Driving in Italy/ Austria
 

I'm thinking of driving to Vienna from Venice , wondering what is road like ? Is it a hard drive through mountains ? I'm from US do I drive on other side of road? Is that hard to get used to? Where do you pick up rental car ? Best place? It seems like I could get there faster than on train ,true? Don't know about traffic.

Italy and Austria drive on the same side of the road as the US. To drive in Italy (not sure about Austria) you need an International Driving Permit that you can buy from AAA for a small fee (I think about $15).

Do you plan to just drive between the two cities? If so I would just take the train and save the hassle.

Something to think about is the drop off fee if you plan to pick-up in Italy and drop it off in Austria - this will probably cost you several hundred €€

That route is fine for driving but I agree with Jamikins in terms of getting from A to B I would consider taking the train so I could sit back and actually enjoy the scenery.

go to www.viamichelin.com and plug in your itinerary. You will find out what is the actual cost of the trip without the cost of the rental itself (check that the rental has the vignette for the limited access highways--if not, that is an added cost). Compare that to the cost of the train ride.

You will need an IDP and a road tax sticker (vignette - available at gas stations before crossing the border) for driving in Austria.

((I))

Unless you've changed your plans <u>significantly</u> - you don't have time to drive OR take the train. You have basically part of one day in Venice and one day in Vienna.

Thought about it and nixed the driving idea.

The fastest form of public transport for this journey is usually the train to Villach then a bus to Venice. Start off at bahn.de