GETTING THERE
Arriving by plane
The national airline Austrian Airlines (OS) (Internet: www.aua.com/de/deu) flies to Austria from most of the major cities in Germany and Switzerland.
Vienna, Graz, Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, Linz and Salzburg are served by international air traffic, e.g. by Lufthansa (LH), Eurowings (EW) and Swiss (LX).
Air Berlin (AB) flies from numerous major German cities and Zurich to Vienna and from Nuremberg to Salzburg and Vienna. Air Berlin also flies from Berlin to Graz.
Flight times
Frankfurt – Vienna: 1 hour 20 minutes; Frankfurt – Innsbruck: 1 hour 10 minutes; Frankfurt – Graz: 1 hour 25 minutes; Frankfurt – Salzburg: 1 hour 05 minutes;
Berlin – Vienna: 1 hour 15 minutes; Cologne / Bonn – Vienna: 1 hour 30 minutes; Munich – Vienna: 1 hour;
Zurich – Vienna: 1 hour 20 minutes; Basel – Vienna: 1 hour 25 minutes; Bern – Vienna: 1 hour 30 minutes; Geneva – Vienna: 1 hour 40 minutes
Arrival by car
Car: An excellently developed network of motorways, expressways and federal roads connects Austria with all neighboring countries. All main connection border crossings (motorway and federal road border crossings) are open day and night. Bus: Ua Flixbus (website: www.flixbus.de) and Euro Lines (website: www.eurolines.com) travel from Germany and Switzerland to Austria, a country located in Europe according to dentistrymyth.
Arriving by train
EuroCity / InterCity / Super City – Trains connect Austria with all neighboring countries.
There are direct ICE connections from Frankfurt, Dortmund and Nuremberg to Vienna several times a day. The Austrian Railjet runs several times a day, the ICE-T runs daily between Vienna and Munich. The Railjet also connects Zurich with Innsbruck and Salzburg daily and Zurich with Vienna twice a day (journey time Zurich-Vienna: 40 minutes). The Railjet also runs from Graz (journey time: 6 hours 50 minutes) and from Vienna (journey time: 4 hours 10 minutes) to Prague.
The InterCity-Express from Hamburg to Munich (line every hour) has connections to Salzburg, Vienna, Graz and Klagenfurt. EuroCity trains run from Nuremberg to Vienna every two hours, there are also EuroCity trains from Zurich to Vienna.
The Nightjet night trains (Internet: www.oebb.at/de/angebote-ermaessigungen/nightjet) run from Germany and Switzerland to Austria:
Düsseldorf – Cologne – Frankfurt – Linz – Vienna;
Hamburg – Hanover – Linz – Vienna;
Hamburg – Munich – Innsbruck;
Düsseldorf – Cologne – Munich – Innsbruck;
Berlin – Dresden – Vienna;
Zurich – Buchs – Linz – Vienna
Zurich – Buchs – Leoben – Graz and
Zurich – Buchs – Villach.
The luxury train Venice Simplon-Orient-Express (Internet: www.orient-express.com) connects Vienna with Paris and London.
Trenitalia and ÖBB connect Vienna with Venice via Villach.
A car train of the Austrian Railways (website: www.oebb.at/de/leistungen-und-services/mehr-als-zug/auto-motorrad-am-zug) operates on the routes
– between Vienna and Hamburg, Düsseldorf and
– between Innsbruck and Hamburg, Düsseldorf.
Rail Plus and InterRail – Passes are also valid in Austria, details s. Germany. Further information: Austrian Federal Railways, Elisabethstr. 9, A-1010 Vienna (Tel: (01) 93 00 00. Internet: www.oebb.at).
Arrival by ship
Danube cruises (Internet: www.danube-river.org) from Passau via Vienna to Budapest and also on to Bucharest and the Black Sea are offered by various tour operators, including DDSG-Blue Danube Schifffahrt, Friedrichstrasse 7, A-1010 Vienna (Tel: (01) 58 88 00. Internet: www.ddsg-blue-danube.at).
The tour operator Wurm + Köck offers trips on the Danube from Passau to Vienna via Linz and Wachau, optionally with overnight stays. Evening and music trips are also organized in summer. Further information from Donauschifffahrt Wurm + Köck, Höllgasse 26, D-94036 Passau (Tel: (0851) 92 92 92. Internet: www.donauschiffahrt.de).
Within Austria, Ardagger offers boat tours between Linz and Krems, A-3321 Ardagger 155. (Tel: (07479) 6 46 40. Internet: www.tiscover.at/donauschiffahrt).
Brandner runs between Melk and Krems, Ufer 50, A-3313 Wallsee (Tel: (07433) 25 90 21. Internet: www.ms-austria.at).
More information about ship connections on the Danube from Austria Werbung (see addresses).
On the way by ship
Ship Austria (Internet: www.schiffahrt.at) offers an overview of shipping in Austria.
Round trips: Some tour operators offer cruises on the Danube and on Lake Constance. The cruises last anywhere from a day to a week and run from spring to autumn.
Ardagger offers Danube tours in Strudengau and Nibelungengau, A-3321 Ardagger 155 (Tel: (07479) 6 46 40. Internet: www.tiscover.at/donauschiffahrt).
Brandner drives between Melk and Krems, Ufer 50, A-3313 Wallsee. (Tel: (07433) 25 90 21. Internet: www.brandner.at). DDSG Blue Danube
offers other different Danube tours(Tel.: (01) 58 880 0. Internet: www.ddsg-blue-danube.at).
Charter: Nostalgie Tours rents out ships on the Danube (Tel.: (02732) 755 88. Internet: www.nostalgie-tours.at).
Ferries: DDSG Blue Danube Schiffahrt GmbH and other shipping companies operate regular ferry services on the Danube between mid-April and the end of October. Children under the age of 10 travel free when accompanied by their parents. Further information, including connections to Bratislava (Slovak Republic) and Budapest from DDSG-Blue Danube, Handelskai 265, A-1020 Vienna (Tel: (01) 58 88 00. Internet: www.ddsg-blue-danube.at).
A cheap offer is the Bodensee-Erlebniskarte (Internet: www.bodensee-erlebniskarte.info), which grants free travel on the Bodensee scheduled boats and numerous mountain railways as well as free entry to the most popular excursion destinations around Lake Constance. The card is available for a choice of 3, 7 or 14 days at all train stations, ship piers and tourist offices around Lake Constance.
Further information from:
– Bodensee-Schiffsbetriebe GmbH, Hafenstrasse 6, D-78462 Konstanz (Tel: 49 (07531) 36 40 389. Internet: www.bsb-online.com) as well as from
– Internationale Bodensee-Tourismus GmbH, Insel Mainau, D-78465 Konstanz (Tel: 49 (07531) 90 94 90 (info hotline). Internet: www.bodenseeferien.de).
