Austria Road Trip

Summary

Why travel to Austria

Austria may look small on the map but it doesn’t disappoint road trip adventurers. Austria offers a wide range of things to do whether you’re into culture, baroque history, hiking or wine tasting. Life feels good over there, people are nice and polite, and the landscape is beyond stunning. It easily has some of the most scenic roads in the world.

Austria is surrounded by eight countries (Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Italy and Switzerland) which makes it a great hub for travelling to different places. All border crossings are open 24 hours and most of the time you don’t have to stop.

When is the best time to visit Austria

High season in Austria is between April and October and peaks from July to August. If you want to go to the lakes the peak season is between June and September. Obviously, prices rise over Christmas and Easter so I would avoid it because, who wants to pay more for no reason? We went at the end of October and it was just fine. Less tourists, barely anyone on the road and beautiful places to ourselves.

How many days do you need in Austria

We travelled from Vienna to Salzburg over five days. If you have more time on your hands do stay longer and stop in more towns along the way. We would have loved spending more time doing wine tasting and hiking properly.

How to travel around Austria

We rented a car and stayed in hotels and Airbnbs along the way. Camping is also a great alternative during summer. Austria has over 500 camping grounds across the country that offer a range of facilities. You can camp for free in camper vans on motorway’s resting areas and alongside other roads. Do check for signs.

What to bring

Hiking boots
Waterproof jacket in case it rains
Electrical adapter if you come from the UK

Things to do before you go

Austria is part of the Schengen Agreement so check your visa situation. It won’t necessarily be needed for stays of up to three months, but some nationalities may need a Schengen visa.

Brexit info for Brits – as a UK national you won’t need a visa to travel to Austria for holiday if you stay in the country under 90 days. Find more information on Brexit and travelling to Austria their official government website.

Your passport needs to be valid for six months and be less than 10 years old.

Narrow down what you want to see as there’s so many beautiful places to see in Austria.

Arrange travel insurance, you never know what might happen!

Get your car or van hire sorted to pick up from major cities before you go. Smaller cities and towns have limited car hire services.

5 things to know when doing a road trip in Austria

Driving

Traffic is minimal across the country and roads are wide and well maintained so you’ll certainly have a great time driving around. Take detours and aim for the lakes – you’ll experience lovely twisty roads and stunning landscapes. Avoid tourist hotspots when heading to the lakes – just go to the other side of the lake and it will be empty.

Winter tyres are compulsory from 1 November to 15 April so make sure you have them if you’re travelling to Austria during that time.

Visit the official Austria’s travel portal for further information on driving in the country.

Motorways and tolls

Motorway is marked as ‘A’ for Autobahn and you need to have a Vignette which is a motorway tax to be able to drive on them. Find out about pricing and how to display your vignette on your car.

You will have to pay tolls on some mountain roads and tunnels which is not included in the motorway tax.

Petrol

Petrol price is good compared to the rest of Europe. You can expect to pay €1.30 for a liter of diesel and €1.37 for petrol.

Speed

Be careful of speeding because the police are strict and fines can be huge (they fine you based on what you earn!). The maximum speed limit in towns is 50km/h, around 100km/h on open roads and expressways and 130km/h on motorways.

Campsites

Most campsites are closed during winter so make sure you check for those that remain open or book your accommodation ahead of travelling to Austria.

Best Austria road trip itinerary – 5 days

Vienna
Attersee
Salzburg
Hallstat