Bad Gastein resort guide & reviews Ski area, apres-ski, things to see & do in Bad Gastein
Review
Bad Gastein is one of three beautiful villages in the stunning Gastein valley surrounded by the 3000m peaks of Bernkogel, Gamskarkogel and Graukogel.
Like it's neighbour Bad Hofgastein, Gastein is a pretty authentic Austrian spa resort, with it's own flair and charm and offers a rich ski holiday experience both on and off the slopes.
Overall, Bad Gastein offers the best of both worlds combining winter sports with relaxation and well being in one of the many thermal spas that the resort is famous for.
Wellness & spa
Bad Gastein has several spa hotels for relaxation and wellbeing - quite similar to the ski and spa resort of Leukerbad in Switzerland. There are 17 hot springs that feed into Gastein's spas where, after a day on the slopes, you can immerse yourself in these radon rich therapeutic waters.
Après-ski
Bad Gastein has a very lively après-ski scene that tends to continue well in to the early hours. There are also many good bars and restaurants to relax in if partying all night is not your thing plus the casino is well worth a visit - the dress code is fairly relaxed.
| Key information (whole area) | |
|---|---|
| Altitude | 1000m |
| Top lift | 2686m |
| Family | |
| Beginner | |
| Intermediate | |
| Expert | |
| Piste (km) | 220 |
| Longest run | 8 km |
| Off piste | |
| Cross country | 70 km |
| Season | Dec - April |
| Snowboard parks | 1 |
| Heli Skiing | ✘ |
| Summer skiing | ✘ |
| Glacier skiing | ✘ |
| Babysitting | ✔ |
| Creche | ✔ |
| Apres ski | Lively & fun |
Bad Gastein ski area guide
The local ski area around Bad Gastein offers a good range of ski terrain for competent intermediates and is connected to Bad Hofgastein. Throughout the valley, you have 220km pistes for all abilities although intermediates and above are especially well catered for. This is quite a large area to cover on a weeks skiing holiday but if you want to explore further afield...there is lots more terrain!
Part of The Gasterinal region, Bad Gastein is a member of "Ski Amade" area where one lift pass gives you access to 860km of pistes serviced by 270 lifts over 5 superb and varied ski areas. Not all lift connected, but the exploring this vast ski system is challenging and fun.
Beginners
First timers are best starting their ski career at Angertal which has the largest beginners area. Most of the other green and blue runs are dotted around the ski areas making it more challenging to explore the terrain.
Intermediate
The whole Bad Gastein area is geared towards intermediate skiers. However, at the top of the valley, about 20 minutes drive, is Sportsgastein which is the highest resort in the valley and typically has the best snow.
If you like speed, this is the place to head to plus there is an excellent black run back to the base station. The other area is Dorfgastein with it's tree-lined pistes and the valley's longest run at 8km.
Advanced
For the advanced skier, there is not much on-piste to challenge you in Bad Gastein with most of the terrain suited to intermediates. However, the off-piste is exceptional with many back-country routes best explored with a guide.
Cross-country
There are 45km of cross country ski trails around the Gastein Valley plus when it goes dark, there are the floodlit trails in Bad Gastein-Böckstein and in the Kurpark of Bad Hofgastein. For something a little different, you could venture out to the Dachstein-Glacier near Schladming where you can try cross-country skiing at 2700m on 18km of trails!
Snowboard
For snowboarders, there is a terrain park and 3 half pipes.
Things to see & do in Bad Gastein
| A few suggestions... | |
|---|---|
| Ice skating | ✔ |
| 100km of winter walking and snow shoeing trails | ✔ |
| Tobogganing on a 2.5km floodlit course - great fun | ✔ |
| Parapenting | ✔ |
| Walk along the 140m footbridge on the Stubnerkogel,Europe's highest suspension bridge | ✔ |
| Take the lift up to the "Glocknerblick" lookout platform | ✔ |
Our view on Bad Gastein
Bad Gastein is brilliant for ski holidays in winter and has a growing reputation for being great fun on and off the piste especially if you are a non-skier with so many spas to relax in.
If you like skiing in Bad Gastein, you may also want to look at the resorts in the Ziller Valley.
