Ischgl ski pass 2026/27: new prices for the Silvretta Arena and the Paznaun valley
€83. That is what a day pass in Ischgl costs, for the first time in its history. Only two seasons ago the €80 mark was seen in the Alps as a psychological barrier, yet the Silvretta Arena clears it without hesitation. The Paznaun valley published its price list for the 2026/27 season unusually early, in midsummer. I went through it carefully and found changes that genuinely affect how you plan a trip. Prices are once again rising faster than inflation, but they are not the biggest surprise here. I have known the Paznaun for years, from Ischgl to See, so alongside the price tables I add a few conclusions from my own trips.
The Silvretta Arena and the Paznaun valley at a glance
A quick reminder of how things stand in the valley. I have skied all four resorts here, and each one is a different story. At the heart of the region is the Silvretta Arena, a cross-border area linking Tyrolean Ischgl with duty-free Samnaun in Switzerland. Skiers have 239 km of pistes here spread between Idalp, the Palinkopf (2,864 m) and Alp Trida, plus 46 lifts. The vast majority of the pistes lie above 2,000 m, which is why Ischgl is one of the most snow-sure big resorts in Austria.
Higher up the valley lies Galtür with the Silvapark area (approx. 40 km of pistes), the highest and quietest village in the region. A good choice for those who find the bustle of Ischgl tiring. Between Ischgl and the mouth of the valley there are also Kappl, with some of the most interesting freeride terrain in Tyrol, and the small, family-friendly See. In my experience it is the most underrated corner of the valley. Kappl and See sell a joint ski pass as Skischaukel Kappl & See, and all four resorts are covered by the Silvretta ticket and the Paznaun-Samnaun season pass.
Ischgl ski pass 2026/27: above-average price rises
The key figures are as follows. An adult day pass costs €83, compared with €79 last season, a rise of 5.1%. A child's ticket is €51. An afternoon pass from 12:30 costs €72, and a "taster" pass from 14:00 costs €44.
Things get more interesting with multi-day passes, which are what Ischgl's business is built on. The six-day VIP ski pass (Ischgl/Samnaun) goes up from €359 to €385, a hefty 7.2%. The six-day Silvretta ticket for the whole valley rises from €425 to €451 (+6.1%). Seven days on the VIP pass cost €427, fourteen cost €675. The resort has clearly raised the prices of holiday-length passes more than day tickets. Yet it is precisely holiday-length passes that a typical guest coming for a week buys.
| Pass (adult) | 2025/26 | 2026/27 | change |
| 1 day Ischgl/Samnaun | 79 € | 83 € | +5,1% |
| 6 days VIP | 359 € | 385 € | +7,2% |
| 6 days VIP, START/FIRN offer | 298 € | 325 € | +9,1% |
| 6 days Silvretta (whole valley) | 425 € | 451 € | +6,1% |
| 14 days VIP | 640 € | 675 € | +5,5% |
The VIP Ischgl/Samnaun season pass costs €1,069 (senior 965, child 590). The Paznaun-Samnaun season pass, valid on all 75 lifts in the valley, costs €1,205 (senior 1,085, child 660). With 6 days at €385, the VIP season pass pays for itself after about 17 days of skiing.
Ski pass prices in Galtür, Kappl and See
The price lists of the smaller resorts in the valley look completely different, and this is worth remembering, especially when planning a family trip. A day at Silvapark Galtür costs €58.50 in high season and €55.50 in low season. Children pay €34.50, seniors aged 65+ €50.50, and skiers over eighty ski for a token €10 a day.
A day on the joint Kappl & See ski pass costs €73 (child €47). On top of that there is a weekend bonus: a child up to the age of 17 skiing with a paying parent gets a pass for €30. The Galtür season pass costs €837, Kappl & See €875.
One caveat. The resorts state honestly that the published prices are a calculation from July 2026 and may still change slightly before sales begin.
Season dates: from late November to early May
The Silvretta Arena opens on 26 November 2026 and will run until 2 May 2027. That is 158 days, more than five months of uninterrupted skiing and traditionally one of the longest seasons in Austria outside the glaciers. Galtür opens a week later, on 4 December 2026, and closes on 11 April 2027. Kappl and See start on 11 December 2026 and end their season on 4 April 2027. In practice, in early December and after Easter, Ischgl is the only option in the valley, which has long been one of its strengths.
When is the Ischgl ski pass cheaper? START, FIRN and one important change
Ischgl keeps two promotional periods. START covers the beginning of the season, from 26 November to 18 December 2026, and FIRN the spring finale from 3 April to 2 May 2027. In both periods the six-day VIP pass costs €325 instead of €385, and the five-day pass €308 instead of €350. The saving therefore reaches 15%.
Now for an interesting detail. The published price list for 2026/27 no longer includes the January POWDER offer, which last season (10 to 24 January) cut the price of a six-day pass to €329. If this holds, January in Ischgl will be charged at the full rate for the first time in years. And yet the period after the Christmas holidays was traditionally the time for a cheaper trip. The neighbours have not dropped their offers. Galtür has announced Powder Days from 9 to 23 January 2027 (low-season prices apply), as well as a "1+1" deal for the season opening (4 to 19 December: one person pays, the second skis free) and a spring 4+1 days free formula. Kappl and See, for their part, are tempting skiers with "ski 4 days, pay for 3" in the opening, January and spring periods.
VIP or Silvretta ski pass? The price lists explained
The Silvretta Arena's two parallel tariffs have needed explaining for years, because the price difference is considerable: €66 on a six-day pass. The VIP ski pass is a tariff only for guests staying in Ischgl or Mathon, available only on presentation of a guest card. It covers the 46 lifts of the Silvretta Arena and has one more important bonus: children under 10 ski free with a parent.
Anyone can buy the Silvretta ski pass, including skiers staying in Kappl, Galtür, See or on the Swiss side, and day visitors. It is more expensive, but it covers all 75 lifts in the valley. So on a single pass you can take in freeride Kappl or the quiet Silvapark. The age limit for free skiing for children is lower here, at 8.
The practical conclusion is obvious. If you are planning a whole week only in the Silvretta Arena and staying in Ischgl, there is nothing to think about, because VIP is cheaper by a double-digit percentage. If you like variety or are looking for cheaper accommodation elsewhere in the valley, work out the Silvretta option. You can also combine them: a base in Kappl or Galtür, local passes on the spot and a day trip to Ischgl on a single ticket.
Seniors (65+) in Ischgl only get a discount on passes of four days or more, and pay the full rate for day tickets. In Galtür and Kappl/See the senior tariff applies from a single day.
What is new on the Silvretta Arena pistes
The 2026/27 season will be another stage in the Silvretta Arena's biggest investment programme in years. This summer the Höllkar C2 eight-seater chairlift is being built at Idalp, the third and last of a €50 million package of new lifts, after Höllboden C1 and Sassgalun C3, which opened a year earlier. The Twinliner is also undergoing a thorough upgrade, and on the Swiss side construction is under way on the new Laretbahn, which will open in November 2027. We described these investments in detail a few days ago in the article Investments in Ischgl-Samnaun: what is already running and what is still being built..
Is it worth it? Summary
The Paznaun remains a region with one of the most interesting offers in the Alps: a five-month season, reliable snow above 2,000 m and four resorts of different character in one valley. But you have to pay more and more for this completeness. After rises of around 5 to 7%, a six-day ski pass for a 2+2 family (children aged 10 to 16) on the VIP tariff now costs more than €1,230.
Financially, the most sensible options remain two windows: the first three weeks of the season with the START tariff and April with the FIRN tariff. I have been to Ischgl at different times of the winter and I think spring is the most underrated time to go. The high-altitude pistes hold their condition right to the end, and the slopes get noticeably quieter. If, on the other hand, budget comes first, it is worth looking further up the valley. A day in Galtür costs almost €25 less than in Ischgl, and the January Powder Days or the weekend €30 child pass in Kappl are offers that are hard to ignore.
Jacek Ciszak / skionline.pl