Dixietrout

Has there been an update or change in the train schedule from Venice to Ljubljana? We are traveling there with our son, wife and their 2 year old at the end of October 2010. Does anyone have suggestions on avoiding a bus trip? Is there a train from Venice to the Lake Bled area? Which is the best website to use to get train information from Italy to Slovenia?
Thank you!

PalenQ

Which is the best website to use to get train information from Italy to Slovenia?
Thank you!?

I always use the Wunderbar German Rail site that has schedules for all of Europe - www.bahn.de - to hook into the English schedule page i suggest going to the home page of www.budgeteuropetravel.com and click on the link 'All European Railway Schedules' (or some such nomenclature) and you will see the easy to follow schedule page - i mention this home page link because it gives you several valuable tips on fully using the various features of the site that may not be apparent at first glance. Or you can just click on the British flag at www.bahn.de

PalenQ

Until last year there were a few daily direct Venice to Ljubljana trains but the Italian Railways in the past year or so has for some incredibly weird Italian reason has decided to greatly reduce cross-border trains - thus the bus link it seems on many Venice to Slovenia trains

The same has been done on Milan to Nice, France trains - for years were some daily direct trains but none now and everyone has to transfer at least once - at Ventimiglia, the border station for both French and Italian trains.

Dixietrout

Thank you for the suggestions. We are still undecided what to do since we are traveling with a toddler.

PalenQ

Investigate direct buses, at least from Trieste if not Venice to Ljubljana.

hkto

There are two buses from Trieste to LJUBLJANA (2 pm and 7.20 pm) http://www.autostazionetrieste.it/in...id=15&Itemid=0

Trieste bus station is adjacent to train station; there are lots of trains from Venice to Trieste see http://trenitalia.com/ for schedules

bobthenavigator

yes, train to Trieste and then bus to Slovenia. We took the train all the way in 2001 and it was not easy then.

PalenQ

Buses are tradtionally cheaper than trains as well - so a win win as here they are also faster.

PalenQ

to get to Lake Bled forget about going via Llubljana IMO but go via Villach, Austria and from Venice you do take a bus to Villach but from Villach it is a direct train to Lesce Bled, a train station near Lake Bled i believe.

You can leave daily Venice Piazzale Rome bus station - take a vaporetto or water taxi there and bus takes you to Villach train station for direct train to Lesce Bled. And be in Bled about 4pm - there are two hours between trains in Villach so you are not on a train or bus all that time - have lunch in Villach. Better i'd say then taking a bus to Llujblana then getting a train or bus to Lake Bled.

nfldbeothuk

I haven't done this trip -- but hopefully will next summer!-- so I bookmarked this conversation
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-ljubljana.cfm
which really seems to cover the options, and the OP posted an interesting trip report on Venice/Slovenia, as well.

DalaiLlama

If the bus from Trieste doesn't work for you, don't worry too much about the transfer at the border, the Italian Gorizia Centrale and the Slovene Nova Gorica are only a couple of miles apart.

Good info on the Slovenien train site www.slo-zeleznice.si/en/passengers/abroad/italy

Look at this for the explanation of the separation of these two lines:
http://infrastruct.wordpress.com/200...a-nova-gorica/

Just for interest - there is still a way to go all the way by train, at night and via Villach, if you leave from V.S.L. at 00:36, change at Mestre to the EuroNight 234 lvg 01:30, arr. Villach Hbf 04:15, change to the D415 lvg. at 06:26, arr. Ljubl. 08:10.

Hey - you can sleep when you're old...

KayF

This website is always very helpful, check out details on Italy and Slovenia - the country listing is down the left hand side -
http://www.seat61.com/

Also there is a ferry that travels from Venice to Rovinj, on the coast in Croatia. We saw it when we were staying in Rovinj a couple of years ago. Rovinj is gorgeous by the way. You could look into catching the ferry then driving to Slovenia from there. We also stayed in Piran on the coast in Slovenia, which is lovely too. It is a short drive from Trieste to Piran.

Kay

PalenQ

To me the only logical way to Lake Bled, not Llujblana, from Venice is via bus or train to Villach, Austria, then direct train to Lesce Bled - if as it seems that is a rail station in proximity to Lake Bled - if you bus to Llubjlana then you got to take a train or bus up to Lake Bled.