Motorail from Dusseldorf to Vienna
 

Just putting a few plans together for areas in Europe, I was looking at the Motorail Train from Düsseldorf to Vienna to safe time and milage on the bike.
Hull-Rotterdam on the ferry then ride to Düsseldorf for the train.

ÖBB travel portal: Vienna - Düsseldorf - Vienna

Has anyone used this train before, I think its worth doing if I decide to go the the Balkans area?

Wayne

A couple of things come to my mind:
1. Duss to Vienna isn't all that far; is it really worth it when you could be riding some good roads in Germany and Austria?
(I recall that the train service is not cheap).

2. Some guys I know were aiming to use such a train system; it went out of business at pretty short notice which made a mess of their plans; IIRC that was the Netherlands equivalent from that country to Italy/the foothills of the Balkans.

Looking at the prices on the link i put up, they are less than 100 Euro.

I have also ridden a lot of roads in Germany and Austria and fancied a change

Wayne

Yep, that's a good price, assuming that it is all inclusive, and maybe why the Dutch moto train stopped operating.
I did think you were referring to Dbahn the German railway company but now I see that it is the Austrians who would transport you into their country; you could also get a connection into Italy. Vienna is selling itself as a "cross roads" of motorcycle transportation by rail.

I'm using this service in August, I want to explore Hungary and Romania and we only have 2 weeks so for us it makes sense to get to Vienna as quickly as possible. I travel 2-up with my wife so I'm always careful to make it an enjoyable holiday for her rather than a iron-butt adventure for myself and I reckon the train will save us 4 days of motorway riding in total.

We'll be on the ferry from Hull to Zeebrugge, maybe have a look around Brugge for half a day then ride over to Dusseldorf, grab some dinner and a bottle of wine, get on the train and wake up in Vienna and head into Hungary. The cost for the bike was 90 Euros return, and the bunk was 178 Euros return so comparable to the cost of hotels, food, beer, fuel etc. on the road.

I think it's a great idea if you are heading to the east and have limited time, I plan on using it again next year to get to Turkey.

If i use it before you I will let you know whats it like and likewise if you use it before me, I think its good for saving time also.

Cheers

Wayne

Had to put back my trip to the Balkans, gone back to BKK for a bit. Oh well more time for research on good places to visit when I go
:(

Wayne

Hey Wayne,

if you are back, please report your expierence with the Austrian train.

And I would have made the same choice!

We use in September the overnight train/truck from Düsseldorf to Munich on our way to Slovenia.
book the train/truck 3 month ago and :angry: pay double then you.

But why we choose the train/truck?

Because my friend rides a DR650 with knobby tyres and it´s not fun for her driving the 1000km to Slovenia on highways (normally we don´t drive on highways).

But due to lack of time we save more then 5 days with the train/truck and spent the same amount of money if we would drive ourselves (and we compared all possibilities: a) train/truck, b) by bike, c) rent a small van d) rent a trailer)

And we saw some advantages, not only the same money but we don´t loose much time, we are rested when we start the next day.

So I can understand your decision.

Good luck and please report about the train.

Hi Tabbi

I had to back to BKK (post 7 above) so not used it yet, but I will when I do
If you use it first then let me know, I think its a good option

Wayne

Check the price carefully - if it is contains also your ticket and not only the motocycle transport.
I done once Livigno Vienna and experienced that..... bought my ticket on the train....

I looked at the site a while ago and that is how it came across to me: logical really, because booking a vehicle onto the train does not inform the train operating company how many passengers will be with that vehicle (up to two with a motorcycle and even more of a variable with a car).
Then there are the various passsenger accommodation options on offer.

I'll be using the Dusseldorf - Vienna service next weekend, I'm only on the road for a couple of weeks so I'll report back when I return, I'll take a few pics of the bunks etc.

The last time I was on a European sleeper train was 15 years ago on a Euro backpacking trip and it was comfy and civilised enough back then. I remember bumping into a couple of students from Leeds on the platform in Vienna, one of the lads showed me a map and pointed at Wien and then asked me if I knew how to get from Wien to Vienna, he said they'd been studying the map for hours and couldn't find it.:rofl:

Oh yes, I know that problem :rofl:- on my first ever trip out of the UK I was driving a minibus down to Innsbruck with somebody map reading for me in the passenger seat. At one point I asked him "how much further to Munich?" and got the answer "dunno, but we've just gone past some place called Munchen". :rolleyes2: :rofl:

Dusseldorf to Vienna
 

Hi Ben,


Just wondered how your adventure on the above train went, I'm thinking of doing the same next year as I'm doing Croatia and beyond for 3 weeks and don't want to spend 6 or 7 days of that traveling to croatia before I even start exploring.
Went to slovenia this year after we had booked the autozug or which ever company, it then went tits up so had to do 2400 miles before again exploring slovenia. :scooter:
It was a ball ache.
Cheers

Jules

Yeah good point, its well over due, come on Benny, spill the beans

Wayne