The ultimate guide for winter in Liechtenstein

The Prin­ci­pal­i­ty of Liecht­en­stein is the sixth small­est coun­try in the world. Despite its mod­est size, you shouldn’t under­es­ti­mate Switzerland’s neigh­bour. The hol­i­day resort boasts numer­ous high­lights. Hos­tel man­ag­er Isabelle shares her tips for your per­fect win­ter trip to Schaan-Vaduz Youth Hos­tel.

1. Your base for great adventures

The mod­ern Schaan-Vaduz Youth Hos­tel opened its doors in April 2021. With a mix of dou­ble rooms, dor­mi­to­ries and fam­i­ly rooms, you too will find afford­able accom­mo­da­tion to suit your needs. In youth hos­tel style, the break­fast buf­fet is, of course, includ­ed. Option­al­ly, you can book a deli­cious three-course din­ner – so you don’t have to wor­ry about a thing.

With a game of «Töggele» (table foot­ball), the beau­ti­ful­ly fur­nished games room and the library, you’re sure to nev­er get bored. In the sun­shine, the out­door ter­race invites you to chill out, with views of the moun­tains, of course. And in the ski room, you can con­ve­nient­ly stow away your snow sports equip­ment.

2. Fun on the slopes in the Malbun ski resort

With pub­lic trans­port, it takes just 50 min­utes by bus to the fam­i­ly-friend­ly Mal­bun ski resort. There, 23 kilo­me­tres of slopes and five ski lifts await you. The prices are very attrac­tive and there are numer­ous tick­et options. Mal­bun is pop­u­lar with both advanced skiers and chil­dren. At Mal­bi Park Kinder­land, kids can get their first taste of ski­ing, while the Schneeflucht ski lift and the Täli slope are ide­al for chil­dren who already have some expe­ri­ence. If you like things more leisure­ly, you can also go win­ter hik­ing, sledg­ing or cross-coun­try ski­ing.

3. Try the local cuisine

Nev­er heard of «Käsknöpfle met Öpfel­muas»? Then off to the Prin­ci­pal­i­ty of Liecht­en­stein to try this typ­i­cal spe­cial­i­ty! The «Län­dle» offers plen­ty of culi­nary high­lights in its many restau­rants, bars and vine­yards. And if you feel like some­thing sweet while hav­ing fun on the slopes, be sure to treat your­self to a deli­cious apple strudel with vanil­la sauce at the Sareis moun­tain restau­rant. Trust me! 😉

4. From llama trekking to yoga in the snow

The var­ied win­ter weeks take place dur­ing the Christ­mas and sports hol­i­days. Dur­ing this time, there are spe­cial snow expe­ri­ences to enjoy for kids and adults alike. From yoga ses­sions in the midst of the win­try land­scape to win­ter hikes with cosy com­pan­ions. With this selec­tion, young and young-at-heart will undoubt­ed­ly find their favourite win­ter moment – and all for free!

PS: If you pre­fer high­er tem­per­a­tures, the sum­mer and autumn week pro­gramme invites you to expe­ri­ence some­thing out of the ordi­nary. 😉

5. What if the weather’s bad?

Don’t wor­ry if the weath­er god Petrus isn’t too kind with the weath­er dur­ing your stay. The Prin­ci­pal­i­ty of Liecht­en­stein offers a wealth of var­ied indoor expe­ri­ences. Dive into the Walser Muse­um and find out how immi­grants lived in the 13th cen­tu­ry. Art fans will be in their ele­ment at the Kun­st­mu­se­um Liecht­en­stein. Of course, a detour to the Liecht­en­stein Nation­al Muse­um is a must. Here, you will learn tons about the coun­try, and the hands-on wildlife area is per­fect for chil­dren. One main high­light is Waf­fle Sun­day, which takes place every sec­ond Sun­day in the museum’s cafe. Var­i­ous indoor swim­ming pools, a go-kart track and a cul­tur­al cen­tre are all part of the offer. Pro tip: The Liecht­en­stein Adven­ture Pass gives you access to a wide range of activ­i­ties – at a bar­gain price!

6. Get stamped

Make sure to add your pass­port to your pack­ing list for your vis­it to Liecht­en­stein! You don’t need it to enter the coun­try, but you can col­lect a stamp from the Liecht­en­stein Cen­tre in Vaduz for CHF 3 (free of charge with the Adven­ture Pass). Impress not only your friends, but also new trav­el acquain­tances in dis­tant coun­tries.

All about Isabelle:

Togeth­er with her hus­band Adri­an, Isabelle has been man­ag­ing Schaan-Vaduz Youth Hos­tel since it reopened in 2021. In her free time, you can find Isabelle on long walks along the Rhine or on the cross-coun­try ski trail in Steg. From Novem­ber to Jan­u­ary, the fam­i­ly and their two chil­dren enjoy tak­ing trips to the ice rink in Vaduz. In spring, they love vis­it­ing the out­door pool, which is just five min­utes from the youth hos­tel.