How to get to Vienna | Vienna Travel Guide

1. Was man wissen muss, bevor man nach Wien kommt
2. How to get to Vienna
3. Unterkünfte in Wien: die besten Möglichkeiten
4. Was es in Wien zu sehen gibt
5. Verkehrsmittel in Wien
6. Essen in Wien
7. Abends unterwegs in Wien
8. Wien und Umgebung: welche Städte man nicht verpassen darf

Since Vienna is in the heart of Europe, it is very easy to reach the Austrian capitol from different places. Effective ways to reach the city include not only flights, but also train connections or hitching a ride with Blablacar.

So let's go through the options one by one.

Vienna International Airport

This is the main airport, just 20 minutes from the city center. If you arrive at this airport there is no need to worry since you can reach the city center at any time of day or night without any problems. Additionally, this is the largest airport in Austria, which means that many people from other areas of the country come here to start their journey. If you are lucky a friend or relative can bring you to the airport, but that is obviously not always the case, especially as an Erasmus student.

Vienna International Airport

There are various means of transport that connect the city center and the airport. The most effective solution is probably the Schnellbahn (or S-Bahn), which is the cheapest and fastest option. But be careful! Don't confuse the Schnellbahn with the CAT (City Airport Train), which is just a rip-off for tourists. A ticket for the CAT costs 6€ and will bring you to U- and S-Bahn stop Wien Landstraße (where you can change trains to U3 and U4 among others) within 20 minutes. But taking the normal S-Bahn from the airport (usually S7, but there might also be other regional trains heading to the city center) will cost you no more than 2. 40€ (or 4. 40€ if you want to continue travelling throughout the whole city) and will bring you to the exact same station within 25 minutes. This also gives you the option off changing trains earlier, at Rennweg station to take other S-Bahn lines to the south or west districts of the city (e. g. Wien Hauptbahnhof U1, Wien Meidling U6). Overall, it is the much better option since you pay less than half and it will only take a couple minutes longer to take the normal Schnellbahn.

Alternatively, you can take a bus, of which there are several lines by the same provider. From bus terminal 4 you can catch the bus to Vienna International Center (in the northern part of the city), from terminal 6 you can go to Simmering (in the east), from number 7 to Westbahnhof (via Meidling - both of these are important train stations since they each connect a number of different lines of the public transportation system), number 8 to Schwedenplatz (city center) and number 9 to Donauzentrum (north). However, one ticket will cost you 8€ per trip or 13€ if you choose a return ticket. So these busses are convenient if your destination is very close to one of their destinations but they are much more expensive than taking a train (plus, you can also reach every one of these destinations by taking the train and changing to the U-Bahn).

You could also take a cab, but that is really not a good deal when it comes to reaching the city center since there are public transport connections to get there around the clock. If you have to go to a different city there are also some trains directly from the airport (to Linz in 1:43h and to Salzburg in 2:49h). If you are heading somewhere else, take the S-Bahn to the city center and change to a different train at one of the bigger stations (for example you can change trains at Rennweg (S7) to the opposite direction to get to the Hauptbahnhof or Meidling train station).

Sadly, Ryanair doesn't offer any flights to or from Vienna International Airport, but there are enough cheap airlines that provide connections to this airport. Check for affordable flights and special offers with Air Berlin (or the Austrian version FlyNiki), Germanwings or Austrian Airlines.

Bratislava Airport

You can also look for flights to Bratislava as an alternative, which isn't in Austria but still just an hour away from Vienna and thus is perfect if you can find a cheap Ryanair flight from your home airport. There is a bus that connects the airport to Vienna and costs you around 6€. The bus makes two stops in Vienna: At the Hauptbahnhof (U1, Schnellbahn) and at Erdberg (U3, not very central but easy to reach by U-Bahn). If you buy tickets in advance you might get them for 1€ on sale, but usually it's 7. 50€ for adults and 6. 50€ for those below 26 or above 60 years of age. So that's not quite as cheap as reaching the city from Vienna International Airport but the ride is fast and comfortable.

By Train

To reach Vienna by train for an affordable price, you don't even have to be travelling from one of the surrounding cities, since the ÖBB (the Austrian train company) frequently offers pretty cheap tickets in its "Sparschiene" category. You just need to check for these offers a little in advance, since they tend to sell out rather quickly.

The Sparschiene scheme doesn't only apply to big Austrian cities (tickets in all of Austria start at 9€), but also in other countries: Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Belgium, Denmark, Croatia, Luxemburg, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia. Most tickets in this category cost somewhere between 29-69€ (depending on travelling distance and train frequency), but as I said there is always only a limited number of tickets available. Definitely visit the website to check the current prices (you can find the link at the end of this article).

In case you choose this option, you will most likely end up at Hauptbahnhof (after you pass through Meidling), or at the Westbahnhof (the former in case you arrive from the south or the east, the latter if you arrive from the west, as the station's name suggests). No matter where you arrive, you have many options to get to your destination in Vienna. Here are all your traffic connections:

• Wien Hauptbahnhof: U1 (every 3-5min during the day, every 8min in the evening), S-Bahn (every 3min during the day), regional trains, tram lines D, O and 18, busses 13A and 69A.
• Bahnhof Wien Meidling: U6 (every 3-5min during the day, every 8min in the evening), S-Bahn (every 3min during the day), regional trains, tram line 62, Badner Bahn (from the opera house to Baden), busses 7A/B, 8A, 9A, 10A, 15A, 59A and 62A (reach most places in southern and western parts of Vienna)
• Wien Westbahnhof: U3, U6 (every 3-5min during the day, every 8min in the evening), S-Bahn (every 3min during the day), regional trains, tram lines 5, 9, 18, 52 and 58.

Travelling by train also has an additional advantage: you can carry as much luggage as you want, while flying is usually pretty restrictive in that respect.

By Car

As mentioned before, Vienna is located pretty conveniently which means that the city is also easy to reach by car. If you don't have your own car or simply don't want to bring it along on your city tour (if you're staying in the city that can get expensive since you have to pay for parking tickets everywhere), you should check out Blablacar to see whether you can get an affordable ride to Vienna.

Last but not least I've compiled a short list with some helpful links in case you want to take a closer look for yourself or book a ticket straight away:

• Website of Vienna International Airport
• Search for Train Connections with ÖBB
• Busses from the airport to the city center
• Website of Bratislava Airport
• Bus connections from Wien - Bratislava Airport
• ÖBB Sparschiene Europe

A city map of Vienna including the Airport and the three most important train stations.

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