Has Anyone Used the New Vienna Pass (Not the Vienna Card)

We used the Vienna Pass when we were in Vienna from late October through the first of November and it worked out very well for us. We bought the 6 day pass, which covered one day when we did not use it at all (Vienna Explorer Secrets of Wachau Valley tour).

If your Schonbrunn plans include any of the other sights in addition to the palace, you will not have time for the Kunsthistoriches Museum in the afternoon, that deserves at least four hours. If you're at all into modern art, I would suggest that you include the Albertina in your itinerary.

We used the HOHO bus to reach Schonbrunn, the Military History Museum, Albertina and Belvedere. Belvedere was the only place we visited that was not covered by the pass and it is well worth the additional expense, in my opinion. The HOHO is fine for getting to places that are too far to walk from your hotel. We only used the yellow line and walked everywhere that was covered by the red line. We had fairly short wait times for the buses, the longest wait was about 20 minutes at Schonbrunn. I'm guessing that the buses will run more frequently in the summer. The taped commentary on the bus is nothing special, but it's not bad either.

Visited Vienna a couple of week ago and looked into the new Pass. Looks like a good deal, but in my specific situation it didn't work for me. It only pays off if your are visiting covered sites everyday during it's validity. The way I worked my itinerary there were days when went we just did shopping and visited no sites or museums. Also as it was off-season there no lines, line skipping was a non-issue.

We used the pass when we were there in October. Your itinerary for day 2 is a bit full. The palace is a bit of a ride to get there.You still have to go to a separate booth to get the pass validated and when you actually enter the palace,they give you a time for entry so you may have to wait to do the tour. The inside tour takes at least an hour and then you will want to see the grounds. Then you have to wait for the bus to take you back and make the rounds back to the Kunstihoriches Museum.. As I recall, that stop is near the end of the bus run. And really, do you want to just run through the Museum? We did the 2 hour walking tour that was included and we had an excellent guide. He even told us to not line up for the morning horse practice which starts at 10am but to wait until 10:30 and then walk right in. You probably won't get a seat right away.The Belvedere is well worth the admission. Also the Apartments are fascinating and worth the time. We did the Leopold at the end of a long day.Check to see the hours.I think it's open longer on some days. You can do the Naschmarket at the same time.It's an easy walk.

Thank you all. Good information. I'll have to mull over the pass. Having it would tend to make us want to pack in big sights. And we do like to wander. . .

You are all right that day two is way to full in the afternoon. Choices, choices.

Can this pass be purchased at the Tourist Information office? The Vienna Pass website says so, but the TI website is only promoting the Vienna Card.

Yes, you can buy the Vienna pass at the TI

We will be there 5 days, but I have an 18 year old student at an Austrian University who will be free many places and another student who might get some discounts, so I think I am going to rule it out even though the adults might come out slightly ahead if we really hit the museums hard...

Why not get the pass for the adults but not for the students?

I thought about that, but it's only a little better than breakeven unless we add in sites that were not on our original list, and we would probably have to be in a ticket line everywhere showing a student ID anyway. I was thinking of it more in terms of convenience with a possible financial advantage if we go see lots of museums. The child ticket, which I could buy for the 18 year old, is even harder to break even on. Once we lose the convenience factor, I don't think it's worth it to buy for 3 of us.

Vienna is a beautiful city to wander around in the Inner Ring. My recommendation would be to prioritize what you want to see indoors, i.e. pick two of these three: Schonbrunn Palace vs. the Hofburg Imperial Apartments/Treasury vs. Belvedere Palace.

As mentioned, the Schonbrunn Palace has beautiful & assorted gardens & a nice view from the hill containing the Gloriette. If this is your first time, plan at least half of day minimum. There's a decent restaurant next to the zoo with some nice shade.

You will save the most time if your hotel is located in the Inner Ring. We stayed across from St. Stephens which was wonderful to be able to take a short break during the day and still be close to everything.