The hills are alive with the sound of music
With songs they have sung for a thousand years
The hills fill my heart with the sound of music
My heart wants to sing every song it hears
Austria
What makes Austria so special?
Austria, home to over 300 crystal clear lakes, over 230 castles, stunning snow-capped soaring mountains, lakes, and incredible scenery. Every season in Austria offers a unique and memorable experience, during Summer go hiking, cycling, mountain climbing, and you can even ski all year round.
Things to See and Do in Austria
Visit Vienna
Paraglide in Hopfgarten
Visit Swarovski Crystal World
Try Genuine Schnapps
Sound of Music Salzburg
Try Austrian food
Mauthausen Concentration Camp
Schnapps
PROST – Schnapps is the most famous alcohol to come out of Austria. Schnapps is a Distilled alcoholic beverage and it Can be made from Apricots, Herbs, Flowers, grains, nuts, peaches, pears, plums, strawberries. traditional Schnapps will be unsweetened and can be used for a big night out or digestive. The most well-known schnapps in Australia is Jägermeister.
KTM Motorcycles
Are you ready to race?
The iconic black and orange motorcycle KTM is an Austrian brand that was founded in 1934. The very first bike was made in 1951 and was called the Rioo. They were industry leaders who built the first sports motorcycle the Trophy 125. To this day they still produce quality award-winning bikes for the racing industry.
Swarovski Kristallwelten Crystal World
There isn’t a person in the world who doesn’t know the name Swarovski. Founded by Daniel Swarovski in the 19th century, the brand became a global success through its ground-breaking initiatives. The Swarovski Crystal range includes crystal glass sculptures and miniatures, jewellery home décor and chandeliers. The famous crystal mouse was created in 1976 as a symbol for the Winter Olympic Games in Innsbruck. In 1995 the company celebrated its 100th anniversary by building a spectacular theme park, Swarovski Crystal Worlds (‘Kristallwelten’) just outside Innsbruck. Walking in the glitter catches your eye at every turn, the head shaped fountain that is carved into the rocks, the intricate crystal designed along the path and the most spectacular of them all is the crystal forest. With a forest-inspired theme, you wander through the trees with a lovely blanket of crystals representing the leaves and treetops.
Red Bull
Red Bull gives you wings- the slogan that every person knows! Red Bull the energy drink was created by an Austrian Businessman who travelled to Thailand, He was so jetlagged when he got there that he looked for something to help him stay awake. A Thai man gave him a mixture of herbs and spices which cured his fatigue. A lightbulb moment went off and he brought the idea back to Austria…Boom Red Bull was born. Founded in 1988 and is available in over 166 countries worldwide. In terms of market share, Red Bull is the highest-selling energy drink in the world, with 5.387 billion cans sold in 2013. Red Bull now have their hands in everything from extreme sport to space travel and own a successful F1 team.
Helpful Hints for Austria
Accommodation
Budget hotels range from 50-70 euros pers night, Airbnb offer some fantastic places to stay that start from about 50 euro a night. If you are looking for an entire apartment, then expect to pay around 50-80 Euros per night. We tend to lean more towards Airbnb type accommodation as it is usually centrally located and ad more facilities eg. a full kitchen and laundry than normal hotel rooms offer.
Food
Austrian Food is very meat-oriented, they love hearty soups, stews, and lots of pastries. If you are eating at a restaurant you can expect to pay around 10-25 Euros per person, but if you are on a budget stick to eating at the local markets. They have a huge range of traditional Austrian Food and will only set you back about 8-14 Euro.
SAUSAGE: some common types include; Burenwurst, Debreziner, Waldviertler and Frankfurter.
Würstlstände or ‘sausage stands’ litter the sidewalks of every city in Austria. People from all walks of life crowd around these street stands for anything from a quick lunch, dinner or a post-bar snack: a sausage, fried or steamed, served with some type of bread, mustard, and beer or soft drink
Wiener Schnitzel – Traditionally made with veal, crumbed and served with scalloped potatoes or rösti.
Schnitzel – Crumbed then fried meats are easily the most popular food here Wiener (Pork) schnitzel perhaps being the most famous
Tafelspitz – (Boiled Beef) is regarded as Austria’s National Dish
Milka milk chocolate – Delicious creamy milk chocolate wrapped in the famous purple wrapper
Apfelstrudel – Otherwise known as apple strudel, is a pastry-based dessert filled with apple, raisins and cinnamon
Sachertorte chocolate cake- made famous in Vienna, There is so much controversy over the official secret recipe. The cake consists of two layers of dense, not overly sweet chocolate cake (traditionally sponge cake) with a thin layer of apricot jam in the middle and dark chocolate icing on the top and sides.
Almdudler – is an Austrian soft drink based on mountain herbs and with a flavour reminiscent of elderflower beverages. It is considered the ‘national drink of Austria’ and is popularly used as a mixer with white wine
Transport
The Public transport system in Austria is clean, safe, and reliable.
Trains – The train system is a fantastic way to get around Austria, they are fast and will get you to most parts of the country. Depending on your journey tickets will range in price, as an example, Vienna to Salzburg is a 3-hour journey and will cost around 20-30 euro for a ticket. The train system will also take you to the surrounding cities such as Prague, Budapest and Bratislava, a ticket will generally be quite affordable at about 10 euro per person. Use the Trainline for the best deals.
Bus- Flixbus are fantastic, they are not the quickest way to get around however they are the cheapest, tickets usually range from 5-15 euro per person.
Car rental – the car rental fee ranges from 40-80 euros per day, you do need to have an international drivers licence to be able to hire a car. Check out the deals on Rentalcars.com
Suggested daily budget – 80-100 EUR / (Note: This is a suggested budget assuming have booked your accommodation prior to leaving, eating out a little, making your breakfast and lunch yourself, and using the local transportation. Using the budget tips below, you can always lower this number. However, if you stay in fancier accommodation or eat out more often, expect this to be higher!)
What can I expect from Austria?
What can I expect from Austria?
Currency:
Euro (EUR) in the major cities credit cards are widely accepted; however, if you’re in a smaller town of the boutique shop; they do not appreciate you paying small amounts on your card. Cash is king, like anywhere it is best to carry small amounts of cash with you for those smaller purchases. Please do not carry large lump sums; what we usually do is take a Cash Passport for more information check out our post Travelling With your Money. Every 2 days go and withdraw 2-4 days worth of money and stash it in different pockets of your backpack; handbag and suitcase. Only keep small amounts of actual cash in your wallet at a time.
Electricity:
230volts – The plugs are 2 round pins- Amazon Sell a great Universal Travel Adaptor it is compact and has most plug types you will need. It’s about $20 AUD and totally worth it, check it out here.
Best time of year to go:
There is seriously no wrong time to visit Austria, all seasons provide a unique and memorable experience it just depends on what type of trip you are looking for. Summer is June- August the weather is beautiful, can get quite warm and often quite busy. Winter is December to March; temperatures drop as low as -10 and it regularly snows. Winter in Europe is my favourite thing of all time, the snow falls, the quaint Christmas markets fill the streets and the Christmas lights, light up the night sky. It is truly magical, and you should definitely experience the magic of Christmas time in Europe. If you’re looking for outdoor adventure, hiking, cycling, white water rafting then September to October is a good time as it is usually quieter and the weather is still fairly warm.
Language
- German is the official language
- Although the official language is German, the Austrians are fiercely independent and proud to be Austrian
- English is widely understood
- The locals speak a wide variety of dialects across the different regions of the country
| English | Austrian German |
| Hello | Hallo |
| Good day / Good morning | Guten Tag / Morgen |
| Good evening | Guten Abend |
| Good night | Gute Nacht |
| Hi | Hi / Tag |
| Good bye / Bye | Auf Wiedersehen / Tschüß |
| How are you? | Wie geht es Ihnen? |
| Fine thank you | Danke, gut |
| And yourself? | und Ihnen? |
| Yes | Ja |
| No | Nein |
Visa
Austria is a part of the European Union and works under the Schengen Agreement. EU nationals can travel visa-free. There are a number of countries that have been given permission for 90 days of visa-free travel. Some of those include Australia and Canada. Visa’s Change so regularly that we strongly recommend you check the current situation in your local country, Austrian Embassy.
Safety
You have to be careful where ever you are in the world, especially in big cities. This is usually where you could become the target of “tourist” crimes such as scams, pickpocketing, or mugging. Austria is extremely safe. Just stay street smart; don’t go down dark allies by yourself, have someone who knows where you are, all of the usual stuff.
Toilets in Europe
Throughout Europe, you will come across something that you may not be used to. You actually have to pay to use a public toilet or service stop toilet. It ranges from about 0.35c – 0.75c please make sure you have some small change with you. You don’t want to be close to exploding; find a bathroom and then not be allowed in because you haven’t paid. It is the worst!! Some of the restrooms are manned by an attendant and some are automatic machines with a turnstile. Check out our mini-guide to Paying for Public Toilets In Europe!
Money-Saving Tips
1
Book the right Accommodation
When looking for accommodation save money by booking a place a little further out of the city. Ensure it is next to a public transport stop and make sure it has a kitchenette.
2
Hit Up the Local Supermarket
Local Supermarkets are a wonderland of exotic goodies, to save some money and have it to spend elsewhere grab yourself some breakfast items as well as things to pack a picnic lunch. Bread, Salad, Ham fruit, etc not only is this a much healthier alternative you will free up some cash to treat yourself to a nice evening meal.
3
Walk Everywhere
In most of the big main towns in Austria everything is quite close together, once you arrive save yourself a few euros buy walking rather than using the public transport
4
Set a Daily Budget
Set yourself a daily budget and stick to it, withdraw a certain amount of cash from an ATM divide it into sections and that is your daily spend limit. One day you might not spend it all then you have a bonus for the next day to splash out on that extra activity.
5
Use Flixbus
For your longer journeys between places use the Flixbus, they are very affordable, have free wifi and is an option to travel over night saving on one nights accommodation.
