The Austrian vignette, and the roads it does not cover

The 10-day vignette costs 12.80 EUR and covers the motorway and expressway network, which is where the resemblance to Switzerland ends. Five sections bill you again at a barrier: the whole A13 Brenner, the A10 Tauern and Katschberg tunnels, the S16 Arlberg tunnel, the A11 Karawanken, and the A9 Bosruck and Gleinalm tunnels. If your route crosses the Brenner or uses one of the tunnel routes, budget the section toll on top of the vignette and expect to stop at a barrier, where cash and cards both work.

These are the ones worth planning around, because they apply year round. A summer reader and a February reader meet the same barriers on the same roads, which is not true of the scenic passes below. The practical step is unglamorous and it is the whole job: trace your actual route before you buy anything, rather than buying a vignette and assuming the network is now paid for.

The Grossglockner High Alpine Road is private, and priced accordingly: 46.50 EUR for a car for the day, three and a half times the ten-day pass, for one road. Before the price matters, check the calendar, because the road is open roughly the start of May to the start of November. For a winter trip it is not an expensive option, it is a closed one, and the five motorway sections above are the part of this page that still applies to you.

In season, three things move the number. Entry after 6pm drops the car rate to 36.50 EUR. A second visit later in the same calendar year is 17.50 EUR if you keep your first ticket, which is tied to your plate. And one catch specifically for visitors: the discounted advance tickets sold through the OAMTC, ARBO and ADAC motoring clubs exclude rental cars, so that saving is closed to most US travelers. Parking at the Ferleiten toll point is a separate 10 EUR a day.

One change is worth knowing even for a single trip: the physical windscreen sticker is being sold for the last time in 2026. From the 2027 vignette year the digital vignette tied to your licence plate is the only option, so if you drive in Austria regularly, the version you are used to buying at a border petrol station is on its way out.

The trap in the digital version is timing. If you buy a digital 2-month or annual vignette online, it is not valid until the 18th day after purchase under EU distance-selling law, which is a genuine problem for anyone who buys the week before a trip. The 1-day and 10-day versions can be set to start immediately, so for a normal holiday the short options are both cheaper and simpler. For more, see rail tickets in Austria, cash or card in Austria, and the Austria money guide.

Common questions

Quick answers.

More on Austria

The little money things nobody warns you about.

• Taxis in Austria, and the apps to useAustrian taxis are metered, honest and regulated, and in Vienna the apps make it easy. From the airport the train wins, and you tip by rounding up. Here is how it works.
• Tipping in AustriaAustria tips much like Germany: a modest Trinkgeld, done by rounding up, and told to the server rather than left on the table. Here is how it works.
• Do I need cash in Austria, or can I use cards?Short answer: cards in the cities, a fair bit of cash for small places. Austria is a little more cash-minded than most of Western Europe, much like its neighbor Germany, so carry euros. Here is how to handle it.
• Bringing your dog or cat to Austria.Austria runs on the single EU pet-entry process for a US-origin dog or cat: microchip, rabies in the right order, and an EU health certificate on a 10-day clock. No quarantine, no rabies titer. Here is what that means for Austria, and the local parts worth knowing.
• Do you need a rail pass in Austria?Austria is a small country with unusually cheap advance fares and unusually relaxed rules about boarding. Both of those matter, and they pull in opposite directions, which is why this one is closer than it looks.
• Staying connected in Austria.Austria covers its cities, towns and main valleys well, which for a country that is mostly mountains is a real achievement. The gaps are high up and narrow, and they are worth knowing before a hiking day.
• What does getting sick in Austria cost a visitor?For a city trip, Austria is one of the calmer entries on this list. For a ski or mountain trip, there is a second bill that has nothing to do with the hospital.