🇦🇹 Cross-border drive · Austria → Germany 🇩🇪
Driving from Vienna to Berlin
Drive from Vienna to Berlin via the A5, D1, and MO. Navigate Austria and Czech Republic, then Germany. Tolls, speed limits, and fuel tips.
- Drive time
- 7h 32m
- Distance
- 680 km
- Same day?
- Yes, doable
- under 8 h
- Fuel cost
- ≈ €93
- petrol · diesel ≈ €74
- Tolls
- ≈ €23
- vignette
- 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
+3h 2m- Distance:
- 651 km (−29 km)
- Duration:
- 10h 34m
Via: 38 · B 101 · 35 · 32
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.
7h 32m
680 km · €93 fuel
See details ↓
Not realistic
680 km is far beyond a typical multi-day cycle tour. Try a shorter pair like a day or weekend stage.
8h 25m
FlixBus-eu
See details ↓
2h 6m
from €40
See details ↓
9h 8m
OEBB Personenverkehr AG Kundenservice · Železničná spoločnosť Slovensko, a.s.
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.
Pull onto the S2 motorway east of Vienna, quickly connecting to the S1 and then the A5 northbound towards the Czech border. This initial stretch is familiar Austrian autobahn driving, well-maintained and efficient. As you approach the border, the landscape begins to open up, transitioning from rolling hills to flatter plains as you enter the Czech Republic. The main artery here is the D1 motorway, the primary East-West route, which can get busy, especially around Brno. Keep an eye out for speed limit signs; while generally similar to Austria, variations can occur. Tolls in the Czech Republic are managed via a digital vignette system purchased online or at border points, so ensure you have this sorted before you commit too far to the D1.
Continuing on the D1, you’ll eventually merge onto the MO, indicating your approach towards Germany and Dresden. The transition at the border itself is usually seamless, but be aware that German autobahns offer sections with no mandatory speed limit, though many areas do have restrictions. Fuel prices can fluctuate, often being slightly higher in Germany than in the Czech Republic, so planning your refuelling stops might be beneficial. The MO leads you onto the German autobahn network, where you'll continue north towards Berlin. Traffic density will increase as you near the capital, particularly around the Berlin ring road (A10) and as you enter the city proper.
Navigating into Berlin requires attention to its specific traffic regulations. Like many German cities, Berlin has introduced low-emission zones (Umweltzonen) that require a specific sticker on your vehicle. Make sure your car meets these requirements or is registered to do so before you arrive to avoid fines. The final approach into the city centre will involve local road networks, so a GPS is advisable for the last few kilometres. This route offers a straightforward drive, blending efficient motorway travel with a taste of Central European driving characteristics.
Route highlights
- Austrian A5 motorway
- Czech D1 motorway
- Crossing the Czech-German border
- German autobahn network
- Low-emission zone sticker for Berlin
- Navigating Brno traffic
Trip plan
How to think about the drive: one day, split, or overnight.
Consider splitting over two days
Technically a one-day drive, but it is a slog. Splitting overnight halfway makes it a much better trip and lets you see the middle, not just the endpoints.
A natural overnight stop near the halfway point: Prague (cz).
- Distance:
- 680 km
- Duration:
- 7h 32m (free-flow, no traffic)
Where to stop
Places along the route that make natural breaks for coffee, lunch, or a night.
-
Pohořelice 🇨🇿 cz
≈113 km≈ 3.9 km detour from the main route
-
Humpolec 🇨🇿 cz
≈227 km≈ 12.4 km detour from the main route
-
Čakovice 🇨🇿 cz
≈340 km≈ 3.9 km detour from the main route
-
Dohna 🇩🇪 de
≈453 km≈ 8.4 km detour from the main route
-
Kalawa 🇩🇪 de
≈567 km≈ 10 km detour from the main route
Key moves
Things to know before you set off — borders, sides of the road, tolls.
Multi-country chain · AT → CZ → DE
You'll cross 3 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.
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 D1
Plan for about 194 km of two-lane country roads. Slower than motorway, but often the pretty part — fewer overtakes after dark.
Long rural stretch on 8 Cínovecká
Plan for about 64 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
Berlin Umweltzone covers everything inside the S-Bahn ring
Must knowBerlin
Green sticker required, no exceptions. The zone runs 24/7. Old diesels (Euro 4 and below) are banned outright. Foreign plates can order the sticker online at umwelt-plakette.de — about €13 plus shipping. Allow 7–10 days. Without it you're looking at a €100 fine even for parked cars.
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.
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.
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.
Driving rules & habits
Left lane is for overtaking only — return immediately
UsefulOn unrestricted Autobahn sections (where you'll see no speed-limit-end signs), faster cars expect to use the left lane unobstructed. Drift into it without checking the mirror and a 911 closing at 250 km/h becomes your problem. Indicate, overtake, return right — every time. Slowing in the left lane to "make space" is more dangerous than predictable speed.
Phone-mounted radar warnings are illegal
UsefulActive radar-detector apps (and the "police nearby" feature on Waze / Google Maps) are technically banned in Germany — fines hit €75. Most drivers leave them on without consequence, but if you're stopped for any reason, the officer can ask to see your phone. Switch the warning layer off when crossing into DE if you want to play it strict.
Plan your stops, not just your finish time
UsefulOSRM gives you free-flow drive time. Realistic add: 10% on motorway-heavy routes, 25% if you're crossing two cities. Eat at off-peak hours (11:30 lunch, 18:00 dinner) — service-area queues at noon kill 20 minutes. EU fatigue research is consistent: 15-minute break every 2 hours, full 45-minute break before 6 hours. The drive between hours 7 and 9 is where avoidable accidents cluster.
Bicycles on the right — turn right with extreme care
TipVienna
Vienna built out a Copenhagen-style bike network from 2020–2024. Most major streets now have a separated bike lane on the right. Right-turning cars must yield to a bike going straight in the bike lane — the rule that catches most foreigners. Look over your right shoulder before turning.
Fuel stations
Contactless cards work at virtually every motorway pump
TipMajor brand stations (Shell, Total, BP, Repsol, Cepsa, OMV, Eni, Esso) take Visa and Mastercard contactless without an issue. American Express and Diners are spotty south of the Alps. A €100 pre-authorisation hold is normal — it releases within 5 days. Carry €50 cash for the rare independent station.
Money & connectivity
EU roaming covers calls, texts and data at no extra cost
TipYour home EU SIM works at home rates across every EU member, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. The "fair use" cap on data only applies if you're abroad more than four months. For a 2-week road trip, just use your phone normally — but switch off "data roaming" if you're leaving the EU into UK / CH for any segment.
Emergency & breakdown
112 works everywhere in the EU and continental neighbours
TipSingle number for police, ambulance, fire — works from any phone, any network, any country. On motorways, the orange SOS pillars every 2km connect direct to the regional traffic control centre and pinpoint your location. Use them over your phone if you can — it speeds the response.
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.
-
D1 —194 km
-
A 13 —152 km
-
8 Cínovecká64 km
-
A5 Nord/Weinviertel Autobahn52 km
-
52 —45 km
-
A 17 —44 km
-
D8 tunel Radejčín33 km
-
A 113 —19 km
-
A 4 —12 km
-
601 Průmyslová8 km
-
S1 Wiener Außenring Schnellstraße8 km
-
S2 Wiener Nordrand Schnellstraße7 km
Route character
How much of the drive is motorway vs. secondary vs. rural.
Mixed motorway + secondary — varied pace, some scenic stretches.
- Motorway
- 43%
- Secondary
- 37%
- Other / rural
- 20%
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: 7h 32m behind the wheel at free-flow speeds.
- Cross-border: AT → DE. Keep documents accessible and check border rules.
- About 351 km on non-motorway roads where speeds and conditions vary.
Fuel & tolls
Rough cost expectation for a typical EU passenger car. Treat as an estimate — pump prices change weekly.
Petrol (RON 95)
≈ €93
51 L × €1.83 / L · 7.5 L/100 km
Diesel
≈ €74
40.8 L × €1.82 / L · 6 L/100 km
Electric (DC fast)
≈ €75
119 kWh × €0.63 / kWh · 17.5 kWh/100 km
Public DC fast charging — slower AC charging at home or hotels typically costs about half.
Motorway tolls & vignettes
≈ €23
- 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
Prices last refreshed 2026-05-11.
Weather by month
Average daytime high / overnight low and typical monthly rainfall, over the past five years.
🇦🇹 Vienna
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
5°
-1°
|
8°
1°
|
13°
4°
|
16°
7°
|
20°
10°
|
26°
16°
|
28°
18°
|
28°
17°
|
23°
13°
|
17°
9°
|
9°
3°
|
5°
1°
|
| 37mm | 28mm | 49mm | 76mm | 74mm | 62mm | 62mm | 47mm | 130mm | 53mm | 50mm | 46mm |
hot mild cold
🇩🇪 Berlin
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
5°
0°
|
7°
0°
|
11°
2°
|
15°
6°
|
20°
10°
|
24°
14°
|
25°
15°
|
25°
15°
|
22°
13°
|
15°
8°
|
8°
3°
|
5°
2°
|
| 69mm | 52mm | 45mm | 36mm | 45mm | 65mm | 112mm | 49mm | 37mm | 65mm | 61mm | 61mm |
hot mild cold
Next 5 days at Berlin
Live forecast — refreshes every few hours.
-
Fri 22
☀️
23° / 16°
—
-
Sat 23
⛅
27° / 14°
—
-
Sun 24
⛅
25° / 16°
4.8mm
-
Mon 25
☀️
25° / 13°
—
-
Tue 26
⛅
25° / 18°
0.1mm
Forecast: MET Norway
Directions
Turn-by-turn summary of the main manoeuvres, generated by OSRM.
Show all 34 manoeuvres
- Jasomirgottstraße
- — 0.5 km
- Südosttangente (A23) 1 km
- Wiener Nordrand Schnellstraße (S2) 7 km
- Wiener Außenring Schnellstraße (S1) 8 km
- Nord/Weinviertel Autobahn (A5) 47 km
- (B7) 3 km
- Umfahrung Drasenhofen (A5)
- Umfahrung Drasenhofen (A5) 5 km
- (B7)
- (52) 45 km
- (D1) 194 km
- Brněnská (D1)
- Spořilovská 1 km
- Jižní spojka (MO) 5 km
- — 0.3 km
- Průmyslová (601) 4 km
- Kbelská (601) 4 km
- (601) 0.6 km
- Cínovecká (8) 64 km
- tunel Radejčín (D8) 33 km
- (A 17) 5 km
- — 0.2 km
- (A 17) 39 km
- — 0.5 km
- (A 4) 12 km
- — 2 km
- (A 13) 55 km
- (A 13) 77 km
- (A 13) 20 km
- (A 113) 19 km
- — 0.1 km
- Tunnel Grenzallee (A 100) 3 km
- —
By coach from Vienna to Berlin
Indicative duration of the fastest direct long-distance coach found in the FlixBus and BlaBlaCar Bus EU schedules.
- Travel time
- 8h 25m
- Direct
- Operator
- FlixBus-eu
- Departures / day
- ~2
- Approximate based on the published schedule.
Show coach corridor on map
Schedules sourced from the FlixBus and BlaBlaCar Bus GTFS feeds via transport.data.gouv.fr. Times are indicative; verify on the operator's site before booking.
Booking link coming soon.
By plane from Vienna to Berlin
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 6m
- Door-to-door from :from airport.
- In the air
- 37 min
- At ~850 km/h cruise speed.
- On the ground
- 90 min
- Taxi + security + boarding (typical short-haul).
- Route
- VIE → BER
- 524 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 Vienna to Berlin
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
- 9h 8m
- 6 changes
- Lead operator
- OEBB Personenverkehr AG Kundenservice
- + 3 more
- Alternatives
- 5
- Itineraries returned by the planner.
Trains on the fastest itinerary
- EC 204
- EC 278
- RE4
All operators across alternatives
- OEBB Personenverkehr AG Kundenservice
- Železničná spoločnosť Slovensko, a.s.
- DB Regio AG
- DB Fernverkehr AG
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 is the vignette system in the Czech Republic?
The Czech Republic uses a digital vignette system for motorway usage. You must purchase and activate it online or at designated points before or upon entering the motorway network to avoid penalties.
Are there tolls on the A5 and D1?
Yes, the A5 in Austria may have tolls (often integrated into a vignette for longer distances), and the D1 in the Czech Republic requires a vignette. German autobahns are generally toll-free for passenger cars.
What about low-emission zones in Berlin?
Berlin has a low-emission zone (Umweltzone) requiring a specific sticker (Umweltplakette). Ensure your vehicle has the correct sticker corresponding to its emission class before entering the zone.
Can I drive without a speed limit on German autobahns?
While sections of German autobahns have no mandatory speed limit, many do have temporary or permanent restrictions. Always adhere to posted speed limits and signs.
Where should I consider refueling?
Fuel prices can vary between Austria, the Czech Republic, and Germany. It's often strategic to compare prices and refuel in the country with lower rates, potentially before entering a more expensive stretch.
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.