Bad Gastein or Zell am See Kaprun?
Zell am See Kaprun takes 3 of 9, with 4 too close to call. That still does not settle it — only the categories you care about count.
Austria
Bad Gastein
Faded Belle Époque grandeur, thermal spas and 208 km of quiet skiing. Reachable by direct train from Salzburg and Vienna, which makes it one of the few genuinely low-carbon ski weeks.
Worth knowing. The town is faded and the skiing is scattered across separate mountains.
Choose it if
Off-piste
About £1,110 a week from London
Austria
Zell am See Kaprun
A lakeside town with the Kitzsteinhorn glacier as insurance when the low slopes fail. The two areas are separate, and the glacier gets busy exactly when you need it.
Worth knowing. The two areas are separate, and the glacier fills up exactly when you need it.
Choose it if
Families with young kids
About £1,153 a week from London
Side by side
| Bad Gastein | Zell am See Kaprun | |
|---|---|---|
| Snow reliability | 54/100 | 59/100 |
| Size of the ski area | 208 km | 138 km |
| Top lift | 2686 m | 3029 m |
| Cost before travel | €1020 | €1075 |
| Families with young kids | 6/10 | 8/10 |
| Snowboarders | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| A non-skiing partner | 9/10 | 9/10 |
| Budget and après | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Off-piste | 7/10 | 6/10 |
Bold marks the winner. Rows where neither is bold are close enough that the difference would not change a decision. Cost excludes travel, which depends on where you leave from.
Piste kilometres, lift counts and prices are indicative and compiled from public sources — they have not yet been checked against the resort's own figures for this season. Costs are planning estimates, not quotes. Spotted one that is wrong? Tell us.