Auto Vignette for Austria
 

Hi all- I am driving from Berchtesgaden to Salzburg using non-autobahn route 305 in Germany which changes to 150 in Austria. Then I will return to Munich using non-autobahn route 1 in Austria which joins up with A8 (E52) in Germany. I am under the impression that an Auto Vignette for Austria is NOT required when driving these roads. Can anyone tell me if my understanding is correct?

Many thanks in advance-
((B))

http://www.tolltickets.com/country/a...spx?lang=en-GB

Right from the horse's mouth.

No, you do not need the vignette, as long as you do not enter the highways surrounding Salzburg.

When you are driving to Munich, take the Innsbruckstrasse (route 1) direction airport. You pass past the airport (there is a tunnel under the runway), you go straight direction Wals and Bad Reichenhall. Ignore "München" signs or you end in the dreaded highway. You drive past the Salzburg-West exit and a roundabout, still direction Bad Reichenhall. You drive straight, you climb a small hill (Walserberg). At the top of the hill there is the state border, a gasoline station and the old custom house (out of use). Just past the border there is a huge sign "München" pointing on the right in a woody area. You end in the German autobahn but you are past the border so you do not need the vignette. Fill up in Austria as fuel is cheaper than in Germany.

This is only my opinion, however the vignette is quite inexpensive and I'd purchase one rather than worry about ending up on the dreaded highway and risk the cost of a ticket on the spot.

Thanks for your responses-

Wunderbar2, I agree with your thinking, but I will be passing through Austria for about 20 KM about 12 days before the Salzburg trip and I kind of hated to waste another $10 if it wasn't necessary. The vignette is only good for 10 days at a time.

Asps, thank you for confirming my understanding.

PalenQ, I had previously looked at the "horses mouth" and ran across this statement.

"Vignettes are compulsory on all motorways and expressways in Austria, except road sections with tolls depending on mileage."

This prompted my inquiry- I don't know what Austria defines as "motorways and expressways".

Vielen Danke an alle!

((B))

BTW, where you are staying in Salzburg? Route 305/150 is the shortest one between Berchtesgaden and Salzburg, but the route driving through Bad Reichenhall is only ten minutes longer and if you are staying on the west of the Salzburg center could end to be more practical - considering you cannot drive the ring road.

Asps thanks for the info- we are staying southeast of the train station at the Hotel Bergland, close to where route 1 and 150 split. Luckily got a good rate there for a change...

((B))

We will be renting a car in Nurmberg, driving to Prague, then down to Salzburg and onto Vienna. Since this is a rental car from Germany, do I have to worry about this Auto Vignette? Is there anything else I need to be concerned with, other than the nice hefty drop charge? Thanks.

Austria defines motorways and expressways as A and S roads, respectively.
Some federal highways, which are B roads, are built like motorways. But the design of the road is irrelevant, you only need the vignette for A and S roads.

Avoiding those is no issue if you just want to visit Salzburg, as described above.

For driving from Salzburg to Vienna it's a different issue. I guess you want to use the A1 motorway, so you need to get the sticker. Gas stations in the border region of Czech should have them.
And you also need similar sticker for driving on Czech motorways, by the way.

What else you need to be concerned of? In general, you should keep in mind that the only way to avoid steep speeding tickets (especially in Austria) is to obey the speed limit. Going with the flow does not impress the automatic cameras.

OK, great, thank you.