Help re: Driving from Venice Airport to Kobarid, Slovenia
 

My sister and I are driving from Marco Polo Airport , Venice to Kobarid, Slovenia right after our flight gets in from JFK. We are arriving on Easter and want the fastest way to get to Kobarid since we are having Easter dinner with relatives. I hate the idea of driving and would probably take 2 trains and bus rather than drive. My sister says she is a little apprehensive about driving (which makes me more nervous) but is planning on renting GPS at airport and is relying on that to get us there. I bought a map online as well as printing out driving directions from Michelin. There are two routes - shorter with tolls (seems like a lot) and longer route with no tolls (or less tolls).

Is GPS from car rental reliable? Or should we bring ours from home? I'm not familar with GPS gadgets - are the ones from the car rental easy to use? or will we be struggling to figure it out?
If we go through tolls - how much are the tolls and how do we pay? Do we have a E-Z Pass gadget in our rental car? When my husband and I drove in Spain, I seem to remember not stopping at toll but passing through at about 40mph. This was a few years ago.

Any help would be very much appreciated.

You can go by train from Venezia Mestre up to Cividale del Friuli. The buses from there to the border don't run on Sundays and holidays. Cividale railway station is 18 miles from Kobarid.

If you do all by public transport (train to Gorizia - Most na Soci plus bus to Kobarid) you will arrive at 21.04

After a TA flight, get your luggage, go to car rental, etc. besides the GPS concern, are you really then up for driving in an unfamiliar area? By time you get to your destination, will you be too exhausted to eat?
Also, be sure the car rental allows you to take it into Slovenia. Some do, some do not.

Yes I agree Sassafrass. I'm a zombie when I get off overnight flights.
Neckervd- maybe my relatives can pick us up at Cividale. 18 miles is not so bad (and a lot of them were hosted by me in NY - pay back). But there are 4 of us (my sister's adult kids)...might need 2 cars.

From Airport you have easy drive on motorway to Palmanova, then to Udine Sud and from there on local roads to Kobarid. It's two hour drive. Italian motorways have tolls and for Slovenia motorways you will need vignetta, but only if you plan to drive on motorways. For Kobarid you don't need it. You don't need GPS, just use a map and follow directions. You can't get lost.

Aleksander - yes, easy if we go the next day. But thanks...you've given me encouragement if my sister decides to do this.
Also I was looking into train travel to Udine and the fare is $13. Can that be right? I know it is a shorter ride than Cividale but I always thought train travel in Europe was pricey.
And I need to look up what a vignetta is.

Vignetta is toll sticker for the car which allow you to drive on all motorways in Slovenia for a week. Cost is 7.50 Euro. No tolls like Italy. Same system is in Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Switzerland.
Train travel in Europe is very cheap if booking in advance, excluding UK where is total rip off.
You may have another option and that is DRD or GOopti shuttle bus from Venice to Slovenia. Those are Slovenian companies connecting all airports in close proximity to Slovenia.

Fares:
Airport bus Marco Polo - Mestre.: 06 EUR
Trenitalia train Mestre - Udine.: 12 EUR
Local train Udine - Cividale....: 03 EUR

Airport bus Marco Polo - Treviso: 07 EUR
Trenitalia train Treviso - Udine: 10 EUR
Local train Udine - Cividale....: 03 EUR

Airport bus Marco Polo - Portogruaro: 07 EUR
Trenitalia train Portogruaro - Udine: 10 EUR
Local train Udine - Cividale........: 03 EUR

In all 3 cases, this 170 km ride will cost about 22 USD

Mentioned taking the train to my sister but she wants to drive. I'll be writing a trip report so I'll let you know how it goes. For me, I love taking the train and being able to relax and enjoy the beauty of my surroundings.
Thanks all for your help.

The very fact that you mention both of you are 'nervous' makes this drive seem a bad idea after a long flight. But it's your decision.

If you must drive... take your own GPS. Download the appropriate maps from the maker's site. You'll be more comfortable using a device you already know how to use and you'll know you have the latest maps. Using online resources set up your route on the GPS before you leave.

Have a phone that will work in Europe so you can phone relatives if need be?

Ever see one of those "5 Hour Energy" bottles at a cash register? I see them all the time at convenience stores where I live. I took a couple along on a trip to Greece a few years ago... I downed one as we landed and kept going like the Energizer bunny all day. Worked for me.

Sassafrass mentioned above about checking that you will be allowed to take a rental into Slovenia. I can't emphasise too much how important that is, or you could end up driving without insurance and permission. Are you driving back to Venice at the end of your trip? If not and you are allowed to take the car out of Italy, there would be a hefty drop off fee for Slovenia.

We are able to take the car into Slovenia but with a small fee added on so that is not a problem. Included with that is GPS. I mentioned taking her own and downloading maps - so much better when you know how to use the gadget! I should mention again but we leave tomorrow night so not much time.

I'm the nervous one now, she seems to be ok with it and wants to drive.
Thanks for your help.

PS maybe I'll pick up some energy drinks here...good idea

Give the energy drink to your Sister. You take a sleeping pill. LOL.

Well I have to say the drive was great. My sister works for an airline so we were able to get business seats (we found out last minute - what stress!) so we were able to sleep. Except for driving the wrong way in a one-way road when leaving the airport and the GPS telling us we arrived at our destination in Udine, it went well. After the GPS died, we followed the map and it was pretty simple...we didn't take the highway but drove through small towns and the scenery was beautiful. Flowers were blooming and everything was so green. Definitely Springtime- unlike NY.
Thanks again....it was a great trip.

Thanks for the feedback.

Glad to hear all went well!