Contents of Post
Other than flights and accommodation, transportation is the area I most commonly see people spend money unnecessarily. One of the worst culprits is taxi services. There are some legit ones, but also some absolute scams. I’d say avoid taxis altogether. After saving some money by finding a cheap flight, try one of these cheap ways to get around Vienna to save a bit more.
5. Hop-on Hop-off Bus Tours
The hop-on-hop-off bus tours are the most expensive of our cheap transportation options in Vienna. Get Your Guide offers a variety of tickets with one of the best being about €50 (~52.70 USD) per person.
This comes with a 3-day pass to get on and off the designated buses, a guided walking tour, a panoramic night bus tour, and a scenic Danube River Cruise. For 50 bucks that’s a pretty good deal.
4. Subways, Buses, And Trams
Taking the subway, bus, and trams is one of the fastest cheap ways to get around Vienna. For only €5.80 (~6 USD), you can buy a day pass that will last until 1 a.m. These passes will allow you to get on and off any subway, bus, or tram as many times as you like within the city of Vienna.
There is also the option of getting a 24, 48, or 72-hour pass for €8 (~8.40 USD), €14.10 (~14.90 USD, or €17.10(~18 USD) respectively. Other deals are also available for longer stays. This is the easiest and fastest way to get around Vienna.
The transportation system in Vienna is not only expansive but also very on schedule. This makes it far more reliable than you would expect. Public transportation tends to be more reliable in Europe than in North America anyway.
3. Electric Scooter
Scooters seem to be taking over the world. Even just ten years ago I don’t seem to remember scooters being a big thing. Yet now I see them absolutely everywhere. Skate parks where people used to skateboard and BMX are now full of people on scooters. Instead of going around town via car, taxi, or bike I now see people zipping around on electric scooters.
They make sense though as they zip around at about 15 mph. Therefore these scooters are pretty ideal for some short-distance excursions around the city. Be careful though since pricing is based on the amount of time you use it.
The base price to rent one is ~1 EUR/USD and then they charge per minute. The prices range based on brand, but the average is around 25 cents per minute making it pretty affordable. You just need to make sure you stop the timer when you’re done using it.
2. Bikes
Vienna has recently paired with nextbike to set up a super affordable public bike system. At metro stops all around the city, you can find these bike stations where you can rent a bike using the nextbike app.
You have two choices for bike rental. You can pay per 30 minutes you use it or rent it for the whole day. Reading that I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re holding your breath waiting for a high price. Even writing it I’m realizing I expect it to be pricey. Yet it’s only 60 cents per 30 minutes or €15 (~15.80 USD) for the day.
The affordability of the bike rental makes it one of the best cheap ways to get around Vienna. Not only that, but with the nextbike app you have to ability to rent bikes all over Europe.
1. Walking
If you are staying in Vienna’s inner city then walking could very well be the best, and cheapest, way to get around Vienna. Other than a few outliers the majority of the major attractions of Vienna can be found within the inner city.
This means that without paying a cent for transportation you could easily visit the Hofburg, the Opera, St, Stephan’s Cathedral, and Albertina all within the span of an afternoon. Even with the few outliers, such as the Belvedere Palace, if you’re willing to walk a bit further the walk is still pretty doable.
Plus who knows what interesting places you might find on your walk that you may not have found otherwise. Therefore making it the best of the cheap transportation options in Vienna
In A Nutshell:
If you really want to save money while travelling you need to start with flights, follow it with accommodation, then find cheap transportation. Those three things alone can and will save you hundreds of dollars every time you travel. Food is a non-negotiable for most travellers. Why skimp on eating good meals?
Transportation in most places can be pretty cheap. As long as you avoid stuff like scams, taxis, and uber you can get around pretty cheaply. Save some money and try some of these cheap ways to get around Vienna the next time you are here.
What are your favourite cheap ways to get around Vienna? Will you be trying some of these methods of transportation the next time you’re in Vienna? Let us know down below!
Stay authentic and stay nomadic!
