Transport

Rail travel

The Austrian national rail network Österreichische Bundesbahnen operates with business, first-class and economy (second) class categories. ÖBB claims punctuality rates above 95%. Electrical outlet access to each pair of seats are offered on most of the mainline services (Railjet, Intercity-Express, Intercity and Eurocity). Wi-fi is accessible on some trains. ÖBB’s Scotty trip planner is the most useful timetable tool. For the privately operated WestBAHN and RegioJet services see below.

Trains

Railjet: RJ and RJX (express) trains run at up to 230km/h using high-speed, airconditioned carriages with general wi-fi access (including an online movie, news and TV portal), restaurant and bistro cars and power outlets serving all seats. Recently built trains are equipped with English screen readouts and stop announcements when approaching stations.

Vienna-Salzburg Railjet services, running twice each hour, take about 2½ hours. Vienna-Graz links run almost hourly, taking just over 2½ hours. 

Railjet trains also run to Vienna’s airport and link Vienna with Innsbruck (hourly between 5.30am and 7.30pm, 4¼ hours), Prague/Praha (4½ hours), Budapest (at least hourly, 2¼ hours), Venice (twice daily, 7¼ hours) and Zürich (five times daily, about 8 hours). Vienna-Munich/München trains (about 4 hours) run every two hours between 6.30am and 6.30pm. Salzburg-Munich trains (about 90 minutes) run most hours between 7am and 9pm, alternating with slightly slower EC services. Railjet trains also connect Vienna and Brno (about 90 minutes) several times daily.

Intercity-Express: In cooperation with Deutsche Bahn, high-speed, airconditioned ICE trains with restaurant and bistro cars and access to wi-fi and power outlets. Trains capable of up to 230km/h run to and from Germany via Linz and Passau or Salzburg and Munich. First and second-class travel is offered with on-boars restaurants. Vienna-Linz-Nuremberg-Berlin-Hamburg, Vienna-Linz-Salzburg-Munich-Stuttgart-Mannheim, Cologne and Brussels, Innsbruck-Munich-Stuttgart-Mannheim-Frankfurt-Berlin and Klagenfurt-Salzburg-Munich-Frankfurt. Vienna-Münich trains (every two hours between 6.30am and 10pm) take about 4 hours and Vienna-Frankfurt trains (five times daily) 6-7 hours.

Eurocity: EC express trains are for cross-border first or second-class travel and made up of airconditioned carriages with restaurant and bistro cars. Some six-seat compartment cars are still in service, including compartments for sole women travellers and suitable for small children. 

Intercity: IC trains are for long-distance express first or second-class travel, using airconditioned trains with power-outlet access. Some six-seat compartment cars are still in service. These include compartments for sole women travellers and small children.

Wiesel: These double-deck commuter trains run on eastern lines and into Vienna.

REX: Regional express second-class trains connect smaller cities and towns and run occasional services between larger centres but do not stop at all stations. There are also hourly REX trains between Vienna and Bratislava Hlavna Stanica (just over one hour). 

Cityjet & CJX: These airconditioned second-class trains, equipped with wi-fi, are used on short routes. Cityjet trains have wide picture windows that enhance the travel experience in Austria’s striking landscapes. Fast double-deck Cityjet trains are on order.

R: Regional second-class trains stop at all stations and provide the basis of local rail connections. The smallest regional and local trains have stops that are by request only. Passengers need to hail such trains from the platform to board. To request a stop, press the button on the door.

S-Bahn: These networks vary in character by region. Some trains, following the conventional pattern, operate in and around big cities or connect population centres up to about 90 minutes apart. There are 10 lines operating in Vienna and nearby areas, connecting St Pölten and across the Hungarian border to Győr/Raab. But several regional lines operate in Oberösterreich (including a commuter link between Linz and Salzburg) and Tirol, and a network of 11 lines in Steiermark converges on Graz. Regional S-Bahn links also serve the western state Vorarlberg and operate in border areas. Most are privately operated, though integrated in the ÖBB network.

Overnight trains

Nightjet: ÖBB trains have been prominent in restoring night sleeper trains to European rail travel in the past decade. Airconditioning and power outlets are standard and some offer wi-fi access.

Nightjet services connect Vienna with Florence (11 hours), Rome (nightly, about 14 hours), Verona, Milan (12½ hours), Venice (nightly, about 11 hours) and Bologna in Italy, Zurich (twice nightly, between nine and 10¾ hours) and Basel in Switzerland, and Amsterdam (about 14 hours), Paris (three times a week, 14½ hours) and Utrecht. The Vienna-Salzburg-Munich-Stuttgart-Mannheim-Cologne-Brussels service (14¼ hours) runs three times a week. Nightjet trains also run between Vienna and Berlin (about 10 hours), Frankfurt (7½ hours) and Hamburg, Cologne and Munich. 

Couchettes: Compartments for four or six, including women-only compartments, are available. There are also single mini-cabins that can connect with an adjacent cabin. Visit the Nightjet couchette page for details.

Sleepers: Single, double and triple compartments plus comfort compartments, all with shower and toilet, are available. Visit the Nightjet sleeper car page for details.

EuroNight: EN trains, in concert with other national rail networks, interconnect Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Czechia, Poland, Slovenia, Hungary and Croatia. Not all trains run nightly and at all times of year. Long advance bookings might apply. More details are at the ÖBB Euronight page.

Slovenia, Croatia, Germany & Switzerland: In partnership with the Croatian rail network HŽPP, overnight trains connect Vienna with Split via Zagreb (14¼ hours) most weeks from May to September, Salzburg with Zagreb via Villach and Ljubljana (8½ hours), Salzburg and Rijeka via Villach and Ljubljana (9 hours). These trains also run to and from Stuttgart. A Vienna-Split service (12¼ hours) runs via Graz and Maribor most weeks between May and October. A nightly Innsbruck-Zagreb service (9¾ hours) runs via Villach and Ljubljana, connecting with Zürich to the west.

Czechia & Switzerland: A Prague/Prag/Praha-Zürich service (14 hours) runs nightly via Feldkirch, Innsbruck and České Budějovice in cooperation with the Czech operator ČD. Bookings are available until 60 days before departure.

Poland & Germany: Warsaw-Munich trains (20¼-21½ hours) run via Kraków, Ostrava, Vienna, Linz and Salzburg.  

Hungary, Germany & Switzerland: Nightly Budapest-Stuttgart services (about 18 hours) run via Vienna, Linz and Salzburg. A similar Budapest-Zürich service runs run via Vienna, Linz, Salzburg and Innsbruck. 

Comfort classes

For full services offered in all classes check the ÖBB tables.

First class: First-class seats on Railjet, ICE, IC and EC, and Eurocity trains include more leg room and adjustable seats, as well as individual power outlets on most train types. First-class ticket holders also have access to ÖBB lounges at stations.

Business class: This class of tickets costs €15 more than first-class tickets and is available on Railjet and some Eurocity trains. 

Economy (second) class: Wi-fi is available only on Railjet and ICE trains. Bistro car access is available on all but Intercity trains.

ÖBB rail tickets

A range of ticket types is available for planned or flexible journeys. Child tickets are for passengers up to 6 years old. Seat reservations on trains within Austria (€3 each) are available for most trains and advisable on mainline express trains.

ÖBB Standard-Ticket: these flexible tickets are valid for up to two days (one day only on regional journeys) for a chosen route. 

ÖBB Sparschiene: These saver tickets have the lowest cost, limited and bookable using only the ÖBB App or ÖBB Ticketshop for a planned departure up to six months ahead. These tickets are also available for destinations outside Austria and night services but cannot be reimbursed and are not transferable.

ÖBB Komfort-Ticket: These tickets are for a planned departure on night trains and include the reservation and breakfast booking for couchette or sleeper passengers. There is a 50% cancellation cost after 15 days before the day of travel. A Sparschiene Komfort-Ticket is also available.

Einfach-Raus-Ticket: Group ticket for two (€36) to five (€45) people on a regional group a specified day for R, CJX, REX und S-Bahn trains.

Rail passes

Eurail and Interrail one-country Flexi Passes valid in Austria also cover Liechtenstein. Select passes for two, three or four countries (excepting Benelux passes) are no longer offered. Prices are given in euro, although Eurail Passes are available on the Eurail-Interrail website in US, Canadian and Australian dollars. 

Travellers are advised to book seats for mainline express trains, especially in first class.

Adult second-class passes for three days’ travel within a month cost €153, four days within a month €182, five days within a month €207, six days within a month €229 and eight days within a month €271.

The full range of Austria Flexi Pass prices in euro is below:

Bus travel 

Austrian buses are secondary to the excellent rail service but come into their own in mountainous areas and for short hops.

Postbus: ÖBB’s Postbus runs about 800 routes in Austria and is especially important as a regional connection where rail lines do not reach. Journeys can be planned using the Busse option in ÖBB’s Scotty trip planner. Rail passes are not accepted.

Intercitybus: ÖBB’s Intercitybus runs hourly between Graz and Klagenfurt via Wolfsberg (2 hours), offering first and second-class seats. ÖBB tickets are valid.

FlixBus: The operator of Europe’s largest bus network connects Vienna and Graz with international destinations. There are several Vienna stops: Erdberg/VIB international bus station (where there is an office), Wien Hauptbahnhof, Westbahnhof, Flughafen Wien, Karlsplatz and Matzleinsdorferplatz.

Direct buses run between Vienna and Munich/München (5½-6½ hours), Passau (3¾-4 hours), Regensburg (5¼ to 5¾ hours), Prague/Praha (4¼ hours), Brno (3 hours), Bratislava (1½ hours), Kraków  (6½ to 7½ hours), Győr/Raab (1½ to 1¾ hours), Budapest (3¼ hours), Ljubljana (about 5 hours), Maribor (3-3½ hours), Zagreb (5¼ hours) and Trieste (6½-7 hours). For Venice, change in Ljubljana.

FlixBus is less helpful with Austrian internal connections. Direct Vienna-Graz buses (2-2½ hours) run several times daily but Vienna-Bregenz, Vienna-Dornbirn and Vienna-Innsbruck services require a change of bus in Munich and Vienna connections with Klagenfurt and Villach require a change in Ljubljana in Slovenia. FlixBus sells WestBAHN tickets for connections with Linz, Salzburg and Wels.

RegioJet: Brno-based Regiojet-Student Agency buses cover a central European international network converging on Prague, especially tightly in Czechia, Slovakia, southern Poland and Croatia. There are also services into Ukraine. Vienna stops include Wien Hauptbahnhof (where there is an office), Westbahnhof, Flughafen Wien, Meidling and Stadlau.

Vienna direct buses include Bratislava (10 times daily, 1½ hours), Brno (seven times daily, 2 hours), Prague (six times daily, 4½-4¾ hours), 

For České Budějovice, Břeclav, Olomouc and Ostrava, change in Brno. For Budapest, change in Bratislava. For Berlin and Dresden, change in Prague.

River travel

Cruises by Donauschifffahrt Wurm & Noé connect Passau, on the German side of the Austrian border, with Linz in high season (late Apr-early Oct Th-Su, €29/14.50). The Linz cruise has a €31/15.50 day return fare with a €39/19.50 bus or train return option and links with services to Vienna.

Ship companies also offer services between Vienna and Bratislava. River cruise companies offer inclusive tour packages.

Car & motorbike

Austrians drive on the right and the minimum driver age is 18. The speed limit for cars (up to 3.5 tonnes) and motorcycles in built-up areas is 50km/h (although designated areas may show 30km/h, such as narrow city streets or near schools).

Driver behaviour is generally courteous at pedestrian crossings, marked by white parallel bands. In school zones these often alternate with red.

Parking areas are designated by blue lines but these are for restricted times and rules vary between cities. Even within Vienna there are differences and prepaid Parkschein vouchers (unfortunately often referred to in English as “parking tickets” and available at Wiener Linien ticket machines, Trafik shops and other outlets) will often be required. In Vienna, motorbike and mopeds are exempt. A summary is at the Wien.info website.

Outside built-up areas or on dual carriageways the limit is 100km/h. The limit for motorways is 130km/h. For vehicles with trailers (classes B or BE) there are varied limits of 70 or 80km/h outside built-up areas or on motorways.
For so-called city cars, motor scooters and mopeds, the limit is 45km/h in or beyond built-up areas.

Seatbelts are compulsory for drivers and passengers. The legal blood alcohol concentration limit in Austria is 0.5 milligrams of alcohol per millilitre. Motorcyclists should ride with a dimmed headlight in daylight. Winter tyres should be fitted from November to mid-April and chains are compulsory in some areas during the snow season. A road rules summary is at the Austria.info website and full details are at Oesterreich.gv.at.

Traffic on Austrian motorways (Autobahnen) and expressways (designated by S-numbers) is regulated by tolls. Drivers and motorcyclists must display a toll sticker, known as a vignette, clearly inside the windscreen of a car or designated part of a motorcycle, or buy a digital vignette before driving on motorways and S-roads.
Additional tolls apply to six motorway sections (see below).

Vignette stickers are available at border posts, post offices, newsagent-tobacconists and petrol stations, as well as some outlets neighbouring countries. For cars rented in Europe, drivers should obtain a vignette from the rental agency.

Online vignettes are available at the ASFiNAG website or i-Vignette, where there is further information, or the ASFiNAG app.
There are separate categories for vehicles under and over 3.5 tonnes. The heavier category, including most mobile homes, require purchase of the GO-Box.
Vignettes for cars up to 3.5 tonnes or motorcycles are valid for calendar years in differing colours. At 2024 rates, the cost for a full year (up to 13 months) is €96.40/38.50, two months €28.90/11.50, 10 days €11.50/4.60 or one day (digital only) €8.60/3.40. Failure to display vignettes lead to spot fines of €120 or more.

Additional motorway tolls: Further tolls are payable for traffic on the A9 Gleinalm and/or Bosruck tunnel, A10 Tauern-Katschberg motorway, A11 Karawanken tunnel, A13 Brenner Pass motorway and S16 Arlberg expressway. For single trips, these passes range from €7.80 to €13.50. For more information, or to buy online passes, visit the ASFiNAG toll page.

Petrol & emissions: Average prices in Austria at the end of 2023 were €1.48 a litre for 95 octane, €1.59 for diesel and €1.36 for LPG. No emissions stickers were required for passenger vehicles in Austria in 2023.

Charging stations: There are more than 17,000 Austrian public charging stations. A charging station list is online.

Road emergencies: The ÖAMTC deals with Austrian road and traffic emergencies. The hotline is 120. 

Bicycle 

Austria is one of those countries where cycling is among the leading forms of transport. Bike paths, both in urban settings and long-distance routes, are supported by government policy.

Vienna has about 1700km of marked routes and the level of bike usage is high.
Bike lines need to be taken seriously. They are often marked by a reddish-brown band, but sometimes this is green, or a white line marked by a bicycle symbol. In most places bike lanes are next to vehicular traffic, but in some places pedestrian might have to walk between. Pedestrians using a shared space should look behind before moving to one side.

The city's WienMobil Rad public bike-share rental system, using the Nextbike app, is part of the city's transit network.

Bicycles carried by rail should use marked carriages and require a separate ticket. They can be booked on ÖBB long-distance trains (at €3 online or €3.50 at ticket counters), but for regional trips carriage is dependent on space. Foldable bikes can travel as luggage.

Bike trails: River trails are especially popular and Austria has more than a dozen full or partial river routes. The ADFC organisation provides a list of approved Bett&Bike accommodation providers.
The most prominent route is the 380km Donauradweg from Passau on the German border to Bratislava, along the Danube through Vienna, Linz and the Wachau region, a flat route of mostly constructed trails. 

A 320km round tour of the Salzkammergut mountain and lake region starts and finishes in Salzburg, passing through outstanding natural landscapes, Gmunden, Bad Ischl and Hallstatt. There are some short highway sections with rail or bus alternatives, but also some slopes.

Air travel 

Austria has three passenger airports apart from Vienna. But Munich and Zürich, with good rail connections, also offer alternatives for long-distance passengers.

Vienna: Flughafen Vienna (VIE), near Schwechat south-east of the city, is linked to the city by several train services, including S-Bahn and regional trains and the fast City Airport Train service as well as buses. Bus links also operate with Bratislava, Brno and Budapest.

There are four terminals in Vienna: terminal 1, terminal 1A, terminal 2 and terminal 3. Terminal 1 gives access to gates B, C and D and terminal 3 gives access to gates F and G.

The airport recommends arriving two hours before departure for domestic flights and for international flights of up to six hours, or three hours for  international flights with a flight time of six hours or more (and for flights to Tel Aviv) or when using check-in desks.

Some boarding processes use buses.

Salzburg: SZG airport handles year-round direct flights to and from Amsterdam, Gatwick, Stansted, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Belgrade and Istanbul. Winter flights handle ski traffic from a range of European destinations and there is summer traffic to Mediterranean resorts. 

Graz: GRZ airport has direct connections with Dublin and UK centres, a range of small Mediterranean airports, Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin, Scandinavia, Helsinki and Warsaw.

Innsbruck: INN airport has daily flights to and from Vienna and all year there are links with Frankfurt and London. However much of the traffic is in winter and summer flights serve Mediterranean resorts.