Bellarosa70032

My husband and I are trying to go to the Melk Abbey in late March. I have already requested to book the guided tour, and have a hotel reservation in Melk for the overnight trip.

My problem is that I am trying to decide whether to get to Melk from Vienna by car or train. I cannot tell from the maps how far the train station is from the Abbey, although their website states that you can walk to it. The car would be the most convenient option, but the lowest price I can get (AutoEurope) is $200 for the rental. The train would come in at about 65 Euros, plus taxis to and from the train stations.

We are spending our last night at a hotel airport in Vienna, so we would either return the car there or, if travelling by train, go from the train station in Vienna to the airport by taxi.

Can anyone tell me, from their past experiences, which was a better option for you? I'm trying to get validation for spending the extra $$ on the car, or find out whether it is not necessary. Thanks in advance.

joannyc

A car isn't necessary at all.

There is a train/boat combo ticket that you can book. Train to Melk, walk to Abbey and tour, take a boat to Krems, and train back to Vienna.

greg

I think the classic loop day trip, Vienna-Melk-Danube cruise-Krems-Vienna, is only viable from mid April on. The OP is too early for this.

Whether a car is necessary depends on how much luggage you are carrying and how mobile you are.

Melk Abbey is a trivial day trip from Vienna. The walk from the Melk station to the Abbey is about 1 mile and involves uphill walk at the end. You can see the Abbey right off the train and the excitement would probably thrust you go up hill . You can call a taxi if you are doing this with luggage.

Is your guided tour with the Abbey? I just walked in at the opening time and signed up for the morning English tour right on the spot. The abbey tour plus walking around the garden took about 2 hours. If this is the extent of your visit, overnight would not be necessary. Stay another night in Vienna and you can do this trivially by train from Vienna as a day trip.

Bellarosa70032

Thanks, Greg. We are going to have a bit of luggage, but could leave it at the hotel in Melk before we go to the Abbey.

The website states that guided tours are required in March. You can go on your own from April 1 on to October, but between November and March, you need the guided tour.

We are spending 5 days in Vienna at the end of a 18-day trip, starting in Berlin and Prague. This is not the first time we have been to any of these cities, but Melk will be new to us. By then, we will want to stay in a village, even for one night.

My concerns were about "schlepping" the luggage from the Vienna apartment to the train station, then to Melk, then back to the Westbanhoff in Vienna, then on to the Vienna airport. We have an early morning flight on our last day, and have already booked the NH hotel at the Vienna airport.

Bellarosa70032

I actually found a car rental through Sixt that was much cheaper, so we are going with that. Thanks for the input.

annhig

What about leaving your main luggage at the Westbahnhof and just talking an overnight bag to Melk? I think that if I couldn't, I'd be inclined to hire a car, if only for those 2 days at the end of the trip. pick the car up the night before you are going to Melk, park it near your apartment, and then make an early start the next day,

However, I'm not sure that I would want all that hassle just to stay in a village for one night.

Talking of villages, are you planning to go out to Grinzing, Nussdorf or Heiligenstadt to visit the Heurige? it's a lovely way to spend an afternoon. [but don't plan on driving or doing anything much afterwards!]

http://www.wien.info/en/shopping-win...e/neustift-etc

fourfortravel

A few notes to consider if you are thinking of enjoying a heurigen village evening while in Vienna. Late March up here in the vineyards can be pretty spotty with respect to heurigen hours; many are only open after 16:00, some only on weekends, and the less tourist-visited all use the simple "Gone Fishing" note on the door when they're closed. Vienna prohibits outdoor seating until April 1; most heurigen all have smoking sections indoors, so the experience may not be one you're after.

That said, skip Grinzing. The tour buses and even the HOHO now disrupt what was left of the village feel, and the vines aren't pretty enough yet to warrant an uphill trek to a local place (assuming they are even open.) The tourist-popular heurigen in Heiligenstadt will be open, however; the ones in Nußdorf will be hit or miss (but have very small indoor sections).

Bellarosa70032

Thanks Annhig and fourfortravel. I will look into this villages. Basically, since it's the end of our trip, the car will work better since we will have an extra bag (filled with all the junk I plan on buying), and just visiting the Abbey, having a leisurely dinner and going through the villages on the way back to Viennia will be our plan.