Hi All,
We will be in Europe next summer and are spending a few days in Austria. We fly from Dublin to Vienna on August 10th and return on the 16th. Our flight back to the U.S. is on the 17th from Dublin. We have made some hotel reservations, planning to stay in Vienna the first couple of days and then from the 13th to the 15th we have reservations at the Krutzler hotel in Heiligenbrunn. This is about 2 hours south of Vienna. This is an ancestral town--my husband's grandparents came from there, so we have to visit. The problem I have run into is the lack of public transportation to Heiligenbrunn from Vienna on the weekend! Even a nearby town is proving difficult to find. To make things more complicated, I am told the 15th of August is also a holiday, but we have to return to Vienna on the 15th because our flight is on the 16th. Any ideas how we can get to Heiligenbrunn on the 13th and return to Vienna on the 15th? If we need to rent a car, will the rental facility be open to return the vehicle on the 15th or will the holiday close them as well? We will be staying at the Classic Hotel Wien in Vienna, so if we must rent a car to Heiligenbrunn, is there a rental company near this hotel and anything I need to know about renting a car in Austria/Vienna? Thanks for your help.
Posted by
Magyarország / Rep of Texas
17929 posts
You could go take the train to BUDAPEST spend a day or two then take the train to Körmend for about $20. From Körmend it’s a 15 minute taxi ride. Of course that begs the question; does Körmend have taxis?
Posted by
the Netherlands
2487 posts
A taxi to not too far away Fürstenfeld, where you can take a train to Vienna, could be a solution. (Check at fahrplan.oebb.at/bin/query.exe/en? for the timetable.)
Posted by
Vienna, Austria
5386 posts
My grandfather is from Furstenfeld, so we go to that area frequently from Vienna. With your travel dates, I'd rent a car. As we have done similar ancestral visits, I can promise you you'll need a car. We always rent from Sixt. They have several locations in town including Hauptbahnhof and Wien Mitte. Try to visit Zotter Chocolate Factory and Riegersburg while you are down there. Best of luck!
Posted by
Medford, OR, USA
5836 posts
Check Google Maps for ideas. Routes look complicated and long (6+ hours) but possible:
8:25 AM Vienna Wien Hbf
8:55 AM High speed trainRJtowards Lienz in Osttirol Bahnhof 30 min (2 stops)
9:03 AM Wr.Neustadt Hbf TrainREX 3 towards Graz Hbf 56 min (7 stops)
Continue on the same vehicle TrainR 3towards Graz Hbf 1 h 7 min (10 stops)
11:09 AM Fürstenfeld Bahnhof
Walk About 1 min
12:45 PM Fürstenfeld Bahnhof (Bahnhofstraße)
1:20 PM Bus1866 towards Heiligenkreuz im Lafnitztal Postamt 35 min (17 stops)
1:27 PM Heiligenkreuz im Lafnitztal Postamt
1:42 PM Bus1868 towards Güssing Schulzentrum 15 min (9 stops)
1:55 PM Güssing Krankenhaus Bus1862towards Luising Ort 32 min (27 stops)
2:27 PM Heiligenbrunn Gh Krutzler
Walk About 4 min , 350 m
2:31 PM Heiligenbrunn
Good luck.
Posted by
Vienna, Austria
5386 posts
If you want to take public transport, there are much easier ways than the one listed above. Go to www.oebb.at (you can switch to English) for the possibilities. I saw that you can get there with one change by bus, for example. That said, I still think a rental car would be better.
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
Not an answer to your question, but I'll chime in anyway.
If you'll be in Burgenland (probably the Austrian Bundesland least frequently visited by travelers from North America) and you go with the rental car option, give Burg Forchenstein a visit. It's kind of a shrine to the Esterhazy family (most well known today as the employers and sponsors of Joseph Haydn), and one of the better castles you can visit in Austria.
If you drive to Heiligenbrunn, you'll go right past it.
As for rental agencies, there's several spread around the Ringstraße. Austria is one of the few countries where the rental agency would not hand over the keys without seeing an international driver's permit... which I didn't have. Fortunately, there was an ÖAMTC (the Austrian equivalent to AAA) within walking distance, and I was able to process my license on the spot (after another side trip to a camera store to obtain a passport photo).
Most rental agencies allow you to return the car 24/7, even when the office is not open.