Travel to Bad Kleinkirchheim with travel insurance from Essential Travel

Located in the Nockberg Mountains, just north of Villach, Bad Kleinkirchheim is an old spa resort town that is famed as much for its skiing as for its thermal remedies. Homeland of Olympic downhill skier Franz Klammer, Bad Kleinkirchheim is ideal for families due to the extensive sports facilities and excellent childcare.

The streets of Bad Kleinkirchheim are lined with ancient medieval buildings and dotted with numerous cafés and restaurants. A wide range of shops and boutiques sell everything from sports goods and designer wear, to jewellery and gifts.

Bad Kleinkirchheim ski resort has 100kms of runs, with an emphasis on intermediates, and there are also a good number of beginner and expert slopes, as well as excellent off-piste, plus a specialist park and a half-pipe for snowboarders. Thirty-four chairlifts, surface lifts and gondolas operate over a vertical drop of 1,370m and supply all pistes, the longest of which is four kilometres.

The ski season at Bad Kleinkirchheim runs from early December to early April, with cheaper weeks offered at the beginning and end of the season. The most convenient way here is to fly to nearby Klagenfurt and hire a car, or to take a train/bus combination transfer, via Spittal.

Skiing in Bad Kleinkirchheim

Homeland of the famous skier, Franz Klammer, Bad Kleinkirchheim is a fabulous ski resort with 100kms of groomed pistes and is well known for its thermal spas. Located in the south of Austria, near Villach, Bad Kleinkirchheim also offers plenty of off-piste action and a snow park for snowboarders.

A hundred kilometres of pistes, fed by 34 ski lift systems and divided into 11 per cent for beginners, 78 per cent for intermediates and advanced level skiers and 11 per cent for experts, are spread over a vertical descent of 1,370m. The longest run of four kilometres is named after Franz Klammer. The off-piste is reserved for advanced and expert skiers and snowboarders, and there are also 50kms of excellent cross-country trails.

Other winter activities and facilities include: hiking; horse-drawn sleigh rides; horseback riding; natural ice-skating; ski-hockey; curling; and tobogganing. There are also thermal spas, indoor swimming and tennis, a solarium, sauna and squash. Folklore evenings, along with bars and discos, provide the après-ski entertainment.

Bad Kleinkirchheim is a traditional resort spa town with streets lined with ancient medieval buildings. The town is fairly large and spread out and there is a wide variety of accommodation, from five-star hotels to cosy guesthouses.

The December to April ski season at Bad Kleinkirchheim ski resort has its best snow in February and special deals in mid-December and towards the end of the season. Bad Kleinkirchheim is best accessed by flying to Klagenfurt and transferring via train and bus.

Apres-ski in Bad Kleinkirchheim

As an old spa town, Bad Kleinkirchheim boasts countless non-ski activities, as well as an excellent range of hotels, inns, pensions and apartment houses, totalling over 7,000 beds and ranging from five-star luxury to the simple and comfortable. Restaurants and cafés are numerous and bars and discos supply the bulk of the après-ski fun. Children’s ski schools are available per day or week.

Away from the slopes, Villach is an attractive city straddling the River Drau and is ringed by snow-covered Alpine peaks. The town features medieval walls, fine 16th century houses and a well preserved 14th century Gothic church. At nearby Warmbad Villach, just south of the town, there is a large spa and leisure complex built around hot mineral springs.

Transportation to Bad Kleinkirchheim

Bad Kleinkirchheim is situated in the south of Austria, 40kms north of Villach and 70kms northwest of Klagenfurt, and is only directly accessible by road. Flying to Klagenfurt, Salzburg or Munich and taking a train/bus combination transfer, via Spittal, is the most practical travel option; while self-drive and international rail travel are also popular.

Bad Kleinkirchheim is near the (A-10) Salzburg-Villach autobahn, which is connected to the rest of the European motorway network, making self-drive easy. From the UK, the quickest route from Calais goes via Reims, Metz, Strasbourg, Stuttgart, Munich and Salzburg. From Salzburg, head south along the A-10 and exit on to the B-95 for the resort (1,330kms; 12 hours).

Trains arrive in Spittal (near Bad Kleinkirchheim) three times daily from Munich-FJ Strauss Airport and four times daily from Klagenfurt Airport. Buses will take you from Spittal to the resort. If travelling from the UK, take a Paris-bound Eurostar train from London (Waterloo). Transfer to Paris (gare de l’Est), from where an overnighter goes to Munich, arriving the next morning. Eurocity trains then go to Spittal. The trip takes around 18 hours.

The nearest airport is at Klagenfurt, which receives limited flights. Transfer options from here to Bad Kleinkirchheim include a train/bus combination, or car hire. Salzburg is the next closest airport, and then Munich. Munich-FJ Strauss Airport has more flight and transfer options to the resort, with buses, combinations of trains and buses, and car hire all available.

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