So I have ironed out our itinerary for 8 days in Switzerland and 5 days in Austria. Now for transportation. Originally I had decided to get a 2 country Euro-flexipass and travel only by train, but my friend advised me that having a car in Austria would be a nice change and that driving through the Wachau valley is a must. My possibilities are: 1. Rent car from Zurich and drop in Vienna- online this seemed possible for app 400E but are there hidden problems with cross border rentals? 2. Take Train from Zurich to Salzburg then rent car for 3 days to explore that area and drop in Vienna - interestling enough the car is not that much less expensive with his option and I can't find a rate for the cost of this train trip. Do I get just the Swiss pass now, and pay for my Austrian train trip in choice #2 or is the 2 country pass still a better deal?I have checked out the recommended rail sites and am still confused!!
Debbie
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17440 posts
Debbie, you can find the cost from Zurich to Salzburg on the Swiss rail site, www.sbb.ch. Depending on your date of travel you may be able to get the reduced fare of 50 CHf for this journey. Or if you have a Swiss pass, it will cover to the border and the rest of the way is still about 50 CHF. A Swiss pass is a better deal than a Swiss-Austria pass, as the latter is only available in first class so it costs more. On many of the high mountain trains and lifts there is no first class anyway. The best explanation of coverage of the various passes is right on this website under Railpasses. The Switzerland section has charts with coverage and prices ( in US dollars).
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
Lola, I just went on the sbb website to see what would happen if I tried to order a ticket from Zurich to Salzburg. They took the information and said, I think, that they would get back to me in 24 hours with an order or 48 hours with information. Did I do something wrong? Can't I get fare information immediately, like on the Bahn.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17440 posts
Lee, I cannot explain that as I found the fare and the purchase option both 30 days out (May 20) and 60 days out (June 20) on sbb.ch.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17440 posts
Lee, try the direct run ( no changes.). That is the one that will show a fare, and you purchase the ticket online. It is the opposite of bahn.de, which will not show a fare for the direct route but will for the others (39 euro special fare).
Posted by
OP
Cape Breton, NovaScotia, Canada
10 posts
Has anyone rented a car in Austria? Have any helpful suggestions?
Posted by
OP
Cape Breton, NovaScotia, Canada
10 posts
Thanks Lola! I tried the sbb site, but each time I tried to view fare for the direct route It kicked me out, some connection problem it said. Did you get a fare of 39E for the direct Zurich to Salzburg ??? THats amazing!!
Debbie
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17440 posts
The SBB site has been acting up for the last week and a half or so. I too had the experience of being kicked off when I hit the "Fare/Buy" button for the chosen route. I just go back in and try again, and then it usually works. I don't know what is going on; the site is usually very reliable! If you don't mind changing trains, you could buy the 39 euro fare on Bahn.de if you still can't get through on SBB. I haven't checked exchange rates recently, but I think that is just about equivalent to 50 CHF?
Posted by
Walpole, NH, USA
26 posts
We've rented a car to drive from Vienna-Avignon through Austria and Switzerland from AutoEurope through AAA. There are 4 of us and we wanted the flexibility of a car so we steeled ourselves for the cost! We didn't mind the actual rental fee but the car drop charge was 500 euro since it has to be driven back to Austria. We'd rented a car before for Germany/France and my family loved the flexibility to explore.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33851 posts
If you drive in Austria you need die Vignette to drive on Autobahnen - which should be provided by your Austrian car rental dude - but many of the longer tunnels are an additional toll, as is the Grossglockner.