How to Get to Vienna from Prague

If you have already seen and made all the plans for Prague, you can contemplate the option of visiting Vienna. Both European capitals are cities of great beauty and due to the small distance that separates them, it is very common for tourists to travel from one to the other to visit them. About 300 kilometers separate the two cities.

Vienna, capital of Austria, is a beautiful imperial city located southeast of Prague. It is very well connected to the capital of the Czech Republic, especially by road and train. In this guide I will show you which are the means of transportation from Prague to Vienna and which of them are the most recommendable.

As there are only 300 kilometers between the two cities, we have the possibility to travel to Vienna with an organized tour. There are options to make a 1-day or multi-day excursion. This type of tour starts early in Prague at a central pick-up point. It includes road transport in an air-conditioned vehicle and the journey time is 4 hours one way and 4 hours return.

Based on a day tour, you will arrive in Vienna before lunch and have the afternoon for a guided tour of the main monuments in the city center. In total you will spend about 6 hours in Vienna plus the 8 hours of the round trip. The price is usually around 130 € per person. From one day the tour includes accommodation and increases the price.

Useful information

• Price: From 130 € for adults and 90 € for children approximately.
• Distance and duration of the trip: 300 kilometers and 4-5 hours. In total 14 hours of excursion.
• Recommended if: You already know all of Prague and are content to see Vienna for only a few hours.

Prague and Vienna, together with Budapest, are known as the pearls of the Danube. The train has become one of the best options to move between the three cities and especially from Prague and Vienna for many reasons. The first is its price. Booking in advance the ticket will pay between 15 and 25 € depending on the company and the time in advance. There are three main companies offering this trip:

• OBB Railjet, the main one and the most recommended.
• Regiojet.
• Ceské dráhy.

The second reason is the duration and comfort of the journey. The trains are generally modern and with all the comforts you could ask for and the direct trip between Prague and Vienna takes between 4 and 5 hours. Finally, we have the great advantage of choosing the timetable from a wide range. From 4:44 a.m. to 6:44 p.m. there is a train every hour.

The departure point is located at Praha hlavní nádrazí station, the central station of Prague, located very close to the old town and well connected by metro and streetcar. We will arrive in Vienna at Wien Hauptbahnhof central station in the southern part of the Austrian city.

Useful information

• Price: Between €15 and €25.
• Operating companies: OBB Railjet, Regiojet and Ceské dráhy.
• Distance and travel time: 300 kilometers and 4-5 hours.
• Recommended if: You are looking for the transport with the best comfort-price-fastness ratio.

Although the train is the most popular method of travel from Prague to Vienna, the bus is an increasingly popular and equally recommendable means of transport. From the ÚAN Florenc bus station in Prague, next to the Praha Masarykovo nádraží train station, a bus leaves for Vienna every hour. From 4:55 am to 8:05 pm.

Flixbus, Regiojet or Eurolines are the main companies offering these trips. The journey by road takes just over 4 hours and prices range between 10 and 20 € depending on the company, the schedule and how far in advance we buy our tickets.

By schedule options and journey time is very similar to the train but somewhat cheaper. What we save on the ticket we lose in comfort compared to the train, but it is a perfectly valid option to travel from Prague to Vienna.

Useful information

• Price: Between 10 and 20 €.
• Operating companies: Flixbus, Regiojet or Eurolines.
• Distance and travel time: 300 kilometers and 4-5 hours.
• Recommended if: You want to save some € and you don't mind losing some comfort compared to the train.

If we do not count the time it takes to get to and from the airport, the plane is the fastest way to get from Prague to Vienna. Direct flights take only 50 minutes, but it has one major drawback: The price. Compared to the other transportation alternatives the plane is quite expensive. If we buy the ticket well in advance we can get it for about 70 € although the normal price of a direct ticket is between 150 and 200 €.

There are many companies that offer flights between Prague and Vienna, but most of them are part of flights with stopover so the waiting times at the airport are longer. The only airline offering direct flights is Austrian, an Austrian national airline.

If you travel by plane you have to take into account the transfer time between Prague and the airport. It is located in the west of the Czech capital and it takes about 45 minutes by public transport to get there.

Useful information

• Price: Between 70 and 200 €.
• Operating companies: Austrian.
• Distance and travel time: 50 minutes flight.
• Recommended if: The price is not a problem and you want to make the trip as fast as possible.

If you have already enjoyed all the plans of Prague, you have made the most of the more than fifty attractions included in the Prague Cool Pass and you happen to travel to the Czech capital by car or you decide to rent one, you have to take into account that the trip to Vienna by car is very comfortable and a proposal to take into account.

The roads connecting both capitals are very good and the journey is very comfortable. There are 333 kilometers that can be covered in less than 4 hours. We must take into account that during the trip we will cross the border between the Czech Republic and Austria, which can cause unexpected traffic jams. However, the traffic even to cross the border is fluid and it usually does not take more than 4 hours to reach your destination. Prague and Vienna are big cities and you may encounter traffic jams when entering or leaving them.

Useful information

• Distance and travel time: 333 kilometers and 3 hours and 40 minutes.
• Recommended if: You have a car or you want to rent one and you have secured parking at your destination.

As a last option we can hire an Uber to take us from one city to another. It is only recommended if all other alternatives fail and we can afford to pay a high price. The Uber X fare, the cheapest, can cost 170 €.

It is true that the comfort that gives an Uber is very good, but at all compensates for price. It is not a recommended option, although it is always good to know that we have the possibility to travel in Uber between Prague and Vienna.

Useful information

• Price: From 170 €.
• Distance and travel time: 333 kilometers and 3 hours and 40 minutes.
• Recommended yes: I do not recommend it in 99% of cases. Only as an emergency alternative.

• If you choose to travel by train, bus or plane it is best to buy your tickets in advance to get better prices.
• By train or bus early morning trips are cheaper.
• If you are traveling by car, keep in mind that you will be crossing the border between the two countries, so make sure you have your documents handy.
• When choosing accommodation take into account the distance of this with the train or bus stations to make our transfer more comfortable upon arrival.