Hello all,
We are flying from New Jersey to Munich. Arriving on Sunday AM, renting a car and driving into Austria to meet with friends. Since we are traveling across boundaries, is there anything we need to do or know prior to our trip? Happy travels!!

Yes, You will need to by a sticker for your rental car to drive in Austria. You can buy them at Gas stations or rest stops on your way. Ask your rental guys about it.

Get the sticker or risk a fat fine.
Cars without no autobahn sticker are sitting ducks for the Austrian highway police. Think of it this way: You are a potential cash crop without one.,

There is no boundary or border crossing to worry about.

You do need to inquire about driving out of Austria into former Iron Curtain nations such as the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Hungary.

Make that cars without an autobahn sticker. My high school English teacher just sent me an evil brain wave for that one.

When we were in Austria last fall, the Austrian vignette cost around 8 Euro for a 10 day period.

I bought a short term just a few days ago just like BettyK did.

We got it at a gas station close to the border with Germany, but before we crossed the line.

I saw no sign that said "Entering Austria" that marked the point of no return. There were, however, plenty of warnings posted.

When you buy a short term vignette, make sure that the validity period is long enough to cover your time in Austria.

If you drive only on two lane roads, I don't think you need the "Maut Vignette", but that can be slow, tedious driving.

Be aware that the autobahn between Munich and Salzburg can be quite full of cars at most any time.

Last week we left Gmund on the Tegernsee for Munich on a Sunday morning. By the time we got to Munich before 11 AM the autobahn had a backlog. We came to a complete halt several times before we reached the city limits and the freeway divided.

While most are quite aware of the fact that you need a toll sticker to drive on Austrian motorways, few think of checking their rental car whether it is equipped with a warning vest (which you have to put on in case your car breaks down and you have to leave the car on a motorway). There is a fine of 14-36 EUR for driving in Austria without a warning vest in the car (not in the trunk, by the way!).
Every gas station in Germany also sells those vests.
Sunday a.m. hours are okay to travel from Munich TO Austria, since most traffic on sundays will be in the opposite direction.

Thank you all for this info. We were not aware.

You don't need the vignette if you won't drive on the autobahn. Assuming you are on the Autobahn, there is a truck stop type place at the border. You should pick up your sticker there (8 Euros for 10 days, be sure it covers all the time you will be using the Austrian autobahns). You can also get the safety vest there (I think it may have been 5-10 Euros, I brought mine home as a souvenir for my car).

Hi et,

Austria requires the International Driver's Permit, available from the AAA:
http://www.aaasouth.com/travel_drivers.asp#idp

I reread the postings in this thread and they are still apply.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34876475
Check out the parking disk info.

Our rental car, which we rented in Germany, already had the orange warning vest in the trunk.

thanks so very much for all your info

It is not true that you require an international driving permit to drive in Austria. You can drive for 6 months on your American license in the EU no problems. An international license can assist with translations (that's about all it does) but seeing as the license is in English it's unlikely that you will have a problem.

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_p...s/cis_965.html

Quote:
A U.S. driver’s license alone is not sufficient to drive in Austria. The U.S. driver’s license must be accompanied by an international driver’s permit.

>You can drive for 6 months on your American license in the EU no problems.

There are no driving rules for "the EU" and whoever told you anything like this was wrong. Dfferent countries enact different rules concerning driving and licenses. Austria does require an international license. Most other EU countries do not.

>seeing as the license is in English it's unlikely that you will have a problem.

Do you really believe that every low-level traffic cop has a command of English?

The IDP is required in Austria (Italy as well). Of course an individual policeindividual might or might not ask to see it. But if one does and you don't have it, it would be a problem. Stop at a AAA office before you go--took me 15 minutes to get mine last year, including AAA taking the required photos.