Please sign in to post.

Vienna TO Melk, see the abbey, take boat to Krems, etc etc

We are going in May from Vienna Austria to Melk to Krems. Rick Steves book says we can get on Austrian Railway and get the Kombi ticket which would take us by train from Vienna to Melk, give us a ticket to see the abbey in Melk and then put us on a boat to Krems. This Kombi ticket then brings you back to Vienna ON THE SAME DAY by train. This will not work for us. We want to disembark the boat in Krems and stay there two nights. We already have reservations there paid for. After the two nights we need to take a train to Vienna....I already know this train probably take us to the small train station of Franz Josefs Bahnhof. So I assume we would have to take a taxi from this small train station to the train station where we would go from Vienna to Salzburg. We will use out Austria/Germany rail pass for this portion of the trip.

How can we do this? My husband and I are seniors and all this train stuff is very confusing to us. We will have our hotel help us reserve the Vienna to Salzburg part after we know when we get into Vienna from Krems.

Posted by
5384 posts

Are you planning to travel from Vienna to Melk, take the boat to Krems all with your suitcases??? That will be very tiresome and it is a long walk from the Krems boat dock into town. As I mentioned in your other post, seriously consider staying in Durnstein, Weissenkirchen or Spitz. Krems is a larger town and lacks the atmosphere these villages have. Trust me - I go to this area all the time. To get from Vienna to one of these villages, you will be traveling on regional trains, so there is no need or benefit from buying in advance. Buy your ticket to this area just before you get on the train. Settle into your hotel and enjoy the evening. The next day, take the boat up to Melk and tour the abbey Take the boat back down to your village and spend the night.

Now for getting from this area to Salzburg - Why are you going all the way back to Vienna??? That is serious backtracking. Look at the map.

Why are you going back to Vienna from Krems to get to Salzburg? That will be major backtracking (just look at a map).

To take this journey, you will travel back to Krems by bus (just a few minutes) and then take the regional train to St. Polten (you buy this ticket on the day as it is regional). Then take the private Westbahn train from St. Polten to Salzburg. You buy your ticket for this portion of your journey on board the train.

Also, as mentioned in your other post, you don't need your hotel to buy your train tickets - that will be much more expensive.

Posted by
527 posts

I agree with Emily...you are making this much harder than it is. A better experience is to be had in Durnstein, Spitz, or Weissenkirchen. Even staying in Melk is better than Krems.

Posted by
16893 posts

I think you've had the advice you need. To get a schedule for the fastest connections (not via Vienna) from Krems to Salzburg, How to Look Up Train Schedules Online gives you the DB train schedule link and tips for using it. The OEBB site works about the same, sharing DB technology. However, if you do need to backtrack to Vienna, service from Melk now arrives at Wien Westbahnhof, which is the same station from where you depart to Salzburg.

Posted by
57 posts

tHANKS FOLKS

I think we have it all figured out. We will go to the TI in Vienna and see about train to Melk and if therre is a place we can store luggage while we tour the abbey. They we will get on a boat to krems. The TI should be able to help us with that. We wil train from Krems to St Poltn to Salzburg. Thank all of you.

Posted by
17916 posts

Okay, Combo ticket no longer available, but here is the trip if you piece it together yourself. You have to see Melk. It's worth it. I would imagine worst case scenario the ticket agent at the Abbey will hold your bags.

Train departs Vienna 08:56
Train arrives Melk 09:57 COST 17.60 euro

Walk to Abbey is 15 minutes

Melk Guided Tour COST 12.00 euro

http://www.stiftmelk.at/englisch/

Walk to dock is 15 minutes

Boat departs Melk 13:50 COST 23.70 euro
Boat arrives Krems 15:30

http://www.ddsg-blue-danube.at/eng/cruises_wachau_sightseeing_cruises_wachau.php

Posted by
237 posts

I recently returned from Austria and was able to purchase a Kombi ticket at the Vienna Hbf ticket office. I just asked if such a thing existed and the associate printed out several tickets, stapled them together, and gave me an itinerary explaining everything. I suspect the website hasn't been updated on the topic of Kombi tickets.