How to get to Liechtenstein when there's no airport or mainline train

Liechtenstein has no airport, and the international trains that run through it don’t bother to stop. It sounds awkward, yet in practice it’s one of the easiest countries in Europe to reach. Every route ends the same way, stepping off a train at a Swiss or Austrian station right by the border and onto a lime-green bus. Here’s how I’d plan it, depending on where you’re starting.

Why every route ends at a border station

The tourist board doesn’t dress it up. From Sargans and Buchs in Switzerland, or Feldkirch in Austria, you change onto the LIEmobil bus network, which reaches every one of the eleven municipalities. There is a railway inside the country, nine kilometres of Austrian track with three stops, but the long-distance trains between Zurich and Vienna run straight through between Buchs and Feldkirch.

All three stations are close by. Bergbahnen Malbun puts Buchs 7 km from Vaduz, Feldkirch 15 km and Sargans 17 km. What separates them is how many buses run and if you have to change, and I go through the timetable in my guide to getting from Sargans to Vaduz, which I treat as the front door.

From the UK, you land in Switzerland

Coming from Britain, your flight ends in another country. The tourist board lists three options, Altenrhein at 50 km, Friedrichshafen at 85 km and Zurich at 115 km. Zurich has the most flights and the only really comfortable rail link, so that’s where I’d look first. I haven’t verified which UK airports fly there this season, so treat the airline timetables as the final word.

This is where people get the timing wrong. The tourist board claims you’re within an hour of an airport, which may hold by car from the small ones. By public transport from Zurich Airport to Vaduz you won’t do it in under 1 h 40 min, and it can take two hours, with a train to Sargans and a bus to the capital. I compare the airports in the nearest airport to Liechtenstein, and the journey step by step in Zurich to Liechtenstein.

Can you get there by train?

To the border, yes, and painlessly. Direct trains from Zurich main station to Sargans take 54 to 60 minutes. What I can’t promise is a train into Liechtenstein itself. The Austrian railways timetable for the Feldkirch to Buchs line runs its regional trains mostly at rush hour, and for autumn 2026 the open timetable shows no trains at Schaan-Vaduz or Nendeln. I haven’t found an official notice explaining why, so I’d plan on the bus and check oebb.at before you go. The line is covered in Liechtenstein by train.

Sargans, Buchs or Feldkirch, which one I’d pick

Sargans is my default. The 12E, which only runs on weekdays outside public holidays, takes 23 minutes to Vaduz, Post, while route 11 takes about 32 minutes and also runs at weekends, stopping through Balzers and Triesen on the way.

Buchs is the closest station to the capital, although the standard journey means a change at Schaan. The LandesMuseum spells it out, route 12 to Schaan, Bahnhof, then route 11 to Vaduz, Post, around 18 minutes in all.

Feldkirch suits you if you’re arriving from Austria or Munich. Route 11 runs straight to Vaduz in 45 minutes, winding through the Unterland first. The full route is in Feldkirch to Vaduz.

Driving, or FlixBus

By road, the tourist board gives these times, 45 minutes if you set off from St. Gallen on the A13, an hour from Zurich linking the A3 to the A13, two and a half hours if you’re coming from Innsbruck and three from Munich along the A96 and Austria’s A14. There has been no customs post with Switzerland since 1924. You will, though, need a motorway vignette for Switzerland or Austria depending on your route, which I explain in driving in Liechtenstein and the vignette.

FlixBus is the option I rely on least. According to the tourist board its coaches stop beside the Rheinpark Stadium in Vaduz or in neighbouring Feldkirch. It can be cheap, but it hinges on which routes are running that season.

Sort the bus fare before you leave the train

LIEmobil won’t take cash on board. You tap a contactless card with the driver or buy in the SBB Mobile and Fairtiq apps, both of which sell journeys within, to and from Liechtenstein. If you’re staying the night, ask your hotel about the Welcome Erlebnispass, which covers buses from Sargans, Buchs or Feldkirch. Not every hotel issues it, since it’s voluntary, but when they do your first ride is already paid for. Once you’ve arrived, moving between the villages is covered in getting around Liechtenstein.