We have 1 week and are starting our trip in Vienna, eventually ending up in Munich. In Austria, we plan to see Vienna, Melk, Salzburg, and Innsbruck. Car or trains? If we choose to have a car and pick it up when we are leaving Vienna, should we drop it in Salzburg or Innsbruck, or keep it until we get to Munich?
Posted by
London, United Kingdom
4684 posts
If you just want to see those named cities and towns, there's no need to have a car. The train will be more convenient and in particular some of them can be difficult and expensive to find parking space in. A car is only really necessary in Europe if you intend to explore truly remote rural areas.
In particular, be very wary of crossing borders with a hire car - often companies charge punitive extra fees to return a car in a different country from where you collected it.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thanks for your advice. Would you recommend a rail pass, or to buy single destination tickets?
Posted by
1908 posts
In virtually all cases a rail pass does not pay off. Especially the Eurail Pass which is sold in the US is a rip-off. It dates back to times when buying rail tickets from different railroad companies in Europe was really complicated. Nowadays you can buy tickets online easily. A lot of companies offer cheap bargain tickets if you book well ahead.
Note that some companies require European security features enabled for your credit cards for online payments, e.g. an additional password and/or a security code sent to your mobile phone.