Hire cars · Austria
Verdict
Make sure the car has a valid vignette, because the renter is responsible for it, and budget €12.50 or €15 extra for the Brenner and Tauern motorways.
Driving without a vignette costs €200. From 1 November to 15 April, in wintry conditions, a car needs winter tyres with at least 4 mm of tread. A licence that is not in German is valid only with an international driving permit or a translation.
Austria charges for its motorways by vignette, and adds its own tolls on a few mountain sections. In a hire car the job of checking both falls on you, not the rental company.
Avis Austria states in writing that the renter is responsible for having a valid vignette on the car. The 2026 vignette costs €9.60 for a day (online only), €12.80 for ten days, €32.00 for two months and €106.80 for a year. The digital one is tied to the number plate. 2026 is the last sticker year; from 2027 it is digital only.
Bought online, a two-month or annual vignette is valid only from the 18th day after purchase. For a short trip, take the ten-day one.
Caught without one, the replacement toll for a car is €200, payable within four weeks. A sticker is visible; a digital vignette is not, so ask the desk to show you the plate it is registered against: Austria's vignette.
The vignette does not cover every road. The A13 Brenner motorway charges €12.50 one way for a car, and the A10 Tauern tunnels €15. Pay at the toll station, or online in advance as a digital section toll tied to the plate. Winter details for both: Brenner, Tauern or Gotthard.
From 1 November to 15 April, in wintry conditions, a car needs winter tyres on all wheels: M+S or the snowflake, with at least 4 mm of tread. Chains can replace them only on a road covered in snow. The basic fine is €35, and up to €5,000 where an unequipped car endangers others.
A hire contract does not have to include winter tyres. Ask in the booking, then check the tread at the desk: winter kit on a hire car.
Austria wants a warning triangle, reflective clothing and a first-aid kit in the car. Check all three before you leave the car park: the rental-desk checklist.
Speed limits are 50 km/h in towns, 100 outside and 130 on motorways. Parts of the A12 and A13 in Tirol have a permanent 100 for air quality, signed IG-L. The alcohol limit is under 0.5 g/l, and 0.1 g/l for drivers with less than three years' experience.
A licence that is not in German is valid in Austria only with an international driving permit or a translation. No official time limit for visitors is published.
For a Taiwanese licence, Taiwan's consular service says Taiwan's international driving permit together with the original licence can be used to drive in Austria. A Hong Kong international driving permit is issued under the 1949 Geneva convention. I'd carry the licence and the international permit together.
Where to leave the car, from our sister site. Each card is the short version; the full guide has every car park, the tow pound and the charging points.
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Twenty-three districts, one short-stay zone, two hours maximum.
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About 90 km of the A12 from the German border at 100 km/h, then a free ski bus in town.
Full parking guide for Innsbruck Checked 22 September 2026
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