Vienna, Austria - Wheelchair Accessible Travel Tips and Experience
I visited Austria in September 2023. In this blog I’ll be sharing my wheelchair accessibility experience in Vienna Austria and information that maybe useful while planning your trip.
I am sharing information on Wheelchair Accessible Airport Transit, Hotels and local transportation in Vienna.
Airport to Vienna City - Wheelchair Accessible Transport
The City Airport Train (CAT)
This is a train which runs every 30 minutes between the Airport and Vienna City, refer to their web site for the time schedule.
I booked the train from their counter at the airport. Look for signages or ask around and you should easily be able to find the counter.
The tickets were a 50% for the disabled passenger and free for companion.
I could not find this information at their website, but this was what I was offered at the counter.
The staff at the counter can guide you to the right platform, and you can reach their by following the signages.
One IMPORTANT thing to note is that there is gap between the train and the platform, so you would need a ramp to easily get into the train.
Look for a CAT staff personnel at the platform and they can get you a ramp.
When I reached the platform there was already a train about to leave in few minutes, and there was not enough time to get a ramp.
Luckily for me I was travelling with my light weight travel wheelchair so with a slight lift from my parents and a CAT staff personnel I was able to overcome the gap and get into the train.
USEFUL LINKS:
Wheelchair Accessible Taxis and Shuttles
This one is a hard to find in Vienna if I can be honest.
I was landing on a Sunday and called a few companies offering wheelchair accessible mini buses and big vans few days before my travel and none were available to offer me a pick up.
You can try contacting Hallermobil in advance and see if they can offer you a Wheelchair Accessible Airport pickup and drop.
Hotels with Wheelchair Accessible\Adapted Rooms
In my experience going directly to the Hotel Website or contacting them directly is the best way to find and book a Wheelchair Accessible \ Adapted room in Vienna. You can also request them to share pictures before booking.
To search for Hotels you can follow the Accessible Travel Club Facebook Group and search there.
Alternatively you can use https://roomchooser.com/en to find Wheelchair Accessible\Adapted Hotel rooms. You can also find room pictures and 360 views there.
This website is founded by a Vienna Local, Michael Sicher.
I stayed at the Kolpinghaus Wien Zentral. I booked their “Wheelchair accessible TWIN room - DELUX”.
The Hotel room was spacious and the bed height can be adjusted using wooden blocks, inquire about it during booking in advance based on your requirements.
The washroom had a Roll-In-Shower, Bathing Wheelchair, Accessible commode with side rails and accessible washbasin. (refer to the pictures below shared by their reservation desk)
Only negative about the Hotel and the room is that they do not have Central cooling or AC. If you are visiting in summers, this is something you should consider.
For heating they have radiators in the room.
The location of the Hotel is quite Central and not too far from places of attraction.
(Image Courtesy: Kolpinghaus Wien Zentral Reservation Desk )
Local Vienna City Wheelchair Accessible Transport
As I mentioned in a previous section, finding local wheelchair Accessible taxis is hard in Vienna, you can try contacting the service provider I mentioned in the Airport transit section but I personally was not able to get a service.
I used the local City Public Transport instead.
Wheelchair Accessible Public Transport in Vienna
The Public Transport in Vienna is quite Wheelchair Accessible.
As per the city - The Underground Metro\Subway, Buses and Trams are “almost” all Wheelchair Accessible.
I was in the City for two days only and I covered it mostly on “foot” (wheelchair) and using the City’s Underground Metro\Subway trains.
All of the stations are wheelchair accessible, and can be accessed through elevators or ramps.
Most of the Underground Metro\Subway Trains are Wheelchair Accessible in Vienna.
The front most Coach of the train is usually the one for wheelchair users.
This coach has dedicated space for wheelchair and deploys an automated ramp that fills the gap between the platform and the train.
There are only very few trains that do not have these accessibility features, in those scenarios wait for the next one and it should most likely be wheelchair accessible. The frequency is quite good so it’s not a big hassle.
Do check the below official link for more details and pictures.
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