We'll be traveling to Austria from Murren, Switzeland (early May 2018) and would like to use our Swiss Rail pass to at least the Austrian border and then rent a car in the most convenient place in Western Austria (Dornbirn, Austria looks like a likely candidate) and then travel by car to Reutte and then from there on to Salzburg. What's the best/first place in Austria that I could rent a car (4 people with luggage)?
Posted by
Vienna, Austria
5384 posts
I would use Sixt in Dornbirn.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
6534 posts
Can’t answer your exact question, but ensure you have an international driver’s permit. It is mandatory and they will check to ensure you have it when getting the rental.
Posted by
1905 posts
You can check here: https://www.check24.at/
Its in German, but easy to understand. You need to enter additionally the town where you want to return the car.
Dornbirn is about 15 miles away from Feldkirch, where the trains coming from Switzerland have the first stop in Austria. Maybe the car can be delivered to the train station in Feldkirch.
Posted by
Augsburg, Bavaria
2333 posts
The Hertz office in Bregenz is right opposite the station.
Posted by
1905 posts
The OP said that they want to come by train from Switzerland to Austria. All long-distance trains have as first stop after the border the town of Feldkirch, then they continue to go east directly to Innsbruck, Salzburg, and Vienna, having no stops in Dornbirn or Bregenz which are north of Feldkirch.
In Feldkirch there is no office of a big car-rental company. Those are in Dornbirn and Bregenz, which is even further away.
Posted by
Augsburg, Bavaria
2333 posts
All long-distance trains have as first stop after the border the town of Feldkirch, then they continue to go east directly to Innsbruck
Well, trains from Switzerland bound for Munich stop at both Dornbirn and Bregenz.
Posted by
1905 posts
Well, trains from Switzerland bound for Munich stop at both Dornbirn and Bregenz
Trains from e.g. Zurich to Munich go via Stuttgart and do not pass the Austrian border at all.
The best choice - in my opinion - is to take the direct train from Zurich to Bregenz, where all major car-rental companies offer their services.
Posted by
Augsburg, Bavaria
2333 posts
Trains from e.g. Zurich to Munich go via Stuttgart and do not pass the Austrian border at all.
Sorry, but I'm wondering if you have ever taken one. The direct EC connection from Zürich to Munich is via St. Gallen - Bregenz - Lindau - Memmingen. Please look up it at the DB or SBB web site.
Posted by
1905 posts
Please look up it at the DB or SBB web site.
I did. I checked with an unfortunate random date (April 13th), and on this day there is no direct EC from Zürich to München via St. Gallen, it seems to be replaced by a bus.
Posted by
Augsburg, Bavaria
2333 posts
Yes, there will be several time spans in 2018 where travellers between Zürich and Munich will have to resort to the bus (or take the expensive detour via Stuttgart), since from March onwards the modernizing and electrifying of the Lindau-Munich line will be undertaken (eventually, after many years of reluctance by the DB). One can, however, almost always take the alternative southern route via Kempten, which is slower but landscapewise much nicer since is meanders through the foothills of the alps for quite a while.