family travel guide
Grüß Gott! Welcome to one of Germany's most popular family resorts, Reit im Winkl.
Whether you're looking for a bit of training on the easy slopes or a crash course at a good ski school, this small but well-equipped resort is the place to be. And if you want a quiet family holiday in the mountains, Reit im Winkl is just as good.
Just an hour and a half's drive from Munich, you'll find yourself in a fairytale German village that makes you forget the hustle and bustle of the city.
Fresh air, organic food, beautiful scenery and cosy little cottages: Enjoy beauty and comfort from the moment you set foot in the resort. How do you choose when to take the kids to Reit im Winkl, and what do you do when you are not skiing? The answers to all these important questions can be found in this Kidpassage review.
The community of Reit im Winkl is a ski resort in southern Germany, in the state of Bavaria. It is part of the district of Upper Bavaria (Munich is the administrative centre). The distance from Reit im Winkl to Munich is 106 km, to Ruhpolding — 24 km, to Salzburg (Austria) — 75 km, to the ski resort Hochkössen (Austria) — 11 km.
The landscape of the Kimgau Alps, where Reit im Winkl is located, is peaceful: gentle mountains, dense forests, lakes, in summer — flowering meadows. There are no high mountains like in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, no steep cliffs or glaciers, but from December to March the slopes of the Alps are covered with fluffy snow, which means that ski lovers get their money's worth.
The Reit im Winkl ski area can be described in a nutshell: German-speaking, fabulously beautiful, ideal for beginners. But it also deserves a longer description.
For one thing, the resort lies at the crossroads of the Bavarian and Austrian Tyrol ski regions. This means there are hundreds of pistes of varying degrees of difficulty, and ski passes are available for ten German and Austrian resorts.
Secondly, the Reit im Winkl offers ideal conditions for children learning to ski: a separate learning area, lessons in the form of games, gentle slopes for real skiing. Thirdly, Reit im Winkl is also an ideal summer destination for children. This is the best time to travel with a toddler, as there are far fewer tourists than in winter.
The resort has a programme for pre-schoolers and schoolchildren, but why not change it to suit your tastes?
A brief list of nearby attractions: 5 amusement parks, 5 zoos, 2 water parks, 10 museums. Salzburg, about an hour's drive from Reit im Winkl, offers the lion's share of sightseeing.
Finally, you can relax with your child and forget the hustle and bustle of everyday life. The resort caters for families with young children, so the hotels are safe and comfortable for young guests. All guests receive a Reit im Winkl Inklusiv Card on arrival. The card entitles you to free parking, museums, swimming pools and sports facilities during your holiday in Reit im Winkl. The card also guarantees a discount on travel in the Kimgau region.
The ski season at Reit im Winkl is not particularly long. The lifts start operating at the start of winter, but the slopes do not get a good snow cover until the end of December.
It's the season opener at the Reit im Winkl, when skiers flock to the resort before Christmas. There are a lot of tourists until spring, but this does not lead to crowds on the slopes.
Until mid-March, the slopes are reliably snow-covered and a holiday with a child can be devoted entirely to skiing and other winter activities. After that, however, there can be weather surprises in the form of early warming and spring rains. By the beginning of April, skiers have nothing better to do in the mountains and the resort turns to summer holidays.
From May to October, the mountain village is visited by those who appreciate relaxation in nature, but do not want to do without comfort. The warm summer days can be used for relaxation, active hiking in the mountains or excursions.
With an infant, the Reit im Winkl, is a good time to holiday, especially during the warmer months when the resort is relatively sparsely populated. Experienced travellers also wonder when it's best to visit Reit im Winkl, to experience the local traditions.
Suffice it to say that the locals wear dirndls and lederhosen for everyday wear, there are festivals in between the festivals, and the village folk theatre puts on weekly shows that can be understood without a knowledge of German.
Reit im Winkl does not have a harsh climate. Winters are often snowy but not frosty; summers are warm and rainy; spring and autumn are cool and clear.
Cold weather arrives at the end of November. Night temperatures drop to 0°C, although thermometers show +5-6°C during the day. Snow starts to fall and by the beginning of winter there is enough snow for skiing.
During the peak season, snow cover reaches 110 cm in the Winklmoos Alm area and 170 cm in the Steinplatte area.
In December, temperatures drop below freezing, although they do not fall below -3-4°C. Snow falls frequently, renewing the surface of the slopes. The same weather continues into January, and from February the thermometer rises steadily above freezing during the day, although there is still a light frost at night.
If you're in the mood for some great skiing, the second half of winter and early spring are the best times to take the kids to Reit im Winkl .
The average temperature in March is +8°C. In bright sunshine, the snow cover in the mountains gradually diminishes, although the slopes are in good condition in the first half of March. In April the air warms up to +13°C, the snow melts and preparations for the summer season begin. From May to September the days are warm and the nights cold. Temperatures rise to +19-24°C during the day and drop to +7-12°C after sunset.
You can devote your summer holiday to hiking or sightseeing in Reit im Winkl , but be sure to bring rain gear and waterproof footwear as rainfall is common in the mountains. In October, it can get as cold as +14°C, with nighttime lows of +5°C. Despite the cooler temperatures, Reit im Winkl is a good place to visit in the first half of autumn, as it rains much less in September and October than in summer.
There are around 40 restaurants in Reit im Winkl. That should be enough information to keep you from being tied to the hotel diet. Many of the restaurants are decorated in a vernacular style and serve local specialities.
It must be said that the culinary traditions of the Chiemgau are somewhat different from those of Bavaria. For a taste of the local flavour, try Chiemgau trout with almonds and potato dumplings. There are several supermarkets in and around the village with a good range of products. It is a good idea to bring baby food.
The public transport system in Reit im Winkl is very simple: a ski bus takes skiers to the bottom lift station at Seegätterle, while a town bus connects the resort with the neighbouring villages of Entfelden, Großenbach and Blindau.
These buses are free for Reit im Winkl Inklusiv Card holders. The buses make about 10 stops along the way. You can check the timetable at the hotel or on the resort's website.
Intercity transport to Reit im Winkl is virtually non-existent. However, there are buses to Prien am Chiemsee and Ruhpolding. In summer and the first half of autumn there is a bus service called the Mozart Express between the resort and Salzburg. Tickets for children and adults on this bus cost €10.
If you're planning to hire a car, you won't need one to get around Reit im Winkl, but a car is handy for sightseeing. Parking is easy and there is a free 1,000 space car park at the Seegatterl, near the lower gondola station.
Adults who come to the resort for the skiing will ski all day and then dream of relaxing. Children don't spend as much time on the slopes and have lots of energy, so it's worth thinking ahead about what you can do for your child in Reit im Winkl. Winter is a great time to play outside. Children can make snowmen, build snow forts and go sledging.
If your child can ski, choose one of the easy trails for a family day on the mountain. On some trails, you don't even need skis; just hire snowshoes and take your child for a walk in the untouched snow. For the lazy, the resort organises tobogganing.
You can also visit the Austrian ice village Alpeniglu. This attraction is only open during the cold season: how else could the igloo huts and ice sculptures be preserved?
The family holiday options don't stop there. If you get bored of the cold and snow, you can hide out in the indoor pool, where the water is heated to +30-32°C. There's also a separate shallow pool for the little ones. Note that many hotels also have indoor and sometimes outdoor pools.
Yes, the list of attractions in this resort isn't exactly impressive, but the entertainment in neighbouring towns comes to the rescue. In the summer, for example, you can go to one of the amusement parks.
Marquartstein Park is just 15km from Reit im Winkl. Adults and children alike enjoy riding giant snails around the park, digging at the building site, taking lessons at the Witch School and petting animals at the Contact Zoo.
Children will also have a great time at the park in Ruhpolding. You don't have to choose between riding the rollercoaster, shooting arrows or working in a mine in search of a magic crystal: it's all included in the ticket price. The little ones can play in the children's room under the supervision of childminders.
There are several wonderful parks in Austria, an hour and a half drive from the resort:
The main skiing area in the Reit im Winkl is the Steinplatte plateau, most of which belongs to Austria (with the Austrian resort of Weidring on the opposite side).
"An 'amateur' area" with wide blue pistes and gentle slopes for children is called Winklmoos Alm.
There are 12 km of pistes and five lifts. However, extreme skiers won't have much of a choice — the area only has one black piste, run 8, which starts at the top of the Steinplatte. For a more varied and challenging skiing experience, head to the Austrian ski resort of Hochkössen, just 6 km from the resort, near the village of Kössen.
If your children can't ski yet, enrol them in one of the Reit im Winkl ski schools. The Steinplatte ski area is home to one of the world's best children's ski schools, run by Rosi Mittermeier, a three-time medallist at the 1976 Innsbruck Olympics.
The village itself has a special training area for young skiers, so you don't have to waste time and energy travelling to the village. Even if you are travelling to Reit im Winkl with a 3-4 year old child, there is room for them in the ski school. It should be noted that there are no slopes in Reit im Winkl; you will have to take a bus to the lifts. Free buses run to the bottom of the gondola at Seegätterle. There is also a ski bus from Ruhpolding.
| General season | early December to early April |
| Elevation difference |
|
|
Altitudes |
750 m – 1870 m |
| Ski slopes |
50 km — total |
| Ski lifts |
14 total, incl. |
| Ski routes | 90 km |
|
Funpark/Snowpark |
1 |
| The longest downhill run | 12 000 m (from Steinplatte to Seegatterl) |
| Interactive scheme of ski slopes and lifts | https://www.reitimwinkl.de/en/wintervacations/lift-prices-and-ski-area-map |
Ski pass prices at Reit im Winkl vary by season and area. High season is from 23 December to 16 March. Low season is from 8th December to 22nd December and from 17th March to 8th April.
Separate ski passes are available for the Winklmoosalm and Steinplatte ski areas.
The resort has recently merged with several ski resorts in Austria and a 3 Länder Freizeit-Arena ski pass is available for Winklmoosalm and 7 Austrian resorts.
A one-day ski pass at Winklmoosalm costs €32 in high season, a two-day ski pass costs €59.5 and a three-day ski pass costs €86. A ski pass for children aged 6-16 costs €16 for one day, €29.5 for two days and €42 for three days. Children under 6 ski for free if one of their parents has a valid ski pass.
A one-day adult ski pass costs €28.5 in the low season, a two-day ski pass costs €53.5, a three-day ski pass costs €77.5 and a child's ski pass costs €14.5, €26.5 and €37.5 respectively. A day ski pass at Winklmoosalm & Steinplatte costs €53 for an adult and €26.5 for a child in high season. In low season the price is €47.5 for an adult and €24 for a child.
Reit im Winkl has ski and snowboard rentals for children and adults, as well as boots and sleds. Rental prices depend on the level of equipment and the age of the skier.
A day's ski hire costs €20-40 for an adult, €14-20 for a child aged 13-15 and €8 for a child under 12, depending on the class. A set of skis, poles and boots can be hired for €27-46 for an adult, €17-33 for a child aged 13-15 and €11 for a child under 12.
A day's hire of a snowboard costs €20 for an adult and €14 for a child under 16. A snowboard and boot set costs €27 per day for an adult and €18 for a child. A sledge can be hired for €6 per day. Rental shops are located in Reit im Winkl itself and at the bottom of the Seegaterle lift.
In the warmer months, Reit im Winkl is a paradise, filled with the warmth of the sun and the scent of meadow grass. As the resort is designed with children in mind, activities and entertainment abound.
And to get the most out of your mountain holiday, the first thing to consider is walking.
For children between the ages of 3 and 8, there is a special leisure programme called "The forest snails", which includes trips to the forest. Among the things a child should take with them, the organisers mention a bag for surprising discoveries along the forest paths.
Older children have their own programme of walks, adventures and a visit to the rope park. If you want to relax with your children, choose one of the easy walks of 3 to 5 km. Some of the trails are suitable for strollers. Teenagers might enjoy a night walk with torches and a campfire.
Active families can enjoy the 5.6km Nordic Walking trail at Winklmoos-Alm, Germany's first Nordic Walking route. But a summer holiday in the Winkl doesn't have to be all about climbing. Sometimes a game of badminton, tennis, beach volleyball or mini golf is all that is needed. And children will always have the opportunity to expend their energy on the playgrounds.
On a sunny day you can spend time at the outdoor pool: swimming, going down the 100 metre slide, sunbathing on the equipped beach, playing beach volleyball. The large pool has three smaller pools and a children's playground.
You don't have to limit yourself to the pool — you can go to the... sea.
In Bavaria, Lake Chiemsee, also known as Lake Chiem, is called the sea — 30km from Reit im Winkl. It has everything: beaches, a water park, thermal baths, eco-trails, boat trips and even palaces and castles.
There are summer family holiday centres in the neighbouring Austrian resorts. Hallo Du in Ebbs has outdoor pools, waterslides, a landscaped beach, children's and sports areas and a skate park. Hallo Du is also open in winter with an outdoor ice rink and curling area.
The Kaiserbad in Elmau is also open all year round: in summer as an outdoor water park and in winter as an indoor pool with slides and an excellent children's entertainment area.
Children also love to go to the zoo. There are several places near Reit im Winkl where you can interact with the animals. The largest zoo is in Salzburg.
Its highlight is the safari area, which looks like a corner of the African savannah. The zoo in Ebbs is the most exotic: its inhabitants include the maned wolf, the Patagonian mara and the rhinoceros bird.
The wildest zoo is the wildlife park in Aurach, with animals from the Alps. The highest is in Innsbruck, where you have to take a cable car up the mountain. And the most prehistoric is the Triassic Park in Weidring: a journey into the earth's past, to explore and discover.
The first few days in Reit im Winkl with children are usually so eventful that there's no time to think about excursions. But the longer you stay, the more you will want to diversify your holiday — and there are plenty of opportunities.
For a start, there are three museums in the little town of Reit im Winkl. The Historical Museum is a typical early twentieth-century alpine hut, with reconstructed interiors and everyday objects. The Ski Museum shows a child the old equipment, not as technologically advanced as today. The Mineral Museum tells the story of the subsoil of the Alps and how salt and iron ore were mined in the Reit im Winkl.
You can learn more about salt mining on a tour of the Berchtesgaden Salt Mine, 60 km from the resort.
Then you can explore neighbouring towns in Germany and Austria for things to do with the kids. What can you do in and around Reit im Winkl?
Not far from the village, in Siegsdorf, is the Natural History and Mammoth Museum. Children will enjoy the Neanderthal Cave and the Stone Age Exhibition.
Ruhpolding is home to the Lumberjack Museum (Holzknecht Museum). The museum has special adventure trails for children.
A visit to the EFA Museum of German Automotive History will warm the hearts of German car enthusiasts. More than two hundred German cars are on display, including the first petrol-driven Daimler car, the BMW Isetta and sports cars from the early to mid-20th century.
A huge number of museums are concentrated in Salzburg. If you have young children, visit the Toy Museum: many of the items on display can be used as playthings.
Older children will enjoy a trip to the Haus der Natur (House of Nature) and Helbrunn Palace, where a unique stone theatre has been preserved. The whole family can enjoy a walk through the Ethnographic Open Air Museum.
The sights of Tyrol, from Kufstein Fortress to the Swarovski Museum in Innsbruck, are also well worth a visit. Adventurers will love the idea of a wagon ride through the corridors of the silver mine in Schwaz.
Reit im Winkl is a small, very compact resort with a main street around which most of the hotels, apartments and restaurants are concentrated. However, there is no accommodation right next to the lifts in the village. Therefore, it is not so important which area of Reit im Winkl you choose to stay in — it is more important to look at the service.
Here are the places to stay in Reit im Winkl with children.
Breakfast is usually included in the room price. Some hotels have rooms with kitchenettes. Some hotels offer a good quality children's menu.
The closest to the lifts are the apartments in Seegatterl, although there are still very few.
There are also hotels, apartments and guesthouses in the villages near the lifts. You can also stay in Unterbichle, Großenbach and Entfelden, where the ski bus picks up skiers in winter. There are several other ski resorts in the vicinity of Reit im Winkl in Austria. For skiing on the gentle slopes of the Chiemgau Alps, you can stay in Kössen, Hütte, Moserberg and Thurnbichl.
The nearest airports to Reit im Winkl are Salzburg (70 km) and Munich (140 km).
How to get to Reit im Winkl:
An individual transfer to Reit im Winkl can be booked on arrival or in advance.
One way to get to Reit im Winkl is to take the RVO bus no. 9505 from Prien am Chiemsee station. The timetable can be found on the operator's website: www.rvo-bus.de. There are also buses from Ruhpolding, Inzell, Schleching and Traunstein.
From late May to mid-October you can take the Mozart Express bus from Munich and Salzburg to Reit im Winkl. The timetable is published on the official Reit im Winkl website.
The nearest train station is Prin am Chiemsee (33 km). Trains from Munich to Prin am Kimsee run every half hour to an hour, and the journey takes about 1 hour. You can find timetables and buy tickets on the Deutsche Bahn website: https://www.bahn.de.
You can also get to Prin am Chiemsee by train from Austria; the timetable is available on the OBB website.
There are car hire companies at the airports. The Munich-Salzburg motorway (A-8) leads from Munich and Salzburg to Reit im Winkl. Take the Bernau exit (No. 106) and continue on the Deutsche Alpenstraße (B 305) to Reit im Winkl (27 km).
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