The stone tunnel portal at Hochtor on the Grossglockner road, coats of arms set above the arch
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Austria by campervan

Austria writes its overnight rules nine times over, once per Bundesland, and the answer changes when you cross a state line. Here is what each of the nine says, what the roads cost, and when to be in which valley.

Published 18 September 2026Last checked 18 September 2026

Basics

Basics

Austria is a federation of nine Bundesländer, and that is the single most useful fact about travelling here. Overnight rules, some public holidays and a lot of local signage are set at state level, not national level. The country is narrow and you cross those internal borders constantly, so the honest answer to most questions is that it depends which state you are standing in.

Wooden houses stacked up a steep slope below a grey cliff face in winter
Nine states, and the rules change when you cross between them

The Austrian day

  • Shops open Monday to Saturday. The Öffnungszeitengesetz 2003 allows 06:00 to 21:00 on weekdays and 06:00 to 18:00 on Saturdays, but most supermarkets stop well before that, often 19:30 on weekdays and 18:00 on Saturday.
  • Sunday is closed. Bakeries, petrol station shops and stations are the exceptions. A state governor can extend hours in designated tourist places, so a resort may differ.

Power, water and getting online

  • 230V, 50Hz, type F sockets. The same round two-pin plug as Germany, Italy and most of the continent. UK and Irish plugs need an adapter.
  • Tap water is safe across the country and often very good. Vienna's comes by gravity from Alpine springs. Ask for Leitungswasser.

Two holidays are regional: Rupertitag on 24 September in Salzburg and Leopolditag on 15 November in Vienna. A holiday falling on a Saturday or Sunday is not moved to a weekday, which is why 2026 is a thinner year than it looks.

Common questions about Austria by campervan

Can you sleep in a campervan in Austria?

It depends which of the nine states you are in, because each writes its own rule. Tyrol's camping act expressly says a stay is not camping insofar as it merely serves to restore fitness to drive, and Carinthia and Burgenland both exempt the short-term parking of a motorhome on areas that serve stationary traffic, which means a car park. Styria has no state camping rule at all. Lower Austria, Vienna and Upper Austria are the strict ones, and every municipality can be stricter than its state.

Is wild camping legal in Austria?

No. Camping outside an authorised site is banned or restricted in eight of the nine states, and only Styria has no express provision. The statutory maximum fines run from 600 euros in Tyrol and 700 in Vorarlberg up to 14,500 euros in Lower Austria and 21,000 euros in Vienna. Forests are closed overnight across the whole country without the forest owner's consent, under the federal Forstgesetz 1975.

Which Austrian state is most relaxed about sleeping in a van?

Styria. The Steiermärkisches Naturschutzgesetz 2017 contains no rule on camping, tents, caravans or motorhomes, and Styria has no camping act either. Protected area ordinances and municipal parking rules still apply, so it is not a free pass, but there is no state-level prohibition to breach.

Do I need a vignette for a motorhome in Austria?

Only up to 3.5 tonnes technically permissible laden mass. At that weight a car or motorhome pays 9.60 euros for a day, 12.80 for ten days, 32.00 for two months or 106.80 for a year in 2026. Above 3.5 tonnes there is no vignette: the vehicle goes into the GO toll system with a GO-Box on the windscreen and pays by the kilometre, at a rate set by axle count and emission class.