Train Journey into Croatia from Italy
We will be spending some time in Italy during early July this year, and we will be finishing up in Verona.
The next part of our trip involves getting into Croatia from here which is proving to be slightly complicated whilst keeping to a travel preference of train over bus.
Originally I had planned to use a route I found using OBB's journey planner:Verona -> Venice -(OBB ICBus)-> Villach -(EC 213)-> Zagreb
I've just had another look now and put in my travel dates, but I don't see this route in the route planner anymore so I'm trying to find alternative methods just in case.
I know there is a bus that runs from Trieste, so it could be possible for us to take a train to Trieste and then a bus to Croatia. According to this website there is a couple of buses which run along this route http://www.buscroatia.com
Either way, both methods will take roughly the same amount of time (leaving at approximately 10am and arriving at 8:30pm)
So my questions:
- Am I by any chance looking too early for my original route to show up on the journey planners, or have the timetables been changed?
- Heading into Austria seems a bit out of the way, is there an easier way? I'm aware that there are no direct trains between Italy and Slovenia.
- If we take a connecting train in Austria, what happens in regards to 'entering the country/crossing the border' on arrival to Austria? We will only be in there for a couple of hours maximum until the connecting train comes. I don't believe we need a visa. (We're Australian)
- Weighing up the options, the bus from Trieste is seeming to be the most stress-free choice. Would it be wise to ditch my original plan and look at this option?
I've read the question How to get to Ljubljana (Slovenia) from Trieste (Italy) by Train? and to me some of the answers to connect between Italy and Slovenia seem to be a bit more involved than what I've planned out above.
I hope this question isn't too broad for this site, this is the only part of the trip left which is still a bit cloudy.
Best Answer
I'd be sorely tempted to use the Villa Opicina tram in Trieste for this journey. It's a pretty extraordinary journey, but you'd have to be very comfortable with multiple transfers and careful timetable co-ordination.
Train to Trieste (Frecciabianca booked in advance to Venice Mestre, regional train ticket bought at the station from Venice to Trieste)
Take the tram uphill to Villa Opicina - it's a fabulous experience, as it runs as a street-level tram in Trieste, then connects to a drogue and becomes a funicular up a 26% slope, and then is a tram again in Villa Opicina.
Walk to the station in Villa Opicina and then take a train to Sezana, change to another local train to Ljubjana (in some cases, there may be an additional change in Divaca), and then you can take the international service to Zagreb.
Check the times for the trains from Villa Opicina before you go, as there aren't that many trains each day. As an alternative, you might be able to get a taxi from Opicina to Sezana, it's not all that far (and is unlikely to be more than €15) or even to Divaca which has a much superior rail service.
The Ljubljana-Sezana-Opicina timetable is on Slovenian railways website here - this is valid until December 2014, so the 2015 timetable isn't on the website yet. You can see the list of timetables here; the one you want is Ljubljana–Pivka–Ilirska Bistrica–Sežana.
Pictures about "Train Journey into Croatia from Italy"
Can you train from Italy to Croatia?
Trieste \u2013 ZagrebTrain from Trieste to Zagreb is the most common route from Italy to Croatia. There are no direct trains, but they operate via Ljubljana (Slovenia). There are up to 2 daily departures from Trieste to Ljubljana, but the waiting time in Ljubljana can be up to several hours.How far is Italy from Croatia by train?
The distance between Croatia and Italy is 475 km. The road distance is 885.7 km. How do I travel from Croatia to Italy without a car? The best way to get from Croatia to Italy without a car is to train and night bus which takes 11h 7m and costs 410 kn - 1.400 kn.How easy is it to get from Italy to Croatia?
In both cases it takes about three and a half hours to get from one country to another, making it the fastest way to get from Italy to Croatia on water. Others popular ferry lines are those that connect Ancona with Split or Bari with Dubrovnik, if you are travelling in the south of Italy.How long is the train ride from Rome to Croatia?
Rome to Croatia by train. The train journey time between Rome and Croatia is around 12h 44m and covers a distance of around 986 km.ILLEGAL FREEDOM: Train Surfing Journey Across Croatia
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Answer 2
From Trieste, take the local bus at the tram terminus, to Villa Opicina train station. (The tram was not operating in October 2018) The bus terminates right next to Villa Opicina train station. At Villa Opicina, buy train ticket to Zagreb (Croatia) or to wherever in Croatia you want to go. Take train from Villa Opicina direct to Ljubljana. Change trains for one to Zagreb. It's beautiful scenery for both parts of the train trip.
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