Melk Question

Posted by Laura on 02/14/19 11:43 PM

My mom and I will be stopping through Melk on our way into Vienna on July 31st. We planned to be at the Abbey when it opens at 9, with the hope to catch the 11 o’clock river cruise from Melk to Krems. We’d then return to Melk via the WL1 bus as we are planning to drop off our rental car in St. Polten at approx 415-430 before training onto Vienna in the early evening. That allows effectively 1-1.5 hours as the abbey.

I was just wondering... is that enough time in the abbey? We weren’t planning to do a lot of the park attached there but I don’t want to short shift such a cool looking place. We would have plenty of time for drop off by taking the 11 am cruise but the 145 would be too late.

Have people who have done the river cruise thought it was worthwhile? It originally appealed to us simply because it will allow the two of us to enjoy the scenery without worrying about the road/navigation. Or are we better served to use our rental to explore the small towns between Melk and Krem for some of the day?

Posted by mike

shingle springs, CA, USA

02/15/19 03:56 AM

782 posts

We did the river cruise from Melk to Krems and Took a train back as we stayed in Melk.I think that 1 to 1.5 hrs is rushing through the Abbey,there is so much to see,the library is amazing.
Mike

Posted by wmt1

02/15/19 12:31 PM

2281 posts

This will be a real rush through the Abbey; its recommendations say 2 hours for visiting the buildings and the library, one hour for the surrounding gardens, not to talk about the time you need to get from the Abbey to the docks where the ships are mooring.

You didn't tell from where you come when arriving in Melk.

An important question is whether you just want to see the scenery of the Wachau valley (i.e. ship cruise) or whether you want to explore the towns along the valley (i.e. go by car).

Do you need to return your car in St. Pölten? If this is a must, I'd suggest to change your itinerary.

Got to Krems, leave the car there, go to Melk, visit the Abbey without a hurry, cruise down the Danube to Krems (at 1:10pm or 1:45pm), pick up your car, drive to St. Pölten to return the rental car.

Driving from Krems to St. Pölten is only 10 minutes longer than from Melk to St. Pölten (mainly Autobahn).

For going from Krems to Melk you have two choices: the WL1 bus you already mentioned, or the Wachaubahn. I'd prefer he latter.
The Wachaubahn, operated by a private railroad company, runs from Krems to Emmersdorf, where you have a direct bus connection to Melk for the few last miles.
https://www.wachaubahn.at/en

Another alternative would be driving to St.Pölten in the morning, dropping off the rental car, going by train from St. Pölten to Melk (REX 15 minutes, R 22 minutes ride), visit the Abbey without a hurry, cruise down the Danube to Krems (at 1:10pm or 1:45pm), take a direct train from Krems to Vienna.

I am not considering how much luggage you have to carry around, though.

Posted by Laura OP

02/15/19 01:07 PM

174 posts

We will be coming from the Linz area. It would have to be St. Poelton or Krems for a drop off of the rental car as my mom (who is a trooper and generally the primary driver) does not want to drive in Vienna proper, if it can be avoided. I actually like your ideas a lot about going to Krems first and leaving the rental there and/or dropping it there in the morning. Though I'm not sure dropping it that morning would be an option as we'd have to figure out what to do with our luggage. I'll definitely take a look at your suggestions and see if it is workable for us.