Both trips start in Kaprun, both cost half a day to a full day, and both take you well above the treeline. They are still two completely different days out. If you only have one of them, it is worth knowing which.<\/p>\n
The Mooserboden<\/strong> is water and engineering at 2,040 metres: two reservoirs, a 107-metre dam you can walk into, and an approach made of shuttle bus, inclined lift and connecting bus that is part of the experience in its own right.<\/p>\n The Kitzsteinhorn<\/strong> is glacier and altitude: a cable car to the Alpincenter at 2,450 metres and on to the Gipfelwelt 3000 at 3,029 metres, where there is snow in high summer and the view reaches the Grossglockner.<\/p>\n In short: the Mooserboden tells you a story, the Kitzsteinhorn hands you a view.<\/p>\n At the Mooserboden the destination is something you walk on. You cross the dam crest with turquoise water on one side and a drop on the other, you can be guided through the inside of the wall, and afterwards you can walk the loop around the lake – two to three hours, mostly easy. It is a place where you do<\/em> something.<\/p>\n At the Kitzsteinhorn the destination is a platform. The Gipfelwelt 3000 gives you viewing terraces, the National Park Gallery tunnel and the highest viewpoint in Salzburg reachable without any mountaineering. There is barely any walking up there – but you are standing at 3,029 metres, and that feels different from 2,040.<\/p>\n With children the logic often runs opposite to what parents expect: the Mooserboden, with its four changes of vehicle, its open inclined lift and its water, regularly beats the glacier for younger children, because something is happening the whole way up.<\/p>\n For the Kitzsteinhorn you drive to the valley station car park and step straight into the cable car. From the car park you are at the top in a little over half an hour.<\/p>\n For the Mooserboden you drive only as far as the Kesselfall Alpenhaus. After that the chain takes over: shuttle bus, L\u00e4rchwand inclined lift, connecting bus – around 45 minutes each way, plus queueing at the changes in high season. There and back that is an hour and a half of pure transport before you have seen anything at all.<\/p>\n The second and more important difference is the way back. At the Mooserboden the last ascent<\/strong> is considerably earlier than the last descent: arrive at the Kesselfall too late and you will not get up at all. Miss the last descent at the top and you are stranded at 2,040 metres. Plan those times backwards, not forwards. There is more detail in our guide to getting to the Kaprun reservoirs<\/a>.<\/p>\n The ascent to the Mooserboden is the cheaper of the two – though the guided dam tour is paid for separately and is not part of the ticket.<\/p>\nWater and engineering versus glacier and altitude<\/h2>\n
Time budget and access, honestly calculated<\/h2>\n
What the day costs<\/h2>\n