Car Hire at Vienna Airport (VIE)

For more on driving and parking in the city, see our guide to car hire in Vienna, or for country-wide rules and insurance information, our guide to car hire in Austria.

How to Find Your Car Hire Desk at Vienna Airport

• Book through eCarBookers first: Your booking confirmation from eCarBookers locks in your price and your vehicle class before you arrive. You pay the balance at the desk on collection, and the terms confirmed at booking are the terms you receive. Always confirm your hire in advance to guarantee your price from the moment you collect the keys.
• The terminals: Vienna International Airport, in Schwechat, has Terminals 1, 1A, 2, and 3. T1, T2, and T3 are linked by concourses that lead to the central arrivals hall in T3, while T1A sits opposite T1. Wherever your flight lands, you finish at the same arrivals area.
• The car rental centre: the airport's dedicated car rental centre is on level 0 of multi-storey car park P4, reached by a walkway or underground passage from arrivals, around a five to seven minute walk from the main terminal. Follow the car rental signs rather than the exits for the car parks.
• Finding the route: from baggage reclaim, head toward the arrivals hall and turn left toward the City Airport Train station. Before the station, turn right and go through the sliding doors, then take the lift down to level 0 of P4, where the rental counters are.
• Check your collection point: arrangements differ between operators, so your booking confirmation states the exact collection point for your supplier. Read it before you land rather than after, and keep your supplier's contact number saved on your phone.
• Late arrivals: desk hours vary by operator, and a late flight may land after your supplier's counter has closed. If your flight is delayed or arrives late at night, contact your supplier as early as you can and confirm in advance what happens outside normal hours.

Pick-Up, Drop-Off, and Refuelling at Vienna Airport

For returns, follow the signs for Arrival and then Car Rental Return, which lead to the return area on level 0 of P4. If you are approaching on the A4, leave at junction 13 for the airport and follow the signs to the terminals. Some operators offer 24-hour return or a key drop for out-of-hours returns, while others do not, so confirm your supplier's arrangement before you travel. Photograph the car thoroughly at collection and again at return, so any existing marks are on record.

To comply with a full-to-full fuel policy, there is a BP petrol station on Ausfahrtsstraße at the airport, open 24 hours. Fuel at the airport itself tends to cost more than at stations further out, so filling up before you reach the airport usually costs less. If you are driving an electric car, an e-charging station with fast-charging points sits at the airport entrance and exit, reachable from the A4 and the B9.

The airport connects directly to the A4 motorway, so you join Austria's motorway network within minutes of leaving the car rental centre. Austrian motorways require a vignette, so confirm with your supplier that your car has one before you leave the car park, as you will need it almost immediately.

Top Car Hire Agencies at Vienna Airport

Vienna Airport hosts a wide mix of international and local operators in the car rental centre, and eCarBookers compares a wide network of suppliers here in one place. Every booking through eCarBookers shows the excess amount and full price before you confirm, and the balance is paid on arrival at the desk. Optional extras — such as additional drivers, supplemental tyre and glass cover, child seats, or out-of-hours fees — may be available at the desk if required.

Collecting at the airport is usually the simplest start to a trip beyond the city. Vienna's streets are poorly suited to casual driving, and almost the whole city is a paid parking zone, so many visitors collect a car at the airport on the day they plan to leave Vienna, rather than for their whole stay.

Getting from Vienna Airport to Key Destinations

• Vienna city centre — around 18 to 20 km, roughly 20 to 40 minutes via the A4, depending on traffic and where in the city you are heading. Morning and evening peaks are slower.
• Bratislava — around 60 to 65 km, roughly 45 minutes to 1 hour by the A4 and A6. This crosses a border, so taking a hire car to Slovakia needs prior written permission from your supplier, and Slovak motorways have their own vignette.
• Neusiedler See — the shallow lake and wine region on the Hungarian border, around 60 km south-east by the A4 and B50, in the region of an hour.
• Budapest — around 243 km, roughly 2 hours 30 minutes by the A4 and M1. This needs the same cross-border permission as Bratislava, plus a Hungarian vignette.

For the Wachau Valley, Semmering, and other day trips from Vienna itself, see our Vienna car hire guide, which covers distances, timings, and Vienna's parking rules.