Overland Travel to Vienna

The following sections aim to provide you with overland travel possibilities to Vienna as a back-up in case planes will not operate as planned. For those of you who are interested in car-pooling, the e-carpool.eu site is well set up, in multiple languages. Regarding train connections, the Vienna Convention Bureau generated a table with trains from various European cities.

 

Travel from the UK

Train or Train + Ferry

The Man in Seat 61 website is comprehensive and up-to-date, listing four different major paths one can take trains, and one for train plus ferry (via Harwich & Hoek van Holland), going from London to Vienna. The cost of a typical REFUNDABLE set of train tickets was on the order of £700 return (less for those under 26) from London to Vienna, taking a long day, day + night, or two days, for journey time. Options for UK areas outside of London can also be found. Note that all rail services, including Eurostar, have added on extra capacity since the 17 April 2010.

Coach

• National Express: London to Vienna, about 21-24 hrs one-way, £120 return (fully refundable), less for students. They have added on extra capacity, and seats are currently available.
• Eurolines: This is a group of 32 independent coach companies operating together, and is Europe's largest regular coach network. When buying a ticket originating in the UK, you are effectively booking a ticket with National Express (above).

 

Car

The distance by road from London to Vienna is approximately 1600 km (1000 miles). One can drive this in one very long day (e.g. 14-15 hours) depending on ferry/tunnel crossing, and any car-rental switches UK vs. Mainland Europe. There are many combinations of Train + Car, Ferry + Car, etc. For instance, some people find that taking a train from the UK to the Netherlands, and then renting a car from there, is an easier alternative to going via Dover/Calais.

Overland Travel Summary Sites

• BBC Alternative Travel and Status
• The Times: Ferry, Coach and Train Travel to the UK

 

Travel from Germany

From Frankfurt (and surely, other places too) there is a night train that arrives at 8:00 in the morning. All information on www.bahn.de.

 

Travel from Northern Europe

From northern Europe, it takes more than one day to reach Vienna. This is true for destinations further north than southernmost Sweden. From most of Denmark and the region around Malmö (Sweden), it is possible to travel to Vienna on a very long day. For example, from Lund (southern Sweden), one leaves at 6:39 in the morning and arrives at 23:22 in the evening. The fastest alternatives include a night train. One can take either the Austrian night train from Hamburg to Vienna (Don't forget that the overnight train between Hamburg and Vienna can also take your car (it is an "Autoreisezug"). After booking a car space (giving the model and registration number) you turn up about an hour before departure (check the "Verladezeit") and drive the car on the train yourself - it is an easy way to avoid driving across Europe while still taking your car! The price is very reasonable.), or the German night train from Copenhagen to Nürnberg (and then a day train to Vienna). From Oslo and Stockholm, trains departing in the morning provide connections with both night trains going further south.

 

Affordable travel from anywhere in Europe

For residents of Europe, the most economic alternative is usually an InterRail ticket. On an InterRail Global Pass (€240, €160 for people below 26), one can travel on trains unlimited for 5 days within 10 days. In addition, one needs to book reservations (typical day-train €5, night-train €25 for a bunk bed), and a ticket with 50% reduction to the nearest border. The reservations are fully refundable, the InterRail pass is partly refundable (15% cancellation fee). Only the InterRail pass can be booked online. Reservations and the ticket to the border need to be booked via a travel agent. A round trip from most destinations in Europe will cost between €300 and €500. For more information on InterRail, see www.InterRailnet.com.