Stubai Glacier is one of my favorite places to ski with our daughter. From 2009 to 2013, Stubai Glacier was named the most family-friendly ski resort in the Alps by the German ADAC ski guide.
And I can see why! The surrounding glacier guarantees top quality snow from October till May, which makes it perfect to ski using our Tirol Snow Card. My Stubai Glacier review is also skewed by it’s perfect location. It is located only 45 minute away by car from Innsbruck, making it a convenient connection for families flying in to Austria from somewhere else.
Children under 10 years of age ski free when accompanied by a paying parent. It’s also free to ski for active grandparents older than 80 years of age. For that reason, we always take our 81 year old grandpa with us.
The ski area partnered with Big Family Stubai Glacier to offer best possible conditions for little skiers. The Kinderland Children Ski Area is a separate area available for those making their first steps on skis with three magic carpets and plenty of room to maneuver. The Kinderland is freely accessible to everyone, not just to the ski school, as in some other resorts. Our daughter tired skiing for the first time on Stubai Glacier when she was 2 years old.
When kids graduate from the Kinderland, there are easy to board 6-chair lift Murmele and a T-bar Kitzlift nearby. The lifts are located in a quiet area of the resort, where it is perfectly safe for kids to ski. Once kids gain some endurance, they can move on to 8-chair lift Rotadl which has heated seats and a weather protection hood. The lift takes families up to a special “comfort” ski run designated specifically for families and skiers that are 50+ years of age. Read: a wide, not steep, fenced off run. Perfect to practice your moves! After five days at the ski school, our 4 year old daughter could effortlessly ski the comfort run two or three times. One of the advantages is that the comfort run is quite long and the lift ride up is short.
There is also a Kindergarten on-site and a Kids Restaurant, available for use to the kids attending the ski school. For smaller children, ski lessons in the morning can be combined with a visit to Kindergarten in the afternoon. The ski school brings the children to the Kindergarten, where they get lunch, so mom and dad can enjoy a full day on the slopes.
Most of the hotels in the Stubai valley are also very family-oriented. Almost all of them have some kind of a play room for kids, and some offer childcare from late afternoon till dinner time. That way the parents have the opportunity to relax in the sauna, get a massage, or just leisurely get dressed for dinner. We stayed at the following hotels before: Happi Stubai, Milderer Hof, and Berg Juwel. All the three were top notch hotels. Next time you can’t wait till winter or want to ski in the sun in April or May, visit Stubai glacier and you will see for yourself.
