Transportation

1. Trolley-bus

Getting around Salzburg is very easy as you can reach all areas of the city with the extensive trolley-bus system. Buses come at regular intervals of 10 minutes on the weekdays and 15 minutes on weekends.

Click here for the line network of Salzburg.

For a live timetable download the app ‘OBB Scotty’ which will calculate your travel times for you.

Tickets:

Bus tickets in Salzburg work on a scaled system. Tickets bought from machines at bus stops are usually cheaper than tickets bought from the bus driver.

24 Hour Salzburg Ticket:

During your exchange, it is much more logical to buy a studentCARD which covers you for the entire semester. You must fill in an online application and costs 119€.

Flying Chalks’ tip:

Although ticket inspections are rare, you will have to pay a fee of 87€ if you do not have a ticket or have not validated it.
 

2. Bicycle

Being such a small city, cycling is the most popular and fastest method to get around. You can reach any point in the city within 20 minutes, much faster than a bus. There are also many bike lanes around the city.  

Bikes can be purchased from here for 20-60€, which you can sell it away at the end of your semester. Do ensure that you have a bike lock to keep your bike secured at all times.

Note that the police do enforce bike-related laws. Your bike must have a working light, a bell, and you cannot ride a bike whilst holding an umbrella; doing so may result in a fine.

3. Taxi

There are many taxis in Salzburg which are affordable when shared and most commonly used after a night out. A 10 minute taxi ride will cost around 11-12€.
 

4. Train

For inter-city travel, trains are very efficient but not always affordable. The train system has connections to almost every city in Europe. Trains to Vienna leave every hour, where the 2.5 hour journey can costs upwards of 19€. Always buy your ticket at least three days before your planned departure date, otherwise tickets may cost as much as 60€ for the same journey.

Flying Chalks’ tip:

If you plan on using the trains often, consider buying an OBB Youth Vorteils Card which entitles you to a 50% discount on train journeys within Austria for a 12 month period. It costs 20€ and can be purchased here.

Unfortunately, this card does NOT apply to trains between Salzburg and Vienna. Most students buy this and never make the 20€ back. Hence, get the card only if you are sure to make it worth!

The map below shows a simple representation of connections from Salzburg and Austria into the surrounding countries.
 

5. S-Bahn

There is also a local train-line, S-Bahn, which operates in the local area of Salzburg. There are two main lines: S1 which operates hourly and S3 which operates every 30 minutes. Tickets begin at 2€ within Salzburg, but a ticket to the next town starts at 4.60€. The S-Bahn is generally not very practical or convenient for most students.

Check here for a map of the routes of the S-Bahn.

Banking Services

To set up a bank account, you will require:

• Passport
• Letter from the Magistrate as proof that you are a registered citizen of Salzburg
• Letter from the university to prove that you are studying here  

Opening a bank account is free of charge. You will need to book an appointment to apply for a bank account and your bank card will be sent to you within 10 days. Having a local account allows you to avoid incurring an extra 4€ fee when you pay your monthly rent. Most importantly, it is your only way to load money onto your university card for printing. International cards cannot do this.

Major banks in Austria

1. Erste Group/Sparkasse

2. Bank Austria

3. Raiffeisen Bank Austria

4. Oberbank

5. Volksbank

Sparkasse and Bank Austria are the two most popular and recommended for students.

Closest Banks to Campus:

• Natural Sciences: Salzburger Sparkasse; Hofhaymer Alee 9-11; 1km
• Unipark: Volksbank Salzburg; Kaigasse 43; 450m
• Law & Theology: Oberbank; Alter Markt 4; 400m

Flying Chalks’ tip:

Whenever you are at a bank waiting to be served, be sure to stand behind the line, which is often very close to the entrance door. Austrians highly value their privacy and considers anyone who violates the line as extremely rude behavior; the bank employees will yell at you.

Post office Services:

There are 37 post offices across Salzburg. However, note not all employees speak English. Hence, it is recommended that you come prepared with the translation of what you want to say on your phone to show it to the employees there. Another option would be to visit the post office in the city centre (Residenzplatz 9) as most tourists frequent this office.

Most post offices have two (or more) desks that could be operating as a phone company or even a dry-cleaner. Do make sure you locate the correct desk for postal services!

A regular letter to Singapore, or most non-European countries costs 1.70€. It gets much more expensive with parcels, where a 1kg package will cost just over 18€

Post Offices near Campus:

• Natural Sciences: Petersbrunnstraße 12; 1.3km
• Unipark: Petersbrunnstraße 12; 260m
• Law & Theology: Residenzplatz 9; 270m

Medical services:

The university does not offer any medical services and students will have to visit the local clinics. Be sure to get your travel insurance as treatments can be expensive.

Hospitals

Salzburg’s main hospital is the St Johanns Spital (also referred to as Landeskrankenhaus) and is north of the Old Town. For more information, check here!

Doctors

The Ärztekammer für Salzburg (Medical Association of Salzburg) is the best place to start when searching for a doctor. Call them on 066 287 13 27 or visit them at Bergstraße, 14 and ask for English-speaking doctors. They will recommend a suitable doctor and put you in direct contact with them.

Medicine

There are many pharmacies around the city. Most open from 8:00am-6:00pm from Monday-Friday and on Saturday mornings. As not all pharmacists speak English, you may want to head to the Old Town for better chances in finding one that speaks English. 

Telecommunications:

SIM Cards can be purchased from any supermarket or pharmacy. SIM Cards by A1 are also being sold at the Post Office.

When you arrive, the university will give you a SIM card from A1 that is already loaded with 1,000 minutes of calling, 1,000 SMS and 2GB of internet that expires after one month.

Flying Chalks’ tip: Many students ask their friends for their packs and use these throughout the semester. However, this will also mean having to change your phone number every month.

Flying Chalks’ recommendations:

While Austria is home to several international companies such as 3 and A1, students seeking for more affordable providers may want to consider Yesss or Hot.
 

• Yesss: Yesss is operated by A1 and offers the exact same network for a fraction of the cost. 3GB of internet and 1000 units of talk and text costs 10€ for the month plus an initial fee of 1.99€ to buy the SIM card. However, the website and app are not exactly very user-friendly.
• Hot: Hot is run by Hofer, where its SIM card and recharges can only be purchased at Hofer stores. Its network may not be as strong and reliable as Yesss but is much easier to recharge your credit and is of the same price.

Weather:

Weather in Salzburg can get quite wet as it rains on more days a year than London. Rainfall averages 70-160mm per month, raining between 12-21 days per month. While Salzburg’s weather can be highly unpredictable, you can visit Norway’s weather site for its weather forecasts.

Austria’s climate is characterized by 4 distinct seasons: spring, summer, fall, and winter.

Spring

From March to May. It is generally cold and rainy, much like winter. Temperature ranges from 4 to 15°C, with even occasional snowfall!

Summer

Form June to early September. It is when rainfall is the highest and days get hot on an irregular basis; temperatures can go from 10 to 25°C in just one day!

Autumn

From September to November, with temperatures ranging between 5 to 15°C

Winter

From December to mid-March, where temperatures can go down to -10°C to -20°C and hours of sunshine average around 2 to 3 hours a day. The coldest months are January and February. 

Flying Chalks tips:

You will definitely need a thick coat and waterproof boots regardless of the semester you are coming for. As a general rule, don’t go anywhere without an umbrella it is more likely to rain than not every day.

Flying Chalks’ tip: While you can make a call in English, you may be transferred to another operator who is more proficient in the language. Hence, do mention “English” before you elaborate further on the issue.