[Jay_P2324]

After visiting Spain in 2022 and The Netherlands in 2023 solely using public transport we wanted to do something different this year. This time we wanted to do a road trip. I did my research and was influenced by Jash2709’s Austria travelogue shared a couple of years ago.

We got our visa appointment in January; since this was a self-planned trip I had to make the itinerary, hotel bookings & flight reservations. The appointment was at 8:00 AM, Trade Center BKC and we were one of the first people for the appointment. It took them about 1 hour to check our documents and take biometrics. The visa arrived within 12 working days.

Even though we had gotten our visas early enough, due to some personal reasons our trip was finalized towards the end of May.

We flew in and out of Vienna, the car rental was cheaper that way too. The Airport rental was a couple of hundred Euros more so I selected the Vienna Central Railway Station as the Pickup and Drop off location for the rental.

We were 5 of us traveling and I would be the only one driving, hence had to look for a big enough car that could accommodate us comfortably and our luggage. I went ahead with Sixt, the only car rental agency offering a 9-seater Mercedes Vito Tourer or similar vehicle. A 7-seater V Class was an option too but double the price of the Vito Tourer.

Since we had a vehicle at our disposal I looked for apartments and holiday homes in the countryside. All the apartments were booked and got my IDP from WIAA, Mumbai.

We arrived in Vienna on 18th July around 12:30 PM and immigration took hardly 30 minutes. We were out of the airport in less than an hour. We used the public transport system to get to the city and I had booked a hotel close to the Vienna Central Station. The rest of the day was at leisure.


First evening in Vienna


19th July: Vienna to Tauplitz

We had some breakfast and headed to Sixt. Deep down somewhere I was hoping for an upgrade to the V class but they had a Vito in stock. The car was nice, had fabric seats and the essential Apple CarPlay built into the infotainment system. I checked the car thoroughly for scratches and dents and cross-checked them with the rental agreement.



I have driven in the US extensively during my student days hence the transition back to LHD took about 30 minutes. Since this was my first time driving in Europe I watched a couple of videos on YouTube of people driving and revised the road signs through Wikipedia.

We set off from Vienna and headed towards Melk a nice little town in the Wachau Valley. We visited the Melk Abbey and had lunch there.




Melk Abbey

After that we headed towards Tauplitz. Our first stop for 4 Nights. Tauplitz is a small ski town about one hour south of Salzburg.


Countryside single-lane roads of Austria





View from our holiday home

Upon reaching Tauplitz we realized it was a Saturday and grocery stores would be closed the next day. We hurried to the nearest Spar and reached 15 minutes before closing. That must have been my quickest grocery haul.


20th July: Salzburg

The drive from Tauplitz to Salzburg is scenic. The road goes via some of the famous lakes in the area like Lake Wolfgangsee. We visited the Mirabell Gardens, Alter Markt, and the Salzburg Cathedral, which was unfortunately closed for a concert. We headed back to Tauplitz in the evening.



Lake Wolfgangsee


Mirabell Gardens









21st July: Hallstatt and Dachstein


The following day we headed out early to get a parking spot at Hallstatt, the closer ones get filled up quickly. We reached Hallstatt before 9:00 AM and secured a parking spot closest to the Village. The Village is picturesque but sadly suffers from over-tourism. It feels nice to walk around the town in the early hours.





Post that we headed to Dachstein for lunch and I wanted to visit the 5 fingers view point. The hike to five fingers after 2 cable car rides offers incredible views of Hallstatter see.




22nd July: Eisriesenwelt Ice Cave

I was not sure if this would be a hit or a miss but these are the biggest ice caves in the world and I would say they are a must-see when in Austria. The hike might be a lot for some. First, it is a 20-minute hike to the cable car and then another 20-minute hike to the ice cave. Then the ice cave inside has about 1400 steps (700 up and 700 down) and the temperatures inside are about 0 degrees.

Safe to say it surely was a hit. The hike is totally worth it in my opinion. It gets very cold in there so one has to come prepared.














23rd July: Tauplitz to Seefeld (Via Germany)

This was more of a driving day since we were changing cities. The drive from Tauplitz to Seefeld went through Germany. The total driving time was about 4.5 hours. On our way there we stopped at Lake Eibsee for lunch, a beautiful lake on the border of Germany and Austria. We reached our accommodation by 5 in the evening.

Seefeld is a small town 30 minutes away from Innsbruck, close to the German border.


German highways




Lake Eibsee

24th July: Swarovski Kristallwelten and Innsbruck Town

I was a bit skeptical about visiting this place, but for first-timers, I would say it is worth visiting. Later we visited Innsbruck town and explored a bit.





St. James' Church, Innsbruck

[Jay_P2324]

25th July: Seefeld to Valdaora (Dolomites, Italy)


The drive from Seefeld to The Dolomites was about 1.5 hours. The rest of the day was at leisure. I had read a lot about the Dolomites and they are even more beautiful than I expected. It has the prettiest of lakes and villages.

26th July: Seceda

Seceda was about an hour away. The parking at the Seceda cable car was full, I had to look for parking elsewhere in the town. It takes 2 cable cars to get there and costs about 45 Euros per adult. Safe to say that the cable car ride is well worth the view.















27th July: Lago Di Braies & Lago di Landro

The initial plan was to visit Tre Cime di Lavaredo but we were late and the parking up there was full. We would have to hike for 6 kms to reach there. Everyone in our group was not up for the hike so we skipped it and moved on to the next destination. Lago di Landro is a few kms away from the Tre Cime di Lavaredo.


Lago di Landro (Dürrensee)

When we reached the entry point for Lago di Braies we were told we had to purchase pre-paid parking. P4 is the closest parking space and if you purchase the parking online for €23, you get a €15 voucher towards food and drinks redeemable at one of the restaurants around the lake.






Lago di Braies






28th July: St. Magdalena and Lago Di Carezza

St. Magdalena is undoubtedly one of the most scenic villages in the Dolomites. The parking is a bit far from the village, about 1.5 kms but we got there early enough to skip the early afternoon heat. We visited the Church in the village and it offered an amazing view of the Dolomites.










To end the trip in the Dolomites, the best was for last, Lago di Carezza! One of the best lakes I have seen by far. I feel pictures do not do justice to the lake.








29th July: Valdaora to St. Nikolai (Austria)

The drive from Valdaora to Vienna is upwards of 6 hours. Even though it is achievable it would be tiring, we would reach Vienna late in the evening and plus the car rental return would take some more time. During my research, I came across the wine region of Austria which falls in the southern side of Graz. I found a nice boutique hotel in a place called St. Nikolai and seemed like a perfect one-night stop.

We left Valdaora around 10:00 AM and entered Austria in about 30 minutes. Our first stop was Villach for lunch and we were covering distance quite quickly given that Austrian Highways have a speed limit of 130.

Reached our hotel around 5 in the evening.




30th July to 4th August: Vienna

The next morning we started off for Vienna. Our last driving leg of the trip. Took us about 3 hours to reach the city, dropped off our luggage at the hotel, and returned the rental car.




The rest of the days we did all the touristy stuff, visited St. Stephens Cathedral, Schonburn Palace, St. Charles Church, Justizplatz, Austrian Parliament, etc.


As a driving enthusiast, I loved being able to drive on fantastic roads with disciplined traffic, the truckers knew what their lane was, cars didn’t honk much and everyone simply followed the rules.

Coming back to reality, I wonder when would India have such impeccable roads and disciplined traffic.

[acurafan]

Great travelogue. We went to Dolomites few days after you and will write a travelogue when I have some time.
One quick nit, I think you went to Lago Di Landre rather than Lago Dobbiaco. You cannot see Monte Cristalo from Lake Dobbiaco. I am not sure which is one is more scenic given how gorgeous both are !!

[Jay_P2324]

Originally Posted by acurafan

Great travelogue. We went to Dolomites few days after you and will write a travelogue when I have some time.
One quick nit, I think you went to Lago Di Landre rather than Lago Dobbiaco. You cannot see Monte Cristalo from Lake Dobbiaco. I am not sure which is one is more scenic given how gorgeous both are !!

Yup, I stand corrected. It was Lake Durrensee indeed.

Mods please could you replace Lago di Dobbacio with Lake Durensee.

[mentalmaxout]

Fantastic travelogue and beautiful pictures... Looking forward to such more travelogues from you

[Vijay T]

Excellent travelogue.

Beautiful photos.Dolomites are fantastic.

Italy,Austria are both beautiful countries.That way all of Europe .

Good thing about Europe is one gets to see so much in so little time & drive.

About your last question or predicament,I would dare say with heavy heart that,it will not happen in India that is Bharat.Given the upbringing,driving licence issuing process & attitude shown by so called educated folks driving on our roads,it will remain dream.
Roads are good in many parts of India where there is less corruption.

[Jay_P2324]

Originally Posted by Vijay T

Excellent travelogue.

Beautiful photos.Dolomites are fantastic.

Italy,Austria are both beautiful countries.That way all of Europe .

Good thing about Europe is one gets to see so much in so little time & drive.

About your last question or predicament,I would dare say with heavy heart that,it will not happen in India that is Bharat.Given the upbringing,driving licence issuing process & attitude shown by so called educated folks driving on our roads,it will remain dream.
Roads are good in many parts of India where there is less corruption.

Thank You.

Well, some things need to change at some point I believe. The DL issuing process should become more stringent in our country I believe and coming to roads, Maharashtra being the highest tax-paying state in the country when we look at the condition of NH48, it is simply horrendous. Traffic comes to a standstill for hours at times.

[sjoshi999]

Jay_P2324/acurafan great travelogue, one query - on if a full size SUV would be an issue on narrow hilly roads. I will be in Dolomites in September. Google street view shows some very narrow undivided roads

Thanks

[Jay_P2324]

Originally Posted by sjoshi999

Jay_P2324/acurafan great travelogue, one query - on if a full size SUV would be an issue on narrow hilly roads. I will be in Dolomites in September. Google street view shows some very narrow undivided roads

Thanks

I did not find it difficult to drive a 9-seater Van in the Dolomites. Some streets in Ortisei and Val Gardena are narrow like when I was driving up to St. Jakob's Church but they are accessible. You won't find it difficult to drive a full-size SUV.

[sjoshi999]

Thanks, had a fantastic trip of northern Italy, we landed in Milan and drove to Italian Alps and then via lakes to Dolomites, we were mostly interested in nature/hiking and were lucky with the weather.

It had snowed the week before so we got to see the snow capped peaks, while still able to hike the green Alpine meadows to reach remote villages some accessible only by walks (vehicles allowed only for residents).

Some practical tips -
1. Need a proper RTO issued IDP booklet to rent car in Italy (saw people being turned away for internet IDP's)
2. Read up/Watch youtube video's of Toll payments, ZTL (congestion charging in cities and zones where one is allowed to drive). Enable contactless payment on debit cards to pay toll (not all toll plazas accept credit card), In and around Milan there is a video based toll one has to login and pay the charges within 15 days or pay a hefty fine.
3. Italians are safe drivers but they drive really fast (and some drive really close),
4. the speed limits are very generous 50Kmph/90Kmph even in steep curvy hilly roads - when I saw the speed limit I thought what were they thinking but then saw people actually driving very comfortably. Drivers are very polite they will not honk even if they follow you for a couple of KM's (the really impatient ones will give left turn indicator but keep following you at safe distance).
5. It was lot less stressfull that what people make out but then I drove mostly in hilly region, highways and some parts of Milan. YMMV

There was a good number of Suzuki Jimny in the hilly regions, spotted an Enfield 650, and of course Vespa's.

Dolomites had a string of supercars Ferrari's, Lamborghini, plenty of Aston Martins.

Originally Posted by Jay_P2324

I did not find it difficult to drive a 9-seater Van in the Dolomites. Some streets in Ortisei and Val Gardena are narrow like when I was driving up to St. Jakob's Church but they are accessible. You won't find it difficult to drive a full-size SUV.