Hi I am at the begining stages of planning a 9 Day trip to switzerland in mid August. I would also definitely like to see Vienna while I am so close.

With travel to and from the USA I really only have 7 days total.

At the moment I am trying to iron out a general plan for where I would want to go.
I plan to fly into Zurich and take a day to see the sights there. After that I was thinking of heading into the Bern region to see the mountains take a hike and all that .

My only real problem is that I want to go see Vienna which is at a minimim a 9.5 hour train ride from Zurich.

Flying into Zurich and out of Vienna gets restrictively expensive. A one way ticket from Vienna to NYC is twice as much as a roundtrip ticked to Zurich. But I would really like to see Salzburg and Vienna. Has anyone done a trip similar to this? Can you offer some ideas for a good way to spend about 2 days seeing Vienna and Salzburg and getting to enjoy the swiss alps without wasting a day on a train?

Thank You
-Joel

To fly into Zurich and back from Vienna you should not buy two one-way tickets, but rather what is called an "open jaw" ticket. These are normally priced as the average of the round-trip fares to the two cities.

You can take an overnight train from Zurich to Vienna and save a day that would normally be occupied with travel.

I would suggest skipping Salzburg for this trip. It would be too much for seven days.

Hi Joel,

As Musicteacher notes, open-jaw are not the same as two one-way tickets. For example, a simple round-trip from Atlanta to Zurich going on 22 July and returning on 31 July costs about $1105; flying from Atlanta to Zurich on 22 July and from Vienna to Atlanta on 31 July is $1130. To see fares, go to expedia (or your favorite airline) and choose the "multiple city" journey.

You should also know about whichbudget.com, which lists discount airlines in Europe. They show that Helvetic flies between Zurich & Vienna.

s

If you don't fly, I don't see any way to avoid the day on the train. I suppose you could rent a car and drive it, but a car in Salzburg and Vienna is something you park until you leave.

The freeway along the Inn Valley is decent enough.

I have never driven the whole thing at one sitting, so I am not sure how long it would take you. I think you could beat the train time by a little, but not much.

The train does stop frequently between the Swiss border and Innsbruck, and I think your average kph would be faster.

I can understand your dilemma.

Can you fly it open jawed? Land in Zürich, ride the train to Vienna and beyond and leave to come home from Vienna? That way you would have less travel than if your returned to Switzerland.

A few years ago, I took the train to Salzburg, spend two nights, and then went on to Vienna. It worked fairly well, but the trip from Zürich to Salzburg was interminable it seemed.

The night train schedule is not very good. You either change 3 times or take a 2 hour layover in Salburg for a 2 am departure on a slow train to Vienna.

Renting a car in one country and returning it in another gets expensive.
That is why I suggested the train.

When you look at your schedule closely, you will not have much time anywhere if you visit the Alps south of Interlaken.

If you want a substitute that will enable you to see mountains and Salzburg and Vienna, why not this route:

Fly to Munich. Rent a car there.
Drive to Salzburg. After 2 nights in Salzburg, drive to Heiligenblut on the south side of the Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse. It is a neat little village nestled in the hills. There is a national park there with a great viewing area of a glacier, the longest in the eastern Alps.

The Hochalpenstrasse is a twisting, spectacular route. (I know, it is a toll road.)

From the Hochalpenstrasse you can drive to Vienna. From Vienna, drive back to Munich and return the car. You can get enough deviations in the route to not do too much retracing.

I know this sounds a little strange, but it is an option. You see mountains, although not the Jungfrau and its neighbors, and you do get in Salzburg and Vienna.

I think two nights in Salzburg, one in Heiligenblut, and 4 in Vienna would give you time to see the two cities.

Thank you guys. I can't believe I had never heard of this, I have traveled exptensively but I must say my father was the one doing the planning , looks like I'll be flying into Zurich and out of Vienna, only $25 more expensive than a Zurich round trip.

I'll be flying into Zurich and out of Vienna. I think I am going to plan 5 days in Switzerland then take a night train over to Vienna or maby even fly over for 2 days. I'll be sure to ask for more advice in a few days when I can arrange some more details for the trip.

Of the two Austrian cities, I think Vienna would be my first choice. I don't deny that I have enjoyed Salzburg 3 times, but Vienna is a really big city.