We are thinking of doing our months stay in Austria(Oct.) moving around by rail. Any suggestions? Have also read there is a postal bus system for the small towns?Anyone used these? Similiar to ones in Swizterland?Thanks,Lisa

What kind of rail suggestions are you looking for?

Yes, Austria does have a postal bus system:
http://www.postbus.at/

The rail and bus system are excelent. They provide coordinated connections to most all towns and cities at fair rates.

They would be similar to the swiss system and do run at most times per the schedule.
Many school children use these systems and a bus can get crowded with kids but will empty quickly.

Try www.oebb.at for rail information.( english also)
It will also show bus connections with the train in many cases.
No need for reservations in October.
2nd class is fine.

One of the suggestions I was looking for does any one sell passes for Austria besides raileurope? DER I think was bought by Raileurope. Thanks to monlker for the answers given.Lisa

Hi lisa,

Raileurope is a ticketing agency.

Before you buy a pass enter your itinerary at www.railsaver.com to see if it will save you money.

Try Euraide.com, also. They saved us a bundle on rail tickets recently, compared to other on-line services. They charge the face value of the tickets, plus a $45 flat fee for shipping and handling (regardless of how many tickets you buy, as long as it's on one transaction). They are based in Munich, but have an office in Florida, also.

We used railsaver.com. A very low handling fee. The 'rabbit pass" Austria only is very affordable.

Genreally you can buy any "pass" for a specific country once you get to that country...usually from a regular railroad ticket ofice. You do not need to use another agency such as RailEurope or Euraide or Railpass to get one.

The shipping fee for RailEurope is only $15 regardless of how much merchandise you buy.

As with anything, be sure to shop around for tickets. Yes, you can buy them at the train station, but maybe you would prefer to have them in hand and not have to hassle with the uncertainty of getting seats and standing in lines to buy them there.