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Travelling from Vienna to Salzburg? Whether you fly, drive in a hire car or ride the train, these are the best ways of travelling between the two cities!
Salzburg is famous for two things – being the birthplace of Mozart and the home to The Sound of Music. However, there’s so much more to this gorgeous town tucked away in the mountains.
It’s one of those places that feels so laid back and relaxed. One of my favourite things to do here is find a cute café in one of the many squares in Old Town, order an espresso and a plate of apple strudel, and watch the world go by.
There aren’t many places that doing nothing is an experience in itself, which is why this is such a popular day trip from Vienna.
Travelling from Vienna to Salzburg is super easy and there are a number of options to choose from. In this blog post I’m going to take you through catching the train, give carpooling a go, and of course driving it yourself.
Hopefully after reading this you’ll have more of an idea which is the best method of travel for you! Also, I’ll tell you which is my preferred method of travelling too (in case it makes a difference!) This really should help plan your trip to Salzburg though.
Going the other way and need help planning your trip to Vienna? Then check out my guides on the best things to do in Vienna and where to find the best hotels too.
Contents:
Quick overview of the options
| Mode | Journey time | Typical cost | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Train (ÖBB Railjet) | 2h 22m to 2h 53m | €19.90 advance, €65 on the day | Wien Hbf to Salzburg Hbf, twice hourly, restaurant car |
| Train (Westbahn) | Around 2h 28m | From around €20 | Leaves Wien Westbahnhof, double-deck, twice hourly |
| Car | Around 3h on the A1 | Fuel plus €12.80 vignette | Old Town is closed to cars, use Park and Ride |
| Bus | Around 3h 40m | €15 to €30 | Very limited departures, arrives Salzburg Süd |
| Carpool (BlaBlaCar) | Around 3h | Around €17 to €25 | Door to door, depends what’s listed on the day |
Taking the train from Vienna to Salzburg
Austria is one of my favourite countries in Europe. I just love the landscapes of mountains and lakes, especially in summer. As such, one of the best things you can do is kick back in a train seat and watch the Austrian scenery pass you by.
Taking the Vienna to Salzburg train is very quick and easy. The fast train takes around 2 hours and 15 minutes. The slow train takes around 3 hours, so it’s not all that much longer. Also, there are approximately four trains an hour across the two operators, so there’s bound to be one when you want it.
This one catches people out, because it depends who you’ve booked with. ÖBB Railjet trains go from Wien Hauptbahnhof, the main station, and some of them run right through from the airport. Westbahn trains leave from Wien Westbahnhof and also pick up at Hütteldorf.
Both arrive into Salzburg Hauptbahnhof, so it’s only the Vienna end you need to get right. Check your ticket before you set off, because the two stations are the best part of 20 minutes apart on the U-Bahn.
The first train leaves from Vienna Hbf at 05:30 and arrives at 07:52, and the last trains leaves at 21:25 and arrives at 00:28. Obviously there are a number of different train times throughout the day too.
Ticket prices for Vienna to Salzburg varies dramatically depending on when you buy your ticket and what class you get. Advance Sparschiene fares on this route start at €19.90 in second class or €29.90 in first, while the full-flex walk-up Standardpreis is €65.00 second class or €126.80 first class. Obviously I really recommend buying all train tickets beforehand if you know your travel plans.
Taking the bus from Vienna to Salzburg
There is a bus, it just isn’t really competing with the train. Flixbus runs a direct service that takes around 3 hours 40 minutes, and BlaBlaCar Bus sells seats on this route too. Fares usually land somewhere between €15 and €30, so it can undercut a walk-up train ticket.
The catch is that there are only a handful of departures a day, some at genuinely antisocial hours, and the direct bus drops you at Salzburg Süd rather than the main station, so you’ve a local bus to catch after that.
Book a Sparschiene train ticket a few weeks out and you’ll pay roughly the same for a journey that’s over an hour quicker. The bus is really a fallback for when everything else has sold out.
Can you fly from Vienna to Salzburg?
Austrian Airlines used to run this route, but it was dropped a few years back and it hasn’t returned. Once you’d added getting out to Schwechat, checking in, and then getting into Salzburg from the airport at the other end, the train was quicker door to door anyway, so the numbers stopped stacking up.
Vienna to Innsbruck and Vienna to Klagenfurt are the only domestic flights Austrian has left, and even Vienna to Graz is being scrapped in October 2026.
If a booking site does show you a “flight” from Vienna to Salzburg, look closely, because it’ll be a connection through Frankfurt or Munich that eats most of your day. Take the train.
Driving from Vienna to Salzburg
It’s road trip time! Another really popular way of travelling between Vienna and Salzburg is by driving. Driving takes around 3 hours, but I’d suggest setting aside 4 hours and stopping off in Steyr along the way. Steyr is one of the best-preserved old towns in Austria that dates back to the 10th century and it’s a wonderful place to stop off for lunch.
Driving on the Austria roads is really easy (don’t forget they drive on the right side of the road if you’re coming from the UK) and the scenery is just beautiful. To be honest with you, one of the reasons I love this route so much are all the tiny little villages you see along the way. Just imagine what I’d be like living here!
Austria charges for its motorways with a vignette, and you need one before you join the A1. For 2026 a 10 day vignette costs €12.80, a single day is €9.60 and a two month one is €32. Get caught without it and you’re looking at a fine, so it isn’t worth chancing. You can buy one online from ASFINAG or at petrol stations near the border. Hiring a car in Vienna? Check whether the vignette is included. Some companies throw it in, plenty don’t.
Carpooling with Bla Bla Car
Another alternative method of travelling between the two places is carpooling. If you don’t know what this is, carpooling is where you share a lift with someone already travelling to the same place.
One company Bla Bla Car have taken this to the next level by having everything all in one place. All you need to do is state where you’re going and up comes a list of drivers, what time they’re leaving and how much it costs. And it is a lot cheaper than catching the train too!
Other things to consider
- If you’re hiring a car to drive, make sure you bring your driver’s licence and adhere to the speed limit. Check whether your rental includes a motorway vignette too, because plenty of companies don’t include one and you’ll need it before you join the A1.
- Another interesting option to think about is booking a private transfer. It’s a door-to-door service with local English-speaking drivers, and you can even add sightseeing stops along the way. This makes it a really stress-free alternative to driving yourself, especially if you don’t like driving abroad.
- Travelling with kids? On ÖBB Sparschiene tickets, one adult can take up to four children under 15 along for free. Worth double checking when you book, but it makes the train a very cheap option for a family.
- You don’t have to reserve a seat on this route, as your ticket gets you on the train either way. I’d still book one in summer or on a Friday afternoon, because these trains get busy and standing for two and a half hours is nobody’s idea of a good time.
- If you’re doing a lot of Austrian rail travel, look at an ÖBB Vorteilscard. It’s €66 for the year and knocks 50% off standard fares, though it won’t discount Sparschiene tickets, so it only pays for itself if you’re making several full-price journeys.
What’s new for 2026?
Between ÖBB and Westbahn there are now up to four departures an hour for most of the day. The fast Railjet services do it in 2 hours 22 minutes, the slower ones take closer to 2 hours 53, and Westbahn sits in the middle at around 2 hours 28.
Advance tickets are still the way to go. ÖBB standard fares went up by an average of 3.5% with the December 2026 timetable change, but the cheapest Sparschiene prices stayed put, so booking early saves you more than it ever did. Do check ÖBB’s SCOTTY planner a few days before you travel though, because engineering work on the Westbahn line is fairly common and it can mean altered times or a replacement bus for part of the route.
The bigger news is the new trains. ÖBB and Stadler have brought in double-deck KISS sets for this line, running at up to 200km/h with 486 seats, which is about 20% more capacity than the old single-deck Railjets. They’re being introduced in stages from the end of 2026.
Worth knowing before you get excited: there’s no restaurant car on these ones. ÖBB decided the journeys were too short to justify it, so you get two catering zones with vending machines instead. You do get level boarding, wider doors, space for eight bikes, power sockets and free Wi-Fi, which for a two and a half hour run is a fair trade.
If you’re heading to Salzburg then check out my article on ‘What to do in Salzburg’ for some of the best things to do in the city.
Are you planning a trip to Salzburg? If so, how are you going to get there? I’d love to know in the comments below!
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