Hi! What would you recommend as a day trip from Vienna? We will have a car.
Hubby suggesting Budapest but I would like to do something nature related like perhaps a scenic drive? Anyway suggestions? I haven't heard much about Bratislava?

Bratislava was recommended to me, made plans to take a ferry to meet a friend. It fell through but on the list for next time.

http://www.vienna-unwrapped.com/boat-trips/

In case you have not realized, before you go further in this direction, understand the additional financial implication of bringing a car rented in Austria into Hungary, Slovakia, etc.

These are found in the fine print terms and condition sections.

These are some samples. They depend on the rental company. Some companies restrict the type of cars allowed to be driven into these countries.

<i>For ... EUR 72, select vehicles are permitted to travel into Czech Republic, Hungary & Slovakia. ...must be noted on voucher.

You can drive into Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia with an extra 50% to be added to the CDW/TP and Super Cover ... </i>

St. Gilgen
St. Wolfgang
Hallstatt
Melk Abbey and the Wachau Valley

Definitely do Melk Abbey - you can take the boat one way and the train the other - a beautiful area.

We really enjoyed the winery bike tour with Vienna Explorer. Great way to experience Durnstein and the Wachau Valley. We took the fast ferry from Bratislava to Vienna as our transfer mode and it was a fun trip. Strolling through Bratislava for a day would be a great choice also.

I strongly second the recommendation of the Melk Abbey. It was the highlight of our trip to Austria. you can drive their directly, and on the way back travel along the Danube and see the towns along the river. I particularly liked Durnstein, which is where Richard the Lion Hearted spent time in Austria.

I was in Vienna, Bratislava, and Budapest in May of this year. Many guidebooks give Bratislava short shrift, but I found it a nice change of pace from Vienna. Easy to do as a day trip, and a small city that is very easy to navigate. I stayed overnight at VIP Apartments and had a great time.

Budapest was a wonderful surprise, and I can't recommend it highly enough. I have been to 45 countries, and I count it as one of my top 3 favorite cities. I enjoyed it so much that I am going back next month. However, it is about 150 miles north of Vienna, so a bit long for a day trip. If you decide not to drive, I think the high-speed train from Vienna takes a little over two-and-half hours. If you go, I recommend staying overnight.

As far as nature-related things, you could take a boat ride down the Danube, go to Margaret island, hit one of the many thermal baths, or go to City Park or Buda Castle Park--so many options.

Good luck, whichever you choose.

Budapest is 3 hours from Vienna by car, and the route is not scenic. Bratislava is about an hour away, but unless you take the "back road" into the city (and stay off the toll roads in SK) you will have to stop for a vignette at the border. Oh, and the driving route is anything but scenic.

Assuming you are visiting at a scenic time of the year, you can make a lovely day out of driving in the Vienna Woods, with stops at Burg Liechtenstein, the wine village of Gumpoldskirchen, Mayerling, and Heiligenkreuz. Burg Liechtenstein is the ancestral seat for the Liechtenstein Family; Gumpoldskirchen has a postcard-like "kellergasse" (wine tavern lane) surrounded by the vineyards and the Vienna Woods; Mayerling is the hunting lodge where Crown Prince Rudolf ended his life (and that of his mistress); and Heilegenkreuz, very near, is a 12th century abbey. You will find many heuriger (wine taverns( along the Gumpoldskirchen kellergassee; and there is a very good restaurant in the square of Heiligenkreuz Abbey.

If it's full-on nature (with walking/hiking) and a castle town, there are routes in the National Park Thayatal for all levels, some of which wind through the Czech Republic, as the park was established from the former, "No man's land" along the border. In the castle town of Hardegg there is a pleasant restaurant along the Thaya river, Gasthaus Thayabrucke, serving both Moravian and Austrian specialties.

I hope this is helpful.

The evening we collected our car hire in Vienna we took a drive out to Gumpoldskirchen and liked it so much we ended up staying there for a few nights at the end of our trip. lots of nice things to see [and eat and drink in the area] - as well as the places named by Four4, we liked Baden [wonderful rose garden] and the nearby Beethovenwanderweg which has a very nice Gasthof at the end of it.

So I would [of course] agree with Four4 in recommending that area for a day trip.