Vienna Pass or Vienna Card?

3. Brief Description & Review Conclusion:

Directly to the description of the:
Vienna Pass   
Vienna City Card   
Flexi Pass   
Vienna Welcome Card   

With the Vienna Pass you get free entry to around 80 top attractions. You can use the hop-on hop-off busses free of charge during the whole time of validity. This means you can use hop-on hop-off bus service for up to 6 days. You may visit as many attractions as you want within the selected period. Among the included attractions, you will find the most popular tourist destinations like: Schönbrunn Palace & Zoo, Lipizzaner Horses at morning exercise, Giant Ferris Wheel, Madame Tussauds and the Sisi Museum Hofburg with the exhibition rooms of the Imperial Apartments.

All-Inclusive ! The Vienna Pass is the cheapest solution if you want to visit as many attractions as possible in a short time frame. Already an intensive 2 day program is sufficient to pay off the invest into the Vienna Pass. If you plan to choose the 3 or 6 day version, it pays itself even if you do not complete a very dense sightseeing program. If you are not located nearby a hop-on hop-off bus station you should perhaps consider to order additionally a short-term ticket. The easiest way is to order it online directly from the Wiener Linien. It is valid for unlimited public transportation throughout the whole city area. More info at:   Vienna Pass*

The Vienna City Card is the official sightseeing card for tourists and essentially a short-term ticket for the public transportation in the whole city area with numerous discounts for selected attractions, shops, restaurants, cafes, concerts and other things. The public transportation in Vienna can be used for up to 7 days, depending on the variant you choose. The discounts are available for 7 days for all purchasable variants. The extra charge compared to a standard short-term ticket is around 11 Euro for the 48 and 72 hours version. But you can save this surcharge already if you visit Schönbrunn Palace (Classic Pass), the Zoo, the Lipizzaner Horses at morning exercise and the Madame Tussauds wax museum by using the Vienna Card at the ticket purchase and pay approx. 15 Euro less for the entrance fees.

The Vienna City Card is recommendable if plan to use often the public transport network and just want to visit selected Highlights in the city. With this Vienna card it is not only possible to get reduced prices at several attractions, but you have the chance to save one or another Euro at other activities like for example at shopping or at a restaurant visit. If you need one of the chargeable add-ons, a 24hrs hop-on hop-off bus tour or an airport transfer, then you have another opportunity to save some money compared to the local price. More info at:   Vienna City Card*

The Vienna Flexi Pass is an interesting alternative to the tight time-limited sightseeing passes. It is some kind of an extendable and flexible combination ticket. With the different available versions, you do not choose the validity duration, but the number of attractions which you want to visit. You can choose between 2, 3, 4 or 5 included attractions. The Flexi Pass is valid for 60 days from the first time you enter one of the attractions. Some of the included highlights are the hop-on hop-off bus from Vienna Sightseeing Tours, the Schönbrunn Palace (Grand Tour), the Spanish Riding School, the Albertina, the Giant Ferris Wheel and Madame Tussauds. Find out more in the following review and price comparison.

Flexible ! If you want to visit at least one sight and ride on a hop-on hop-off bus in Vienna, then the Flexi Pass could be an interesting option. For most of the included sights, you do not need a reservation. You can simply show your pass at the entrance. A lot of the important attractions in Vienna are part of the offer. Unfortunately, the time frame for the free cancellation option is a bit short with 7 days. More information at:   Vienna Flexi Pass*

The Vienna Welcome Card has a similar design to the Vienna City Card. The 4 versions 24h, 48h, 72h and 7 days include free use of public transportation in Vienna and discounts for the attractions. The inexpensive To Go Card includes only the part with reduced admission to the sights and some discounts for restaurants and activities for 72 hours.
For all offers the discounts are only valid for the specified period of validity and not for 7 days like with the City Card products. On the other hand, the Welcome Card is a bit cheaper and offers a special feature in the add-ons. The hop-on hop-off add-on with Big Bus can be booked with all variants and is not only valid for 24 hours, but up to 72 hours*, depending on the validity period. If you book the hop-on hop-off add-on with the 7 days card, then you can also use the bus for 72 hours. The airport transfer is also available as an add-on. It includes a trip from the airport and a return trip during the validity period.
The discounts are available for around 60 attractions. These include the most important sights in Vienna such as Schönbrunn Palace, the Sisi Museum and the Giant Ferris Wheel. You can buy most of the tickets on site and some tickets are available for online booking. With the Vienna Welcome Card, you receive a discount ranging from 5% to a maximum of 50%.

Price Tip ! The Vienna Welcome Card is a possible alternative to the Vienna City Card. Both cards offer reduced prices for a lot of attractions and free use of public transportation in Vienna. The Welcome Card is available at a lower price and has a similar offer. An advantage is the validity period of the hop-on hop-off add-on. This allows you to use the Big Bus service for up to 72 hours, depending on the selected version. One disadvantage compared to the City Card is the limited validity period as a discount card. With the City Card, you can use the discount function for 7 days with all variants and not, as with the Welcome Card, only for the selected period of validity. You can find more details at: Vienna Welcome Card*