10 ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR TRAVELING TO AUSTRIA

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With this list of tips for traveling to Austria We hope to help you plan and organize your trip to one of the most complete and incredible countries in the world, where you can enjoy, as never before, natural and urban landscapes, charming villages and outdoor activities that we are sure, will pass to Be part of your list of unforgettable trips.

Based on our trip to Austria by rental car, visiting most of its most tourist places, we leave you a selection of those we believe, are the 10 essential tips for traveling to Austria. We start!

1. What is the best time?

Although as it happens in other countries we could say that any time is good to make a trip to Austria, taking into account especially the weather, we can divide the year into three distinct stages.

High season (June to August): these summer months are those that are included in the high season in the country, being the most tourist places, especially the areas of lakes, more crowded. Also prices in most of the country soar.
Mid season (April and May / September and October): spring and autumn bring to Austria mild weather and fewer tourists visiting its most famous places. In spite of this it is necessary to bear in mind that the snow usually begins to disappear in some mountain areas as of June.
Low season (from November to March): these are the coldest and rainiest months of the year and also the most discouraged to visit the country, except for some areas if you want to practice winter sports or enjoy some of the best Christmas markets .

2. Entry requirements

If you are a Spanish or European Union (EU) citizen, you only need your ID or Passport to enter Austria. In case your country of origin is another, one of the tips for traveling to Austria is that you check the website of the Austrian Embassy or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to see the entry requirements.

In addition, and although this is not an essential requirement, when traveling through Europe we recommend you bring the European Health Card, which will allow you to have medical assistance if necessary.
In addition to this, if you want to have the best coverage and above all, that extras are included as a repatriation, it is highly recommended to travel with the best travel insurance for Europe. In addition to this, if you are going to practice risk sports in Austria, it is important to have optional adventure sports coverage, which you can easily include.

We always travel insured with Mondo, with whom we carry a totally adequate insurance to the needs that we will have on the trip. Hiring your insurance here with Mondo, just for being a Street Travelers reader, you have a 5% discount.

3. Security

Austria is one of the safest countries in the world, although we must not forget that whatever your destination is, it is important to travel with common sense avoiding leaving valuables in cars and keeping track of personal items, especially in tourist places with many people and in public transport.
If your destination includes watering sports, remember as we said before the importance of having optional adventure sports coverage in your travel insurance.

If you are going to rent a car in Austria remember that driving under the influence of alcohol represents an administrative offense, but if you have an accident and there are any injured, the crime becomes criminal.

Another of the tips for traveling to Austria, like any destination, is to carry a copy of any type of important personal documentation, such as passport, ID, insurance policy ... etc in the cloud, so that in case of loss or theft, do any type of procedure or management Be much easier for you.

Travel to Austria

4. How to start the trip to Austria?

The first and most important thing when starting to prepare a trip to Austria is to see how many days you have to be able to define if it is better to make a roadtrip across the country or choose to visit some of its main cities.
In our experience, as long as you have 10-12 days, the option of making a rental car route through Austria would be the most advisable.

Whatever option you opt for, the most common is to arrive in the country by plane, using the Vienna airport as a gateway or Bratislava in Slovakia, used by low cost flights, since it is a short distance from the capital of Austria. You can find all the transport information in the post How to go from Vienna airport to the center.
For the flight search, we advise you to use this flight comparator, with which you will have the best options at the best prices.

The next step, especially if you travel in high season and are going to visit some of the essential places to see in Austria, is to look for accommodation. For this we recommend using this hotel search engine, where you will find all the options available at the best prices.

Once you have these points resolved, the next step is to rent a car in Austria, in case you are going to do a roadtrip through the country. In this case we recommend you to use Rentalcars, with whom in addition to having the best price, you can take out Premium Insurance, with which you will have full coverage, for a much tighter price than if you hired it directly with the rental company.

And last but not least, and although you can travel freely throughout the country, it is important to take into account excursions and tours in Austria, to be able to book them in time if you want to know the best of the country and its tourist attractions, with guide in Spanish.

Austrian National Library

5. Route through Austria

As we mentioned before to travel to Austria, according to our experience, we would recommend a minimum of 10 days to make a route by car through the country that allows you to enjoy most of its attractions.
Taking into account that you will make the Vienna entrance, we recommend you spend 2 or 3 days in the city or start directly with the route, visiting the Danube Valley from Vienna. During this route you can visit Wachau, surrounded by a beautiful landscape and dotted with vineyards on the side of the Danube and Melk Abbey, one of the most impressive in the world.
If you do not have a car, a good option from Vienna to visit this valley and Melk Abbey, is this bus tour with a guide in Spanish, considered one of the best tours and excursions in Vienna.

The next stage of the trip to Austria will take you to the Mauthausen and Salzburg concentration camp, two essential in Vienna, the first being an extremely hard place, but that we believe, is a mandatory visit to know the history and above all, prevent reoccur
After spending one or two days in Salzburg, depending on how long you have the route continue visiting the Swarovski Museum of Wattens and Innsbruck, two places that we are safe, will leave you with your mouth open and a permanent smile the rest of the trip, making a Short intermediate stop at Hall in Tirol, a typical Tyrolean town, where you can take advantage of the meal.

The next day will be dedicated to touring the impressive Stubai Valley in Tyrol from Innsbruck, one of Austria's most incredible landscapes, in which besides the valley you cannot miss a visit to the Stubai Glacier.
After this brief incursion into nature, the roadtrip continues to visit the Krimml Falls and the Grossglockner road, considered by many to be one of the most beautiful roads in the world.

Austria route

After the nature day, another of the tips for traveling to Austria that you cannot ignore is the visit to Hallstatt, the most beautiful town in Austria and the one they say, is the most beautiful town in the world on the banks of a lake to from there know Bad Ischl, St. Wolfang, St. Gilgen and end up in Graz, another of the cities that you cannot miss in Austria, where you can enjoy a route through the things to see and do in Graz, before returning to Vienna.

In case you have not enjoyed this amazing city at the beginning of the trip to Austria, at the end of the trip, we recommend you not to miss the visit to the Schonbrunn Palace, the summer residence of Sissi, the Hobsburg Palace, Church of The Capuchins, Vienna Cathedral, considered some of the places to see in Vienna and the Belvedere Palace, The Prater and Hundertwasserhaus.

6. Vienna

Another very interesting way to get to know Austria is to make short trips to its most tourist cities or make a route that focuses only on some of them.
Whatever your option, if there is a city that you cannot miss in Austria is Vienna, one of the most beautiful European capitals, known by many as "the city of music", which is perfect to enjoy a few days away.
Taking into account the number of places to visit in Vienna essential, we recommend you spend a minimum of 2-3 days to discover them.
In addition to these visits, among which the Schönbrunn Palace, the Austrian National Library, Ringstrasse, the Belvedere Palace and the St. Stephen's Cathedral stand out, you cannot miss spending a few hours in Wiener Prater which is the oldest amusement park in the world , where you can not stop riding in its incredible ferris wheel, which is one of the most recommended things to do in Vienna.
Remember that admission to the park is free but the climb to the ferris wheel is paid although it is included in the Vienna Pass.
If you do not have the Vienna Pass we recommend that you book this ticket in advance to avoid queues.

Based on the experience of our visit to the city, when traveling to Austria, we have made these guides that will serve as a reference to not miss anything important in Vienna.

In addition to following these guides, we recommend you to know the incredible history of the city by booking this Tour of Vienna and Schönbrunn Palace or this Free tour of Vienna Free!, Both with a guide in Spanish and the latter considered one of the best free tours in Vienna Free in Spanish.

After getting to know the city and making the proposed routes, if you have an extra day, we advise you to get away to the Danube and Wachau valleys, Salzburg, Hallstatt, the Vienna Woods or even the famous Prague or Budapest, all of them considered like some of the best tours and excursions in Vienna.

All these excursions can be done for free, renting a car or using public transport although another more comfortable option is to book one of these excursions with a guide in Spanish:

Excursion through the valleys of the Danube and Wachau
Salzburg excursion
Budapest excursion
Vienna Forest Excursion
More excursions and tours in Vienna here

For more information about this city you can consult this post of essential tips for traveling to Vienna.

Schonbrunn Palace

7. Salzburg

Known among many other things for being Mozart's hometown, traveling to Salzburg will take you back several centuries while you walk through its historic center and get excited and surprised with each step and each new discovery.
Although in one day you can visit perfectly, whenever you have time, we recommend you spend two days getting to know the city, so you don't miss any of the essential places to visit in Salzburg such as the Hohensalzburg Fortress, Getreidegasse, the Salzburg Cathedral, the Mozart's Birthplace or Mirabell Palace and gardens among many others.
To know the different ways to get to the city you can consult this post on how to go from Vienna to Salzburg.

If you want to know first-hand the history of the city, in a comfortable way and with a guide in Spanish, it may be highly recommended to book this Salzburg-Guided Tour this Salzburg Smiles and Tears Tour or this Free Salzburg tour Free! .

Salzburg

8. Hallstatt, the most beautiful town in the world on a lake

An essential destination for many when traveling to Austria, Hallstatt is a haven of peace and a real pleasure for the senses, despite the massification it receives especially in summer and on holidays.
Regardless of this, we recommend whenever you can, include this town on your route, although it may be a good idea to choose accommodation in Obertraun, a small town located just across the lake, in which in addition to entering prices much more adjusted, you will find the peace that sometimes, what they say is missing, is the most beautiful town in the world on the shore of a lake.

Hallstatt, the most beautiful village in Austria

9. Austrian gastronomy

As we know that food is very close to travel and in Austria it could not be less, we leave you a selection of dishes of Austrian cuisine that we believe, you should not miss so that your trip is as complete as possible.

Wiener Schnitzel: breaded meat (scallop) to which potato or potato salad is added.
Innsbrucker Gröstl: sauteed potatoes, meat and onion. One of our favorite dishes!
Schweinsbraten: Pork Chops Empanadas.
Backhendl Salat: Chicken salad, but in this case empanada, to which different ingredients are added.
Rindsuppe: beef soup.
Goulash: meat stew that is usually eaten with bread.
Selchfleisch: smoked and cooked meat that is usually served with sauerkraut as a garnish.
Sacher cake: chocolate cake and jam. You can't miss it!
Apple strudel: Apple pie.

Sacher cake

10. More tips for traveling to Austria

Other of the best tips for a trip to Austria They are:

Although the trip is in the middle of summer, it is advisable to bring some warm clothes since in depending on the areas, especially at night and in the morning, temperatures tend to fall.
Remember that in order not to pay commissions and always have the current change we recommend you use the N26 card to pay and the Bnext and Revolut cards to get money at the ATMs. They are the ones we use, They are free and will save you a lot. You can find more information in this article about the best cards to travel without commissions.
The schedules in Austria are quite strict. Keep it in mind especially in terms of restaurants to avoid running out of lunch or dinner.
The roads in Austria are usually in perfect condition, even the mountain ones. Despite this, it must be taken into account that there are speed limits and that these, depending on the circumstances, may change even in the same sections.
In Austria the voltage is 230V, the frequency 50 Hz and the plugs are of type F.

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