TRAINS

When you come out of airport arrivals, simply walk right to find a ramp that
leads you down directly to the train station under the terminal.

To the right of the ramp are two important booths:

 The CAT ticket office and ticket machines (the CAT is the direct express
train service to the city center)

 The ÖBB ticket office and machines (Austrian railways and standard
city trains to the center)

There’s also a display board with departure times for all trains leaving the
airport for Vienna and elsewhere.

The machines have English displays for buying whatever tickets you need to
reach your destination. A single ticket to the city on a normal municipal train
service (S-Bahn) costs €3.90 at the time of writing.

Down the ramp you quickly reach platforms 1-2 for the S7 S-Bahn line into
Vienna and other trains, and platform 3 for the CAT service.

For more details on the difference between the CAT and S7, timetable links,
stops in Vienna etc., see the article on getting to the airport.

BUSES
Immediately ahead of you as you exit airport arrivals, slightly to the left and
right, are corridor exits to outside the terminal. The bus stops are
immediately outside, and you can buy tickets from the drivers.

 The Air-Liner bus service takes you to Vienna International Busterminal:

see their website for full details

 The Vienna Airport Lines run various services to different destinations in

Vienna, including routes right into the city center (e.g. Schwedenplatz or
 Schottentor) or to the area around the United Nations: see
their website for details
 Anyway, tickets are so cheap and the system so good, it behoves us all
to pay up.

 All forms of public transport fall more or less under the same
organization (WienerLinien), so the tickets you buy are independent of
your mode of travel. If you buy a ticket from A to B, it doesn’t matter if
you take the tram, train or catch the bus. Or use all three to make the
journey.

 If you have children, those under six do not need a ticket. And those
under fifteen go free if it’s a Sunday, public holiday or the summer
school vacation (usually eight weeks in July and August.) The latter also
qualify for half-price single tickets.

 TICKETS AND NETWORK CARDS

 Tickets are available from ticket offices in the main stations, ticket
machines in stations, and from newsagents / tobacconists (Trafik).
Single tickets are also sold by machines (at a premium) on trams and
buses, provided you have the right coins.

 Use this to validate tickets

 Most tickets you buy (see below) need to be validated in a stamping

machine. You validate a ticket by putting it into the yellow or orange slot
on the small boxes (see photo) you find in trams and buses, and at the
entrances to U-Bahn and S-Bahn stations.
 Tip: If you get lost or forgot where your hotel is, show your stamped
ticket to a tram driver or station attendant. They’ll be able to tell you
where you stamped your ticket, so you can retrace your journey back to
the beginning.

 Single ticket: Lets you travel from any point A to any point B within
Vienna. The only restriction is the journey must be direct, with no break.
You can change buses, trams and trains as you need, provided you’re
taking a continuous journey to your destination.

 24/48/72-hour network card (24/48/72 Stunden Wien): The

relevant time period starts from the time you first validate the ticket. In
that period, you can go where you like, as often as you like, within the
city limits.

 8-day ticket

 8-day network card (8-Tage-Karte): This ticket has 8 stripes and you
stamp each one as you need (beginning with the first). Once stamped, it
entitles you to travel anywhere in the city until 1am on the following day.
If you stamp two strips on the same day, then two people can travel
using the ticket. Three strips for three people etc.

 Tip: Take care using the 8-day card. If you inadvertently stamp the strip
marked number 8 first, then this means all 8 strips are used up. Fold the
card so that the lowest available number is facing up and at the top of
the ticket before you put it into the stamping machine (see photo on the
right).
 Be careful stamping these tickets

 Note also that the 8-day card isn’t necessarily intended for 8
consecutive days travel. You stamp a stripe if and when you need it.

 The network cards are transferable – they’re valid for the bearer and not
for any one particular person. And city-wide travel means exactly that.
The city zone (zone 1) covers just about anywhere you’re likely to go as
a visitor. You’ll probably only enter another zone if you visit one of the
surrounding towns or villages (or the airport).

 The Vienna Pass with Travel: Buying the basic pass gets you free
entry to around 60 tourist attractions. You can opt to add in a 24, 48 or
72 hour travel network card at purchase. See here* for more info.

 The Vienna card: This is a 24, 48 or 72-hour network card, but also
qualifies you for various discounts. In fact, just about anywhere you’re
likely to visit, watch or see offers reductions with the Vienna card.
See here for more info.

 Tip: If you plan on taking in plenty of sights, then a Vienna Pass or Card
can pay for itself pretty quickly. If you’re here Monday to Monday, the
weekly pass makes more sense as a travel card:

 Weekly network pass (Wochenkarte): Entitles you to city-wide travel

from Monday 9am to the following Monday 9am.
 Monthly network pass (Monatskarte): Entitles you to city-wide travel
during the relevant calendar month, plus the first two days of the next
month.

 Both the weekly and monthly pass are transferable, and neither requires
stamping since they come preprinted with the week or month in
question.