Vienna Austria Base: 5 Day Itinerary
Five days from a Vienna base is enough to add Salzburg to the mix without turning the trip into a transit marathon: base camp, then the Wachau Valley, Bratislava, the Semmering railway toward Graz, and finally a full day in Salzburg. Every night still ends in the same Vienna bed. This extends the 4 day plan; add a Hallstatt overnight with the 6 day or full 7 day version.
Book these before you go:
- Bratislava day tour from Vienna
- Semmering railway and Graz day tour
- Salzburg day tour from Vienna , since the Altstadt and Mirabell Gardens deserve more than a rushed afternoon
- Vienna hotel rates near Wien Hauptbahnhof
| Day | Focus | Distance / train time from Vienna |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Vienna base camp, no day trip | 0 (you’re here) |
| Day 2 | Wachau Valley and Melk Abbey | ~90km, ~1 hour direct train |
| Day 3 | Bratislava, Slovakia | ~1 hour, REX train (as fast as 56 minutes) |
| Day 4 | Semmering railway and Graz | ~2 hours 40 minutes to Graz; Semmering stretch is mid-route |
| Day 5 | Salzburg | ~2 hours 15 to 32 minutes, Railjet |
Day 1: Base Camp in Vienna
Settle in near Wien Hauptbahnhof, since four of the next five mornings begin there. Keep the day easy: a Ringstrasse walk, a Melange at a coffee house, and St. Stephen’s Cathedral, which costs nothing to enter. Hold off on Schonbrunn and the Belvedere; this itinerary’s five days belong to the trains, and both palaces deserve their own dedicated Vienna trip.
Arriving by air, take the S7 Schnellbahn over the CAT: about 25 minutes to Wien Mitte for roughly a third of the CAT’s EUR 14.90 fare.
Day 2: Wachau Valley and Melk Abbey
Direct trains from Wien Westbahnhof reach Melk in about an hour, arriving under an abbey that dominates the whole hillside. The ÖBB Wachau-Ticket bundles train, Melk Abbey admission, and a Krems-Melk boat leg for roughly EUR 59 adult (confirm the current fare). The boat runs a seasonal schedule with real gaps in spring and autumn, so check the sailing calendar first; if it’s not running, the riverside walk to a Durnstein wine village covers similar ground.
Day 3: Bratislava, Slovakia
The REX covers Wien Hauptbahnhof to Bratislava Hlavna in about 56 minutes since 2025 electrification work, running every 30 to 60 minutes, one-way fares typically EUR 10 to 19. A full second country, castle included, for less than a Vienna dinner. Skip the slower, pricier Twin City Liner boat unless the river view is the whole appeal.
Day 4: Graz and the Semmering Railway
The Vienna-Graz run takes about 2 hours 40 minutes from Wien Hauptbahnhof, with up to 30 departures daily. The Semmering railway, a roughly 40-minute UNESCO-listed stretch between Gloggnitz and Murzzuschlag, opened in 1854 as the world’s first true mountain railway and sits mid-route. If four straight travel days feel like enough, ride just the Semmering stretch there-and-back instead of continuing on to Graz.
Day 5: Salzburg
The fastest Railjet Xpress services run Vienna to Salzburg in about 2 hours 15 to 25 minutes, standard Railjets closer to 2 hours 32, twice hourly, mostly from Wien Hauptbahnhof on ÖBB (Westbahn runs a rival service from Wien Westbahnhof, so check which station your ticket names). Fares start around EUR 24.90 in second class booked ahead. Mirabell Gardens and the Altstadt are both walkable from the station; skip the funicular queue for the fortress if your train back is tight, the view from Monchsberg is nearly as good and free.
Is Salzburg worth doing as a day trip if you only have 5 days?
Yes, with a caveat: 5 hours round trip on the train eats a real chunk of the day, so treat Salzburg as a full day, not an add-on to something else. If the schedule looks tight, an early train out and the last reasonable train back still leaves 6 to 7 hours in the city, enough for the Altstadt and gardens, not enough for a leisurely fortress visit too.
Which day trip should you cut if 5 days feels rushed?
Cut the Semmering-to-Graz day before cutting Salzburg or Bratislava. Both of those own a genuinely distinct destination (a different country, a different historic city), while the Semmering stretch is a scenic bonus that a future, longer trip can pick back up without losing much.
One concrete tip: check the ÖBB app the night before Day 5 specifically. Salzburg is Austria’s busiest domestic route, and fares climb the closer you book to departure, so locking in a Railjet seat a day or two ahead genuinely saves money.