Hello gallivanters! If you have been following through my blogs, you would anticipate that Austria is my third country stop in my 5- day Central Europe trip. My first stop was Prague, then Bratislava and then Vienna by bus. If this is your first time seeing my blogs, don’t worry, just click on the link below to read from the start of my trip.

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Order to Read. . .

1. Exploring Prague on a £150 Budget: 2-Day Solo and Group Travel Itinerary
2. Prague to Bratislava Full Day Itinerary: Exploring Top Attractions
3. Explore Vienna in 24 Hours: Budget- Friendly Itinerary and Essential Guide
4. Budapest 2-Day Itinerary: Travel Tips and Must-See Attractions

1- Day Itinerary

Day 3 (Arrival in Vienna, Austria from Bratislava by bus) 19:30- 20:55	– Flixbus from Bratislava Central Bus Station to Vienna Central Bus Station – £10 – 24- hour Vienna Travel Pass- £7 – Vienna Accommodation for 1 night- £25
Day 4 From 08:00	Explore tourist attractions: – Schonbrunn Palace Gardens for free Lunch near the University Ring- £12 Continue exploring and walk along the University Ring: – University of Vienna – Rathaus der Stadt Wein – Austrian Parliament -Museum of Natural History of Vienna – Maria- Theresien- Platz – Hofburg -Austrian National Library – £10 – St. Charles Church – Belvedere Palace
From 19:00	Flixbus from Vienna Central Train Station to Budapest Nepliget Bus Station (3 hours and 15 minutes)- £25
Total Approximate Expenses:	£ 90 (Disclaimer: Do not rely. Value is highly dependent on your personal spending habit, when it was booked and season)

Transportation

I arrived in Vienna at almost 10 o’clock in the evening. The place feels safe even at this late hour and public transportation is very well integrated so I didn’t have any problems locating the hotel I booked. There were 24-hour shops near the hotel so I stopped by to get some food and water for the night. I booked a small apartment because I didn’t want to stay in hostels or shared dormitories.

Weather

Because I travelled during the summer month (June), the weather was very warm reaching up to 30ºC in the day. It rained in the night.

Currency

Vienna uses Euros as their official currency

I used my Wise debit card (paid link) to pay for all my purchases. This is a cheaper option than having your cash money exchanged at the airport or use your usual credit card from your country. Why? Let me show you:

Wise usually has the best conversion rate and it also has an option to let you see which money transfer provider(e.g. Ofx, Western Union, Revolut, Monzo, etc) offers the best rate at the time of conversion. They also have a physical atm card that will be delivered to you in case you need to withdraw money in countries that is still using cash (e.g. Morocco, South East Asia). Now, what do I do with my remaining Euro balance when I get home? I can easily just transfer it back to GBP and close the Euro account if I don’t plan on visiting other European countries again (not gonna happen).

Accommodation and Luggage Storage

The next day, I woke up early to explore the city. I decided to visit the site farthest away first so I wouldn’t have problems getting back to the bus station at night time. I only have one day in Vienna so I had to make the most of it.

Since I’m checking out from the apartment that day, I decided to check out early and store my bags in the luggage storage at Vienna Bus Station. This way, I am free to explore the city without the burden of carrying my bags. I can easily pick them up when it’s time to ride the bus to Budapest in the evening. The luggage/ locker storage is located on the underground level of the station. The machines don’t accept contactless payments therefore, remember to bring coins with you. It costs 2 euros to store a cabin sized luggage for 24 hours. The machines also have English and German translations.

Must- See Sights in Vienna

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There’s a lot of tourist spots I included in my list. Some people enjoy their holidays staying in just one place but I like to visit iconic places when I visit another country in case I don’t have the chance to visit it again. Then I can say that I’ve been there and I’ve seen that.

Schönbrunn Palace

I started my journey by visiting the farthest attraction I can see from the map. The place spans a substantial piece of land. This is an 18- century palace which used to be the summer residence of the Habsburg. There is an £18 entry to get inside the palace. The gardens are free of charge and it is incredibly massive like if I was training for a marathon, I would probably train around this garden space.

University Ring

After visiting Schönbrunn Palace, I head on to Vienna’s famous University Ring which is one of the most prestigious road encircling the entire city centre in Vienna as it is lined with historical buildings, monuments, museums, luxury hotels, and restaurants. It would take me at least two days if I have to get inside every historical buildings here so I just took pictures of their facades. I walked along the ring which is about 6.5 km. Along the way, I have seen the University of Vienna, the Rathaus der Wein, Parliament Building, Museum of Natural History, Maria- Theresa Monument, Neue Burg, Burgtheatre.

I went inside the Austrian National Library, State Hall mainly because I wanted to see that Beauty and the Beast feeling (LOL). The entrance fee was 10 Euros. The little girl in me was very happy to experience being inside a library straight out of a fairytale. This is the largest library in Austria and is located in the Neue Burg Wing of the Hofburg.

St. Charles Church

Belvedere Palace

My last stop was the Belvedere Palace

Before going to the international bus station, I had dinner at one of the diners in the famous Ring Road. I just had to try Viennese sausages and I had the sachertorte for desert.

I picked up my luggage from the Main Bus station and headed on to the platform for the Flixbus. My next destination is Budapest.

Order to Read. . .

1. Exploring Prague on a £150 Budget: 2-Day Solo and Group Travel Itinerary
2. Prague to Bratislava Full Day Itinerary: Exploring Top Attractions
3. Explore Vienna in 24 Hours: Budget- Friendly Itinerary and Essential Guide
4. Budapest 2-Day Itinerary: Travel Tips and Must-See Attractions