I talked before about getting from Romania to Budapest (Hungary). Now it’s time to go a bit further, specifically to Vienna, Austria.

You probably know by now that we don’t own a car and although I do have a driver’s license I don’t rent cars either. Since we both suffer from motion sickness, we don’t take buses, but I’ve included them in this list.

As mentioned in my previous article, I chose Arad, Romania as start point because it’s the closest city to the border and many travelers from Romania use it as a stop before going further to Budapest , Vienna and other parts of Europe.

By train

While there is a direct train from Bucharest (Romania) via Budapest (Hungary) to Vienna (Austria) and it can be a good solution should you don’t want to break your trip, there is also a way to avoid spending the entire trip on CFR’s trains (which I dislike).

You can still buy a ticket from Romania to Vienna but you can stop in Budapest for pretty much however long you want. The tickets I get are always valid for 30 days. Within the 30 days I can stay in Budapest how long I want on the way to/from or both ways.

Once in Budapest, you can choose a RailJet train to continue your journey. And in these trains, once you cross into Austria…free wi-fi will be available.

Use bahn.de to plan your trip.

The constructions at Arad Train Stations have been finalized as of August 2016, so you don’t need to worry about the direct train is back in the game, as well. However, there’s only one direct train which gets to Vienna at 7:56 a.m. and takes 7h 40 min (so how about that stop in Budapest?)

By Train & Boat

You can take a train from Arad to Budapest Keleti (4 1/2h) and in September they do depart from the main train station ; then take a hydrofoil to Vienna. A one way boat ticket is priced just under 100 euros for adults.

By Bus

Eurolines offers direct buses from Arad to Vienna with a one way ticket starting at 56 euros for an adult but depends on the time of year and how far in advance you book.

By Car

It takes about 6 hours , without stops, to get between Arad and Vienna, via Hungary. Remember you need to pay tolls both in Hungary and in Austria in order to use the highways. And don’t forget the Romanian tax fee either.

Note: article written in April 2014 and updated in April 2015