I have compared point-to-point prices and railpass prices, and it appears that buying a railpass is more economical for me. I will be using the train probably 8 of the 10 days in the country. I do plan on train travel on the weekends, but won't be there during any holidays. I also don't plan on using any trains where a reservation is required; and I'm not tied to any itinerary where I have to be at a certain place on a certain day. On some occasions I will be traveling from a major city to a major city (i.e. Vienna - Salzburg). Have you recently experienced train travel in Austria? Did you find that you ever needed a reservation for similar travel that I plan to do?
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33861 posts
Why do you need reservations on Railjet? A couple of months ago I did Salzburg to Wien on a pass in second class and saw no reservations checked on either Railjet or the OIC.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19275 posts
Since you choose to keep your itinerary secret, there is no way to critique your decision of rail pass vs. point-point, but I do have to question it. An 8 day Austrian rail pass consists of three days at €36,60/day, plus 5 more at €13,25/day.
I spent four days traveling in Austria last August.
One day was 6½ hrs for €47,50. Hopefully, not many of your 8 days will entail that much travel.
The first day was entirely by bus, which isn't covered by an Austrian pass. There was a train parallel to part of the route, 22 min. That fare would have been €3,60. Another day was about an hour, €11,10. The only other day that exceeded the extra day price was RT Hall to Innsbruck to Brenner at €17,60.
So, my three most expensive days (€76) did not come up to the base cost of an Austrian pass (€110), and two of the days did not meet the €13,25 for an extra day. My four days (€80) were not half of the €176 for an eight day pass.
I did not have, nor need, reservations for the trains I rode, although one, an ÖEC from Irding to Jenbach was pretty full.
Posted by
OP
Parkton
46 posts
Am I correct in that a railpass covers a journey on Railjet?
Posted by
Greenville, SC, USA
263 posts
Yes - Raijet trains are covered by a pass, so long as your pass covers Austria.
EDIT - railjet trains run in adjacent Bavaria, so in that case your pass would need to cover Germany too.