Although Austria is by no means
a budget destination, it is not
quite as expensive as people
imagine. It's true to say that
there are few bargain deals
around, and even though the
cheapest coffee and cake at a
traditional café will cost you
dearly, restaurants on the whole
are moderately priced, as are
rooms in most pensions and
hotels. That said, Austria is
one of the wealthiest countries
in the world, and if you have
the money, it has plenty of
luxury shops, hotels and
restaurants ready to relieve you
of it.
Money
Up until the end of February
2002, the
currency in
Austria was the Austrian
Schilling (
österreichische
Schilling ). It is
abbreviated to öS within
Austria (and within this guide),
but is also often written as ATS
or AS. Each Schilling is divided
into one hundred
Groschen
. Coins come in the
denominations öS20, öS10, öS5
and öS1, plus 50 and 10
Groschen; notes are öS5000, öS1000,
öS500, öS100, öS50 and öS20.
Average costs
Accommodation will be
your biggest single expense,
with hostel beds going for
around öS200/?14.54 (£10/US$15)
the cheapest reasonable double
rooms in a pension going for
about öS500-750/?36.34-54.50
(£25-38/US$38-57). A double
in a more comfortable pension
or hotel is more likely to be
between öS750-1000/?54.50-72.67
(£38-50/US$57-75).
After you've paid for your
room, count on a minimum
of £20/US$30 a day, to buy
your breakfast, a takeaway
lunch, a budget dinner and a
beer or coffee, but not much
else. Eating sit-down meals
twice a day, visiting museums
and drinking more beer and
coffee (especially coffee)
will mean allowing something
in the range of £40/$60 a
day; if you want to go to the
opera or a nightclub, then you
could easily double that
figure.
Tipping is expected
in the more upmarket hotels,
taxis and in most cafés, bars
and restaurants, usually up to
the nearest öS5/?0.36 or öS10/?0.73
depending on how much you've
spent and how good the
service. In more expensive
restaurants, you'll find the
bill arrives with a fifteen
percent service charge already
tacked onto the total.
Banks and changing money
Out in the Austrian
countryside, in small
pensions, restaurants and
shops, you'll find that
cash
is often the sole method of
payment. In fact, there are
plenty of relatively large
towns where cash is still very
much preferred. Make sure you
always have a supply of cash
on you, otherwise it's
perfectly possible to carry
your money in the form of
debit/credit cards and
withdraw money from cashpoints.
Although not as convenient,
travellers' cheques are still
a good, safe option. Most
banks in the West keep
Austrian Schillings on hand
for over-the-counter exchange,
and it's a good idea to bring
a small supply with you in
case you can't find an
exchange outlet on the first
night.
Banking hours vary,
but are generally Monday to
Friday 8am to 12.30pm and 1.30
or 2pm to 3 or 4pm. Banks stay
open until 5.30pm on
Thursdays. Outside these
hours, you will have to rely
on the Wechselstube ,
or exchange booths. Those with
the longest hours (typically
daily 8am-8pm) are usually
found at big-city train
stations and at airports.
There are also 24-hour
automatic exchange machines
dotted around the bigger
towns, accepting notes of most
major currencies, although
commission rates may be more
punitive than those charged in
a bank.
Plastic money
Plastic is by far the
most convenient way to carry
your money. You can pay with
plastic in more upmarket
hotels, shops and restaurants,
but more usefully you can draw
cash out on your card. Most
towns in Austria have banks
with English-language
ATMs
(cash machines or bankomats)
which accept foreign debit and
credit cards. Look out for
branches of Bank Austria,
Creditanstalt or Die erste
Bank, and make sure you have a
PIN number for your card. The
daily limit for taking cash
out of a bankomat is öS5000/?363.36.
As usual,
charge cards
such as Amex and Diners are
not as widely accepted as
debit/credit cards, and tend
to be restricted to top-end
purchases.
If you have an Australian
or New Zealand key or debit
card, arrange for Cirrus, Plus
or Maestro withdrawal
facilities to be added before
you leave home. You will be
charged for withdrawing cash
but the rates compare
favorably.
Cheques
Travellers' cheques are
still the safest way to carry
money, and are accepted pretty
much everywhere. They're
available for a small
commission (usually one
percent of the amount ordered)
from any bank and some
building societies, whether or
not you have an account, and
from branches of American
Express and Thomas Cook.
Emergencies
When you buy your
travellers'
cheques , make a note of
the emergency phone number
given. On your trip, keep a
record of all cheque serial
numbers and note which ones
you spend - and report any
loss or theft immediately. All
being well, you should get the
missing cheques reissued
within a couple of days.
Things can be trickier if you
lose your credit card: your
bank should be able to give
you details of the number to
call if this happens, but you
won't be provided with a
replacement card until you get
home.
Assuming you know someone
who is prepared to send you
the money, the quickest way to
have funds sent out to you in
an emergency is wiring
money . If you have a few
days' leeway, you can simply
get your bank to wire your
money to an Austrian bank, a
process that shouldn't take
more than a couple of days. If
you can last out for a week,
then an international money
order , exchangeable at
any post office, is by far the
cheapest way of sending money.
If you're in really dire
straits, you can get in touch
with your consulate in Vienna
(some countries also maintain
consulates in regional
capitals like Salzburg,
Innsbruck, Graz and Bregenz -
details are given in the
relevant sections of this
guide), who will usually let
you make one phone call home
free of charge, and will - in
worst cases only - repatriate
you, but will never, under any
circumstances, lend money.
