How to get around Slovenia without wasting time

By car: vignette and winter rules

It’s the most comfortable way to see the country, and distances in Slovenia are short, and the Tourist Board notes that roads are well signposted, though some local ones are narrow and winding. On motorways and expressways you need the e-vignette. Between 15 November and 15 March, and on any date with snow or ice, winter equipment is required, and dipped headlights must be on at all times. Rules, fines and breakdowns are covered in driving in Slovenia, and hiring in car hire in Slovenia.

By train: Slovenske železnice

Only Slovenske železnice trains run here, and the Tourist Board says Slovenian trains keep to the timetable. The busiest line is Ljubljana-Maribor, where the ICS Pendolino services make fewer stops. Other key lines are Ljubljana-Koper, Ljubljana-Jesenice, Ljubljana-Novo mesto-Metlika and Ljubljana-Zidani Most-Dobova. You can buy tickets at the station, online, in the Grem z vlakom app or on board, with a €12 penalty if your station’s ticket office was open. Timetables, supplements and the Bohinj car train are in trains in Slovenia.

By bus between villages

Buses serve most villages and, on local roads, stop at any stop in the village. According to the Tourist Board, you buy from the driver or, at the larger stations, in advance. In summer there are frequent buses from Ljubljana to the coast, and in winter to resorts such as Krvavec, Vogel and Kranjska Gora. Ljubljana bus station, temporarily housed beside the railway station, is the hub of the network. It’s all in buses in Slovenia.

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In Ljubljana and other towns

Central Ljubljana is closed to motor traffic and best explored on foot. LPP buses cost €1.50 a journey, valid for 90 minutes including transfers if you pay with the €2 Urbana card; a bank card works too, but each bus is charged separately. In Maribor, Marprom runs 17 city routes. Elsewhere, Arriva and Nomago run most town services. For a short hop with luggage or late at night, see how taxis in Slovenia work.

Free shuttles and cycling

Some resorts have their own transport. Bohinj offers summer and winter mobility cards with free buses around the valley, there’s a free Radovljica-Bled shuttle in July and August, a free ski bus in Kranjska Gora and a summer bus to the Ankaran beaches. For cycling, trains take bikes for €3 a journey, with limited spaces, and there are 30 Nomago Bikes for hire by Ljubljana bus station.

If you are short on time, see the best tours in Ljubljana and pick one that fits your day.

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