Zell am See is a ski resort in Austria with 138 km of pistes and 27 lifts. Skiing reaches up to 3,029 m (Kitzsteinhorn) above sea level and the village sits at 757 m. Accommodation with lift pass included can be booked directly, you arrange your own travel there.
Cheapest places to stay in Zell am See
Lift pass options
Prices above include the resort's default lift pass. Here is how the price per person changes if you pick another one when booking:
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Zell am See-Kaprun is one of Austria's most romantic and varied ski resorts, offering the truly special combination of a beautiful lakeside town and one of the most snow-sure glacier areas in the Alps. A ski holiday to Zell am See offers an experience that no other destination in Europe can match.
The ski area consists of three separate sections: Schmittenhöhe right above the town centre, the Kitzsteinhorn glacier in Kaprun with snow-sure skiing up to 3,029 metres, and a network of connected lifts giving access to 400 kilometres of pistes with a Ski Alpin Card.
The Kitzsteinhorn glacier is the resort's crown jewel. At 3,029 metres, snow is ensured from September to May, and the views from up here are among the most beautiful in the entire Alps. The gondola system is modern and efficient, and the glacier offers wide, well-groomed pistes for all levels.
The centre of Zell am See is one of the most charming in the Austrian Alps. The historic town core with its medieval church tower, the lakeside promenade, and a good selection of restaurants and shops create an atmosphere that feels more "Alpine town" than "ski village", and that's a big part of the resort's appeal.
Ready to book a ski holiday in Zell am See? Find accommodation with lift pass included in the price. You arrange your own travel there.
The lift pass included covers the ski area at Zell am See. The offer at the tour operator states which pass is included. Regional passes covering several ski areas are bought locally.
Accommodation with lift pass in Zell am See ›
Did you know this about Zell am See?
Zell am See is one of the few Alpine resorts in the world offering skiing right beside a lake. The Zeller See often freezes over in winter, providing the chance to skate, while the Kitzsteinhorn glacier delivers reliable snow throughout the winter season.
5 tips about Zell am See
- The Kitzsteinhorn Glacier Visit the Kitzsteinhorn glacier at 3,029 metres, an impressive natural wonder with reliable snow coverd almost all year round.
- Lakeside promenade Take a stroll along the lakeside promenade at Zeller See, a unique Alpine experience with views over the water.
- Schmittenhöhe Schmittenhöhe offers one of Austria's most beautiful panoramas, with views of 30 Alpine peaks.
- Kaprun Castle Visit the medieval castle in Kaprun just outside town, a historic gem in the snow-covered valley.
- Ski Alpin Card A Ski Alpin Card also includes Saalbach-Hinterglemm and Leogang for an enormous skiing adventure.
Pistes and lifts in Zell am See
Zell am See-Kaprun boasts an impressive ski system with 57 lifts and 138 km of local pistes, extending to 400 km with a Ski Alpin Card. The skiing spans three distinct areas: Schmittenhöhe right above Zell am See with varied runs, the Kitzsteinhorn glacier in Kaprun with Austria's highest groomed terrain up to 3,029 metres, and Maiskogel, which links the town with the glacier. The total vertical drop of 1,780 metres from the top of the Kitzsteinhorn down to the village at 757 metres provides some of the longest continuous runs in the Alps.
The lift system is modern and efficient, with the Kitzsteinhorn gondola and the newer 3K gondola linking Kaprun town centre with the glacier via Maiskogel, so you don't need to drive between them. Schmittenhöhe is reached by gondola directly from the centre of Zell am See. Skiing in Zell am See offers a unique combination of high-altitude glacier skiing and lakeside pistes with panoramic views over the Zeller See, a combination no other ski area in the Alps can match.
Piste map for Zell am See
The map downloads as an image file. On your iPhone it lands in the Files app. Tap the icon at the bottom of the address bar to open the map straight away.On your iPad it lands in the Files app. Tap the icon at the top right of the address bar to open the map straight away.On your phone it lands in the Downloads folder. Tap the download notification that appears to open the map straight away.The file lands in the Downloads folder. You can also look for the icon at the top right of the screen and open the map from there.
Snow reliability in Zell am See
Zell am See-Kaprun is one of the most snow-sure destinations in the Alps thanks to the Kitzsteinhorn glacier, which offers skiing from October to May. The glacier, at 3,029 metres, has natural snow virtually all year round, and the pistes at Schmittenhöhe are supplemented by an extensive snowmaking system. A ski holiday in Zell am See during the winter season gives you double reassurance: even if the lower pistes at Schmittenhöhe experience thin snow cover during milder spells, you can always count on perfect snow up on the glacier. Cold temperatures in the valley, with nights down to -8 degrees in January, also contribute to excellent natural snow at all levels.
Best time to travel to Zell am See
The best time for a ski holiday to Zell am See depends on what you're after. If you want maximum snow reliability and cold conditions, January and February are ideal, with daytime temperatures between -3 and -1 degrees. March brings longer days and sunny skiing, with good snow conditions still ensured by the glacier. A unique advantage of Zell am See-Kaprun is its extremely long season: the Kitzsteinhorn opens as early as October and doesn't close until May. If you fancy a slightly different kind of ski holiday, consider travelling in November or April, when prices are lower and the glacier pistes still offer excellent skiing.
Will there be lift queues in Zell am See?
The Schmittenhöhe sector at Zell am See carries 54,778 people an hour across 27 lifts. 16 of the 27 lifts are gondolas or high-speed chairlifts and 8 are drag lifts, which take longer to get through when it is busy. The fastest lifts carry up to 3,700 people an hour, for example Glocknerbahn. That is roughly the same capacity per kilometre of piste as an average resort on this site, so queues only build when it is really busy. The queue you actually notice is almost always down in the valley between eight and half past nine. If you are on the lift before eight you avoid it.
When is Zell am See busiest?
How busy the slopes get is not decided by the English half term but by when the local families and the neighbouring countries are on holiday. These are the weeks that fill Zell am See in the 2026/2027 season.
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Austria: The Semesterferien are taken one week at a time, state by state, during the first three weeks of February.
1 to 6 February: Vienna and Lower Austria
8 to 13 February: Burgenland and Carinthia
15 to 20 February: Tyrol, Salzburg, Upper Austria, Styria and Vorarlberg -
Germany: Germans are the largest foreign group in the Alps and their winter holidays are spread across early February.
1 to 6 February: Berlin, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia
8 to 12 February: Bavaria and Saarland
8 to 19 February: Saxony and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern - England: The English February half term is 15 to 19 February 2027 for most councils, with a few areas breaking up a week earlier. The Easter holidays run from 26 March to 9 April.
8 to 12 February: half term in a few council areas, for example Hull
15 to 19 February: half term in most of England, including London, the Midlands and the North
26 March to 9 April: Easter holidays for most English schools - Easter holidays: Easter 2027 is early, on 28 March. Austria and Germany take their holidays around the weekend, while the French holidays fall after Easter, in April.
20 to 29 March: the whole of Austria, all states at the same time
22 March to 3 April: most German states, including Bavaria, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia
3 April to 3 May: the French zones, which fall after Easter 2027 and only affect the highest resorts - Long weekends: Long weekends fill the slopes with day visitors from the nearest cities, even when no schools are on holiday.
26 December to 3 January: Christmas and New Year, the most expensive period of the year
6 January: Epiphany, a public holiday in Austria, Italy and parts of Switzerland
27 to 29 March: the Easter weekend. Easter Monday is a public holiday across the Alps, but Good Friday is a working day in Austria, Italy and France
1 to 2 May: May Day, a public holiday across the Alps
If you want quieter pistes and lower prices, the weeks in mid-January and late March are clearly the best. Neither the Germans nor the Austrians are on holiday then.
Opening and closing dates are typical values derived from altitude, not confirmed dates for this season. Check the resort's own website before booking.
Who will you share the slopes with in Zell am See?
1,506,871 overnight stays in the 2025/26 winter season. From November to April. Tap a country or a segment of the circle to highlight it.
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1
Germans
23.3%
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2
Dutch
16.8%
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3
Austrians
14.6%
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4
British
10.3%
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5
Czechs
4.9%
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6
Poles
4.7%
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7
Danes
3.6%
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8
Belgians
3.0%
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9
Irish
2.5%
- 10 Others 16.3%
Source: the state of Salzburg tourism database. The figures cover the tourist region Zell am See-Kaprun, not just the village.
Snow right now. There is no snow cover in the valley or at the top right now. The figures are modelled by Open-Meteo, not measured by the lift company, and were fetched 14 October 2026 at 04:26.
The lift pass included. The stay comes with the Ski Alpin Card lift pass, which covers 409 km of piste. The pass is worth around €440.
How to get to Zell am See
You arrange your own travel: we sell the stay, not the transport. Here are the three ways people get to Zell am See, so you can pick the one that suits you.
By air. The nearest airport is Salzburg (SZG). Pure flying time from London is around 2 hours, and from there it is 1.5 hours on to Zell am See. You can cover the last stretch in one of two ways:
- Private transfer. A private driver meets you in the arrivals hall and drives straight to your accommodation with no stops. The price is per car, not per person, ski boxes can be booked in advance, and the driver waits even if the flight is late.
- Hire car at the airport. With SmartCarRental you collect the car in the arrivals hall. That gets you to the neighbouring villages on the same lift pass, lets you shop at valley prices rather than resort prices, and frees you from transfer timetables. Winter tyres are standard at Alpine desks.
By car. Many drive. Taking the Eurotunnel from Folkestone and arriving at Calais, it's roughly 1,147 km to Zell am See, around 11.9 hours of pure driving time through France. Remember that studded tyres are banned in France and Germany.
Last-minute deals in Zell am See
Last-minute offers, that is late dates the operator still wants to fill, appear from January onwards. Once the season is under way we will show them here on this page.
Zell am See is suitable for
⭐ Excellent choice
Suitable to some extent
Limited selection
⭐ Very snow-reliable
Read more about ski holidays
Ready to book? Choose from accommodation in different price ranges. Lift pass is included in the price, and you arrange your own travel there.
Accommodation with lift pass in Zell am See ›Frequently asked questions about Zell am See
Yes, the Kitzsteinhorn normally opens as early as October and has Austria's longest ski season. The glacier, at 3,029 metres, delivers reliable snow for almost the entire year, and you can ski right through into May.
The two ski areas are separate but easily accessible. From Zell am See, you take the gondola straight up to Schmittenhöhe. To reach the Kitzsteinhorn in Kaprun, there's the new 3K gondola linking Kaprun town centre with the glacier via Maiskogel, or you can take the ski bus between the two.
Yes, the lake often freezes over during cold winters, offering the chance to skate and even curl right on the ice. It's a unique Alpine experience to skate with mountain panoramas all around you. Whether the lake freezes varies from year to year depending on the temperature.
The Ski Alpin Card extends the skiing from Zell am See-Kaprun's local 138 km to a full 400 km of pistes, including Saalbach-Hinterglemm and Leogang. This gives enormous variety and the chance to explore several world-class ski areas during the same holiday.
