Austria by campervan: costs and prices

Practical costs in Austria: currency, cards, cash, fuel, groceries and budgeting for a campervan trip. What to know before you go.

Published 18 September 2026Last checked 18 September 2026

Currency
Euro
EUR. Cards in towns, cash in huts and at small hosts
Language
German
Austrian German. English is common in tourist valleys
Driving
Right
130 km/h motorway, 80 km/h above 3.5 tonnes
Power
230V, type F
Same two-pin plug as most of Europe
Tap water
Safe to drink
Ask for Leitungswasser
Emergency
112
144 ambulance, 140 mountain rescue

Money

Austria is not a cheap country and the mountains are the expensive part. Cards work almost everywhere in towns, on motorway tolls and in supermarkets. Cash still matters in three specific places: mountain huts, small farm shops selling their own produce, and the honesty boxes at car parks and service points. Carrying 50 to 100 euros in small notes covers a week of that.

Five, ten and twenty euro notes fanned out with two euro and cent coins lying on top — Euro. Cards in the valley, coins for the hut and the honesty box

Practical prices for camper travel

Diesel, 1 litre: €2.20
Campsite or camper area, 1 night: €51.89
Inexpensive restaurant meal: €16
White bread, 500 g: €2.50
Bottled water, 1.5 litres: €0.82

Cards and cash

Contactless is normal in supermarkets, petrol stations and town restaurants.
Mountain huts are often cash only. So are a lot of the small roadside stalls selling speck, cheese and schnapps, which is half the point of driving here.

Tipping

Round up, do not calculate. A 27 euro bill becomes 30.
Roughly 5 to 10 percent in a restaurant where you have sat down for a proper meal.

The coffee, beer and meal figures come from a crowdsourced price database rather than an official survey, and are reported here as that source gives them on 18 September 2026. Fuel and vignette prices come from the European Commission fuel bulletin and ASFINAG respectively, and are the firmer numbers on this page.