Obergurgl from Innsbruck Airport

The route

The drive first follows the Inntal motorway west to the Haiming/Ötztal exit, then the main road up the Ötztal, through Oetz, Umhausen and Längenfeld, home to one of Tyrol’s best-known thermal spas, to Sölden.

Beyond Sölden comes the part that makes this route special. At Zwieselstein, still part of Sölden, the valley splits. To the right is the mountaineering village and ski area of Vent. About 9 km south-west of it as the crow flies is the Hauslabjoch, where the glacier mummy “Ötzi” was found in 1991. Straight on, the road leads to Gurgl and splits again there: right to Obergurgl, where it ends at the edge of the village, and left up the hairpins to Hochgurgl and on to the Timmelsjoch, which is always closed in winter.

The section from Sölden to Obergurgl needs particular care in winter. It is generally open all year, but can be closed for short periods in extreme winter weather. That calls for well-equipped vehicles and trained drivers who know this road.

Our vehicles carry full winter equipment for the whole season, not just when Austria’s conditional winter tyre rule requires it.

We drive you to your accommodation, not just to the edge of the village.

Private transfer vs. public transport

The private transfer runs straight from the arrivals hall to your accommodation, whatever time you land, with no changes and no hauling gear and luggage between trains and buses.

The fixed price is per vehicle, not per person: two people pay the same as seven, gear and luggage included. The longer the route, the further it comes in below the cost of individual public transport tickets.

By public transport Obergurgl is one of the hardest places in the Ötztal to reach. From the airport you first take a bus into Innsbruck to the main or west station, then a train to Ötztal station and a regional bus up the whole valley to Sölden, where you change again. All in all it adds up to several hours.

In the evening it gets tight: the buses stop running earlier than the last flights arrive, and if you land late in Innsbruck you may not reach Obergurgl by public transport the same day.

With ski gear, children and a day of flying behind you, the private transfer makes this route much easier. The fixed price is per vehicle, not per person: whether two or seven people travel with their gear and luggage makes no difference to the price. On a route this far up the Ötztal, that adds up.

When you travel

Thanks to their altitude, Obergurgl and Hochgurgl have one of the longest and most snow-sure seasons in Tyrol. Skiing usually starts in mid to late November and runs into May, much longer than in lower ski areas.

That shifts the travel season too. When other resorts close in April, guests are still arriving and leaving here, and in November Obergurgl and Hochgurgl are among the places already open. We drive the route throughout.

Arrivals and departures are mostly on Saturday. Traffic in Oetz then regularly grinds almost to a halt, as there is only one road through the village, and it backs up again in Sölden for the same reason. There are no alternative routes, so we plan the journey time generously.

Night arrivals cost the same fixed price as daytime ones.

Arrival and meeting point

Your driver will be waiting in the arrivals hall with a name sign. Before you travel we send you the vehicle’s make, model and registration, along with your driver’s name and phone number.

Give us your flight number when you book and we will track your flight in real time. Delays, diversions and early landings are handled automatically. We wait 60 minutes free of charge after landing, which covers passport control and baggage reclaim.

Innsbruck Airport is small and the walk is short. There is usually less than half an hour between landing and setting off, though it can take longer when it is busy.

Please switch off flight mode on your mobile phone once you land, so we can reach you.

The return journey: Obergurgl to Innsbruck Airport

The return journey also has a fixed price, just like the outbound. We collect you from your departure address. You are welcome to book the return when you book your outbound transfer, or at a later date.

We time the pickup so that you reach the terminal around two hours before your flight. Please take an early pickup time seriously and do not push it back: your driver knows the route, the traffic and the road conditions, and our aim is to get you to your flight without stress.

On this route we plan particularly generously on departure day. The hairpins down to Zwieselstein cannot be hurried in winter conditions, below them comes the Saturday traffic in the Ötztal, and Innsbruck Airport has winter departure peaks with queues at check-in. We set the pickup time earlier and agree it with you when you book.

Easily confused

Obergurgl and Hochgurgl are marketed together as the Gurgl ski area. This page covers Obergurgl. Hochgurgl is about 4 km further on and 185 m higher, and is a separate destination with its own fixed price.