Schönbrunn Palace on our own or with Uniworld?

We'll have a day and a half on our own in Vienna in late November and I'm starting to think about what we want to see while we are there. Uniworld offers a tour of the Schönbrunn Palace, but we'll also have plenty of time to do it on our own if that's what we'd prefer. Any thoughts from anyone who has done the Uniworld tour?

There are so many things to do in Vienna. I would look at what you can/will see on tours and then look at other things to do. There is a tour of the Spanish Riding School that you should have advance reservations for. There is also a HOHO bus or the tram system for getting around, St. Stephens, . I have been to Schonbrunn Palace and it is nice, this was on our own and maybe it we would have been on a tour we would not have had the lines.

Yeah, I've been reading about the lines and that was partially why I was thinking of doing it with Uniworld. And we do have reservations at the Spanish Riding School already. :)

We'll have a day and a half on our own in Vienna in late November and I'm starting to think about what we want to see while we are there. Uniworld offers a tour of the Schönbrunn Palace, but we'll also have plenty of time to do it on our own if that's what we'd prefer. Any thoughts from anyone who has done the Uniworld tour?

We took the optional Schonbrunn Palace optional tour with Uniworld last December. It was one of my favorite tours along with the Christmas Market. I will warn you that it was an extremely long and tiring day. We did the Vienna included walking tour with the Christmas Markets in the morning, the optional Palace tour that afternoon, and the included concert that evening. We are only in our early 50's and it really wore us out. In retrospect I think I would have skipped the included morning tour and taken it a little easier to prepare for the afternoon and evening. We found the evening concert well worth it although I must admit my eyes were pretty heavy. Whether with Uniworld or on your own don't miss Schonbrunn. I'm looking forward to doing the Danube in the next few years during the summer to go back tot Schonbrunn to enjoy the gardens.

Thanks for the feedback. It did look like it would be a long day, especially with the concert in the evening. We may try to spread things out a bit.

You can preorder tickets and entry time online:

http://www.schoenbrunn.at/en/plan-your-visit/tickets-tours.html

There is a direct subway line to the palace. Green line U4 (U = U-Bahn = underground train)

http://homepage.univie.ac.at/horst.prillinger/ubahn/m/largemap-s-wien.html

Thanks, Floridiana!

Papa (or anyone else who might know), how easy is it to get out and about from where Uniworld typically docks? I'm thinking we'd probably like to do some exploring of our own after moving from the hotel to the boat and getting settled since there are no tours or activities scheduled that day.

...how easy is it to get out and about from where Uniworld typically docks?...

Thom

MOST boats dock by the Reichsbruecke, within a 10 minutes stroll to the Vorgartenstrasse U-bahn. It is then maybe 10 minutes by U-bahn to downtown: half price tickets for women over 60, men over 65. Note that sometimes boats dock at Nussdorf, not nearly as convenient.

 

Thom

Thanks!

I posted a map and detailed walking directions from the Reichsbrücke pier to Vorgartenstrasse in my April 2016 Danube trip report. In a word, it's easy to get there on your own.

If you buy the Sisi ticket, you can skip the lines at Schönbrunn and enter any time you'd like. Easy to DIY.

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Thanks, jp! I was just going to go back and look for your report as I was pretty sure those details were in it. Much appreciated! And thanks for the tip re: the Sisi ticket.

We did it on our own with another couple on our Avalon Danube cruise and it was pretty easy using metro and significantly cheaper. I also liked being able to go at our own pace and grab a drink and bite to eat there.

Vienna is an easy city to do on your own. I have been there 3 times. The Schonbraun is on the Uban line. In August we took ourselves to the Belvedere. We took the ship tour until they got off at the Ringstrasse and then took a tram to the Belvedere. That way we avoided the walk from the ship to the Uban station. When we returned we walked from the Uban to the ship. It isn't that close. Get a Uban,Sban, tram, map. Entry tickets are sold at stations using a credit card.

At Reichsbrücke Pier, the distance to Vorgartenstrasse probably depends on how far north/south of the bridge you are. It looks like they dock 3 or 4 in a row, up and down the river bank, so you could be a half km north or south of the bridge if you're in a less desirable spot.

If you are lucky like we were, we were in the first spot to the north of the bridge so it was a straight walk there of maybe 500 meters. It took us 5 minutes at most. It would easily be twice that distance or more, if you are docked in the 3rd or 4th position, further from the bridge.

This picture shows the route from where we docked. More info here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=49919894&postcount=102

From the post (link above) taken from my Danube review:

I just looked at the other location (Nussdorf) and I agree; it looks much less convenient. Easily 2km from the nearest U-Bahn stop, though there is a tram stop about 1km away that will go to some places that you may want to visit...

Vienna is an easy city to do on your own. I have been there 3 times. The Schonbraun is on the Uban line. In August we took ourselves to the Belvedere. We took the ship tour until they got off at the Ringstrasse and then took a tram to the Belvedere. That way we avoided the walk from the ship to the Uban station. When we returned we walked from the Uban to the ship. It isn't that close. Get a Uban,Sban, tram, map. Entry tickets are sold at stations using a credit card.

Thanks for the idea!

Thanks again for all the details, JP. I had gone back and looked through your report again. I much appreciate all of the details!

Hello bubbulz,

just in case you will be in Nussdorf. It is still part of Vienna, but a village right on the outskirts at a canal. Heiligenstädter Straße is a major road there, you walk under it and the small road at the embankment is called Relegasse. This leads to the docking places. Geodata on google maps is

48°15'54.5"N 16°21'58.4"E

48.265130, 16.366224

You can get the train (fast, but not so convenient for sightseeing), tram (slower but takes you into the centre past some interesting architecture) and bus (not sure if that might be convenient for you).

Nussdorf has a couple of nice old streets that I walked along. I did not feel quite so at ease in the dark there around the dock.

You can get travel info on the Vienna website: https://www.wien.info/en/travel-info/transport

Have a great cruise.

notamermaid

Thanks, notamermaid! Filing just in case. :)

In August I took the tour with Uniworld and really enjoyed it. After the inside part I had free time to explore the gardens.

Second seating

In August I took the tour with Uniworld and really enjoyed it. After the inside part I had free time to explore the gardens.

 

Second seating

Thanks for the feedback.

We opted to go to Schonbrunn on our own. We did not tour the palace, but walked through the gardens up to the Gloriette. A picture we took from there is still my husband's screensaver.

We left the ship at the same time the people on the tour were boarding the bus. We arrived at Schonbrunn at the same time. The people who took the tour were not able to visit the gardens (which are spectacular). The gardens are a lot of walking, up hill to get to the Gloriette.

We had about a 1/2 day... apparently we didn't keep the daily schedule for that day. I remember thinking we should have made one last stop in the city for a market before returning to the ship, but we didn't.

We were docked just on the other side of the bridge from the picture JP posted. If I recall correctly, the Vorgartenstrasse metro station was inbound on one side of the street and outbound on the other (you had to cross the street). If you're docked here, the ship staff will be able to let you know the correct station to go to.

Yes, the station on the northern side of the street is for the inbound train. As you walk inland from the river, it's on the right side of the street. When you come back, you'll exit on the other side of the street.

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