Krampus Run Zell am See: 2026 Dates Nearby and Family Advice

I'm Ursula Auer from Hotel Latini. Working in quality management, I am involved in all sorts of things at the hotel: sometimes at reception, sometimes in the office, and really wherever there is something to be done.

Hotel Latini is a four-star hotel in Zell am See-Schüttdorf, and the Salzburg Mobility Ticket is included for every guest: it covers public transport across the whole province of Salzburg.

Stay at Hotel Latini for Advent or Christmas: from 27 November the "Adventglück in Zell am See" package is 2 nights from €213 per person with breakfast, dinner and the Gold Spa. Over Christmas the "Weihnachten in Zell am See" package is 7 nights from 19 to 26 December, from €1,144 per person for two in a Standard Alpenrose double or from €973 per person for three in a Superior Enzian double, with a Christmas programme and a visit from Father Christmas on 24 December; shorter stays can be booked up to departure on 27 December. See the Christmas programme day by day. Only a few rooms are left for Christmas. Book Adventglück · Book the Christmas package

Krampus dates around Zell am See in 2026

The Thumersbacher Grabenteufel say they hold their own big Krampusrummel in the Thumersbacher Park every year on 4 December; they have not yet given a time for 2026.

For everything else at the Star Advent by the lake, and the rest of Advent in town, see our guide to Christmas in Zell am See. If you go to Kaprun for its Krampus run on 5 December, the Star Advent market at Kaprun Castle is open that day from 10 am to 6 pm; see our guide to the Kaprun Christmas market.

Is a Krampus run suitable for children?

Small children often find it frightening: SalzburgerLand's tourism board says the Krampuses give children goosebumps, though the Zell am See-Kaprun tourism board adds that they might look wild but won't do any harm. The same SalzburgerLand page says the masks are usually admired from a safe distance, and that teasing a Krampus is a traditional test of courage, especially in the Pinzgau: a teaser who is caught gets a swipe of the rod. Keep small children back, and don't tease the Krampuses.

Zell am See has an event just for children: at the Großer Kinderkrampusrummel in the Thumersbacher Park, 120 to 170 children join in as little Krampuses each year, the Thumersbacher Grabenteufel say. Children up to 14 are signed up on the club's page.

If your child scares easily, choose the St Nicholas boat instead: 60 minutes on the lake with St Nicholas and without Krampus, and children born in 2021 or later travel free (proof of age required).

For family rooms, the indoor pool and winter with children at the hotel, see family holidays at Hotel Latini.

Getting there and back without a car

The nearest bus stops, Schüttdorf ÖBB-Postbus Garage and Schüttdorf Areitbahn, are 5 and 8 minutes' walk from Hotel Latini, and Kitzsteinhornstraße, a stop on the Pinzgauer Lokalbahn, the local railway, is about 150 metres away. The last train from Zell am See leaves at 10.02 pm and reaches Kitzsteinhornstraße at 10.06 pm; it is a request stop, so press the button in good time.

Between Zell am See and Kaprun there is also a dedicated evening and night bus, depending on the season.

Before you set off, check your return time locally; the timetables are at reception.