I've been trying to navigate the official transportation site (Wiener Linien), but have been unable to find answers to my questions. Does anyone know if the weekly pass will cover the S-7 train from the airport to Vienna? Also, if an adult has a pass, will it cover children traveling witih him/her, or would they need their own passes?
Thank you in advance for any help!
In terms of going to the airport the pass acts as part payment (you need one more ticket - 2.20 IIRC).
Also I think the pass starts on Monday so it's not from the day you buy it.
Thanks, Gerry. That's helpful. We won't be there a whole week, but I think it will be worth it for our limited use if it covers our daughter along with us.
The weekly pass does not entirely cover the journey from the airport into Vienna. You will need a supplement. The system for paying the supplement will change on July 6, moving from a zone system to a system based on distance.
As noted already, the weekly ticket on the Wienerlinien runs only from Monday-Monday. There might be better and cheaper ways. Regarding your kid, it depends on what time of year and the age of your child. If you can share your details on length of stay, where you are staying (general area), month of stay and age of your child, it will make answering your question a lot easier.
All that said, when you arrive at the airport, I always suggest taking a pre-paid taxi if you are 3 or more - it is worth it at 32 Euro. Then once you are in town, you can go to a ticketing machine and/or Wienerlinien desk and figure out what is best for your needs. Honestly, if you are staying in the center of town, you might not even need to use public transport.
Thanks, Emily! We will be traveling at the end of July. We will be two adults and two kids (ages 5 and 10). Our hotel is just outside of the ring - Rathaus area. We will be in town for 5 days, leaving on a Monday morning (would need to get to the airport before 9 a.m., so the pass would potentially benefit us that day, even if it expires at 9 a.m. that morning. We are accustomed to walking quite a bit, but we would like to do a Tram Tour. Looking at the site, it looks like the weekly pass is roughly twice the cost of the 24-hr pass. As far as I can determine, for "regular" single-trip tickets, it looks like our 5-year old travels for free with us, and the 10-year old travels at 1/2 price. With a pass, I'm uncertain as to whether the 10-year old travels free or not. We expect to mostly visit in and around the Old Town, but we hope to go to Schoenbrunn Palace one day, and potentially Prater Park. I don't know -- maybe single tickets would be less expensive. I also read in Rick Steves that my 10-year old rides for free on Sundays, but I haven't been able to confirm that on the official site.
Thanks for the details. Your 5 year old is free year round; your 10 year old is also free as kids ride free during summer holidays. Only you and your spouse need to pay for public transport.
Getting to and from the airport, I again highly recommend taking a taxi, especially with kids and bags. Trust me (I also have a 5 and 12 year old). It is a good investment.
For your passes, I suggest buying a weekly ticket as it is the best value. You can use it on trams, subway and buses.
The area of your hotel is actually great, especially for restaurants. Il Sestante is a great pizza place with a large green space; the 25 Hours Hotel has a great burger place on the ground floor just in front of the playground (great for mom and dad to sit and have beer while kids play); Vollpension is my favorite cafe and great for kids; go to Naschmarkt; definitely go to a heuriger - my favorite with kids is Feuerwehr Wagner as they have great playground and equally good food; finally, please try to do a walk through the hills and vineyards back down to town - it is all downhill and you get GREAT views of the city, go to Kahlenberg via bus 38A and take the trail marked Stadtwanderweg 1, stop at Sirbu or Mayer am Nussburg; finally, try to go to the Donauinsel and visit the wasserspielplatz - bring bathing suits to this free water playground as it is a lot of fun.
Wow -- thank you! I really appreciate all of the suggestions -- especially for kid-friendly restaurants! I find that locating food for the children has become one of our biggest difficulties while traveling.
I will look into a cab. I have traditionally taken public transport to/from airports in order to save $, but it is beginning to dawn on me that things won't be as simple with two kids in tow. Is there a particular company that you would suggest booking with, or should we just pick up a taxi when we exit the airport?
The RS guidebook had a suggestion for a day trip from Vienna: Take a train to Melk, visit the Abbey, and then a boat to Krems... and then a train back to Vienna that evening. I'm not sure that we will have time with only 5 days, but I would be interested to know your thoughts on the proposed trip. Have you ever done it? Do you think it's worthwhile, or would you spend all 5 days in the city?
Thank you again for all of the advice!
We always book with Red Cab in advance (at least 24 hours) at http://www.red-cab.at/index.php/en/?Itemid=103. They have always been on time, nice cars and polite. They will even arrange a booster seat for your 5 year old if you put a note on the booking.
On the trip to the Wachau - yes, I highly recommend it, but not the Rick Steves way. Take the train from Vienna to Melk. Honestly, with kids, I'd skip the interior of the abbey and just get on the boat. Take the boat to Duernstein. In Duernstein, have an apricot dumpling on the terrace of the Richard Lionheart Hotel and then walk up the path to the castle ruin where Richard Lionheart was held captive. Amazing views. Explore the town a bit and then get on the WL1 bus to the Krems train station. Take the train from Krems back to Vienna.
Thank you, Emily!! I really appreciate you sharing your inside knowledge!
If they like horses, take them over to the Burggarten to see the Lipizzaner foals loose in the park. Tues - Sat from 5 to 6, unless it's raining. Free and fun. I started a thread about it here ('heads up' ).
Thank you, Zonderpaard! I didn't know that the stallions would be out in the summer. For some reason, I thought that they were on tour or something. The kids would love to see them.
MrsEB, the fare changes are for VOR not for Wiener Linien. VOR operates regional buses. Different system.
Per WienerLinien, the week card expires at 9.00 on Monday:
'A weekly pass can be used for unlimited travel on Vienna’s public transport network during the selected week, from 12:00 am Monday until 9:00 am the following Monday. '
http://www.wienerlinien.at/eportal3/ep/channelView.do/pageTypeId/66533/channelId/-47643
The ticket machines take cards or cash. They will be labelled accordingly. Buy a ticket from VIE to the center (Wien Mitte) at a machine. Whichever Ubahn stop you are at the end of that journey, buy your 7 day pass from a Wiener Linien machine and you are set. If you get stuck, just ask someone for help. It's all good. :-)
Edit for sssarlington: enjoy! they are fun to watch for sure.
