ESN Vienna

FAQ

Find a place to stay

The websites underneath are only there to support you in your search for accommodation. Please check all of them in detail and read contracts carefully. We recommend not to send any money without having a signed contract. We are not liable for any issues arising with these providers and cannot ensure that you will get a room.

Providers for student dorms:

Websites to find shared flats:

If you need a temporary place to stay, here are some tips:

Arriving in Vienna

You can arrive in Vienna by plane, train or car. If you arrive by train, check out the “How to get around Vienna” section to get more info on public transport. If you arrive by car, check out the “What do I do with a car in Vienna” section. If you arrive by plane at the Flughafen Schwechat, here is how you get to the city.

  • Cheapest Option – Express train S7 brings you to a lot of central stations of Vienna like Landstraße, Praterstern and Handelskai, it departs every 30 minutes (from around 5.00 am till 1.00 am)
  • Without semester ticket it is about 5€ (one way) all the way till your final destination. If you already got your semester ticket, it costs just an additional 2€ (one way). Don’t forget to buy this ticket, as the semester card only covers all of Viennas urban area and the airport is outside.
  • If you need to get to the airport during the night, you can do that with a bus from the Vienna Airport Lines
  • You can fin info on all options of commuting here: https://www.austrian.com/lt/en/arrival-vienna-airport 
How to get around Vienna

Apps: There are many options for checking out public transport routes and times. Google maps works ok, its not the best, but it works. We recommend to download the WienMobil App. It is the official app by the Wiener Linien – the public transport company of Vienna. Most of the time it has real time info. If you register in the app, you can even by tickets and book car sharing in the app.

Wiener Linien: That is the public transport company of Vienna. It includes metro, trams and busses as well as night busses and has very good coverage. During the weekend the metro is driving all night, during the week there are the night busses. One way tickets cost around 2,60€. There are many different ticket options, check them out HERE.
For your semester you have the following options to buy tickets:

  • If you are under 26 and are registered at an Austrian university can buy a “Semesterkarte” for about € 78.-. It is valid either from 1 September till 31 January in winter semester or from 1 February till 30 June in summer semester. During summer holidays (July, August) a special holiday ticket is available for students who were registered during the previous semester. This holiday monthly pass (“Ferien-Monatskarte”) costs about € 29.50.
    You can get this ticket at the Ticket shop of the Wiener Linien. For that you need to bring your Student ID or record of studies (“Studienblatt“) or confirmation of registration (“Studienbestätigung”) AND Payment confirmation of the student union fee. Buying it online might not be possible right away, since your payment and data has to have been processed. If you need it urgently, we recommend to go to a ticket shop in person after you are registered as a student.
  • If you are over 26 or are not a student the best option is to buy a yearly ticket. It costs 365€ and you can get it at the online ticket shop. You can either pay in full or in monthly rates. You can cancel it at the end of every month for a fee of 22€, so if you are only staying for a semester you can give it back when you leave. Find all the info on that HERE.

Trains: The Wiener Linien Ticket covers all transport inside the city, even trains. If you leave the city, for example to go to the airport, you have to pay extra. Please check out the section “How to get around in Austria” for that.

Taxi: There are 2 big taxi companies in Vienna: Taxi 40100 and Taxi 31300, as well as Uber. Here are a few things you need to know:

  • Pricing: Taxi and Uber cost the same if you order the Taxi via app or with a phone call. This way they give you a fixed price, that is cheaper than if you get a Taxi on the street or at a Taxi stand. This is also the reason why there are quite a few Taxis that also drive for Uber.
  • Price for taxis inside Vienna limits that you don’t “order in advance” with an app or phone call: Base price is 3,80 €. The next 5 kilometer cost 0,95€. Every additional kilometer costs 0,58€.
  • There are only official taxis that have a sign on top of the car. If the sign is on, then the taxi is free and you can try to catch it. You can also find taxis at fixed taxi stands.

Car Sharing: If you would like to rent a car there are a few options

  • Share now: free floating, bookable per minute, hour or day, different car sizes
  • WienMobil cars: also called sharetoo, on fixed spots, car has to be returned to the exact spot, bookable per hour or day, very small to very big cars (for example VW buzz cargo)
  • ÖBB rail & drive: on fixed spots at train stations, car has to be returned to the exact spot, bookable per hour or day
  • Getaround: private car rentals

Other mobility: Additionally you can also rent bikes (see “Getting around with a bike”) or E-Scooters. You can rent E-Scooters from Lime, Bird, Voi and Link. When using E-Scooters Vienna has now stricter rules:

  • You are NOT allowed to drive on sidewalks. You can drive everywhere, where bikes are allowed.
  • You have to leave the scooters at designated spots that are marked in red, at bike stands or in a parking lane.
  • You are not allowed to drive drunk.
  • The city is checking those rules and you can get fined if you break them.
How to get around Austria

The main public transport provider in Austria is the ÖBB (the austrian railway company). They give the most accurate information on travelling through Austria by public transport. Here are a few Websites and Apps to check out. Be aware: Google maps works, but not all public transport options in Austria are integrated.

  • ÖBB Scotty: This is the ÖBB route planner. It also exists as an App (just search for ÖBB Scotty in your App store)
  • ÖBB Shop: Here you can buy tickets, book seats and so on for ÖBB. This also exists as an app, just search for ÖBB App
  • Wegfinder: With this App you can buy tickets for all public transport providers in Austria as well as Rail & Drive cars.
  • Von A nach B: This App is focused on the easter region of Austria and you can buy all tickets in this region with the App

Tickets that might be interesting for you:

  • ÖBB Vorteilscard: This card gives you usually 50% on all ÖBB tickets. For everyone under 26 it costs just 19€, for everyone over its 66€. Unsurprisingly a big amount of students in Austria have this card. If you are going to Graz for example it cuts the costs from 40€ to 20€ in one direction, so it can already be worth it if you are traveling in Austria just once.
  • Klimaticket: This ticket is for the people who are staying longer and love to travel a lot by public transport. The ticket costs 821€ for a year for under 25 year old. It includes all public transport in all of Austria (so also the tickets in Vienna).
  • Einfach Raus Ticket: This ticket is a daily ticket that is perfect for exploring the surroundings of Vienna with friends. It is only valid for local and regional trains (so not for the fast railjets) and gets cheaper the more people you are.

Westbahn: This is the only big private train company in Austria and it operates trains between Vienna and Innsbruck. If you are only traveling to Linz, Salzburg or Innsbruck, the Westbahn is a great alternative to the ÖBB. With the ESNcard you even get a 10% discount on all tickets.

Getting around with a bike in Vienna

Google maps, Komoot and so on are not bad for planning a bike route, but the best planner for bike routes in Vienna you can find HERE. Viennas bike lanes keep getting better and more. Biking in Vienna can range from a delight to fearing for your live, so choose your routes carefully.

Where can I buy a bike?

  • Willhaben.at: you can get second hand bike in every price class. The Website and App are in german, but you communicate with people directly and most will be able to speak english.
  • 48-er Tandler: bascially a second hand shop organised by the city of Vienna
  • IG Fahrrad: used and new bikes as well as bike repair shop
  • Sator: bike shop, new and used bikes
  • Fahrrad + Ski: bike shop, new and used bikes
  • reanimated bikes: bike shop and repair shop
  • Bike flea market: takes place usually every first wednesday of the month at WUK, check the website for more details

Where can I rent a bike?

  • WienMobil bike: the offical city bike of Vienna, you can find prices and info on the registration on the website. They also have E-cargo bikes at 2 locations
  • Grätzlräder: rent cargo bikes for free (provided by the city), check the website for more info
  • Pedalpower: rent a bike by the hour or day
  • Bike Vienna: rent a bike for the weekend
  • Listnride: rent a bike form private people starting at around 10€ per day
What do I do with a car in Vienna?

We highly recommend NOT to come to Vienna with a car. Public transport in Vienna is really good. You can also travel all around Austria by train and if you like to travel around more, the ÖBB has a wide net of night trains even going to Venice, Paris, Hamburg, Bukarest and many more cities.
If you do insist on bringing a car, here are a few tips:

  • You can only park for free in Vienna on Saturday and Sunday
  • From Monday to Friday from 9am to 10pm you have to pay for parking and you are only allowed to park for 2 hours. The only way you are allowed to park there longer is with a “Parkpickerl” which you can only get if your car is registered to your main living address in Vienna (= your car has to have a viennese license plate)
  • You can park in park & ride places, some even have long term parking. HERE is a map with some information on prices.
  • You can park outside of the city. Outside of Vienna there is no extensive parking regulation. But be aware: many places have parking regulations around train stations.
Where can I buy cheap stuff?

The main plattform for second hand stuff is WILLHABEN.AT. You can get everything second-hand there, like kitchen utensils, furniture, bikes, books, ski clothes and skis, and much more. But even appartements, jobs and cars. Unfortunately it is mostly all german, but that is a good opportunity to practice your language skills 🙂

I need a bank account

If you need a bank account, we recommend a bank account by N26 or Revolut, which are online banking apps without any management or withdrawal fee!

Get a SIM card for Austria

According to law EU roaming is only allowed if you are travelling, not if you are living in another country. If this applies to you, you can get a free SIM card from ESN (only the SIM card is free!). The SIM cards are provided by our parnter EDUCOM. They are one of the cheapest providers for Mobile and internet plans with plans starting at 2,50€ per month

Working during your exchange
  • Can I work during my exchange semester?
    The answer is: it depends.
    If you are an EU/EWR citizen, you are free to work in Austria. Legally there are no issues, but we still recommend to check with your embassy if there are any special requirements and your home university so no unexpected issues with your exchange grants can arise.
    If you are NOT from an EU/EWR country, it is more complicated. If you want work, no matter the amount of hours you need a “Beschäftigungsbewilligung”, which your boss has to get for you. This usually takes 4 to 6 weeks. With this you can work up to 20h per week. There is a possibility to work more, but for that they need to do an assessment, which can take even longer and might end in a negative result. Also your primary reason for being in Austria, which is stated on your Visa, should not be negatively affected by working. We highly recommend to talk to your embassy!
  • Where can I find a job?
    Part-time jobs are called “Teilzeit” or “geringfügig” in German.
    Most jobs require some knowledge of German.
  • https://schwarzesbrett.oeh.ac.at/jobs/ (focused on students)
  • https://jobs.derstandard.at/ (all kinds of jobs)
  • https://www.karriere.at/jobs (all kinds of jobs)
  • https://www.metajob.at (all kinds of jobs)
  • www.devjobs.at (IT and developers)
  • https://www.unijobs.at/ (focused on students)
Do I need a health insurance?

All students are required to pay the Student Union fee, which also includes accident and liability insurance within the scope of you studies – this is NOT a health insurance.
Students have to take care for health insurance on their own:

  • Students from the EU can use their own insurance card for medical services.
  • Students from non-EU member states who do not have health insurance may purchase Austrian student health insurance (“Studierendenkrankenversicherung”) for a monthly fee of about € 60.-. You can find more info on that HERE. Or check out THIS DOCUMENT in english.

Your regular insurance does not cover rescue missions in the mountains. So if you plan to go hiking or skiing during your stay, we recommend to get additional insurance to cover any possible costs. Be aware: if you hurt yourself badly during skiing and they need to get a helicopter it can get very expensive and this has happened in the past to exchange students. We recommend to become a member of the “Alpenverein”. The fee is around 70€ for a year and includes insurance for rescue and medical costs. Check out the info HERE.

Where can I find cheap sports classes for students?

Check out the USI – university sports institute. They have a very wide range of courses for sports activities. But be aware: registration starts around the end of September or the end of February and courses can be booked out really fast.

I need information about my university.

For everything related to your university please contact your specific ESN section. This includes but is not limited to questions about your studies, your student ID and the university.

If your university does not have an ESN section, please get in contact with the international office of your university.

Where can I buy an ESNcard?

If you want to buy an ESNcard, please get in contact with the ESN section at your university.

If your university does not have an ESN section or you are doing an internship, you can go to any of the universities above to buy your ESNcard.