Driving to St. Anton and Lech: the Arlberg tunnel toll, the pass and the Flexen road
Do I have to pay the Arlberg tunnel toll to drive to St. Anton or Lech?
Only if you drive through the tunnel, and neither resort makes you. ASFINAG charges its section toll on the S16 between the St. Anton am Arlberg and Langen am Arlberg junctions, so a car coming up from Landeck reaches St. Anton before the toll begins. Lech and Zürs are reached over the Flexen road from the Arlberg pass, which no tunnel toll touches. The vignette is owed on the S16 up to the toll section, as St. Anton's tourist office points out.
From the east, St. Anton comes before the toll
ASFINAG puts the Arlberg section toll between the St. Anton am Arlberg junction and the Langen am Arlberg junction, which is the tunnel and its approaches. St. Anton's own junction is the eastern end of it, so the charge starts after you would have turned off.
Both of St. Anton's eastern routes, through Kufstein and Innsbruck or from Munich over the Fernpass, end in Landeck and continue on the S16. The resort says plainly that the vignette is obligatory on all Austrian motorways and expressways, the S16 included.
That makes the eastern approach a vignette question and nothing else. A 10-day Austrian vignette dated from the outward drive covers the A12 and the S16 in both directions for a normal week.
From the west, the pass road is the way round the toll
St. Anton's western routes, from Stuttgart through Bregenz or from Zurich through Feldkirch, reach Bludenz and then offer the Arlbergpass or the Arlbergtunnel. The tunnel is the toll section. The pass is the L197 through St. Christoph, a Land road that neither ASFINAG product applies to.
The tunnel is the dependable choice, and ASFINAG calls it the only connection between Tyrol and Vorarlberg that does not depend on the weather. It reopened on 22 November 2024 after the closures of 2015, 2017, 2023 and 2024, and ASFINAG described that as the last closure lasting months for the medium term.
On a clear day the pass saves the toll; in a snowstorm it may not be open at all. St. Anton publishes a road condition report for the L197 between St. Anton and St. Christoph, so read it before choosing and pay for the tunnel when the pass is not an option.
Lech and Zürs are over the Flexen, never through the tunnel
Lech Zürs says its villages are reached on the Flexen Pass Road, the L198, through the historic Flexen galleries to Zürs and on to Lech. The Flexen road climbs from the Arlberg pass road on the Vorarlberg side, so neither the eastern nor the western approach needs to pass through the tunnel to reach it.
The resort adds two winter warnings. The road from Warth to Lech generally stays closed in winter, so the summer approach through the Bregenzerwald and over the Hochtannberg is not a way in. And winter equipment is required on the Arlberg Pass, on top of the national rule that makes winter tyres compulsory in wintry conditions from 1 November to 15 April.
Take the Arlberg pass road to the Flexen turn, not the tunnel, and put chains in the boot whatever the forecast says. The equipment law in full is on what a car needs for an Austrian ski trip.
Oberlech is car-free, and Lech's car parks do the rest
Oberlech is car-free from December to April. Guests arriving for it leave the car in the underground car park at the Oberlech cable car below the Lechwelten and ride up.
The Anger garage in Lech holds around 600 cars, opens round the clock and takes no cash. The Schlosskopf day car park next to the lifts is free for anyone whose paid ski pass is used the same day and charges a daily fee otherwise, and the Trittkopf day car park in Zürs is free.
Settle with your accommodation which of these it expects you to use, and have a card ready for the barrier.