Wachau short stay in October - a good idea?
 

Hi, I'm taking my 76 year old mother for a trip to her favourite city (Vienna) from October 6 to 18. Both of us like to absorb the culture and feel of a place for a few days rather than just seeing the major sights for a couple of days and then moving on. So we don't intend to try to cram a lot of travel into this trip.

However, I think the Wachau is a region we'd both enjoy. My mom loves the general atmosphere of beautiful villages on the Danube, and I really enjoy hiking and biking. We both also enjoy wine-tasting. So rather than just doing a day trip from Vienna, we are thinking of spending maybe 3-4 days in the region.

So, a question for Wachau experts. Keeping in mind that we would not have a car and would be entirely reliant on public transport , is it feasible in October to use one of the towns along the Danube as a home base, and do day trips to other towns by train/boat/bus? My understanding is that there is a restored regional railway that runs through the vineyards from Krems to Spitz (a great wine town), but I think it only runs on weekends in October? Also, there seem to be several boat options for travel from town to town, but I'm not sure if they still run daily in October or on a more restricted schedule?

Also, are hotels/guesthouses and restaurants still open? Is there a particular town you would recommend as a home base? One consideration is mobility: my mother is a good walker, but may have a bit of trouble on steep slopes or a lot of stairs. Assuming public transport options are available, we would prefer a home base where bus/train stations, boat docking zones, etc. are within relatively easy walking distance of hotels.

Thanks!

Regular bus service runs daily through the Wachau Krems - Melk The bus is #WL1 service about 1 per hour.
Nice ride and often several stops in villages.

Danube tour boats run several times daily upn to the end of October -
check here

www.brandner.at

www.ddsg-blue-danube.at

train schedule quite limited-

www.oebb.at

www.wachaubahn.at ??
This not a restored line- simply a line sold to the State Niederosterreich as it was losing money in the national system.


Perhaps best villages for a stay are Durnstein

www.duernstein.at

about 10 kilometers west of Krems 30 east of Melk

and Spitz


10 kilometers or so east of Melk.
each served by bus, boat and train

Both would have wineries, restaurants, heurigers/ wine taverns

In October perhaps still a little grape picking- weekends may find more things open as people from Vienna come out for the day or weekend.

Still a find area to be in.

Moderate hiking possible- great mostly flat trails to bike - even through the vineyards.

Molder, I'm not the original poster but just had to say Thanks for such great info. I'm book marking for future travel. Wunderbar!

Sorry...MolKer not Molder :)

Thank you Molker for your detailed reply, I really appreciate it. I'm trying to figure out the best way to get to either Spitz or Durnstein from Vienna. One option is to take the train to Krems, and then transfer to the bus - though I'm not sure if buses have room for luggage, and how centrally located the stops are. Transferring to the Wachaubahn train is only an option on weekends. Maybe a cab would be the easiest way.

Taking the train Vienna to Krems is easy.

Direct train leaves Vienna Franz Josef Bahnhof about 1 per hour.
Tickets can be purchased there from ticket window or machine.
Most all trains are level with the train platform- no steps or lifting of luggage.
Arriving in krems / about 1 hour ride.

Bus connection just to the left as you exit station.
Bus schedule is co ordinated with the train.
You can pay driver - storage under or bring on bus .
trip to Durnstein takes about 20-25 minutes ( numerous stops as this is a local bus). This is bus WL1- usually in the first bus lane.
You want the first stop in Durnstein- just ask driver.
5 minute walk to village center . Durnstein is compact less than 300 residents.

Spitz - same bus much longer ride

travel info

www.oebb.at

Note - this bus also used by many school students at times- if full just ask anyone to move for a seat-

or if much luggage take a taxi from in front of train station-
10 minute ride to Durnstein cost 15-20 euro ?