Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), available from your healthcare provider, covers you for most medical care.
The cards will not cover you for nonemergencies or emergency repatriation home.
OTHER INSURANCE
Components of insurance worth considering include repatriation for medical treatment, burial or repatriation in the
event of death, search and rescue, cost of returning home in case of illness or the death of a close relative, personal li-
ability and legal expenses, loss of passport, luggage loss or delay, and expenses due to cancellations for a variety of
reasons. For transport insurance
Click here
and
Click here
.
Internet Access
Wi-fi
Available in most hotels of three-star quality or more. It's also free in many cafes and bars, and increasingly in
public spaces like the MuseumsQuartier in Vienna and in town squares around Austria. Many tourist offices also have
WLAN
('vee-lan') as it's called in German. Sometimes you need a password from staff. A wi-fi icon ( ) in a listing
in this topic means a hotel has wi-fi access either in the room or in a public area for free. If it is not free, we've men-
tioned this in our reviews.
Internet terminals
Many hotels have internet terminals that guests can use for free or for a small cost. In this topic
icons in reviews indicate these places.
Public access
Prices in internet cafes vary from around €4 to €8 per hour. Small towns often won't have internet cafes
but the local library will probably have a terminal.
Smart Phones
Make sure you turn off mobile data while roaming on your smart phone, otherwise you (and some of
your apps) might run up a horrendous telephone bill. While there are sufficient free hotspots to rely on across the coun-
try if you have a mobile device with wi-fi capabilities. Otherwise you can buy prepaid SIM cards without formalities.
This will allow you to surf with your tablet computer, surf stick or mobile phone (if there is no SIM lock).
Resources
See
www.freewave.at/en/hotspots
for free hot spots in Vienna, and
www.freewlan.at
for Austria-wide hot
spots.
Legal Matters
Carry your passport (or a copy) with you at all times, as police occasionally do checks. If you are arrested, the police
must inform you of your rights in a language that you understand.
In Austria, legal offences are divided into two categories:
Gerichtsdelikt
(criminal) and
Verwaltungsübertretung
(ad-
ministrative). If you are suspected of having committed a criminal offence (such as assault or theft) you can be de-
tained for a maximum of 48 hours before you are committed for trial. If you are arrested for a less serious, administrat-
ive offence, such as being drunk and disorderly or committing a breach of the peace, you will be released within 24
hours.
Drunken driving is an administrative offence, even if you have an accident. If someone is hurt in the accident it be-
comes a criminal offence. Possession of a controlled drug is usually a criminal offence. Possession of a large amount of
cannabis or dealing (especially to children) could result in a five-year prison term. Prostitution is legal provided prosti-
tutes are registered and have a permit.
