Practical Information for visiting Austria

Getting in. Vienna International is the main airport, with Salzburg, Innsbruck, Graz and Klagenfurt serving their regions and Munich a common alternative for western Austria.

Trains. ÖBB runs a dense, punctual and comfortable network, with Railjet services between the main cities and regional trains and postbuses reaching almost every valley on a coordinated timetable. The Klimaticket gives a year of unlimited travel on nearly all public transport nationally, and regional versions exist.

Buses fill in where the railway does not, particularly in the mountains, and are integrated into the same timetable and ticketing.

In cities. Vienna’s U-Bahn, trams and buses run on one ticket, and the tram network is among the largest in the world. Most city centres are compact and walkable.

Driving. A motorway Vignette sticker is compulsory and checked, several alpine passes and tunnels charge separately, and winter tyres are legally required from November to April.

Austria uses the euro and is in the Schengen area.

Cards are accepted in hotels, restaurants and shops, though Austria is noticeably more cash-oriented than most of western Europe — small cafes, bakeries, market stalls, mountain huts and some restaurants are cash only, and the habit runs deep enough to be a minor political subject. Carry notes.

ATMs are plentiful. Decline dynamic currency conversion and be charged in euros.

Tipping is expected at around five to ten per cent. The convention is to tell the server the total you want to pay as you hand over the money, rather than leaving coins on the table.

Restaurant bills are usually settled at the table with the server rather than at a till, and splitting a bill several ways is normal and untroubling.

Coverage for mobile networks is excellent, with 5G in the cities and along the main corridors and 4G in almost every inhabited valley. Signal reaches a surprising number of summits, because the cable car stations carry it, and drops in the deeper side valleys.

Austria is in the European Union, so EU roaming rules apply for visitors from member states. Local prepaid SIMs from A1, Magenta and Drei are cheap and sold in supermarkets.

Free Wi-Fi is standard in hotels, cafes and on ÖBB trains, and fixed speeds are high.

If you are walking in the mountains, download offline maps and note the alpine emergency number 140, which works from any phone with signal.

German is the official language, and what is spoken is Austrian German — a distinct standard with its own vocabulary, not simply an accent. Many everyday words differ from the German used in Germany: Erdapfel rather than Kartoffel for potato, Paradeiser for tomato in the east, Sackerl for a bag.

Beneath the standard sit Bavarian-family dialects that vary sharply by region; Vorarlberg’s is Alemannic and closer to Swiss German than to Viennese.

English is widely spoken in cities, tourism and among younger people, less so in rural areas and among older people.

The greeting matters: Grüß Gott is standard in most of the country, Servus is informal, and Grüß dich sits between. Danke, bitte and Auf Wiedersehen on leaving a shop are expected rather than optional.

Austria is among the safest countries in the world. Violent crime is rare, public transport is safe at any hour, and solo travel is straightforward. The real risks are in the mountains.

• Alpine hazards account for the great majority of visitor deaths: falls on exposed paths, weather that turns within an hour, altitude, and rockfall from thawing permafrost. Check the forecast, tell someone your route, and turn back when conditions say so.
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• Avalanches kill people off-piste every winter. The daily avalanche bulletin should decide your plans, and off-piste skiing without a guide, transceiver, probe and shovel is not sensible.
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• Cold water. Alpine lakes and rivers stay very cold all summer; the Danube and alpine rivers have strong currents.
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• Pickpocketing around Vienna’s Stephansplatz, the main stations and at Christmas markets is about the extent of urban crime.
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• Ticks in forest and long grass below about fifteen hundred metres carry encephalitis and Lyme disease; this is a genuine and well-documented risk here.

Mountain rescue is excellent and charged for; confirm your insurance covers helicopter evacuation.

Austrian healthcare is excellent. EU and UK visitors are covered for necessary treatment with a valid EHIC or GHIC; others pay privately and costs are high, so insurance including helicopter rescue and repatriation matters here.

Tick-borne encephalitis is the vaccination to think about. Austria has among the higher rates in Europe, ticks are active from spring to autumn in forest and grassland below the treeline, and vaccination is routine for Austrians. Lyme disease is also present and is not vaccine-preventable — check yourself after walking.

Altitude. Cable cars take people to three thousand metres within minutes, and mild altitude sickness is common. Take it slowly and descend if symptoms worsen.

Sun. UV at altitude is far stronger than at sea level and reflects off snow and ice; sunscreen and sunglasses are not optional above two thousand metres in any season.

Pharmacies operate an out-of-hours rota posted on the door. Tap water is excellent throughout — Vienna’s comes by gravity from alpine springs — and public fountains are drinkable unless marked otherwise.

Greet on entering. Grüß Gott or Guten Tag when you walk into a shop, a lift or a small restaurant, and Auf Wiedersehen when you leave. Its absence is noticed.

Greet on the mountain. Everyone you pass on a walking path is greeted; not doing so is genuinely rude.

Titles and formality. Use Sie until invited otherwise, and use professional titles where you know them.

Quiet hours apply at night and on Sundays in most buildings — no drilling, mowing or loud music. Sunday is quiet by custom and largely closed by law: supermarkets and most shops do not open.

Recycling is separated strictly by material, and glass by colour.

Punctuality is expected. Arriving late without warning is a discourtesy rather than a detail.

Jaywalking is fined, and smoking has been banned in bars and restaurants since 2019.

Emergency numbers: 112 works for everything. Nationally, 133 is police, 122 is fire, 144 is ambulance, and 140 is alpine rescue — the number for anyone in trouble in the mountains.

Mountain rescue is carried out by the Bergrettung and by helicopter services, and it is charged for. Membership of the Austrian or German alpine club includes rescue cover and is worth having if you plan serious walking; otherwise confirm your travel insurance covers helicopter evacuation explicitly.

Medical. Hospitals in every region are of a high standard, with university hospitals in Vienna, Graz, Innsbruck and Salzburg for complex cases. Emergency departments treat anyone; bring your EHIC or GHIC if eligible.

Weather and avalanche bulletins are published daily in English and should decide winter plans. The alpine huts are staffed in season and function as refuges as well as accommodation.

Keep an offline copy of your passport and insurance. Most embassies are in Vienna’s inner districts.