bettyk

Has anybody used an airport service to or from the Vienna Airport that you could recommend?

Plan to use the CAT into town when we arrive, but our flight home leaves at 7:15 AM and CAT doesn't start operating until 6 AM. I figure we should be at the airport 2 hrs before departure.

molker

Look to these firms

www.red-cab.at

www.airportdriver.at

from 39- 33 euro

They are very accustomed to early morning pick ups to airport.
Also think about using them for arrival transfer.

The Cat is relatively expensive and with several traveling together , the taxi can be cheaper.
A big plus of the reserved taxi - direct to your accomodation.
The CAT arrives at Wien Mitte station . You then must make the transfer to your hotel involving time and more cost.

Ruby99

I took a taxi at 8 am for a 10:30 am flight or so. I didn't like the Vienna Airport much... the security screening is done at the gate level, and I thought it took forever. There also weren't many seats in the waiting area and I thought it was really chaotic.

Give yourself plenty of time.

greg

I took a taxi also. I just asked for a taxi at the hotel front desk the night before.

Of the ways to get from the airport, CAT is a curious offering. After doing a quick check, I decided to take taxi if I was tired on arrival or take a S-bahn if not on Saturday.

I think the value of CAT is that the ticket machine is in the luggage area and it is a dedicated transit to the edge of the city, Wien Mitte. For that you pay 12EU one way. http://www.viennaairport.com/jart/pr...=1249344074245 It runs twice an hour. CAT ticket does not include city transit, so you still have to take a taxi, u-bahn, or tram to complete your journey. The trip to Wien Mitte is 16 min. Even if you avoided general commute rush hour crowds, you will have to deal with it from Wien Mitte to your destination.

S-bahn ticket machines are just above the platform. It runs twice and hour also. http://www.viennaairport.com/jart/pr...=1260752528082. The trip to Wien Mitte is 25 min, and for that you pay 4.20EU. But wait, the ticket also includes the city transit you can continue onto your destination. However, you mingle with the general commuters, so it is not a good choice during the rush hour with luggage.

bettyk

Thank you both.

Molker, you are probably right that we should go ahead and arrange for round trip transport from the airport. After doing the math, it makes sense.

Ruby99, assuming it takes a half hour to get to the airport, getting there 2 hrs before the flight means that we will have to get up around 4 AM! We will certainly try to get there a little earlier if we can drag ourselves out of bed.

bettyk

Greg, thanks for that info as well. Beginning to think the taxi is the way to go from the airport as well.

fourfortravel

We live in Vienna and travel through VIE regularly. The security is not done at the gate level. Arriving two hours early, even for international travel and at that time of the morning is way more than enough time to make a 7:15 flight.

bettyk, if you are comfortable with public transportation, the S-Bahn from the airport will take you to the same station that the CAT arrives at (Landstraße/Wien Mitte) for a fraction of the cost (€4 versus €11) and only takes 10 minutes longer than the CAT; you'll just need to withdraw Euros after you arrive to purchase your ticket near to or at the platform.

Ruby99

fourfortravel, when we flew from VIE to Toronto in 2012, the security was done at the gate level. And it was chaotic, my worse experience in international travel ever (it made CDG look GREAT). It may have changed since then or maybe it was just for those specific flights to North America.

bettyk

fourfortravel, I rode nothing but public transportation when I lived in Vienna and am comfortable on the trams and Ubahn when we visit. While the CAT and S-bahn are new to us, I'm sure it would be easy enough to buy tickets. We plan to have Euros when we arrive.

We are staying at the Hotel Capricorno which is right at Schwedenplatz. It looks like we could take the U1 from Landstrasse Mitte one stop to Schwedenplatz.

No big deal. Except now that I think about being tired from a long international flight and carrying luggage, we may just pony up the extra money and take a taxi from the airport.

With such an early return flight home, I had hoped to take the CAT back to the airport since it looks like we could have checked our baggage at Landstrasse Mitte station. But now, it looks like a taxi is our best bet for this trip.

Next time, I'll take the later flight home on BA thru LHR!!

lavandula

If you are right at Schwedenplatz, why not just take the Postbus? The bus takes you directly there. Much cheaper, no stops on the way, no hauling luggage. Our last two times in Europe we were staying at an address on the Franz-Josefs-Kai and we have used this service twice. For this address it just made sense.

http://www.postbus.at/en/Airportbus/...latz/index.jsp

EUR8 for a one-way ticket.

Lavandula

bettyk

Thanks, Lavandula. I'll look into it. Where does one pick up the bus at the airport?

lavandula

I can't describe exactly, but just outside the terminal there is a bus station / area for vehicles. There was not much traffic there when we arrived and the bus clearly has 1185 written on it. There is plenty of time to get on and off the bus, so don't worry if you don't spot it straightaway. We had no trouble finding it. Sorry not to be more exact, but it's not hard to identify the area where buses come and go at the airport, so I think you would be OK

Lavandula

bettyk

Understand, thanks again!

fourfortravel

To follow up on Lavandula's excellent suggestion, be sure to catch the Morzinplatz bus and not the buses to Kagran or Westbahnhof on your arrival. For the return, a taxi will be best.

bettyk

Good to know, fourfortravel! Don't want to get lost our first day there!

Anthsusa

I also have an early flight and I thought about the spending the night at the airport.

I have had a great time reading and drinking coffee in Zurich and in Barajas.

What are the restrictions for the Vienna airport?

bettyk

Sorry, Anthsusa, can't help you with that. Can't imagine spending the night at the airport but then I'm not as young as I use to be.

aljo

Bettyk, my husband and I have been staying at the Capricorno Hotel on our last 3 or 4 visits to Vienna and we always take the airport bus which runs 24 hours per day. We have often had very early morning flights and have never had a problem with the bus. The best part is that it is such an easy walking distance from the Capricorno - at the Morzinplatz/Schwedenplatz. I believe that in the very early morning it runs every hour and from 4 a.m. onwards every half hour, at 4 a.m. and then 4:30 a.m., etc. Hope you find this info useful.

bettyk

aljo, thank you so much for that information. I think we'll see what the weather forecast is for our arrival. I know we will be tired after the transatlantic flight, so my husband might just want to take a taxi. At least I know we have a couple of good options.

We are actually staying at two hotels in Vienna. When we arrive, we are staying at the Capricorno but then after our driving trip, we come back to Vienna and stay at the Hotel de France which is on the Schottenring.

JasminRA

I can recommend https://www.fluxi.at it's faster than the CAT and quite more comfortable. The opportunity is to take the S-Bahn or the Bus but i would definitely prefer the taxi.