Despite the distance it's a very simple journey by train from Wien/Vienna to Hamburg, thanks to direct rail connections between these two fabulous cities, both during the day and overnight.
When travelling between most cities by train there is only one logical option, though on other journeys there is a choice between different trains or alternative routes. If different options are available you can use the info to decide which is best for you.
8hr 40min (approx)
Daily
1 x direct train per day
ShowMeTheJourney earns a small commission on Trainline ticket sales. It can be a particularly good option for: Comparing different train services; Booking international journeys with connections; Travelling between the UK to destinations beyond Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris - and for international travellers who don't reside in western Europe.
DB is the national railway operator in Germany, so its website can be used for booking journeys by German express trains; the ICE and IC trains and it doesn't charge booking fees.
It also sells tickets for journeys by direct trains on all international routes from Germany regardless of whether DB is operating the train service.
It also sells an extensive range of end-to-end journeys which involve making connections both within Germany and in neighboring countries, but journeys between Germany and Britain cannot be booked on DB.
On journeys within Germany and on most international journeys from and to Germany on trains operated by DB:
When booking both types of the discounted 'Sparpreis' tickets seat reservations are an optional extra, so need to be added when booking if you want an assigned seat(s).
OBB is the national rail operator and its booking service offers journeys by express trains within Austria, as well as international journeys which don't involve making a connection outside of Austria.
It pays off to book online, as the discounted 'Sparscheine' tickets are only ever made available on the website, and when making international journeys to and from Austria, these Sparscheine tickets tend to be cheaper.
OBB can offer particularly good value for money when travelling with children on international rail journeys, but something to watch out for when travelling between Austria and Germany on daytime trains, is that reservations are an optional extra; but if you book 1st class tickets with the Germany railways website DB, the reservations are complimentary.
OBB often takes a unique approach to its booking path, but a key thing to keep in mind is that the first price you will see for any journey is that of a Second Class seat.
The costs of upgrading to first class, a reservation, or a sleeping cabin etc, is then added to this price.
Happy Rail is a Netherlands rail ticket agency which sells tickets for both national and international journeys within a range of countries including Belgium France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland.
HappyRail doesn't charge booking fees in the conventional sense, but if you're not Dutch you can expect to pay additional transaction fees, which will be added to the total cost.
That's because the most common form of online payment used in The Netherlands is 'iDEAL' and HappyRail doesn't charge a transaction fee for 'iDEAL' payments, but only Dutch residents can sign up to 'iDEAL'.
Other forms of payment include Visa debit cards will incur a fee.
Final Destination: Hamburg-Altona
This train also calls at: Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe and Hannover
Departing from Wien/Vienna:
If your journey in Vienna is commencing in the south-west corner of the city, or the area on the ring road around the Opera House - then it's likely that you'll have a faster and more convenient journey if you join the train at Wien-Meidling station.
Wien Meidling is connected to line U6 of the Vienna Metro, which serves the western side of the city centre.
Though we particularly recommend opting to make reservations on these trains if you want to join this train at Wien-Meidling.
Arriving in Hamburg:
Check the location of your final destination in Hamburg before booking.
This train will call at Hamburg Hbf, the main station in the city, but it will travel on beyond Hamburg Hbf to also call at Hamburg-Dammtor station and then at Hamburg-Altona.
So leaving the trains at either of those stations, could give you easier access to your final destination in the city.
From Wien/Vienna until Wels the train will travel at up to 230 km/h (close to the high speed threshold) on the main Western Railway which crosses Austria.
On departure from Wells the train will head towards the border with Germany and to the south of Passau, the railway takes a charming route on the east bank of The River Inn, which can be seen on left.
Then between Passau and Regensburg the River Danube is on the right.
Between Regensburg and Nurnberg the train rushes across a delightful rolling landscape and then until Wurzburg the train remains on the conventional railway.
On departure from Wurzburg comes a part of the journey with a wow factor, because between the stations until Hannover, the train will be travelling at more than 270 km/h for around 2hr 30mins.
The first high speed line in Germany was blasted through dozens of tunnels, but between many of them, the train will whizz across viaducts, so keep your eyes peeled to see the views.
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So if you have found the info provided here to be useful, please go here to say thank you.
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 6 months ahead of the travel date - usually
This train is usually scheduled to depart from Wien Hbf at 13:15 so hone in on that time when looking up this journey.
It can be worth comparing prices on the different ticket agents, the cheapest 'Europa Spezial' tickets can still be available on DB, the German railways website, when the most heavily discounted 'Sparschiene' tickets are sold out on OBB, the Austrian railways website.
And the reverse can be true, cheaper Sparschiene tickets can still be available on OBB, meaning that DB can be more expensive.
Online bookings open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date
This booking period tends to be shorter when looking up journeys between mid August and mid October.
A choice of tickets on the DB website
Three types of tickets are always available: Sparpreis and Super Sparpreis and Flexpreis.
A key difference between these types of tickets is refunds:
The other key difference is that both types of Sparpreis tickets are only valid on the specific departures selected when booking, but the Flexpreis tickets live up to their name, as they can be used on any departure on your travel date.
Note that none of the tickets can be exchanged to a different departure.
There's no need for this to be available for Flexpreis tickets, as they aren't train departure specific.
If you book a Sparpreis ticket and want to travel by a different departure you can refund it and then use the travel voucher towards the cost of the new booking.
Super Sparpreis tickets can't be exchanged or refunded.
When travelling to and from the major cities, the Sparpreis and Flexpreis tickets also include 'City tickets', which can be used on public transport on from Hamburg Hbf.
Seat reservations
For ticket holders seat reservations are always optional on this route, but if you will be using a rail pass they are now mandatory when travelling between mid-June and mid-August - check the Train guide for the exact dates.
Regardless of whether you will be using tickets or rail passes they cost €4.90 when travelling in 2nd Class and €5.90 when travelling in 1st class - They are included within the cost of booking 1st class Flexpreis tickets.
Specific seats can be selected from seating plans - you don't have to accept the seat(s) that you will be automatically offered.
When booking Super Sparpreis, Sparpreis and 2nd class Flexpreis tickets, you have the option of purchasing seat reservations later.
It can be worth re-looking up a journey a week or two ahead of travel, because the DB website will indicate how busy a departure will be.
Though in general reservations are highly recommended for this journey, particularly if you'll be travelling 2nd class; it's worth it to ensure that you have an assigned seat for the entire trip.
1st Class tickets
No matter what type of ticket booked, if you choose to travel 1st class, you will have access to the same seating areas on the train, ICE trains do not have Business or Executive lounges.
Though only those who have booked 1st class Flexpreis or Flexpreis Plus tickets can access the DB Lounges at the major stations.
Booking on the DB website
You can find this train more easily by making a proactive selection of 'Direct Trains Only'.
But if you can't see it (because the schedule is being disrupted) look again without this option.
Or to see all the combinations of trains and journey options, some of which may be cheaper, take off the 'fastest connections' default.
Booking on the OBB website
The discounted tickets are the 'Sparscheine' tickets and they can be booked online up until the day of departure, but they CAN'T be booked at stations, so booking last minute at the station is always more expensive.
Though you'll usually need to book the 'Sparscheine' tickets at least a couple of days ahead to obtain them at the cheapest possible price.
Book a Sparschiene ticket and it will be specific to the departure you selected when making a booking and it can't be refunded at all if you subsequently change your travel plans and it also can't be exchanged to an alternative, later departure.
Trains departing at different times can also be cheaper than others leaving on the same day, so you may need to look through the day's departures to find the cheapest fares
It can pay off to take a look at the guide to Austrian train tickets - it should help you save time and money and confusion.
Seat reservations are optional, but they're particularly recommended for this journey.
Rail pass users:
As explained on our guide to using rail passes on German trains, a tick in the box for travelling by ICE trains, is that you won't HAVE to make a seat reservation.
However, irrespective of whether you will be travelling with a 1st class or 2nd class pass, we recommend opting to make the reservation on these trains, if you want to be sure of having a stress-free journey.
12hr 34min
Nightly
1 x train per night
OBB operates the Nightjet trains and it's bespoke booking path for these trains is particularly easy to follow, with detailed explanations of the accommodation options.
Booking places in the sleeping cabins
When entering 2 travellers as 1 male and 1 female, you will automatically be given the option to book a 3-bed cabin for the sole use of the two of you - the 'double' cabin option.
So you will be in the cabin together with no other travellers.
3 men + 2 women or 3 women + 2 men = three beds in a triple cabin + two beds in a double cabin is what you will be offered, though the cabins will then be male and female only.
So if the combination of travellers is 1 male/female couple + 1 male/female couple and a child, you will need to make two separate bookings so that the two couples can each share a cabin.
When 4 Adults are travelling together you will be given the option of booking double or triple cabins.
If you select 'Double' you will automatically be assigned 4 beds in two double cabins.
Because the Triple cabins are segregated into male and female, when two women + two men are in the travel party, the two men will be sharing a triple compartment with another traveller, as will the two women
When 3 men + 1 woman or 3 women + 1 man are the travel party, the fourth person will then be sharing a three bed cabin with two other people.
OBB is the national rail operator and its booking service offers journeys by express trains within Austria, as well as international journeys which don't involve making a connection outside of Austria.
It pays off to book online, as the discounted 'Sparscheine' tickets are only ever made available on the website, and when making international journeys to and from Austria, these Sparscheine tickets tend to be cheaper.
OBB can offer particularly good value for money when travelling with children on international rail journeys, but something to watch out for when travelling between Austria and Germany on daytime trains, is that reservations are an optional extra; but if you book 1st class tickets with the Germany railways website DB, the reservations are complimentary.
OBB often takes a unique approach to its booking path, but a key thing to keep in mind is that the first price you will see for any journey is that of a Second Class seat.
The costs of upgrading to first class, a reservation, or a sleeping cabin etc, is then added to this price.
DB is the national railway operator in Germany, so its website can be used for booking journeys by German express trains; the ICE and IC trains and it doesn't charge booking fees.
It also sells tickets for journeys by direct trains on all international routes from Germany regardless of whether DB is operating the train service.
It also sells an extensive range of end-to-end journeys which involve making connections both within Germany and in neighboring countries, but journeys between Germany and Britain cannot be booked on DB.
A key feature of DB website worth keeping mind is that it offers 1st class ticket purchasers complimentary seat reservations on journeys both within and to/from Germany.
Seat reservations for daytime in both 1st and 2nd class can also be booked separately from tickets.
This train is usually scheduled to depart from Wien Hbf at around 20:10 and arrive in Hamburg Hbf shortly before 09:00.
This train also departs from: Wien Meidling, St Polten and Linz (at 21:36)
This train also calls at: Hannover (arrives 06:49) and Hamburg-Dammtor
This train terminates at: Hamburg-Altona
Travelling on to Denmark by train:
A train on to Kobenhavn/Copenhagen is usually due to depart Hamburg at 08:55, just eight minutes after this train is scheduled to arrive.
Though outside the summer months, seat reservations aren't mandatory on that train, so if you'll be heading on to Demark and the train from Wien arrives on time, you can dash to make the connection.
Alternatively there is usually a train heading to Aarhus in Denmark, which is typically scheduled to depart from Hamburg shortly before 11:00; and this train offers a good connection at Kolding station into a train on to Kobenhavn.
On departure from Wien Hbf the coaches heading to Hamburg will be joined to another train heading to Amsterdam, so if you see 'Amsterdam on the departure screens, then the info will also be for this train.
Don't be concerned about joining the wrong part of the train, your reservations will be in the part of the train that will be heading to Hamburg.
And the train conductor will greet passengers travelling in the sleeping cabins.
Book early and save: Yes
This train is usually scheduled to depart from Vienna/Wien at 20:12 so target that time when looking up this journey.
Online bookings open:
6 months ahead of the travel date on OBB
3 months ahead of the travel date on DB Bahn
The choice of accommodation - summary:
Click the train guide for more info including the rail pass reservation fees:
The first price you will see on the OBB ticketing site will be for the compartment seats.
Travelling with a rail pass:
Rail pass users must reserve before boarding this train.
However, these rail pass reservations can NO longer be booked online the DB website, but you can now book rail pass reservations without paying booking fees on the OBB website (OBB operates these trains).
Though the process for doing so isn't particularly obvious, hence the step-by-step guide.
If you'd rather not do so, rail pass reservations can be arranged and paid for at the ÖBB Reisebüro desk in Wien Hbf; ideally do this when you first arrive at Wien Hbf on the preceding train on your itinerary.
This second version of ShowMeTheJourney is exciting and new, so we are genuinely thrilled that you are here and reading this, but we also need your help.
We’re striving not to let anything get in the way of providing the most useful service possible, hence a facility has been set up with DonorBox which can be used to support the running costs and make improvements.
Instead of advertising or paywalls, your financial support will make a positive difference to delivering an enhanced service, as there’s a lot of ideas which we want to make happen.
So if you have found the info provided here to be useful, please consider saying thank you.
This is one of more than 100 train travel guides available on ShowMeTheJourney, which will make it easier to take the train journeys you want or need to make. As always, all images were captured on trips taken by ShowMeTheJourney.
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