Travel to Austria

Flying to Austria

 Austrian Airlines (www.aua.com) is the country's main airline. Other airlines flying to Austria from the UK include British Airways (www.ba.com), easyJet (www.easyjet.com) and germanwings (www.germanwings.com) and Lufthansa (www.lufthansa.com).

Major airports are: Innsbruck Airport, Salzburg Airport, Vienna International Airport, Blue Danube Airport Linz and Graz Airport.

Airport Guides

Flight times

From London: to Innsbruck - 2 hours; Salzburg - 2 hours; Vienna - 2 hours 10 minutes.

From New York to Vienna - 8 hours 25 minutes.

Departure tax

None.

Travelling to Austria by Rail

Österreichische Bundesbahnen (ÖBB) (Austrian Federal Railways) (tel: +43 51 717; www.oebb.at) operates a wide network of trains throughout and beyond Austria. International connections from Vienna include direct trains to Bratislava, Prague and Zurich. 

Eurostar (tel: 03432 186 186, in the UK only or +44 1233 617 575; www.eurostar.com) operates direct high-speed trains from London (St Pancras International) to Brussels (Midi/Zuid). From Brussels, you can take a high-speed ICE train to Frankfurt and a second ICE train from Frankfurt to Vienna.

Rail passes

InterRail: offers unlimited first- or second-class travel in up to 30 European countries for European residents of over six months with two pass options. The Global Pass allows travel for 15 days, 22 days, one month, five days in 10 days or 10 days in 22 days across all countries. The One-Country Pass offers travel for three, four, six or eight days in one month in any of the countries except Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro. Travel is not allowed in the passenger's country of residence. Reductions are available for travellers under 27. Children under 12 are free when travelling with an adult using an Adult Pass. Supplements are required for some high-speed services, seat reservations and couchettes. Discounts are offered on Eurostar and some ferry routes. Available from Voyages-sncf.com (tel: +44 844 848 5848, in the UK; www.voyages-sncf.com) and InterRail (www.interrail.eu or tel: +44 844 248 2481 www.myinterrail.co.uk).

Eurailpass: offers unlimited train travel in up to 28 European countries. Tickets are valid for 15 days, 21 days, one month, two months, three months, five days in 10 days, 10 days in two months or 15 days in two months. The Global Pass allows travel across all participating countries. The Select Pass is valid in four bordering countries. The Regional Pass lets you travel in two bordering countries. The One Country Pass offers travel in one of 28 countries. Adult passes are valid for first-class travel, while youth passes (travellers aged 12 to 27) are valid for second-class travel. Children under 12 are free when accompanied by an adult using an Adult Pass. The passes cannot be sold to EU citizens or residents. Available from Eurail (www.eurail.com).

Driving to Austria

The Channel Tunnel: Eurotunnel (tel: +44 8443 353 535, in the UK; www.eurotunnel.com) runs shuttle trains for cars, bicycles, motorcycles, coaches, minibuses, caravans, camper vans and other vehicles over 1.85m (6.07ft) between Folkestone in Kent, with direct road access from the M20, and Calais, with links to the A16/A26 motorway (Exit 13). All road vehicles are carried through the tunnel in shuttle trains running between the two terminals. The journey takes about 35 minutes from platform to platform and around one hour from motorway to motorway. There are up to four passenger shuttles per hour at peak times, 24 hours per day and services run every day of the year.

Car ferry: There are regular ferry services across the English Channel. The quickest and most practical route from London to Vienna is via the Dover-Calais ferry (crossing time - 1 hour 30 minutes). The distance by road is approximately 1,600km (1,000 miles). It is one day's drive in summer, but can take longer in winter. Munich is 4-5 hours from Vienna; Milan and Zurich are a good day's drive.

Getting to Austria by boat

Cruise ships

The German operator Wurm und Köck (tel: +43 732 783 607; www.donauschiffahrt.at) offers both passenger services and cruises to Linz. Evening and music cruises are available in the summer.

Ferry operators

DDSG-Blue Danube Schiffahrt (www.ddsg-blue-danube.at) operates fast passenger services on the Danube from Bratislava (Slovakia; journey time - 1 hour 15 minutes).

Brandner (www.ms-austria.at) concentrates its services between Melk and Krems.