If you're coming from south east, through Slovenia, apart from the above mentioned car-train, you can reach Bad Gastein by Tauern highway through the Katschberg and Tauern Tunels and Bischofshofen via Gastein Valley. In that case, first place you'll go through will be Dorfgestein which is connected to Grosart, making thus the second biggest resort in Gastein Valley. Then you will come to Bad Hofgastein and Bad Gastein is the next. Within the Bad Gastein there is a small ski resort called Sportgastein (they are not connected by ski runs though). Bad Gastein is well connected by free bus transport. Useful information for those who would like to reach Bad Gastein by public transport, rather than in their own car, is that Austrian railway passes through the city center.
The whole area of Gastein Valley (Gasteiner Tal) is a part of ski region named Ski Amande. It is the biggest ski region in Austria with ski runs total up to 860 km and 270 ski lifts. But don't count on long skiing routes unless you have a car at your disposal. Amongst Salzburger Sportwelt, Schladming – Dachstein Tauern, Hochkönigs Winterreich, Grosertal and Gastein, we opted for Gastein this time.
It is true that this ski resort has a lot to offer in every respect. Dozens of highly rated hotels, restaurants, pubs and posh stores are there to prove it. But there are some things that differ it from resorts such as St. Moritz of which it will remind you at first glance. Unlike St. Moritz, Bad is affordable to not so well-heeled people since there is still a big number of pubs, pizza bars and other places that will pass muster with them. The town is situated on the slopes of steep hills which provide exclusive and magnificent view from the windows of its hotels. To make the story more fairytale like, there is a river whose couple dozen meters high waterfall adorns the center of town.
Well known wellness centers are maybe the most recognizable sign of this resort's offer. To name some popular ones, let us mention Felsentherme in Bad Gastein and Alpen Therme in Bad Hofgastein. Although you will have to cough up €20 for entrance you will be pleasantly surprised with the offer. To prove it let us just mention some of the facilities: floor heating, amusement facilities, inner and outer pools complexes, many kinds of saunas etc.
Ski resort covers an altitude range between 857 and 2686 meters. 
Its lowest part is at the bottom of Bad Gastein ski train station while the very top is at Sportgestein. Thanks to six gondolas (one of which has 80 person capacity), ski train, and a great number of chair, anchor and button ski lifts, the flow of skiers is continuous and with no crowds, except at the main ski run intersections.
The thing which could pose problems is ski areas linking, that is, their non-linking. Although Bad Gastein and Bad Hofgastein are connected by ski runs and lifts, it is not the case with Sportgastein and Dorf Gastein, which for that reason seem somewhat isolated. Sportgastein, as the highest part of the ski resort will surely attract many a skier by the quality of its snow and somewhat less crowded runs, but by no means will attract skiers by its number of ski runs; skiers have at their disposal only six trails, connected by one gondola and one anchor lift. For this reason Dorfgastein seems more appealing; it is bigger.
Skiers and borders desirous of offpiste will find themselves satisfied here since the ski resort is positioned half way beneath and half above the tree line. The resort's orientation at almost three sides of the world and its lower, wooded part are its assets in cases of bad and windy weather. But the fact of which one surely has to be aware of when speaking of ski runs is the great number of ' linking blue trails' which substantially contribute to the total ski runs length and for whose conquest you'll have to have enviable skill in crosscountry. Be very careful about it! Amongst the trails worth mentioning there are connected red trails named H1, H2 and H2a at Bad Hofgestein. By descending along those three in a row you will made 1400 meters of altitude difference which is certainly a thing worth praising. Further on, there are excellent ski runs B11 and B20, which will satisfy you by both their length and configuration
The prices at the resort are moderately high, as it is the case with the majority of Austrian resorts. Important information for beginners; in the area of Bad Gastein there are a couple of ski schools, each of them having its training ground. One of them is situated at the bottom of Stubnerkogelbahn (which also offers a possibility of night skiing), and the other is at Angertal, half way between Bad Gastein and Bad Hofgastein.
To sum it all up; this is a ski resort with relatively big number of trails that have considerable length. Its offer and accommodation are excellent. But if you crave for partying and meeting young people after skiing, opt for some other place; most visitors are people belonging to the third age and foreigners – hedonists who wish to enjoy all the benefits of winter season along with the luxurious accommodation and if there is no sow, never mind, wintering is guaranteed anyway.
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