There is now daily train which links the Austria capital with the station which serves the wonderfully picturesque lakeside village, Hallstat.
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.
3hr 15min (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.
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: Stainach-Irdning
This train is typically scheduled to depart from Wien Hbf daily at 08:40 with an arrival into Hallstat usually scheduled for before noon.
The return direct daily direct train back to Wien / Vienna is usually scheduled to depart Hallstat shortly after 18:00.
The train also calls at: Gmunden connect for the Traunsee Tram and Ebensee and Bad Ischl.
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.
Arriving in Hallstat
At Hallstatt station ferries meet the train for the stunning crossing of the lake over to Hallstatt village.
The crossing of the lake is a magical experience.
On arrival in Hallstatt check the times of the return ferry crossing, there will be a sign on the jetty.
The departure of the ferries are timed to meet the trains
This is a journey of two parts.
Until the junction station of Attnang-Puchheim, the train will be travelling along the main route which links Wien / Vienna to Salzburg.
Instead of building an entirely new high speed railway, the decision was taken to upgrade and straighten the main Western Railway which crosses Austria.
So between Wien/Vienna and Linz the train will travel at up to 200 km/h.
Between Linz and Attnang-Puchheim, this part of the ride is pleasant, but unremarkable with distant views of mountains to be seen from the left hand side of the train.
On departure from Attnang-Puchheim the train heads off on a southwards route , which winds through the Salzkammergut by lakes and mountains.
Lakes can be seen from both sides of the train, so if you're on a day trip, swap the side of the train you sit on, for the return journey.
Shortly after leaving Gmunden the railway comes close to the western shore of Austria's largest internal lake, the Traunsee - when heading to Hallstat these views over the water are on the left-hand side.
For the final 10 minutes of the journey, the lake named Obersee, is over on the right.
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings typically open: 6 months ahead of the travel date
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.
Seat reservations are optional, but they're particularly recommended for this journey.
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.
3hr 30min - 3hr 55min (approx)
Daily
1 x connection per hour
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.
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.
The connection at Attnang-Puchheim
The time between the arrival of the train from Wien and the departure of the train on to Hallstat is usually around 7 minutes.
If a delay causes the connection to be missed, tickets will be valid on the next train on to Hallstat.
Arriving in Hallstat
At Hallstatt station ferries meet the train for the stunning crossing of the lake over to Hallstatt village.
The crossing of the lake is a magical experience.
On arrival in Hallstatt check the times of the return ferry crossing, there will be a sign on the jetty.
The departure of the ferries are timed to meet the trains
Most of these trains to Attnang-Puchheim commence their journeys in the station at Wien Flughafen / Airport.
The train will be travelling along the main route which links Wien / Vienna to Salzburg.
Instead of building an entirely new high speed railway, the decision was taken to upgrade and straighten the main Western Railway which crosses Austria.
So between Wien/Vienna and Linz the train will travel at up to 230km/h - close to the 'high-speed' threshold.
Between Linz and Attnang-Puchheim, this part of the ride is pleasant, but unremarkable, with distant views of mountains to be seen from the left hand side of the train.
The trains also call at: Gmunden connect for the Traunsee Tram and Ebensee and Bad Ischl.
The train service typically alternates in each hour.
In even hours a faster 'REX' regional train departs, it skips some stations, so is faster than the local train, and will usually be heading to Stainach-Irdning
This service connects with the trains that depart Wien / Vienna in the odd hours.
From Attnang-Puchheim, in the odd hours a local train departs for Hallstat and it will be typically heading to Obertraun-Dachsteinhöhlen.
It calls at all stations so its journey time is around 25mins slower than the REX train.
This service connects with the trains that depart Wien / Vienna in the even hours.
On departure from Attnang-Puchheim the train heads off on a southwards route , which winds through the Salzkammergut by lakes and mountains.
Lakes can be seen from both sides of the train, so if you're on a day trip, swap the side of the train you sit on, for the return journey.
Shortly after leaving Gmunden the railway comes close to the western shore of Austria's largest internal lake, the Traunsee - when heading to Hallstat these views over the water are on the left-hand side.
For the final 10 minutes of the journey, the lake named Obersee, is over on the right.
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings typically open: 6 months ahead of the travel date
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.
Seat reservations are optional on the Railjet train, but they aren't available on the train on from Attnang-Puchheim to Hallstat.
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.
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