After our incredible VIVA river cruise down the Danube, it was time to head to our next destination: Rome. Unfortunately, we had to leave the ship a day early instead of completing the round-trip itinerary back to Vienna because we had booked a Princess cruise departing from Rome on June 15. All of the flights from Vienna (or even Munich) to Rome either left too early in the morning or too late in the day, making it impossible to arrive before the ship’s 4pm departure.
So we did our own version of Planes, Trains and Automobiles … except we one-upped it by adding a ship.
We disembarked from VIVA Moments in Linz, Austria, and took a seven-minute taxi ride (€12) to Linz Hauptbahnhof.
From there, we boarded an ÖBB train directly to Vienna Airport. The journey took about 1 hour and 50 minutes. Since I had booked our tickets well in advance, they cost just €27 per adult and the kids traveled free. I definitely recommend booking early because fares increased significantly as the travel date approached.
The Linz train station had plenty of places to grab food, drinks and last-minute travel supplies.
One thing to note: there’s an elevator up to the platform but not down. If you end up on the wrong platform, you’ll either need to carry your luggage down the stairs or backtrack to find another elevator.
If you’ve ever struggled to understand a European train ticket, here’s a little travel hack: Upload a photo of it to ChatGPT and ask it to explain it step by step. That’s exactly what I did. It told me to arrive a little early, head to Platform 9A-E, board IC 549, show the PDF ticket on my iPhone if asked and have my passport or driver’s license ready for identification. It even confirmed we’d arrive at Vienna Airport at 12:27 p.m., which was perfect for our afternoon flight.
Our train didn’t have overhead luggage bins, so the large suitcases had to go on the luggage racks at the end of the car. I kept my backpack with our valuables between my feet throughout the journey. Here’s more on how to keep your luggage safe when traveling by train or bus. Announcements were made in both German and English.
Since Linz was the train’s first stop, we had no problem finding seats together or securing space for our luggage. There were coat hooks above the seats, but no power outlets. TIP: Make sure you don’t sit in a reserved seat. The seats were fairly upright, though you could recline them slightly by pulling a lever under the seat.
We arrived at Vienna International Airport (VIE) about three hours before our Austrian Airlines flight to Rome. One mistake I made was booking our tickets too early. The fare dropped later, and unlike with many U.S. airlines, Austrian doesn’t allow you to cancel and rebook just because the price falls. That experience inspired me to write this article.
I didn’t see any traditional check-in counters, only self-service kiosks that printed baggage tags. Fortunately, a friendly Austrian Airlines agent was walking around helping passengers. Our checked bags were just over the 23 kg (50-pound) limit, but he kindly overrode the system. Otherwise, I would’ve had to do the embarrassing suitcase shuffle right there in the terminal. It’s another reminder why I never travel without a digital luggage scale.
One thing I really liked was that Austrian immediately emailed us our baggage receipt as soon as we checked our bags.
While exploring Vienna Airport, I noticed one of the smartest airport features I’ve ever seen and had to make a quick video about it. Seriously, why don’t more airports have designated parking spots for easy passenger pick-ups and drop-offs?
Before security, airline staff were checking carry-on bags using what seemed like unusually small sizers. Fortunately, they were busy helping other passengers, so I walked right by with mine.
Security itself was easy. Passengers only have to remove our coats. Laptops and liquids stayed inside bags.
Jack’s backpack was flagged because his oversized National Geographic book confused the X-ray machine, while Natalie’s bag was pulled aside because she was carrying liquid medications for the kids. Both inspections were quick and we were on our way within minutes.
With time to spare, we visited the Sky Lounge using our Priority Pass memberships, which come with our Chase Sapphire Reserve cards. Just be aware of your guest allowance because additional guests cost $27 each.
I thought it was one of the best Priority Pass lounges I’ve visited in quite a while. The food and drinks were excellent, but it was crowded and finding seats wasn’t easy. Thankfully, a kind gentleman offered us his extra chair, and we simply rotated sharing the two seats between the four of us.
Our gate (F32) was quite a hike from the lounge. Airline staff were once again checking carry-on bag sizes near the gate, and one agent was even walking around looking for oversized bags. Fortunately, I happened to be around the corner exploring the terminal.
Before departure, the flight attendants reminded everyone to remove power banks from the overhead bins and announced they couldn’t be used to charge devices during the flight. I have a feeling that’s becoming the new standard, and frankly, I’m okay with it given the alternative.
The flight to Rome was completely full.
Austrian Airlines Flight OS555
Scheduled departure: 3:20 p.m.
Pushback: 3:20 p.m.
Takeoff: 3:28 p.m.
Landing: 4:39 p.m.
Scheduled arrival: 4:45 p.m.
Gate arrival: 4:47 p.m.
The flight lasted just 1 hour and 11 minutes, so it flew by. I hadn’t been to Rome Fiumicino Airport’s Terminal 1 in years and didn’t remember it being this modern and impressive. It was busy and quite a long walk to baggage claim, but I didn’t mind. We were finally back in Italy and, even better, arriving a day early for our cruise.
Since both Austria and Italy are part of the Schengen Area, there were no passport checks. Our bags arrived quickly, and our pre-arranged driver was waiting for us outside.
