We will be starting out in Ljubljana and heading toward Lake Bled, Piran and Plitvice Natl. Park. Would it be better to rent a car or travel by train or bus?
Ljubljana, Lake Bled, Piran, Plitvice Natl. Park
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Check the rates - I suspect you will find that it can be costly to rent a car in Slovenia and drop it off in Croatia, and if you are returning to Slovenia after visiting Plitvice, you'll need to find out if there is an extra fee for taking the car out of the country.
As I understand it, getting to Plitvice by bus from Zagreb or Split is relatively easy, but I read that it can be difficult to get a bus in Plitvice when you are ready to leave. So another option would be to rent a car to visit Plitvice once you are in Croatia.
I just checked rates and used 11-25 May as dates. For Avis, picking up a compact from LJU and returning to LJU the total is US$570. Returning to ZAG is US$897.
Although the one way fee is high, the daily cost is so cheap that it may offset the hassles of returning, re-renting and transport in between.
You can take the train from Ljubljana to Rijeka, Croatia and pick up a rental car there for Plitvice. Is Plitvice the only place you want to go in Croatia? It's a bit out of the way, and there's so much more to see in Croatia.
In Slovenia, you can do Lake Bled and Piran by public transportation. Another thought is to bus from Piran to Porec, Croatia and pick up your rental car there. But it's a longer trip from Porec to Plitvice.
I think the most important thing when you are deciding about means of transportation is how much time you have available and how much money can you spend. In this case, except if you have very little money and lots of time, I suggest renting a car.
It can take more than three hours to get from Ljubljana to Piran by train (you need one hour and 15 minutes by car), not to mention the fact that train doesn’t even drive to Piran – it stops in Koper, than you need to take a bus or taxi to get to Piran (BTW if you are going to Piran by car, I suggest parking in Portorož (also beautiful town) and then walk to Piran (15min), because parking in Piran is much more expensive). Bus is a faster option than train, but more expensive.
It takes more than two hours to get from Ljubljana to Zagreb and then quite some time to get to Plitvice Natl. Park. So I suggest to calculate all your expenses with car on the one hand and on the other hand with train or/and buses. And then decide how much your time is worth.
You are all a wealth of good information! Thank you so much. We are now considering concentrating our efforts in Slovenia, staying longer at Lake Bled, and saving Plitvice for another trip. It just felt like we were trying to stretch our travel time too much. Does anyone know of a good place to stay in Lake Bled?