Hotel Neuhaus Zillertal Resort Mayrhofen Austria Exterior Night

Mayrhofen Hippach, Austria

Mayrhofen

Lively Tyrolean valley town with a cable car into big, high slopes and famous après

Mayrhofen is a busy, traditional valley town at about 630 m at the top end of the Zillertal. Its slopes start right in town: the Penkenbahn and Ahornbahn cable cars climb into a local ski area of 142 km of pistes and 61 lifts. Confident intermediates and snowboarders love the big, varied cruising, and a week's pass also covers the whole Zillertal, including the Hintertux Glacier. The trade-offs are real, though. You can't ski back down to the town, so most days start and end with a queue for the cable car. The town is spread out, so check how far your hotel is from the lifts. And first-timers will find the main Penken area less gentle than the brochures suggest.

Places to stay

For your group

Beginners 3/5

Learning here works, but you have to get onto the mountain first. The best area for complete beginners is the wide, gentle Ahorn plateau, reached by the Ahornbahn cable car from town. It has gentle slopes and good snow, but you ride the cable car down at the end of the day. The Horberg side (above Schwendau) has the KinderLand area and some easy blues. Penken has steeper blues, which can feel daunting for nervous skiers. Ski schools are plentiful and English is widely spoken.

Intermediates 5/5

Ideal. Penken, Horberg, Rastkogel and Eggalm link into a big network of blues and reds, with lots of long cruising above 1,700 m. On the same pass you can also take day trips to the Hintertux Glacier, the Zillertal Arena (Zell/Gerlos) and Hochzillertal/Hochfügen. That's 546 km of slopes in the valley in total.

Experts 4/5

The Harakiri is the headline run: Austria's steepest groomed piste, at a 78% gradient. There are good blacks and plenty of off-piste on Penken, Rastkogel and at nearby Hintertux, especially with a local guide. On a busy holiday week the pistes can feel crowded.

Places to stay in Mayrhofen

Cheapest first, for your dates where we have them. Tick up to 4 to compare.

  • Foersterhaus Zum Kramerwirt Mayrhofen Exterior Winter (2)

    Foersterhaus zum Kramerwirt

    Mayrhofen · Hotel · 3★

    • 500 m to the lifts
    • Half board

    Sat 2 Jan, 7 nights from London Stansted

    £1,656

    for 2 people, £828 each

    Save £920

  • Sporthotel Strass Mayrhofen Indoor Pool Adults Only

    Hotel Strass

    Mayrhofen · Hotel · 4★

    • Right by the lifts
    • Bed & breakfast

    Sat 12 Dec, 7 nights from London Gatwick

    £1,820

    for 2 people, £910 each

    Save £900

  • Sporthotel Strass Mayrhofen Exterior

    Sporthotel Strass

    Mayrhofen · Hotel · 4★

    • Right by the lifts
    • Bed & breakfast

    Sat 12 Dec, 7 nights from London Gatwick

    £1,980

    for 2 people, £990 each

    Save £1,140

  • Hotel Neuhaus Zillertal Resort Mayrhofen Austria Exterior Night

    Neuhaus Zillertal Resort

    Mayrhofen · Hotel · 4★

    • 710 m to the lifts
    • Half board

    Sat 12 Dec, 7 nights from London Gatwick

    £2,060

    for 2 people, £1,030 each

    Save £1,020

  • Alpenhotel Kramerwirt Mayrhofen Exterior Winter

    Alpenhotel Kramerwirt

    Mayrhofen · Hotel · 4★

    • 660 m to the lifts
    • Half board

    Sat 12 Dec, 7 nights from London Gatwick

    £2,160

    for 2 people, £1,080 each

    Save £1,000

  • Elisabeth Hotel Mayrhofen Hotel Exterior

    Elisabeth Hotel

    Mayrhofen · Hotel · 4.5★

    • 450 m to the lifts
    • Half board

    Sat 12 Dec, 7 nights from London Gatwick

    £2,220

    for 2 people, £1,110 each

    Save £1,300

  • Zillertalerhof Alpine Hideaway Mayrhofen Stube

    Zillertalerhof Alpine Hideaway

    Mayrhofen · Hotel · 4.5★

    • Half board

    Sat 12 Dec, 7 nights from London Gatwick

    £3,420

    for 2 people, £1,710 each

    Save £700

Where you'd stay and ski

Runs are coloured by difficulty. Pins show places to stay and how far each is from the nearest lift station, as the crow flies.

Map key
  • Green: easiest
  • Blue: easy
  • Red: intermediate
  • Black: difficult
  • Orange: off-piste route
  • Lift
  • Place to stay

For orientation only, not live lift or piste status.

Mapped pistes in Mayrhofen Hippach
108 km
Village
630 m
Top lift
2468 m
Transfer
1.5 hrs from Innsbruck
6-day lift pass
€399 per adult
Season
Early December (Penken and Horberg from 4 Dec 2026, Ahorn from 12 Dec 2026) to Mid-April (11 Apr 2027; Ahorn and Mösl close 4 Apr 2027)

Other scores

Snowboarders 5/5

A long-time favourite with snowboarders. The Vans Penken Park is one of the Alps' best-known terrain parks, and most lifts are gondolas or chairlifts. There are a few flat link sections between sectors and the odd T-bar.

Non-skiers 4/5

It's a real town with shops, cafés, an indoor pool and good winter walking. Pedestrian lift tickets (€40 return) let non-skiers meet friends on the mountain, and there's sledging and snowcat rides on the Ahorn. Innsbruck and Hintertux make easy day trips.

Families 3/5

There are good ski schools and kids' areas, like the KinderLand Horberg and the gentle Ahorn plateau. Children born in 2021 or later ski free with a paying adult. The downsides are the cable car rides up and down, the walk or bus to the lifts, and the rowdy après around the Penkenbahn in the afternoon. Choose a hotel close to the lifts.

Après-ski 5/5

Mayrhofen has some of the liveliest après in Austria. The Ice Bar at Hotel Strass, by the Penkenbahn, is the famous late-afternoon hotspot. The Brück'n Stadl and the town's bars and clubs keep going late. Customers at Hotel Strass or Sporthotel Strass should expect noise.

Snow reliability 4/5

The town is low (about 630 m), but 89% of the slopes lie above 1,700 m, the top is about 2,500 m, and snowmaking is extensive. January to March is the most reliable time. Early December and late March to April can bring slushy lower slopes. The Hintertux Glacier, about 20 km up the valley and included on the Superskipass, is a guaranteed snow backup.

Scores and notes are our own research from 23 October 2026, not customer reviews. Tap a score to see why. Snow reliability is about the resort in general, not a forecast for your week. Sources: mayrhofen.at, mayrhofen.at, mayrhofen.at, mayrhofen.at.

Insider tips

  • Beat the morning queue by getting to the Penkenbahn before 8.30, or take the ski bus to the Horbergbahn or Finkenberg lifts instead.
  • Avoid the end-of-day cable car queue by finishing early, or ski down to the Horbergbahn at Schwendau and take the bus back.
  • Nervous beginners should start on the Ahorn, not the Penken.
  • Save Hintertux for a day when the snow is poor or it's windy lower down. It's about 35–40 minutes by free ski bus.
  • If you want a quiet night's sleep, avoid hotels right next to the Penkenbahn and Ice Bar.

Worth knowing

  • No ski run back down to Mayrhofen. You ride the Penkenbahn or Ahornbahn down at the end of the day, and there are often queues at peak times (or you take a lift down at the Horberg side and catch a bus).
  • Morning queues at the Penkenbahn, especially in school holidays
  • The town is long and spread out, and some hotels are a walk or a ski-bus ride from the lifts
  • The town itself is low (about 630 m), so the valley floor can be green or slushy early and late in the season even when the slopes are fine
  • Beginners have to get onto the mountain to learn (Ahorn or Horberg), and Penken has few easy runs home
  • The après can be loud and boozy, which is not for everyone
  • The pass price is the full Zillertal Superskipass (€399 for 6 days), so it's not cheap