Getting Around Zell am See
Zell am See is a lakeside town first and a ski resort second. The old town sits on a peninsula on the west shore of Lake Zell, the Schmittenhöhe cable car starts just above it, and Schüttdorf stretches south along the valley. Thumersbach is on the opposite shore, and the road to it runs round the lake, so an address that reads Zell am See can be the town centre or the far side of the water.
Arriving by train is easy. The station is in the town centre, with direct trains from Salzburg, Innsbruck, Germany and Switzerland. For a hotel in the old town that can mean a short walk; for Thumersbach, Schüttdorf or a chalet up towards the Schmitten, it means a car. Give us the train and its arrival time and the car is booked to meet it.
During the week the skiing spreads out. The Ski ALPIN CARD puts the Schmittenhöhe, the Kitzsteinhorn glacier above Kaprun and the Skicircus Saalbach on one ticket, with Kaprun about 8 km away and Saalbach-Hinterglemm about 20. Booked by the hour, one chauffeur and one vehicle stay with you for the time you reserve, for a dinner in Kaprun or Saalbach and the drive home to the lake.
Some visitors come for the agenda, not the piste. The Ferry Porsche Congress Center has up to eight halls and room for 1,200, and it stands by the pedestrian zone, about 550 m from the station. Whoever runs the event can put every transfer into one account, while each delegate travels with their own car and confirmation, from the speakers off the Salzburg flight to the board arriving from Munich.
The centre around it is a pedestrian zone, so send the full address with your booking, and the confirmation will tell you where the car can stop.
Airport Transfers to Zell am See
Salzburg is the obvious airport for Zell am See: about 90 km, an hour and a quarter or a little more. Munich, at about 200 km and two and a half hours or more, is the one to pick when its flights suit you better. Innsbruck is about 150 km away, roughly two hours by road.
From Salzburg there are two ways in, the A10 Tauern motorway round to the south or the B311 west through Lofer and Saalfelden. Traffic from Munich comes down the German A8 and joins the Lofer road. From Innsbruck the A12 runs to Wörgl, and the route then crosses into the Pinzgau on the B178 and B161. However you start, the last part is the B311 along the valley, which every arrival shares on a winter Saturday.
When you book, add the flight number: your chauffeur checks the flight status and times the pickup to when you actually land, and your booking confirmation shows where to meet the chauffeur. For the flight home, you set the pickup time yourself, and the confirmation shows it.
Long-Distance & Cross-Border Travel from Zell am See
Zell am See is a good place to break a longer trip. Salzburg is about 90 km away, close enough for a city day mid-week or the final night before your flight. Kitzbühel is about 54 km west over the Pass Thurn, and a week at the lake pairs well with a few days there. Kaprun and Saalbach-Hinterglemm are closer still, but with a week's luggage even a short move is easier as one booking, from one hotel to the next.
Munich is about 200 km to the north, and beyond Lofer the road crosses into Bavaria. For many visitors Germany is where the trip starts or finishes anyway. A journey there is booked like any other: one chauffeur and one vehicle from pickup to drop-off, with no change at the border. Germany is in Schengen, but it currently runs temporary checks on its border with Austria, so each passenger should carry the travel documents their nationality and itinerary require.
Groups, Ski Equipment & Winter Travel in Zell am See
Zell am See fills with groups in both seasons: ski clubs and families in winter, and in summer whole teams arriving for IRONMAN 70.3 and the Spartan Race, with bike boxes in place of ski bags. Either way the luggage decides the vehicle. A Sprinter van carries up to 12 people with their bags, and bigger groups go by coach, with up to 56 seats. Let us know about the bikes, boards and bags as well as the headcount, and the vehicle is matched to the load. If the team lands on separate flights, every arrival gets a transfer of its own.
In winter the southern route drops out: the Grossglockner High Alpine Road closes for the season, so every arrival comes from the north, east or west. Austrian law requires winter tyres from 1 November to 15 April whenever roads are wintry, and buses are fitted with them for the whole season regardless of the weather.
The dates to fix early are the Christmas and New Year fortnight and every winter Saturday, when local vehicles and drivers are booked up early. If the plan is bigger than one booking, such as a whole team with bikes arriving on one day, speak to support and they will put the arrangement together.
