Carhirequest blogcar hire and car travel tips for European travelers

General information

Innsbruck is the fifth largest city of Austria with approximately 130,000 inhabitants. It is known as the capital of famous Austrian region called Tirol. Every year city hosts some of the worlds most famous skiing stars when one of the races take place in Innsbruck. The city was hosting Winter Olyimpic games back in the 1964 and 1976. Innsbruck is both culturaly and economicaly advanced city what pretty much describes as well other major cities in Austria like Vienna and Salzburg. Innsbruck is also a student city with three big universities. The main income source for the Innsbruck economy is definitely tourism.

Location

Innsbruck is located in the central part of Austria in Tirol, it is 480 km away from the capital Vienna, also 100 km from Munich, 393 km from Zagreb, 579 km from Budapest.

Airports

Innsbruck Kranebitten Airport is situated at a distance of about 5 km from the city centre of Innsbruck and connected to the city with railway.

Traffic

The city of Innsbruck in some parts of the town has very old road infrastructure therefore the streets in some parts are very narrow and especially during the winter time drivers have to be very carefull. Innsbruck has really good and well organized tram system to go around the city, the price of the ticket is app. 1.8 Euros per ride.

General information

Slazburg is fourth largest city in Austria with population of 150,000 inhabitants. The city is well known for the fact the one of the worlds most famous composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born here. Old Baroque city that is so preserved that gives the feeling like you have travelled back in time. The city is also listed in the UNESCO’s heritage list. Therefore every year more and more tourist rush into this baroque city. Salzburg also has a big student population so night life is also pretty intense.
One of the most famous of all the universities in Salzburg is Mozarteum, the University of Music and Dramatic Arts, built in the honour to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Location

Slazburg is located in western Austria, 6 kilometers away from the border with Germany, also 115 km away from Munchen, 321 km away from Zagreb, 234 km from Ljubljana, 468 km from Budapest.

Airports

Salzburg’s Airport, the W. A. Mozart Airport, is located 2 km from the German border and 4 km away from Salzburg city center , it can be reached by train from main train station in 20 minutes, bus goes every half an hour and taxi fare will cost approximately 10-12 Euro.

Traffic

Well developed bus and new modern railway system ensures smooth and fast transportation in the city. Toll sticker is mandatory when driving in the city.

General information

Vienna is the capital city of Austria. The city has 1.7 million inhabitants and is the biggest in Austria by population and size. Vienna is also cultural, educational and economy center of the country. By becoming more competitive on the international market by investing in different economic strategies Vienna is growing into a real business and economical leader of this part of central Europe. It is well know that Vienna has long history and with it rich culture as well, with 70 theatres, 4 opera houses and more that 100 different museums is also on the most culturaly aware cities in the region. Numerous universities at which students from different parts of Europe come to study make Vienna also a big educational centre of the region.

Location

Vienna is located in the east of Austria near Slovakian border, 60 kilometers from Bratislava, also 600 km from Zagreb, 220 kilometers from Budapest and 250 kilometers from Prague.

Airports

The airport is located in Schwechat , the best way to reach Vienna city by car is to take the A4 airport motorway, the airport is 19 kilometers away from the city centre.

Traffic

The city traffic is very dense, therefore you will need some patience to go from one part of the city to another, but the signalisation is pretty simple to follow so with a little effort there will be no problem. There are numerous city garages where cars can be parked. Alternative methods of transportation are city bus and tram. Single tickets can be purchased at a price of EUR 1.70 at different locations in the city, in the underground stations and end even tobacco’s. Ticket can be also purchased in bus or tram but the price is significantly higher.

Austria is located in the central Europe, and has 8,5 Million inhabitants. The climate in Austria is greatly influence by presence of Alps, therefore there is extensive snow during the winter throughout the country. When we observe the Austrian history we can see that through the past Austria was imperial force. All the way from Austro-Hungarian empire and the Habsburg dinasty well known to the people in this part of Europe.

During the recent past Austria also had turbulations especially during the second world war prior which was annexed to Germany in 1938. That has lasted till the end of the war, and in 1955 Austria regained its sovereignty. In 1955 Austria also became a member of European Union and today Austria is one of the smaller European countries but yet famous for its skiing destinations as well as classical Music thanks to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart but also a economically very powerfull country with high living standard.

Popular destinations

Vienna – the capital of Austria and also the biggest city. The city population is 1.7 million people and is education, science and economy centre of Austria. Vienna is 10th largest city in the European Union but as well among the top ones when it comes to hosting many international organizations such as United Nations and OPEC.

Salzburg – city is most famous by the fact that this is the place where world’s most famous composer was born here – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It is one of those places that you must not avoid when visiting Austria. Old Baroque city that is so preserved that gives the feeling like you have travelled back in time. The city is also listed in the UNESCO’s heritage list.

Innsbruck – located in Tirol presents one of the most famous skiing spots in this part of Europe, the city hosted a winter Olympics in 1964 and 1976. Mountain is almost touching the city so besides the Great skiing opportunity you are still close to the city centre and its great offer.

Airports

Austria has 6 main airports:
Vienna, Graz, Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, Slazburg, Linz,

Spoken languages

German language is the official language in Austria but though due to the developed tourism English is spoken as well. Other local official languages are Croatian, Hungarian and Slovenian.

Currency

Euro is official currency in Austria.

Drivers licence and drivers age

Driver must be at least 18 years of age and have 1 year of driving experience in order to hire a car in Austria although it differs when renting a car.

Travel tips

1. When driving on Austrian highways vignette is neccesary to purchase, it costs approximately €7,50 for 10 days
2. There are bus systems in all the other main towns, and also tramways in Linz, Innsbruck and Graz, and trolleybuses in Linz, Innsbruck and Salzburg.
3. Breakdown service numbers are 120 or 123.
4. Seat belts front and rear are obligatory everywhere.

Drivers lane

In Austria cars are driven on the right side as in most of the European countries.

Traffic

Traffic infrastructure is well developed in Austria in both aspects, air or road. Vienna is connected with other airports in the country on regular basis. Speed limit while driving in Austria are the following: 130 km/h on the highways, on local roads 70 km/h and in the urban areas 50 Km/h.

Borders

Austria borders with following countries: Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia and Italy.