Country Information

Flights to Austria are served by the two national airlines, both part of the Austrian Airlines Group (www.aua.com): Austrian Airlines (OS) and Austrian Arrows (VO).

Included in ticket price.

Vienna International Airport (VIE). (www.viennaairport.com) Vienna International Airport is located 16km (10 miles) southeast of Vienna. Tel: <p>(01) 70070.</p>.

Salzburg Airport (SZG). (www.salzburg-airport.com) Salzburg Airport is located 4km (2.5 miles) west of Salzburg city centre, and 2km (1.2 miles) east of the German border. Tel: <p>(0662) 85800.</p>.

Innsbruck Airport (INN). (www.innsbruck-airport.com) Innsbruck Airport is located 5km (3 miles) to the west of Innsbruck. Tel: <p>(512) 225 250.</p>.

DDSG-Blue Danube Schiffahrt (www.ddsg-blue-danube.at) operates a passenger service on the Danube from Germany (Passau) to Vienna.

DDSG-Blue Danube Schiffahrt also operates a hydrofoil service from the Praterlande hydrofoil dock in Vienna to Hungary (Budapest; journey time - 6 hours). Brandner (tel: (7433) 259 021; www.ms-austria.at) concentrates its services between Melk and Krems. A regular hydrofoil service also runs daily during the summer months from Vienna to the Slovak Republic (Bratislava; journey time - 1 hour 30 minutes).

International rail tickets are valid on Danube river boats. More information on the above services, and connections to Serbia (Belgrade), Turkey (Istanbul) and Ukraine (Yalta), can be obtained from the Austrian National Tourist Office.

The German operator Wurm und Köck (tel: (732) 783 607; www.donauschiffahrt.at) offers both passenger services and cruises to Linz. Evening and music cruises are available in the summer.

Österreichische Bundesbahnen (ÖBB) (Austrian Federal Railways) (tel: (1) 930 000; www.oebb.at) operates a wide network of trains throughout and beyond Austria. International connections from Vienna include trains to Germany (Berlin), to the Russian Federation (Moscow, via Warsaw/Kiev and Minsk), to Romania (Bucharest, via Budapest), to Greece (Athens) or Turkey (Istanbul, via Belgrade) and to Italy (Venice, Milan or Rome). The most common routes are from Brussels or Paris (Eurostar connection from London) to Vienna.

Eurostar: Eurostar (tel: 0870 518 6186, in the UK; www.eurostar.com; or Rail Europe (tel: 0844 848 4064, in the UK; www.raileurope.co.uk) operates direct high-speed trains from London (St Pancras International) to Paris (Gare du Nord) and to Brussels (Midi/Zuid). It takes 2 hours 15 minutes from London to Paris (via Lille) and 1 hour 51 minutes to Brussels. From Brussels, there is a morning and a night train to Vienna (journey time - 13 hours); from Paris (Gare de l'Est), there are two trains to Vienna (journey time - 14 hours 45 minutes).

InterRail: offers unlimited first- or second-class travel in up to 30 European countries for European residents of over six months with two pass options. The Global Pass allows travel for 22 days, one month, five days in 10 days or 10 days in 22 days across all countries. The One-Country Pass offers travel for three, four, six or eight days in one month in any of the countries except Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro. Travel is not allowed in the passenger's country of residence. Travellers under 26 years receive a reduction. Children's tickets are reduced by about 50%. Supplements are required for some high-speed services, seat reservations and couchettes. Discounts are offered on Eurostar and some ferry routes. Available from Rail Europe (tel: 0844 848 4064, in the UK; www.raileurope.co.uk/inter-rail).

Eurailpass: offers unlimited first-class train travel in 17 European countries. Tickets are valid for 15 days, 21 days, one month, two months or three months. The Eurailpass Saver ticket offers discounts for two or more people travelling together. The Eurailpass Youth ticket is available to those aged under 26 and offers unlimited second-class train travel. The Eurailpass Flexi allows either 10 or 15 travel days within a two-month period. The Eurail Selectpass is valid in three, four or five bordering countries and allows five, six, eight or 10 travel days (or 15 for five countries) in a two-month period. The Eurail Regional Pass allows four to 10 travel days in a two-month period in one of nine regions (usually two or more countries). Children receive a 50% reduction. The passes cannot be sold to residents of Europe, Turkey, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia or the Russian Federation. Available from The Eurail Group (www.eurail.com).

The Channel Tunnel: Eurotunnel (tel: 0870 535 3535, in the UK; www.eurotunnel.com) runs shuttle trains for cars, bicycles, motorcycles, coaches, minibuses, caravans, campervans and other vehicles over 1.85m (6.07ft) between Folkestone in Kent, with direct road access from the M20, and Calais, with links to the A16/A26 motorway (Exit 13). All road vehicles are carried through the tunnel in shuttle trains running between the two terminals. The journey takes about 35 minutes from platform to platform and around one hour from motorway to motorway. There are up to four passenger shuttles per hour at peak times, 24 hours per day and services run every day of the year.

Car ferry: There are regular ferry services across the English Channel. The quickest and most practical route from London to Vienna is via the Dover-Calais ferry (crossing time - 1 hour 30 minutes). The distance by road is approximately 1,600km (1,000 miles). It is one day's drive in summer, but can take longer in winter. Munich is 4-5 hours from Vienna; Milan and Zurich are a good day's drive.