🇦🇹 Cross-border drive · Austria → United Kingdom 🇬🇧
Driving from Linz to London
Your guide to driving from Linz, Austria to London, UK. Navigate A1, A8, A61, and German autobahns to the M4 motorway. Tolls, fuel, and border tips.
- Drive time
- 13h 45m
- Distance
- 1,316 km
- Same day?
- Split it
- 12 h+, plan a stop
- Fuel cost
- ≈ €189
- petrol · diesel ≈ €159
- Tolls
- ≈ €28
- mixed
- EV charging
- Unknown
- not yet surveyed
On this page
Route map
Route options
Other paths OSRM found between the two cities — handy when traffic, tolls, or scenery matter more than raw speed.
Avoids motorways
+8h 2m- Distance:
- 1,346 km (+30 km)
- Duration:
- 21h 47m
Via: B 16 · B 10 · B 8 · N4
How else can you make this trip?
Driving is the focus of this guide; here's how cycling, coach, and (soon) train and plane stack up for the same pair.
13h 45m
1.316 km · €189 fuel
See details ↓
Not realistic
1.316 km is far beyond a typical multi-day cycle tour. Try a shorter pair like a day or weekend stage.
No direct service
Our coach data (FlixBus + BlaBlaCar) doesn't list a direct service for this pair. National operators (e.g., National Express in the UK, Eurolines feeders) may still cover it — check their site directly.
2h 46m
from €40
See details ↓
12h 12m
OEBB Personenverkehr AG Kundenservice · DB Fernverkehr AG
See details ↓
What the drive is like
Drafted from the route's computed data on April 24, 2026 and reviewed against the route summary card. Read our methodology.
Picking up the A1 motorway east of Linz is your immediate gateway to this substantial cross-border drive towards London. Shortly after merging, you'll follow the A1 towards Salzburg, then the A25 and A8 will guide you further west. The initial stretch through Austria is straightforward, though keep an eye on your fuel gauge as prices can vary. You’ll soon transition onto the German autobahn network, picking up the A3 and then the A48, leading you towards the Rhine.
The real spine of the German leg becomes the A61, a vital north-south artery. This section offers a mix of unrestricted autobahn driving and some stretches with speed limits, so be vigilant. Fuel stops are plentiful here, but prices will fluctuate, so it’s wise to fill up strategically before crossing into France or further afield. The autobahn system is generally well-maintained, offering a high-speed corridor across Germany.
As you approach the French border and continue towards the Channel, the road numbers will change, and you’ll likely be using sections of French autoroutes and potentially the European route E40. Be aware that French autoroutes are toll roads, so budget for these costs and have payment methods ready. The biggest transition awaits as you approach the English Channel. You’ll need to decide between the Eurotunnel or a ferry crossing from Calais to Dover. Once you disembark in Dover, you’ll be driving on the left. The A2 and then the M20 will take you inland, eventually feeding into the M25 orbital motorway around London, before you finally connect to the M4 motorway for the final approach into the heart of the city. Remember that London itself has a Congestion Charge and an Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) to consider.
Route highlights
- Austrian A1 motorway west of Linz
- German A61 autobahn
- French autoroute tolls
- Calais to Dover ferry/tunnel crossing
- Driving on the left in the UK
- London Congestion Charge and ULEZ
Trip plan
How to think about the drive: one day, split, or overnight.
Overnight recommended
Too long for a single-driver day. Plan on 1 overnight stop(s) to do this trip right.
A natural overnight stop near the halfway point: Höhr-Grenzhausen (de).
- Distance:
- 1,316 km
- Duration:
- 13h 45m (free-flow, no traffic)
Where to stop
Places along the route that make natural breaks for coffee, lunch, or a night.
-
Deggendorf 🇩🇪 de
≈165 km≈ 4.7 km detour from the main route
-
Schwaig 🇩🇪 de
≈329 km≈ 4.6 km detour from the main route
-
Laufach 🇩🇪 de
≈494 km≈ 9.4 km detour from the main route
-
Bendorf 🇩🇪 de
≈658 km≈ 2.5 km detour from the main route
-
Hoensbroek 🇳🇱 nl
≈823 km≈ 3.9 km detour from the main route
-
Sint-Lievens-Houtem 🇧🇪 be
≈987 km≈ 4.4 km detour from the main route
-
Calais 🇫🇷 fr
≈1,152 km≈ 7.9 km detour from the main route
Key moves
Things to know before you set off — borders, sides of the road, tolls.
Channel crossing required — book ahead
OSRM treats the Channel as land. The reality: you need either Eurotunnel (Folkestone–Calais, 35 minutes, ~£90–£250 depending on date) or the Dover–Calais ferry (90 minutes, ~£80–£200). Both add an hour to a half-day to the trip on top of the booking, queue, and customs. Reserve your slot before you commit to a date.
Multi-country chain · AT → CZ → DE → BE → FR → GB
You'll cross 6 countries on this drive — each with its own toll system, fuel pricing, and motorway rules. Skim the must-know section below before you set off, and have your registration plus insurance card in the door pocket for any roadside check.
Drive on the left in GB
The UK, Ireland, Malta, and Cyprus drive on the left. If you're crossing over from the continent via ferry or the Channel Tunnel, take a breather before you pull onto the motorway — it rewires faster than people expect.
Tolls on motorways in FR
Budget for motorway tolls — France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal charge per-km, Croatia and Greece by section. Contactless cards work almost everywhere; have one loaded.
Vignette required in AT / CZ
Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Bulgaria, and Romania require a sticker or e-vignette for motorway use. Buy at the border — missing one is a heavy on-the-spot fine.
Long rural stretch on Le Shuttle
Plan for about 58 km of two-lane country roads. Slower than motorway, but often the pretty part — fewer overtakes after dark.
Long rural stretch on R0
Plan for about 16 km of two-lane country roads. Slower than motorway, but often the pretty part — fewer overtakes after dark.
Must-know before you go
The things a driver from another country wouldn't think to ask about — fines, stickers, payment cards, opening hours.
City access & emission zones
Brussels Low Emission Zone covers all 19 communes
Must knowBrussels LEZ runs 24/7 across the entire city; foreign plates must register online before arrival. Diesel pre-Euro 4 and petrol pre-Euro 1 are banned outright. The fine for unregistered entry is €350. Antwerp and Ghent have their own LEZs with different sticker requirements.
Berlin, Munich, Stuttgart need a green Umweltplakette
Must knowGermany's low-emission zones (Umweltzone) are simpler than the French system but stricter on entry. You need a colour-coded sticker physically on your windscreen before entering. The vast majority of zones today require a green sticker (Euro 4+ petrol, Euro 6+ diesel). Order via TÜV / DEKRA / certified workshops — about €6–13, ships in days. Driving without one costs €100 even if your car would qualify.
Order your Crit'Air sticker before the trip
Must knowParis, Lyon, Strasbourg, Marseille, Toulouse and a growing list of cities require a Crit'Air air-quality sticker visible on your windscreen — even for a single drive-through. It's €4.51 from the official site and ships by post (allow 2–6 weeks abroad). Without it, expect on-the-spot fines from €68. Your registration document tells the issuer your emission class.
Congestion Charge: £15 inside Zone 1, weekdays 7:00–18:00
Must knowLondon
Stacks ON TOP of the ULEZ £12.50 — so a non-compliant car visiting central London on a Wednesday afternoon owes £27.50. Pay both before midnight the next day. Auto-pay registration is the safest option for a multi-day visit.
Greater London ULEZ — £12.50/day, 24/7
Must knowLondon
The Ultra Low Emission Zone covers every London borough since August 2023. Foreign plates must pay via the TfL website by midnight the day after travel — no payment, £180 fine. A scrappage scheme covers UK residents only. Confirm your car's Euro class on the TfL "check your vehicle" tool before you commit to driving in.
Borders & documents
EU drivers don't need an International Driving Permit
TipA common piece of post-Brexit confusion: EU and UK driving licences are still mutually recognised for short visits. You don't need an IDP for a holiday or business trip. You also no longer need a Green Card — the UK rejoined the unified motor-insurance system in 2021. Bring your registration document and insurance certificate.
Tolls, vignettes & road payment
Digital vignette before crossing the border
Must knowAustrian motorways need a vignette — €10.10 for 10 days, €30.40 for 2 months, or €103.80 annual. The digital version (linked to your plate) is bought online at asfinag.at and activates from a chosen date — if you buy on the Austrian side of the border, it's only valid 18 days later under consumer-protection rules. Buy ahead.
Czech e-vignette is plate-linked, no sticker
Must knowCzechia replaced paper vignettes in 2021. Buy on edalnice.cz with your plate, valid from the chosen date. 10-day is CZK 290 (~€12), annual CZK 2,300 (~€95). Police read plates electronically — no display required. The first 90 minutes after purchase, the system sometimes hasn't synced; keep your purchase confirmation accessible.
You'll hit three different toll systems on this trip
Must knowThis route crosses countries with mismatched toll mechanics — France's ticket-and-pay, vignette stickers, electronic-only stretches. There's no single transponder that works everywhere, but a Telepass EU device covers FR/IT/ES/PT and a Bip&Go covers the same plus a few more. For a one-off trip, contactless cards plus a Swiss vignette and Austrian e-vignette is the simplest mix.
Brenner, Tauern and Karawanken tunnels are extra
UsefulEight Austrian routes charge separate tolls on top of the vignette: Brenner (A13, ~€11.50), Pyhrn (A9, ~€6.50), Tauern (A10, ~€14), Karawanken (A11, ~€8.50) and others. Pay at the booth — no vignette discount. If you're heading south to Italy via the A13, budget for it.
What your car must carry
Triangle, first-aid kit, hi-vis vest — all three
Must knowGermany requires a warning triangle, a first-aid kit (compliant with DIN 13164, with a "use by" date — €10 at any pharmacy), and a reflective vest in every passenger car. Roadside checks do happen at borders. The first-aid kit is the one foreign drivers most commonly miss.
Hi-vis vest in the cabin, triangle in the boot
Must knowA reflective vest must be reachable without leaving the vehicle (in the door pocket or under your seat — boot is too late). One warning triangle is also mandatory. The 2012 breathalyzer rule was scrapped in 2020 but is still nice to keep. No spare-bulb requirement.
Headlight deflectors required for continental cars
Must knowContinental left-hand-drive headlight beams cut up-and-right — point them straight at oncoming British traffic at night. €15 stick-on deflectors in the right pattern fix this. Many newer cars have a software "tourist mode" in the headlight menu instead. Without one, you'll dazzle every car you pass after dark and risk an MOT-style stop.
Driving rules & habits
Drive on the left — give yourself a buffer day
Must knowSwitching sides isn't the danger people imagine for the first hour — it's the moment you're tired in week 2 and pull into a quiet petrol station. Park, then think. Roundabouts go clockwise; entering one feels backwards. The first 30 minutes after the ferry/Eurotunnel are the highest-risk: take a coffee at a service area before joining the M20.
Rules, fees, and thresholds change. Always verify against the official source the day before you drive — this page is a checklist, not a legal reference.
Main roads
The highways this route spends the most kilometres on.
-
A 3 —542 km
-
E40 —144 km
-
A 61 —91 km
-
E314 —86 km
-
M20 —78 km
-
A8 Innkreis Autobahn61 km
-
A 16 L'Européenne56 km
-
A 4 —50 km
-
A76 —27 km
-
A 48 —25 km
-
A25 Welser Autobahn19 km
-
R0 —16 km
Route character
How much of the drive is motorway vs. secondary vs. rural.
Motorway drive — fast, predictable, uneventful.
- Motorway
- 93%
- Secondary
- 0%
- Other / rural
- 7%
Drive difficulty
At-a-glance feel: how demanding is this drive for one driver?
Overall
Demanding
Tough drive — multiple complicating factors compound fatigue. Strongly recommend splitting across days.
- Long drive: 13h 45m behind the wheel at free-flow speeds.
- Cross-border: AT → GB. Keep documents accessible and check border rules.
- Side-of-the-road change — adjusting from RHT to LHT (or back) takes focus.
Fuel & tolls
Rough cost expectation for a typical EU passenger car. Treat as an estimate — pump prices change weekly.
Petrol (RON 95)
≈ €189
98.7 L × €1.91 / L · 7.5 L/100 km
Diesel
≈ €159
79 L × €2.01 / L · 6 L/100 km
Electric (DC fast)
≈ €158
230 kWh × €0.69 / kWh · 17.5 kWh/100 km
Public DC fast charging — slower AC charging at home or hotels typically costs about half.
Motorway tolls & vignettes
≈ €28
- AT — Vignette (motorway sticker / e-vignette) — €10.10 for 10 days Annual vignette is €103.80 if you drive often
- CZ — Vignette (motorway sticker / e-vignette) — €13.00 for 10 days Annual vignette is €88.00 if you drive often
- FR — €0.10/km on the motorway network (≈ 51 km in-country ≈ €5)
Prices last refreshed 2026-05-04.
Weather by month
Average daytime high / overnight low and typical monthly rainfall, over the past five years.
🇦🇹 Linz
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
5°
-2°
|
8°
1°
|
13°
3°
|
16°
6°
|
20°
10°
|
26°
15°
|
27°
17°
|
27°
16°
|
23°
13°
|
16°
8°
|
8°
2°
|
5°
-0°
|
| 46mm | 43mm | 62mm | 77mm | 92mm | 58mm | 83mm | 80mm | 105mm | 52mm | 75mm | 67mm |
hot mild cold
🇬🇧 London
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
8°
2°
|
10°
4°
|
12°
5°
|
15°
6°
|
19°
10°
|
23°
13°
|
23°
14°
|
23°
14°
|
20°
12°
|
16°
10°
|
11°
6°
|
10°
6°
|
| 70mm | 57mm | 64mm | 54mm | 46mm | 35mm | 84mm | 39mm | 96mm | 79mm | 77mm | 63mm |
hot mild cold
Next 5 days at London
Live forecast — refreshes every few hours.
-
Tue 12
☀️
11° / 10°
—
-
Wed 13
🌧️
13° / 8°
22.1mm
-
Thu 14
🌧️
14° / 6°
16mm
-
Fri 15
🌧️
12° / 6°
1.2mm
-
Sat 16
⛅
13° / 8°
0.7mm
Forecast: MET Norway
Directions
Turn-by-turn summary of the main manoeuvres, generated by OSRM.
Show all 66 manoeuvres
- Hauptplatz 0.2 km
- Einhausung Niedernhart (A7) 0.5 km
- Mühlkreis Autobahn (A7) 4 km
- — 0.6 km
- West Autobahn (A1) 5 km
- Welser Autobahn (A25) 19 km
- Innkreis Autobahn (A8) 61 km
- (A 3) 136 km
- — 0.6 km
- (A 3) 106 km
- — 0.4 km
- (A 3) 221 km
- (A 3) 9 km
- — 0.3 km
- — 0.4 km
- (A 3) 72 km
- (A 48) 25 km
- — 0.8 km
- (A 61) 43 km
- (A 61) 37 km
- (A 61) 11 km
- — 0.4 km
- — 0.5 km
- — 0.6 km
- — 0.6 km
- (A 4) 39 km
- (A 4) 10 km
- (A76) 27 km
- (E314) 86 km
- — 1 km
- (E40) 11 km
- — 0.3 km
- (R0) 16 km
- — 0.9 km
- (E40) 91 km
- (E40) 42 km
- L'Européenne (A 16) 56 km
- — 0.8 km
- —
- — 0.1 km
- —
- —
- —
- — 0.6 km
- — 0.1 km
- — 0.3 km
- —
- —
- — 0.2 km
- Le Shuttle 58 km
- — 2 km
- (M20) 78 km
- Swanley By-pass (A20) 4 km
- Sidcup By-pass (A20) 6 km
- Sidcup Road (A20) 4 km
- Sidcup Road (A20)
- Eltham Road (A20) 1 km
- Loampit Vale (A20) 0.2 km
- Lewisham Way (A2)
- New Cross Road (A2) 0.6 km
- New Cross Road (A2) 0.8 km
- Old Kent Road (A2) 3 km
- Great Dover Street (A2) 0.1 km
- Waterloo Bridge (A301)
- Waterloo Bridge (A301) 0.1 km
- Strand (A4)
By plane from Linz to London
Indicative travel time on a non-stop flight, based on great-circle distance, average commercial cruise speed (850 km/h), and a 90-minute allowance for taxi, security, and boarding.
- Total time
- 2h 46m
- Door-to-door from :from airport.
- In the air
- 77 min
- At ~850 km/h cruise speed.
- On the ground
- 90 min
- Taxi + security + boarding (typical short-haul).
- Route
- LNZ → LHR
- 1.090 km great-circle.
Indicative fare: from €40 — fares vary by season, day of week, and how far ahead you book. Always check the airline or a meta-search before planning around this number.
Show flight path on map
Estimate-only. We don't pull live schedules or fares for flights — see the methodology page for how this number is computed.
Air travel emits roughly 5–10× the CO₂ per passenger-km of rail for the same distance.
By train from Linz to London
Fastest cross-border rail itinerary from the public Transitous planner. Times reflect a typical Monday-morning departure on the next available service-day.
- Fastest journey
- 12h 12m
- 5 changes
- Lead operator
- OEBB Personenverkehr AG Kundenservice
- + 4 more
- Alternatives
- 6
- Itineraries returned by the planner.
Trains on the fastest itinerary
- RJX 60
- ICE 594
- 651A
- EST 9063
All operators across alternatives
- OEBB Personenverkehr AG Kundenservice
- DB Fernverkehr AG
- SNCF VOYAGEURS
- Eurostar
- RER
Includes a high-speed rail leg (TGV, ICE, AVE, Frecciarossa-class).
Show route on map
Routing via the public Transitous OTP planner (community-run MOTIS instance). Cached 24 hours; verify on the operator's site before booking.
Frequently asked
What are the main border crossings involved?
This route primarily involves crossing from Austria into Germany. The final leg requires a crossing from mainland Europe (France) to the UK, typically via ferry or Eurotunnel from Calais to Dover.
Are there tolls on this route?
Yes, French autoroutes are subject to tolls. Germany's autobahn network is generally toll-free for passenger cars. Austria also has tolls which are typically paid via a vignette.
Do I need a vignette for Austria?
Yes, a vignette is mandatory for using Austrian motorways. You can purchase these online in advance or at border crossings and service stations.
What should I know about driving in the UK?
In the UK, you drive on the left-hand side of the road. Speed limits are posted in miles per hour (mph). London also has a Congestion Charge and an Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) that drivers entering the city centre must be aware of.
What are the fuel price differences like?
Fuel prices can vary significantly between Austria, Germany, France, and the UK. It's advisable to research current prices and refuel strategically, often finding better rates in Germany compared to France or Austria.
How this page is built
Compiled by COD Solutions Oy from open European data — OSRM over OpenStreetMap for the route geometry, Open-Meteo for monthly climate normals, EU Weekly Oil Bulletin for cross-border fuel-price bands, and Google Gemini drafts the narrative and FAQ from the computed route data. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.