SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser–Brixental with children – eight villages, one lift pass

SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser–Brixental is one of Austria's largest linked ski areas, but it rarely feels like it. Instead of one big ski town, you get eight small Tyrolean villages in a row along two valleys, with lifts up from almost every village and the Wilder Kaiser massif as a backdrop. It is exactly that combination that makes the area so good for families with children: lots of blue runs, short distances and a village to suit almost every family.

Here we sort out which village to choose, where the youngest learn to ski and how lift passes work for children. If you want to compare with other resorts in the country, see Austria's ski trips.

Eight villages, two sides of the mountain

SkiWelt has more than 275 kilometres of pistes and 81 lifts, and the area stretches from 620 metres up to just under 1,900 metres. In the middle stands Hohe Salve at 1,829 metres, and from the slopes you can see more than seventy peaks over 3,000 metres high.

The villages fall into two groups:

• The Wilder Kaiser side: Ellmau, Going, Scheffau and Söll lie in the valley south of the Wilder Kaiser. They are quiet villages with plenty of accommodation close to the lifts.
• The Brixental side: Itter, Hopfgarten, Westendorf and Brixen im Thale lie in the valley towards Kitzbühel. Hopfgarten has a railway station with a Railjet stop and goes straight up towards the Hohe Salve.

Everything is linked by lifts and pistes, and with the guest card you ride the ski bus between the villages for free. Westendorf and Brixen are closest to Kitzbühel, if you want to combine your trip with a day on the Hahnenkamm.

Which village suits your family?

Family	Best base	Why
Small children and beginners	Ellmau or Scheffau	Children's areas and kids' clubs by the lifts, quiet evenings
Children who want to do more than ski	Söll	Evening skiing, Hexenwasser, an ice rink and snow tubing
As quiet as it gets	Going or Itter	Small villages, a short walk to the lifts, hardly any nightlife
Without a car, by train	Hopfgarten	Railjet stop and a lift up towards the Hohe Salve
Combine with Kitzbühel	Westendorf or Brixen	Closest to KitzSki by ski bus

Ellmau is many families' first choice. The village has Ellmi’s Kids Club and BOBO’s Kinderland with practice slopes, and the Hartkaiserbahn takes you up to 1,550 metres. Scheffau is smaller and even quieter, with the KinderKaiserland children's ski school and the Schneepiraten childcare at Brandstadl.

Söll is the liveliest village on the Wilder Kaiser side, but lively here mostly means activities for children: an ice rink, a winter playground and Hexenwasser up on Hochsöll, where witches pop up on the slopes.

Children's areas and ski school

SkiWelt has 22 ski schools, all with a children's area. The youngest can have a go from the age of two: KinderKaiserland in Scheffau offers a 45-minute taster lesson with special skis that strap onto ordinary winter boots, so the child doesn't need ski boots the first time. Regular children's groups start from age three.

Childcare is available from around six months of age at several valley and mountain stations. The practice slopes are both in the valley and by the mountain stations, and several of them are free to use.

For children who can turn, there is the Hans im Glück children's run and fun parks in Söll, Ellmau and Westendorf. On the SkiMovie runs in Söll, Scheffau and Westendorf, your run is filmed so the children can watch themselves afterwards. See also our guide to ski trips with children for how to plan your days.

Lift passes for children – age groups for 2026/27

• Born in 2021 or later: ski free.
• Children's pass: born 2011–2020. The children's pass costs less than the adult pass, and it is cheaper to buy online in advance.
• Youth pass: born 2008–2010.

FamilySkiWeeks are the best tip of the season. Between 5 and 18 December 2026 and between 13 and 29 March 2027, children born 2011–2020 ski free on 3–14-day lift passes, as long as a parent or grandparent buys a lift pass. Ellmau stays open until 4 April, but normal low-season prices apply on the last few days.

The parent pass (Young Family Ski Pass) is a lift pass that two parents share and take turns using – one skis while the other stays with the youngest child. It applies to families with children up to age three, for 3–14-day passes.

Evening skiing in Söll

Söll has what SkiWelt calls Austria's largest night-skiing area, with around ten kilometres of floodlit pistes. In the 2026/27 season, evening skiing runs Wednesday to Saturday from 6.30 pm, between 25 December and 13 March. The pistes close between 5.30 and 6.30 pm for grooming.

Two things to know: evening skiing requires a separate evening pass, since day and week passes are not valid in the evening. And for younger children, an hour is often just right. A good plan is to rest after lunch and do a couple of runs under the floodlights before dinner.

If you want to do something else in the evening, Söll has the Mondrodelbahn sledging run up on Hochsöll and Hexenritt, and both Ellmau and Going (on the Astberg) have floodlit sledging runs.

Getting there from Sweden

• By air: Innsbruck is closest, about an hour away by car or transfer. Salzburg and Munich take around an hour and a half and often have more departures from Sweden.
• By train: Railjet trains stop in Hopfgarten, where the lift up towards the Hohe Salve starts close to the station, and in Wörgl, the nearest station for Söll, Scheffau and Ellmau. Buses run from there. How night trains and changes work is explained in train to the Alps – how it works.
• By car: Head for Kufstein and Wörgl, and don't forget the vignette for the Austrian motorways. Read more about the options in car, train or plane to the ski resort.

Good to know

• The season 2026/27 starts on 5 December. Ellmau has an extended season until 4 April 2027.
• Low altitude: the lowest parts of the area are at just over 600 metres. In December and late March it is the artificial snow that keeps the runs open, so ski down to the village early in the afternoon when it is warm.
• 80 family-owned huts dot the slopes, so a break is rarely far away.
• Early Bird: on Fridays and Saturdays between 12 February and 29 March 2027, the lifts open extra early in Westendorf and Brixen – a way to beat the queues during the Swedish winter sports break (sportlov).

If you like the idea of small villages and lots of blue runs but want higher altitude, compare with Ski Juwel Alpbachtal Wildschönau half an hour away or Saalbach Hinterglemm. Do not forget the ski trip packing list.