Travel to St Johann im Tyrol

St Johann im Tyrol is a well-established resort town located just an hour from the renowned city of Salzburg. It is popular for its well-groomed ski slopes, excellent cross-country trails, and picturesque setting in a broad valley between the mountain peaks of Kitzbuheler Horn and Wilder Kaiser.

St Johann im Tyrol is unlike many other ski resorts in that it is a full-fledged town, with residents outnumbering guest beds by almost double. It is well-equipped with shops of all description, childcare and other visitor amenities, and retains a typically Austrian flavour that is extremely attractive to international visitors.

St Johann im Tyrol encompasses 60kms of perfectly-manicured slopes suitable for all levels of ability. The bulk of the pistes are designed for beginners and intermediates, but there are also some good expert ski runs in the resort. The longest run stretches over nine kilometers, and a system of 17 lifts provides access to the slopes.

Alternative skiing can be found just 10 minutes away, at the neighbouring resort of Kitzbuhel. Additionally, there are 119 resorts in Tyrol, so there is no lack of choice in the surrounding areas. Kitzbuhel is worth visiting for the town alone, which features wonderful Tyrolean architecture adorned with exterior frescoes.

The ski season in St Johann runs from mid-December to the start of April. Optimal conditions are from February to mid-March and cheapest rates are offered in January and March. The easiest method of transportation to the resort is to fly to Salzburg’s international airport, take a shuttle to the train station and a train to the resort.

Skiing in St Johann im Tyrol

St Johann’s convenient location in Tyrol province, just an hour from Salzburg, combined with its quality pistes and guaranteed snowfall between Christmas and March, make it an ideal ski destination. The resort town is a shopping haven surrounded by the exquisite scenery of two of Austria’s famous mountains, the Kitzbuheler and the Wilder Kaiser.

The skiing in St Johann im Tyrol is predominantly suitable for beginner and intermediate levels, but expert skiers have the choice of several top-class expert runs and off-piste routes. Runs, comprised of 50 per cent beginner; 38 per cent intermediate and 12 per cent advanced/expert, are linked by 17 lifts. St Johann offers 60kms of groomed ski runs in total, plus 75kms of cross-country skiing trails. The longest run in the resort is nine kilometres.

St Johann im Tyrol is a fabulous winter getaway regardless of whether you are a skiing fan. There is a wide range of other activities on offer at the resort, including: tobogganing, ice-skating, snowshoe hiking, 40kms of cleared hiking paths, curling, mono-skiing, sleigh rides, indoor swimming and tennis, bowling, ballooning. St Johann also boasts a sports centre and the Panoramabad Complex, featuring a heated pool, sauna, steam rooms, water slide, wading pool and ice-skating rink.

The nightlife is far from wild at St Johann, but there is a selection of bars and discos for those who are interested. Folkloric evenings are also popular. The town is full of enticing shops, and presents a range of visitor amenities, including childcare facilities. Approximately 4,500 guest beds are available in hotels, guesthouses, apartments and bed-and-breakfasts.

Apres-ski in St Johann im Tyrol

In off-slope hours, visitors are invited to try out some of the other winter activities available in St Johann im Tyrol. The ski resort offers tobogganing, ice-skating, snowshoe hiking, 40kms of cleared hiking paths, curling, mono-skiing, sleigh rides, indoor swimming and tennis, bowling, ballooning, a sports centre and an aqua complex.

Après-ski entertainment is provided by a selection of bars and discos in the ski resort, or for those more interested in culture, there are regular folklore evenings. Accommodation in St Johann im Tyrol is limited to 4,500 guest beds in three- to four-star hotels, guesthouses, bed-and-breakfasts, and self-catering apartments.

Transportation to St Johann im Tyrol

There are several practical transportation methods to reach St Johann im Tyrol, which is situated southwest of Salzburg and east of Innsbruck. The quickest and easiest route is by air to Munich, Innsbruck or Salzburg, combined with a train transfer to the ski resort.

Many people opt for bringing their vehicles from the UK – this is a much cheaper option than air transportation, but it is a lengthy journey, including a trip over the English Channel via car ferry (or the Chunnel). Once you reach the French port of Calais, it is another 1,100kms (mostly along the major highways A-26 and A-4 (France) and A-8 (Germany) to reach St Johann im Tyrol.

An alternative option is to fly into Salzburg International Airport and hire a car. From the airport, head west and southwest for approximately 65kms along the A-1, B-20, ST-2101, B-305 and B-312.

Rail transportation is another popular means of reaching St Johann. From London’s Waterloo station, take the Eurostar to Paris’ gare du Nord, change over to gare de l’Est and take the overnight train to Munich, from where rail transfers take approximately 2 hours, 30 minutes.

Alternatively, once in Paris, change to gare de Lyon and take either a day or night train to Zürich. The train journey from Zürich to St Johann goes via Innsbruck and takes approximately five hours.

Flying is by far the quickest and most hassle-free option of reaching St Johann im Tyrol. It is possible to access the ski resort from Munich, Innsbruck or Salzburg airports. From Munich’s FJ Strauss Airport, trains take approximately three hours to reach St Johann; additionally, train transportation is also available from Innsbruck.

From Salzburg Airport, take a shuttle to the train station, from where trains take approximately 2 hours, 45 minutes to reach the resort. Buses from Salzburg take approximately 1 hour, 45 minutes, first stopping at Kitzbuhel.

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