting There

Air – Innsbruck is by far the most convenient airport, only 35km away.  Munich & Zurich airports are 3-3.5hr drive away which are both easily accessible by train from Innsbruck.

Train and bus – Kühtai is only 40 minutes from Innsbruck airport. Whilst there are no direct rail service, it is very easy to take a train to Innsbruck and then the free ski bus to Kühtai.

It operates daily on multiple routes between Innsbruck and several of the ski resorts covered by the Ski plus City pass Stubai – Innsbruck. All you need to take with you is a Welcome Card and your skiwear. The Welcome Card is available from your accommodation provider at no extra cost. Thanks to the ski bus, you don’t have to worry about finding a parking space. It is a quick and easy way to get to the slopes and back to your hotel in the afternoon. Plus you can treat yourself to a drink or two during après-ski before heading back down into town.

Airport and hotel transfers – Private transfers are available to Kuhtai from the airports & can provide the most efficient, & for larger groups, cost-effective mode of travel to Kuhtai.

Where to Stay

There are a variety of hotels, B&Bs and self-catering accommodation options that can be booked independently here.

AlpinLodges Kühtai

Kühtai, with its pristine, high-Alpine environment, is a stunning place to stay, and for skiers and boarders that altitude means snow-sure conditions from the start to end of the season.

The fabulous AlpinLodges Kühtai are a wonderful base from which to explore the slopes, and indeed the entire Innsbruck region if you wish.

Comfortable, modern, light and airy, they offer ski-in/ski-out accommodation and much more besides. The spacious apartments boast generous bathroom space as well as a large balcony from which to take in the marvellous mountain views. Technology may not be the priority here, but in fitting with the crisp, modern, Alpine design, you’ll find flat-screen smart TVs and high-speed internet as well as those little bonuses that make a big difference, such as fresh bread rolls delivered daily. If you opt to self-drive from the UK or rent a car in the Tirol, you have an underground parking space waiting for you here too. Some of the apartments even feature a private sauna and an open fireplace.

If you’re not getting enough exercise already on the slopes, the AlpinLodges Kühtai also boast their own fitness studio, and to make the most of the whole area, there’s also a shuttle service provided down to Innsbruck.

Where to Eat

You can find an overview of Kühtai’s best eateries here. 

Our top picks are Jagdschloss Kühtai, Hotel Tyrol and Mooshaus.

Where to Après

Do not miss the Kühtai institution of Dorfstadl. 

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Kühtai © Innsbruck Tourismus Christian Vorhofer