By James Whitfield · Last updated: September 2026 · 10 min read
In This Guide
- Quick Facts: the Sölden World Cup opener (2026)
- How do you get to the Sölden World Cup?
- Which airport is closest to Sölden?
- How much is a transfer to Sölden for race weekend?
- Can you drive up to the Rettenbach glacier on race day?
- Is there a train to Sölden?
- When should you arrive and leave?
- How much are Sölden World Cup tickets?
- Do you need winter tyres in late October?
- Compare Sölden transfers
- Frequently Asked Questions
The Sölden World Cup opener runs on 24 and 25 October 2026 on the Rettenbach glacier above Sölden in Austria's Ötztal. Fly into Innsbruck, 83 km and about 1h 20min from Sölden by road, where a private transfer costs from €180 per vehicle. Leave the car in the valley: every race ticket includes the World Cup shuttle from Sölden up to the finish.
This guide covers the airports that work for the weekend, what the transfer costs by group size, how the glacier shuttle runs and when it stops, the train and bus alternative, and the timings that decide when to land and when to book your pickup home.
Quick Facts: the Sölden World Cup opener (2026)
| Question | Short answer |
|---|---|
| Dates | Saturday 24 October 2026, women's giant slalom; Sunday 25 October 2026, men's giant slalom |
| Run times | 1st run 10:00, 2nd run 13:00, both days |
| Venue | Rettenbach glacier, finish at 2,670 m, above Sölden in the Ötztal, Tyrol |
| Nearest airport | Innsbruck (INN), 83 km, about 1h 20min by road |
| Private transfer | From €180 per vehicle from Innsbruck, from €260 from Munich, one way |
| To the finish | World Cup shuttle from Sölden, included in every ticket, about 07:45 to 13:00 |
| Parking | Free at all Bergbahnen Sölden car parks for the weekend |
| Day ticket | €30 online, €35 at the cash desk; children born 2021 or later free |
Sources: soelden.com event, programme, ticket and arrival pages, 2026; TransferBnB route pages, September 2026.
How do you get to the Sölden World Cup?
By road to Sölden, then by shuttle to the glacier.
Sölden sits 1,368 m up the Ötztal, a long side valley that leaves the Inn motorway at Haiming and climbs south for about 35 km of single-carriageway road. There's no railway in the valley and no second way in from the north. Whatever you arrive on, the last stretch into Sölden is the B186 Ötztalstrasse.
The race itself is higher again. The finish of the World Cup slope is at 2,670 m on the Rettenbach glacier, and the organiser strongly recommends leaving your car in Sölden and riding the World Cup shuttle bus up. The shuttle is included in every ticket and free for anyone holding a valid ski pass.
So the trip is two legs: airport to your hotel in Sölden, and hotel to the glacier on the shuttle. The first leg is where a private transfer earns its fare, because it ends at the door of the hotel you'll be walking out of at 07:45 on race morning.
Which airport is closest to Sölden?
Innsbruck, by more than two hours.
| Airport | Distance to Sölden | Drive time | Private transfer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Innsbruck (INN) | 83 km | About 1h 20min | From €180 per vehicle |
| Bolzano (BZO) | 206 km | About 2h 30min | Quote on request |
| Munich (MUC) | 231 km | About 3h 15min | From €260 per vehicle |
| Salzburg (SZG) | 263 km | About 3h | Quote on request |
| Zurich (ZRH) | 281 km | About 3h 30min | Quote on request |
Pick by the flight you can actually get, then read across. Innsbruck is the only airport where the transfer is shorter than the average film, and the whole drive stays inside Tyrol with no border.
Innsbruck is the default. The route runs west on the A12 to Haiming and then up the Ötztal, about 1h 20min door to door in normal traffic. Our Innsbruck Airport guide covers the terminal, the taxi rank and the other valleys it serves.
Munich is the fallback with far more flights. It is 231 km and about 3h 15min, crossing into Austria at Kufstein before the same A12 and the same valley road. Plan around the organiser's 3h 15min rather than a motorway estimate, because the last 35 km up the Ötztal doesn't care how fast the A12 was. If you are weighing the three Tyrol gateways against each other, which airport for the Austrian Alps sets them side by side.
How much is a transfer to Sölden for race weekend?
From €180 per vehicle from Innsbruck and from €260 from Munich, one way.
| Vehicle | Seats | From Innsbruck | From Munich |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sedan | 1 to 3 | From €180 | From €260 |
| Estate | 1 to 4 | From €200 | From €290 |
| Minivan | 5 to 8 | From €250 | From €360 |
| Minibus | 8 to 16 | From €330 | From €490 |
Read the table by the size of your group, not the top row. The price is per vehicle, so a fan club of eight in a minivan from Innsbruck pays from €31.25 each, and the same eight from Munich pay from €45 each for a drive of over three hours to the door.
Those are indicative starting prices from the live route pages. The final figure comes from carrier offers for your date, and the World Cup weekend is one of the busiest in the valley's autumn, so the earlier you ask, the more offers you'll have to choose from. Most carriers include the Austrian motorway vignette for the A12.
Can you drive up to the Rettenbach glacier on race day?
You're asked not to.
The organiser's advice is plain: leave the car in one of the free car parks in Sölden and take the World Cup shuttle to the finish. Parking is free all weekend at every Bergbahnen Sölden car park, including the Giggijoch garage with 500 spaces and the Gaislachkogl garage with 350 plus 50 more outside.
The shuttle has three stops in the valley:
- Giggijochbahn - shuttle stop only, no ticket sales.
- Sparkasse - sells admission tickets.
- Gaislachkoglbahn - sells tickets, and the only valley stop the shuttle returns to after 13:00.
Buses run on Saturday and Sunday from about 07:45 until 13:00, as demand requires. From 13:00 the return shuttles go only to Gaislachkogl, and a separate shuttle connects the other valley stops from there.
That last detail decides where your driver should wait.
Is there a train to Sölden?
No. Sölden has no railway station.
The nearest station is Ötztal-Bahnhof at the mouth of the valley, about an hour by train from Innsbruck and about three hours from Munich with a change. From there a public bus climbs to Sölden every half hour, and on 24 and 25 October a valid World Cup ticket makes bus 320 from Ötztal-Bahnhof to Sölden free. For two people with small bags and a whole day, that's a sensible, cheap way in, and we won't pretend otherwise.
The catch is the arithmetic from the airport. From Innsbruck Airport it means getting to the main station first, an hour on the train, then roughly 1h 10min on the valley bus, with every bag carried through two changes. The transfer does the same trip in about 1h 20min, in one vehicle, to the hotel door.
When should you arrive and leave?
Arrive Friday, leave Sunday after the second run.
Land at Innsbruck at midday on Friday 23 October and you're in Sölden by mid-afternoon, with time to find your shuttle stop before the World Cup party opens at 17:30 at the Giggijoch valley station and the women's bib draw at 18:30. Saturday morning is then a walk to the shuttle.
Land at 07:00 on Saturday and you can still make it, but only just. The first run starts at 10:00, the transfer takes about 1h 20min, and the shuttle queue on the busiest morning of the valley's autumn is not something to plan a margin around.
Going home is the part most people get wrong. The second run starts at 13:00, and from 13:00 the shuttles come down only to Gaislachkogl. Book your Sunday pickup at the Gaislachkoglbahn valley station, not at your hotel on the other side of the village, and give it an hour after the last racer crosses the line for the award ceremony and the crowd.
From Gaislachkogl, Innsbruck Airport is about 1h 20min away. For a Sunday flight home, that's an evening departure, not an afternoon one.
How much are Sölden World Cup tickets?
€30 for an adult day ticket online, €35 at the cash desk.
| Ticket | Online | Cash desk |
|---|---|---|
| Day ticket, adult | €30 | €35 |
| Day ticket, youth (born 2011 to 2020) | €15 | €20 |
| Two-day ticket, adult | €51 | €56 |
| Two-day ticket, youth | €26 | €31 |
| Children born 2021 or later | Free | Free |
Buy online and save €5 a head. Every ticket includes the shuttle from Sölden to the glacier and back, and anyone with a valid ski pass, including the Tirol Regio Card and the Tirol Snow Card, gets in free to the standing areas. VIP packages run from €106 to €362 per person. Prices and categories are on the organiser's ticket page.
Do you need winter tyres in late October?
Not by law, but the glacier doesn't read the calendar.
Austria's winter tyre rule applies from 1 November to 15 April, whenever the road has snow, slush or ice. The race weekend falls a week before it. At 1,368 m in Sölden, and far higher at the glacier car parks, late October can already bring snow on the road. A carrier who drives the Ötztal every week knows this and plans for it. A hire car collected in Munich may not be fitted for it, which is one more reason to leave the driving to someone who does this road for a living.
Compare Sölden transfers
Picture it: the flight lands at Innsbruck, the driver is at arrivals with your name, the ski bags go in the back, and an hour and twenty minutes later you're at the hotel with the Friday party still ahead of you. On Sunday the same car waits at Gaislachkogl while everyone else queues for the valley bus.
Enter your dates and group size on the Innsbruck Airport to Sölden or Munich Airport to Sölden route page, compare offers from verified carriers, and book the return leg at the same time. The Sölden to Innsbruck Airport page covers the trip home.
Staying on for the season? The World Cup comes back to the Ötztal four weeks later, with the Obergurgl-Hochgurgl slaloms on 21 and 22 November 2026, and Innsbruck Airport to Obergurgl runs from €195. For the rest of the Alpine season, our guide to ski transfers across the Alps covers every gateway airport, and the SnowVerdict Sölden page covers the snow itself.
AI-generated images.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the Sölden World Cup 2026?
The Sölden World Cup opener is on Saturday 24 October 2026 for the women's giant slalom and Sunday 25 October 2026 for the men's giant slalom, on the Rettenbach glacier. Both days have a first run at 10:00 and a second run at 13:00, with a side programme in the village from Friday 23 October. The organiser notes that the programme can change with the weather.
What is the nearest airport to Sölden?
Innsbruck Airport is the nearest, 83 km and about 1h 20min by road, with no border on the way. Munich is 231 km and about 3h 15min, Salzburg 263 km and about 3h, and Zurich 281 km and about 3h 30min. A private transfer from Innsbruck to Sölden costs from €180 per vehicle, one way.
How much is a transfer from Innsbruck Airport to Sölden?
From €180 for a sedan carrying up to three, €200 for an estate up to four, €250 for a minivan up to eight and €330 for a minibus, one way per vehicle, in 2026. A full minivan works out at €31.25 a head. The drive is about 83 km and 1h 20min door to door, and the final price comes from carrier offers for your date.
Can you drive to the Rettenbach glacier for the race?
The organiser strongly recommends against it. Park free at any Bergbahnen Sölden car park in the valley and take the World Cup shuttle bus, which runs from about 07:45 to 13:00 on Saturday and Sunday and is included in every ticket. After 13:00 the return shuttles go only to the Gaislachkogl valley station, so that is the best place to be collected for the trip home.
Is there a train to Sölden?
No. Sölden has no railway station. The nearest is Ötztal-Bahnhof at the mouth of the valley, about an hour by train from Innsbruck, then a public bus to Sölden that runs every half hour and takes roughly 1h 10min. On race days a World Cup ticket makes bus 320 free. From the airport, a private transfer covers the whole trip in about 1h 20min with no changes and your bags loaded for you.
How much are tickets for the Sölden World Cup?
An adult day ticket is €30 online or €35 at the cash desk, and a two-day ticket is €51 online. Youth tickets for those born 2011 to 2020 are €15 a day online, and children born 2021 or later go free. Every ticket includes the shuttle bus between Sölden and the glacier, and valid ski pass holders enter the standing areas free.
Where should I get picked up after the race?
At the Gaislachkoglbahn valley station in Sölden. From 13:00, when the second run starts, the World Cup shuttles come down only to Gaislachkogl, so a driver waiting there saves you a second shuttle across the village. Allow an hour after the race for the award ceremony and the crowd, then about 1h 20min to Innsbruck Airport.
Sources and Data
- soelden.com, AUDI FIS Ski World Cup Opening - dates, spectator and athlete numbers, 2026.
- soelden.com, programme - run times, bib draws, parties, 2026.
- soelden.com, World Cup slope - start and finish altitude, 2026.
- soelden.com, tickets and prices - ticket categories, prices and inclusions, 2026.
- soelden.com, getting here and parking - car parks, shuttle stops and hours, bus 320, 2026.
- soelden.com, arriving by plane - airport distances and drive times, 2026.
- soelden.com, arriving by train - Ötztal-Bahnhof, train times and the valley bus, 2026.
- ÖAMTC, Winterreifenpflicht in Österreich - the 1 November to 15 April situational winter tyre obligation, checked September 2026.
- TransferBnB route pages, Innsbruck Airport and Munich Airport to Sölden - vehicle prices and drive times, September 2026.