With its countless beautiful lakes and stunning alpine scenery, Austria can be a wonderful place to spend the summer. But, as Austria is a landlocked country, those who feel like the holiday season is not truly complete without a trip to a beach will need to venture abroad.

If you don’t have a car or don’t want to travel by aeroplane, there are plenty of other transport options and these are some of the coastal destinations you can reach. 

The Italian Riviera

There’s nothing better than eating real Italian gelato on the beach, and luckily, there are several ways to reach the Italian seaside from Austria.

The nearest Italian coastal stop to Austria is Trieste, which you can reach in around five hours by train from Klagenfurt with a change in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana. 

But those wanting to reach the long sandy beaches will need to travel a bit further afield. 

The most comfortable way to reach the Italian coast is by night train and the direct connection with the ÖBB Nightjet takes you from Vienna or Salzburg to Genoa and La Spezia on the Ligurian Sea.

You can then easily reach the dreamy coastal towns of Cinque Terre, Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare with their colourful houses nestled against the cliffs in less than an hour by local train.

You can also continue with the night train further down the east coast to Livorno and from there, you can take a ferry to destinations like Corsica or Sardinia.

ÖBB Nightjets also travel to the other side of Italy; the night train to Venice stops at several Austrian towns and cities, such as St. Pölten, Linz, Salzburg, and Villach and from Venice you take a one-hour bus ride to the long, sandy beaches of Grado.

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Also, starting from June 2023, there is a new Nightjet connection to Ancona on the Adriatic Sea. The route travels from Salzburg and Vienna along the coast to Rimini, Riccione, Cattolica, and Pesaro until you wake up in Ancona in the morning.

It’s worth noting, however, that this connection is only available until September 2023, as the night train will then be suspended along the route to Florence and Rome due to construction work.

Buses to Italy

For those looking to save some money on their travels, there are also plenty of bus routes running from Austria to Italy.

German bus company Flixbus offers numerous long-distance buses between major cities like Vienna, Graz, or Innsbruck to Italian cities such as Venice, Milan, Florence, Rome, and Naples. From these cities, you can then take regional trains and local buses to reach various Italian coastal destinations.

To the coast on two wheels

For those who have the energy, you can even reach the sea by bike from Austria.

One popular bicycle route is the Alpe-Adria-Trail, which takes you on an eight-stage journey from Salzburg to Grado in Italy. In one week, you can reach the coast by bike, covering approximately 415 kilometres. The route takes you through the Hohe Tauern National Park, passing through places like Spittal an der Drau and Villach, before cycling into Italy and reaching the sea at Grado.

The Croatian Coast

The Croatian coast along the Adriatic Sea is another stunning beach holiday destination reachable without a plane or car from Austria.

You can travel with the Euronight train from Vienna, Wiener Neustadt, Bruck an der Mur, or Graz to the coastal city of Split, which is an ideal starting point for day trips. From Split, there are great boat connections to the neighbouring islands of Brač with its famous white limestone beaches, Zlatni Rat, Hvar and Šolta, as well as buses to the popular coastal towns of Trogir and Šibenik.

For those with less time to reach the Croatian coast, there is also the option to take the night train from Salzburg or Villach to the port city of Rijeka.

Though sitting in a bus is not as comfortable as taking the night train, you can reach Pula – the charming city at the tip of Istria – in about eight hours with a direct bus from Graz.

READ ALSO: The ten best destinations by direct night train from Austria

You can also take a FlixBus from Vienna to Zadar, which takes around nine hours and costs between €40 and €90, depending on the connection.

Slovenian Coastal towns

Austria’s neighbouring country Slovenia also has a small stretch of coastline along the Adriatic Sea which is home to some picturesque beach resorts.

You can take a train from Vienna, Graz, or Salzburg to Ljubljana, Slovenia’s capital and there take a direct train or a bus from their to the coastal cities of Koper or Portorož.

Flixbus also runs direct buses from Vienna, Graz and Salzburg to Portorož which take between 5 and 7 hours in total.

The Black Sea

For something really special, you can take a cruise along the Danube River all the way to the Black Sea.

There are various cruise companies stopping off in Vienna and passing through cities in Hungary, the Balkans and Romania – depending on which route you choose – before ending in the Romanian coastal resort of Constanƫa on the black sea.

The travel duration varies depending on package you choose and you can often book various excursion packages including guided tours.