With the internet, getting info on land transportation into Vienna is easy. Try http://english.viennaairport.com/. There are a few economical options - underground subway or bus. With our bike bags, we opted for the bus to avoid carrying our bike cases up and down subway stairways.

To ride the bus into the Westbahnhof train station, just exit the terminal towards the bus signs right after you clear customs. On the curb side, look for the bus with a sign to Westbahnhof. It stops at 2 other stations before our last stop. Just put your luggage at the belly of the bus before boarding. You can pay the 6 Euro fare to the driver as you board (they give change).

right: Happyhostel, our Vienna home

Lodging in Vienna

Lodging in Vienna is not cheap compared to US prices. We found the Happyhostel (http://www.happyhostel.at/english/index.html) within a 5 minute walk of the Westbahnhof station (literally just across a major intersection) . We pulled our bike cases till we got to the hostel. Rooms are 22 Euros per person at this time of the year with shared bathrooms. Surprisingly, the rooms and bath are sparkling clean.

Mariahilfer Strabe is the main tourist road that leads to all the major tourist sites in Vienna. Our hostel is at the foot of this street, so access to everything is easy. We had the best of both worlds - easy access to airport transportation and close proximity to the major sites. An underground line is just a minute walk from the hostel.

I suggest booking a hostel direct instead of the booking services. It is not only cheaper but you can be more flexible with dates. The crew at Happyhostel was very helpful. We stored our bike cases at the hostel during the duration of the ride.