Many travelers long for the freedom to travel at their own pace, to choose their own hotels, and to avoid the confinement of a packaged tour, but their sense of adventure does not quite extend to driving in a foreign country. If this dilemma applies to you, do not despair: Austria’s public transportation is convenient, well organized, moderate in price, and, best of all—fun. Such fun in fact that many of you who usually rent a car might want to consider making this vacation a complete holiday for all, including the driver, and choose to see Austria by train and boat. To climb aboard a train or boat immediately evokes a mood of romance, a twinge of nostalgia. As you whiz through meadows of wildflowers, chug over mountain passes, zip through tunnels, trace narrow gorges, or float lazily down the Danube, the world is yours. Transportation of this kind is not a means to an end: it is a sightseeing adventure. This itinerary covers some of Austria’s highlights—an excellent choice for seeing Austria for the first time whether you follow the itinerary by train and boat—or car.