Experiences Driving in AUSTRIA?
 

Our Salzburg hotel is quite a distance from the center of town (jaghdof lake) so we will need a car. We are coming from Vienna and the car rental price would be the same pickup Vienna/dropoff Salzburg as just renting in Salzburg...so the trip is really just costing us the fuel and will save us $125 in train tickets.

Would love to know about the drive from Vienna to Salzburg, where to stop...what to expect. And tips for parking in Salzburg!

I made the drive a few years ago. There is a major highway connecting these two cities, so I don't think it will be difficult. We didn't stop anywhere along the way, so I can't help you there. We parked at our hotel and didn't do any driving around Salzburg.

As far as the cost of fuel these days, I believe it's somewhere around $6.00/gallon, in US terms. You might want to factor that into your savings in case it makes a difference to you.

We rented a car in Vienna, and drove to Weisenkirchen(very charming village!) for a night. This area has some wondeful bicycling trails along the Danube.
From there we drove on to Salzburg, stopping for a few hours in Melk. The trip could easily be done in a day, and is quite easy. However we hit some very severe thunderstorms right outside Melk and actually had to pull over for 1/2 hour. The worst part of the drive was getting lost leaving Vienna at rush hour - a real nightmare. Once on the highway, it was quite simple and scenic. As for parking in Salzburg, there is a huge underground public parking lot not too far from the old city.

It is an easy drive - 2 1/2 -3 hours from Vienna to Salzburg on the Westautobahn.
It is best done on a weekday as summer weekends become very crowded with vacationers- many from the East.
Several areas on the Autogahn are being re-constructed and stalls can occur.
Posted speed limit is 130 Km. per hour. Most go 140 + - stay to the right except to pass.

You will drive past Melk Abbey ( 5 minutes from the Autobahn)- it is well worth a visit.

Assume by your post that you stay in Hof by Fuschl Lake- The Jagdhof - Sheraton. This is about 20 km or 12-13 miles east of Salzburg and close to the Autobahn.
This is an easy drive to Salzburg. Take autobahn to the Salzburg middle exit ( signs will say to airport- Flughafen , This is not the first Salzburg exit- 2nd?)This street goes past the airport follow signs to city center and then .- Parking signs ( blue) Huge underground parking garages make parking easy for the old city tourist sites. This saves time and avoids traveling through the city center ( not interesting)

Don't forget the Autobahn toll sticker for your car. ((b))

Thank you everyone! Please tell me more about this toll sticker!

Also if anyone has good directions for leaving Vienna , we are picking up the car Kaerntner Ring 1, near Vienna State Park.

Most Rental companies in Vienna already have Vignettes ( toll sticker needed for driving on the Autobahn in Austria) on their cars. Ask when you rent. The sticker will be on windshield, usually top left and has a 05 on it. If found on the autobahn without it costs more than 50-60 euros fine.
Leaving the center of Vienna is easy and well marked. Your rental company should supply a map.
The Ring is one way clockwise. leave on the Ring - turn left at the first left past the State Opera. Signs may say Salzburg, Schonbrunn or A-1 Autobahn ( Westautobahn) Just follow this street , generally 3 lanes wide, several miles , past Schonbrunn Palace and then on to the Autobahn.
Try to get a diesel engined car. Diesel fuel price now about 0.95 euros per liter. Regular gas more than 1 euro per liter. You will find european cars getting much better mileage than US.

We just did this drive last month and it was quite pleasurable and very easy. The scenery in Austria is beautiful. I agree with zootsi; stopping in Melk is a great idea. The town is charming and the abbey is fascinating. Another great place to stop is St. Gilgin on the Wolfgangsee. The town is neat and has a wonderful lakeside location, and there are some great places to eat.

If the car does not already have the vignette (sticker), many gas stations sell them and will advertise if they do.

Tracy

Looks like we'll have to do the drive on a Sunday in August...just how bad do you think the traffic will be? Should we leave Vienna for Melk by 8am to avoid a mess?

More traffic on Sunday will be toward vienna( vacationers going home) but of course the road construstion remains and causes much slow traffic both ways.

Perhaps a nice alternative.There is another more scenic way from Vienna to Melk to avoid the Westautobahn or main highway to Salzburg.

Take the A-22 autobahn direction Prague, krems, Stockerau from Vienna.
Your rental agency can direct you . It is easy to find and little traffic on a Sunday morning.
On the A-22 in Stockerau look for signs to S-5 Wachau and Krems- Take S-5 - this will eventually take you to Krems and the beautiful Wachau valley along the Danube and on to Melk. This route will take about 1 1/2 hours Vienna - Melk. It is a perfect ride through vineyards and old villages.

From Melk, you easily join the Westautobahn to Salzburg- 2 hours.