Getting to Slovenia by train, line by line

From Austria, the easiest way in

This is the easiest way in. Trains leave Ljubljana for Villach via Jesenice roughly every two hours, from 5.42am to 7.29pm, plus the 10.10pm sleeper. The standard fare is €19.80, and with First Minute Europe it starts at €9.90. Graz is reached via Maribor on a direct train several times a day, and Vienna has two routes, via Graz and Maribor or via Villach and Jesenice, with tickets from €39.90 (€29.90 if you start from Maribor or Celje). Klagenfurt needs a change, at Villach for Ljubljana and at Bleiburg for Maribor. I cover it in detail in Vienna to Ljubljana.

From Germany

Munich has daily trains via Villach and Salzburg, nearly all with a change at Villach, plus a sleeper. The EN 414 leaves Ljubljana at 10.10pm and reaches München Ost at 5.50am, and the return leaves München Ost at 11.51pm, arriving at 7.50am. A standard seat costs from €64.90, and the SparSchiene or SparNight fare drops to €24.90, with limited availability and valid only on the night train. There are six- and four-berth couchettes and sleeping cars.

From Croatia and Hungary

Zagreb has several direct trains a day from €9 on the Spezial fare, explained in Zagreb to Ljubljana, and a Friday through train runs from Zagreb via Ljubljana to Pula, coming back on Sundays. The Tourist Board also mentions two daily trains to and from Rijeka. Budapest has the MV 247, leaving Ljubljana at 9.15am and reaching Budapest Déli at 4.59pm via Celje, Pragersko and Hodoš, and another option via Graz to Budapest Keleti. Slovenske železnice sells it from €16, and it’s covered in Budapest to Ljubljana.

If you are staying the night, see the best hotel deals in Ljubljana for your dates: the well-placed rooms go fast.

From Italy, with a change

Here you nearly always change. Between Trieste and Ljubljana, Slovenske železnice offers two trains a day each way with a change at Villa Opicina, for €11.60, and until 12 December 2026 a replacement bus runs between Ljubljana and Logatec on the evening departure from Ljubljana. The exception is the direct train on Saturdays, Sundays and Italian holidays between Nova Gorica and Venezia Mestre, for €16.10. Both are covered in Trieste to Ljubljana and Venice to Ljubljana.

How to buy an international ticket

I’ve gathered the alternatives to rail, from flying to the coach, in how to get to Slovenia. Buy international offers before boarding, at a ticket office or on the Slovenske železnice website, because the conductor can only sell you the expensive ticket, and only as far as the border station. The Tourist Board recommends booking ahead for international journeys.

So you do not lose the morning at the ticket office, browse tickets and tours in Ljubljana on GetYourGuide.

If you are staying the night, see the best hotel deals in Ljubljana for your dates: the well-placed rooms go fast.