Trav_Eller

This is allied to the question I just posted re booking this train.

I have the following choices:

Ljubliana, Zagreb starting from 15 euros
By EuroNight “Venezia” departing every night from Venice:

Price (in euros) Solution
15 seat in 2nd class
29 couchette in 6-place compartment
36 bed in 4-place couchette carriage
40 bed in 3-place compartment
55 bed in 2-place compartment
105 bed in single compartment

The price is not a problem, but I'm just wondering if a sleeper is actually necessary.

The train departs at 9:20 pm and arrives at 4:20 am. I understand that I may be woken at the border crossing in and out of Slovenia, so sleep would be broken anyway. Has anyone reading here recently travelled on this train? If so, I would appreciate any suggestions on the disruption at those border crossings.

Also, can I rely on the conductor to wake me for the brief arrival in Zagreb, so that I don't wake up in Belgrade instead? If I choose a 2 or 3 person sleeper do they put passengers going to the same destination in the same compartment so that I don't disrupt the others at 4am?

Finally, how hard is it going to be to find a cab to the accommodation in Zagreb at 4:20 am and does anyone know a modest hotel that will allow a very, very, early check-in?

Cheers, Alan
http://loraltravel.blogspot.com/

spaarne

I went the other direction years ago in daylight, and I have taken many night trains all over Europe in the meantime.

To avoid waking passengers at border crossings night train conductors usually collect your passport and ticket as you board. The conductor then does the business with the border police. The conductor will wake you about a half an hour before your destination. Verify this with the conductor when you get on the train. Take a couchette. Overnight in a seat is uncomfortable. If you are traveling in off-season you might be the only person in a T-6. Don't worry about disrupting other passengers. See my page at http://tinyurl.com/y57vft for information on night trains.

Zagreb is not an especially tourist convenient city. I forget the name of the hotel we stayed in. I suggest that when you find a hotel that you ask about getting there from the station that early in the morning and if you can check in, or at least leave your bags until they will allow you to check in.

Trav_Eller

Spaarne wrote: "See my page at http://tinyurl.com/y57vft for information on night trains."

Wonderful site, bookmarked and still reading, thanks a lot.

Cheers, Alan
http://loraltravel.blogspot.com/

Man_in_seat_61

Personally, I'd want to get SOME shut-eye between Venice at 4.20 at Zagreb, and I wouldn't want to do that sitting up in a seat with no lock on the door, trying o sty awake to guard my things. So I'd book at least a couchette, if not a proper be in the sleeper, for a saely locked compartment and somewhere to lie down.

The frontier checks in eastern Europe may well involve showing your passport from your sleepig berth at the frontier, but it's not a big deal.

Incidentally, you may be taking this train as it's now the only one between Venice and Ljubljana/Zagreb (bring back the Iron Curtain - transport links across it used to be better than they are now!!)

When I did Trieste-Ljubljana earlier this year I discovered an alternative way to travel from Venice or Trieste to Ljubljana without having to endure a bus, with several departures a day.

Take a regional train Venice-Trieste (every hour, 14 euros), then the famous old tram from Trieste to Villa Opicina (every 20 minutes all day, 1.10 euros). Take a taxi the few miles across the border to Sezana (10-11 euros), then a Slovenian domestic train to Ljubljana (every 2-3 hours, 6.70 euros).

This is a cheap, scenic and pleasant way to do it, I've posted details including taxi numbers at the bottom of the page on www.seat61.com/Slovenia.htm

Trav_Eller

I have been trying to book this journey to travel on May 25th for several months. The Trenitalia web-site says that travel can be booked within 90 days of the journey, but it is not allowing booking any later than 30th April for the Venice to Zagreb trip.

I have been attempting to book via this page for the "Smart" fare: http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...003f16f90aRCRD

and via this page for the standard fare: http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...003f16f90aRCRD

But neither will work for dates in May. Actually, now that I look at the urls, they are the same despite reaching them from different sources. They work for dates in April, but not later.

There is a warning on the page that non-Italian Amex is not accepted. Does anyone know if they will accept non-Italian Visa?

Any suggestions from the Trenitalia experts would be gratefully received.

Would I be safe in just turning up on the day to book a couchette from Venezia St Lucia to Zagreb Gl. Kol?

Cheers, Alan, Australia.
--
http://loraltravel.blogspot.com

kybourbon

I wonder if the page is out of date as Trenitalia accepted someone's AmEx just a few days ago. You should be able to use either Visa or MC (notify your credit card in advance so they don't block your purchase).

It's possible they just haven't loaded the fares past the end of April yet. Keep checking.

Trav_Eller

I called Trenitalia yesterday using Skype. I tried every number I could find on their web-site until I found one that worked.

The response was quite amazing. After randomly pressing buttons 1 or 2 to respond to a "press this button for..." menu spoken in Italian that was incomprehensible to me (I understood just enough to know it was a button-press menu) I reached an operator on the seventh level. Of course she only understood enough English to respond with "No" to my question "do you speak English" but she put me on hold and several minutes later a lady came on the line whose English is probably better than mine

She asked me my phone number and asked me to hang up and that she would ring back in ten minutes. When I said I was in Australia she not only said that would be no problem, she knew the International code (61). After weeks of frustration with the web-site this wonderful response was a breath of fresh air.

I presume she had been called to a different phone from her desk and wanted to return to her own phone to call me. Sure enough she rang me at home and we had a long conversation. She discovered that Trenitalia have failed to upload the May schedules for this route, and possibly for other routes. She suggested I wait a week for that. So I am not actually any further ahead in the booking process; however she went into details of how to pick up my ticket and confirmed that my Visa card will work. She was unsure about Amex.

I'll try the web-site on a daily basis and see what happens.

Ain't Skype great The initial call cost $0.33 for nine minutes from Oz to Italy. That makes life much less tense when you're waiting on hold internationally.

Cheers, Alan, Australia.
--
http://loraltravel.blogspot.com (BA to Sydney via the Edge of Antarctica)

calexis

Hi Trav_Eller,
My boyriend and I have been having a very similar problem booking our upcoming trip from Venice to Zagreb (whoever said getting around Europe was easy was clearly not in the Eastern part.)We are beginning in Krakow and travelling South ending up in Bosnia from April 28-May 23.
We are trying to book tickets from Venice to Zagreb as well and have not been able to find the schedule. After reading many similar forums, I finally emailed the OEBB yesterday (April 11, 2011) and received this response:

"The price of a one way ticket from Venezia to Zagreb is € 64,- per person in 2nd class.
Seat reservation: € 3,50 per way"
(We are leaving Venice on May 11)
The journey begins in Venezia Piazzale Roma at 09:20 and makes 5 stops before getting to Zagreb Glavni Kolod. at 17:10. I did not specify in my request what time of day we wished to leave and was given this as the only response to the question. So I don't know if there actually still is a night train anymore or not (I've been reading on a few forums that there is suspicion the night train to Zagreb is being permanently cancelled.) I have had to email the OEBB before and find that they will only answer one question at a time so if you decide to contact them, keep it very simple!

The only other route I was able to find to get from Venice to Zagreb (without paying $400 for a short flight,) was to take a bus/train from Venice to Ancona, Italy and a ferry from Ancona to Zadar. This whole trip would cost approximately 100 Euro per person and the ferry trip alone is 8 hours overnight and the train to Ancona takes 4 hours as well.
These are, as far as I've been able to research, the only ways to get to Zagreb or Zadar from Venice. I don't know if this helps at all, but good luck to you!












Dauer: 7:50; fährt täglich

You will find the timetable at: www.oebb.at ( ÖBB-Personenverkehr AG )
You can book online: www.oebb.at
(> ÖBB-Personenverkehr AG > Online Ticket > Ticket per Post)
Payment: "Kreditkarte" (by creditcard)

If it's too difficult for you to fill in the German form you can also order via e-mail: [email protected]
Please let us know these dates:
Day and train number or departure time
Credit card number + expiration date
Route
Number of people
1st or 2nd class
Reservation needed?
Name, address and telephone number of one passenger

We can mail the reservation to you ( postage € 5,00 ) or give it to an Austrian railway station where you can pick it up.

Trav_Eller

Calexis, go to www.bahn.de and follow the menu, selecting your preferred language or "other" then insert details for Venezia Santa Lucia (or Mestre) to Zagreb Glavni Kolod.

You will see a range of choices, but all will be via a combination of bus and train or three trains. That is fine if you don't mind that. I doubt that you would need to book those, but someone may be able to clarify that.

There is only one direct train. That departs at night at 21:20 and arrives in Zagreb at the ungodly hour of 04:20, with a trip time of 7 hours.

If you go to the Trenitalia web-site you can book the "Smart" fare via http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...003f16f90aRCRD

Follow the menu for "Ljubliana, Zagreb starting from 15 euros"
The fares advertised are:
Ljubliana, Zagreb starting from 15 euros
By EuroNight “Venezia” departing every night from Venice:

"Price (in euros) Solution
15 seat in 2nd class
29 couchette in 6-place compartment
36 bed in 4-place couchette carriage
40 bed in 3-place compartment
55 bed in 2-place compartment
105 bed in single compartment

The offer is subject to availability and has limited seats. Tickets can be bought up to 7 days before departure. Smart price tickets are neither changeable nor refundable."

You pay on-line but pick up your ticket from a machine at any Italian station, or so I'm told. Actually, if you check timetables with Trenitalia the night train is the only one that appears.

The only problem for me is that following that menu through to a booking works fine provided you are booking no later than 30th April, but not after that date (I just checked again a moment ago).

One tip. The Trenitalia site is very literal. It does not accept "Zagreb" as a destination; you must use "Zagreb Gl. Kol."

kybourbon

>>>>You can book online: www.oebb.at<<<

If you book an international ticket, you need to make sure the e-mail you receive can be used as an actual ticket and you do not have to pick the ticket up in the country of purchase. I don't know about oebb (Austrian train company), but Trenitalia many times requires you to pick up your ticket in Italy or print it out at one of the self-service tickets in certain Italian stations.

Trav_Eller

A follow-up.

I tried the Trenitalia system almost every day since my previous post. Finally, this morning with 28 days to go - it worked.

I am now the proud possessor of an email confirming a 1st class (same price as 2nd class, so I'm not sure there is a difference) bottom berth in a two-berth cabin from Venezia St Lucia to Zagreb Gl Kol for €55. I have to pick up the ticket from a self-serve machine at a major station. That should not be a problem as I'm visiting both Milan and Venice.

It accepted Visa but left the final letter off my name on the booking. I found an operator on Trenitalia's phone system who spoke English who assured me that would be "no problemo", but he would not correct it on the computer. I hope he's right.

Cheers, Alan, Australia.
http://loraltravel.blogspot.com (Where Do You Want To Go and What Do You Want To Do and See?)

Holly_uncasdewar

Have a fantastic trip, Alan!

Trav_Eller

"Have a fantastic trip, Alan!"

Thanks, I intend to It's a combination of air-rail-boat-car. One night stops unless specified.

Coolangatta (air) Kuala Lumpur(2nts) (air) Cochin(4nts) (air) Kuala Lumpur (rail) Stansted (rail) London (rail) Paris (3nts)(rail) Swiss Alps(4nts) (rail incl Glacier and Bernina Expresses) Milan (rail) Venice (rail) Zagreb (air) Dubrovnik (3nts)(bus) Mostar (rail) Sarajeveo (air) Budapest (air) St Petersburg (boat)(7nts) Moscow (air) London(4nts) (car) Midlands(7nts) (car) Stansted (air) Kuala Lumpur (air) Coolangatta.

Whew!! But I love it like that; I'll have lots of time to relax on trains, boats and planes

Cheers, Alan, Australia.
http://loraltravel.blogspot.com (Where Do You Want To Go and What Do You Want To Do and See?)

Trav_Eller

Follow Up

Everything worked out. The ticket was easy to obtain via the self-operate machine in Milan, I spent a wonderful relaxed afternoon and evening on the ferries of Venice and I had no problems boarding or being awake at 0420 in Zagreb. I booked a double but had the compartment to myself.

The train itself was not the best and a bit of a disappointment but it met my need for a simple easy way to get from north Italy to Dubrovnik (via Zagreb in this case). I went on many trains on this journey; this was the one at the bottom of the list

I'll post a bit more on that in my blog in a few weeks when I reach that point of the trip.

Cheers, Alan
Born Under a Wandering Star http://loraltravel.blogspot.com/
(latest: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

Trav_Eller

PS

I forgot. The machine in Milan was quite literal. The original booking left the final letter off my name. It would not issue the ticket until I similarly mis-spelled my name

Cheers, Alan