Accessibility and mobility

There is practically no way around Vorarlberg: the state in western Austria is easily accessible by all means of transport. You don’t need your own car on site. Trains and buses are perfectly coordinated and take visitors comfortably from place to place. The regional Inclusive Cards include the use of public transport for summer guests. In winter, travel on the ski buses is included in many ski passes.

Arrival

Rail travellers coming from all directions can choose from several direct connections and destination stations in Vorarlberg. Railjets, ICEs and other express trains stop in Bregenz, Dornbirn, Hohenems, Feldkirch, Bludenz and Langen am Arlberg or in St. Anton am Arlberg on the Tyrol side. Some connections have additional stops in smaller places between those mentioned. From the train stations in Vorarlberg, buses take guests to the valleys and villages. In the cities of Bregenz, Dornbirn, Hohenems, Feldkirch and Bludenz, city buses supplement the service.

For guests from Austria ÖBB offers long-distance trains running between Vienna and Vorarlberg several times a day, including night connections.

From Germany several express trains run daily to/from Frankfurt (via Darmstadt, Heidelberg, Stuttgart, Ulm) and to/from Munich. An ICE connects Dortmund (via Cologne, Mainz, Mannheim, Ulm) with Vorarlberg every day. A Nightjet runs daily from Hamburg-Altona to Innsbruck. EC trains or Railjets take you from there to Vorarlberg. For holidays in Kleinwalsertal, Oberstdorf (D) is the destination station. In winter, a “holiday express” runs occasionally on some Fridays at night from Hamburg-Altona to St. Anton am Arlberg. The return journey is in the night from Saturday to Sunday. On Saturdays, DB offers a daytime connection on this route. Lech Zürs am Arlberg can be reached by bus from St. Anton. The destination for travelers taking their car on the train is Munich. In summer, Lörrach is another car train station for connections with the BTW car train to/from Hamburg-Altona.

From Switzerland visitors can travel several times daily by EC or Railjet from Zurich via St. Gallen to Bregenz or from Zurich via Sargans to Feldkirch. From Paris and Strasbourg in France there are direct (TGV) connections to Basel and Zurich about twice a day. From there, the journey continues either directly or with one change by EC or Railjet to Bregenz or Feldkirch. For travel from the Netherlands (Utrecht and Amsterdam), the Nightjet connection to Innsbruck is the best choice. You can continue to Vorarlberg by EC or Railjet.

Long-distance buses like FlixBus stop in several places between Bregenz and Bludenz. Depending on the starting point in Europe, there are direct connections or routes with transfers.

Car travellers reach Vorarlberg from Lindau (D), from one of the Swiss border crossings or from the east via the Arlberg Pass or through the Arlberg Tunnel. All route options are connected to the motorway network. The only thing to consider is the vignette requirement on Austria’s motorways and expressways, including the Rheintalautobahn and the Arlberg expressway in Vorarlberg.

For e-cars there is a dense network with more than 1,000 publicly accessible charging points (as of April 2026). This map provides an overview of the locations.

The nearest international airports are Munich (D), Zurich (CH) and Innsbruck (A). From there, there are direct train connections to Vorarlberg. Regional airports are located in Memmingen (D), Friedrichshafen (D) and Altenrhein (CH), which are also connected to Vorarlberg by train, bus or shuttle.

• To the transport options.

Getting around in Vorarlberg

By train to the next town for dinner. By bus from the mountain village to the Bregenz Festival, for a museum visit or shopping trip. Environmentally friendly activities are easy and uncomplicated in Vorarlberg. When you travel by public transport, you also save yourself the trouble of searching for a parking space and parking fees and can devote yourself entirely to enjoying the scenery.

Public transport in Vorarlberg is just as well developed as in large cities. Only the intervals can be a little longer. Nevertheless, there is a connection to almost every town in the country at least once an hour.

Summer guests benefit from regional Inclusive Cards which include services such as cable car rides and public transport in the respective region. The guest cards for most towns in the Bodensee-Vorarlberg region and all towns in the Alpenregion Bludenz are even valid for train and bus travel throughout Vorarlberg. In addition, there is the V-CARD available at an advantageous package price. It is valid from 1 May to 31 October for participating mountain railways and for single visits to around 90 museums and excursion destinations.

For excursions on Lake Constance from mid-April to mid-October ships are in operation. From Bregenz harbour, they head for numerous places on the German shore of Lake Constance. Places on the Swiss shore of Lake Constance can also be reached by changing boats. Alternatively, the towns around Lake Constance can be explored using the Lake Constance S-Bahn.

If you want to explore the country by bike, rent a classic bike, mountain bike or e-bike from one of the many providers. Cyclists can take their bike with them on local trains and the Lake Constance S-Bahn, subject to availability of parking spaces. The Lake Constance ships offer plenty of space for bicycles. Whether by train or boat, a ticket must be purchased for the bike.

In winter, the use of the ski and public buses within the village or region is included in the ski passes. This applies, for example, to the 3Täler ski pass (Bregenzerwald and neighboring regions), the Lech Zürs am Arlberg ski pass as well as the WildPass and the Sonnenabo-WildPass (Montafon, Brandnertal).

Throughout the year, numerous event and museum tickets include free travel to and from the event venue within Vorarlberg. These include, for example, the Alpinale, the :alpenarte, the Poolbar Festival, the Vorarlberg Lines for event cruises as well as the Reiseziel Museum, the vorarlberg museum and the Kunsthaus Bregenz.

• Information about all means of transport and travel options within Vorarlberg as well as links to the transport providers can be found here.