Hello. My 80-year-old mother and I will be cruising on Viking in April on the Danube Waltz tour. There is a stop in Krems. We would like to see the Gottweig Abbey in Krems, but after reading about Krems on this site, I am thinking after the abbey tour we may want to go to Melk rather than staying in Krems. The Gottweig tour ends at 1:45.
Does anyone have any suggestions on the easiest way to get to Melk from Krems and back to the port? Or suggestions on things to do in Krems?
Thank you in advance
Posted by
2933 posts
The easiest connection from Krems (train station) to Melk (train station) by public transport is taking the bus. There are two bus lines, 715 along the northern embankment of the river Danube, 720 along the southern. Travel time (one-way) is 1:05 hours.
Taking a train connection is only three minutes faster, but you have one train change.
When you plan your trip you need to figure out how far away from the train station in Krems your ship is moored, taking the necessary walking time into account. In Melk it is a walk of about 15 minutes from the train station to the abbey.
Posted by
Vienna, Austria
6304 posts
As wmt1 shares, the bus is the main way to go, but is it the "best" based on your scenario? If price was not an issue, I'd simply take a taxi between the two towns. It will be much more expensive, but will cut travel time in half and you will have door to door.
If you do take the bus (which I would normally always recommend), you will need to walk a bit to the stops at either end. I am also assuming that after your tour of Gottweig, that you will be dropped off at your boat dock.
All of this said, I assume you want to go to Melk to see the Abbey? If yes, then my opinion would be that this is Abbey overload. If you are going to see a cute town, then Melk is not your place. I find the historic center of Krems to be much more beautiful and there is more to see. But again, the charm of this region is really in the villages that you will whizz by on your way to Melk. Villages like Duernstein, Weissenkirchen, Spitz. These are my absolute highlight. But if two abbeys in one day is your thing, then go for it.