We purchased our train tickets for Split, Croatia to Ljublijana, Slovenia directly from the train ticket office in Split. We chose the train over the bus for two reasons: 1) The price of the train tickets were 255 KN/person vs. 355 KN/person for the bus, and 2) The bus left at 6:00 PM and would arrive in Ljubljana around 5:00AM whereas the train left at 10:07 PM on June 4th and arrived in Ljubljana at 9:15 AM on June 5th. We never like to arrive in a city so early in the morning that nothing is open so it was an easy choice to take the train. Also, by leaving later we had more time to explore Split.
We purchased out tickets knowing that it was a night train and we just assumed that we had a sleeper car even though we booked 2nd class tickets. However, once we arrived in our car in was not a sleeper! Instead, it was a regular cabin that seats 6 people. Oh great, we thought, how were we supposed to sleep? We decided to close the curtains and turn off the light, hoping that no one would enter the compartment, thinking that it was full and people were asleep! Luckily, it either worked or it was by design as we went the whole night without anyone trying to join in the compartment. I walked around a couple of times to see if the other compartments were full, but everyone else was doing the same thing. Regardless, it was hard to sleep across three seats without any blankets. On top of that, around 3:00AM cold air was turned on and we were freezing! We switched the temperature control to heat, but still cold air came through and this lasted for about two hours when suddenly the air switched to hot and we were able to rest again.
Our first train arrived in Zagreb on time and we made our 7:00AM connecting train to Ljubljana. From the train station in Ljubljana you can continue your travel either by train or bus, since the bus station is right next to the train station! Also, all of the main tourist sites, including the castle are within walking distance of the train station. If you are just visiting for the day, both the train and bus stations offer luggage storage.
TIPS:
- The train stations (in both Split and Ljubljana) are located right next to the bus station, so you can easily compare prices and times.
- Make sure you know what type of ticket you are purchasing. In our case, only first class had beds and the ticket lady failed to mention anything about it to us.
- Also, both the train station and bus station (in Split) offer luggage storage service. The train station has coin operated lockers that cost 15 KN for 24 hours.
If you decide to take the bus make sure that there IS a bus, since they don’t start regular service to Ljubljana from Split until June. If you take the train, it is not a non-stop train. You will have to change trains when you arrive in Zagreb. There was a 30 minute time gap between our two trains, but if your train is late, there usually will be another one going to Ljubljana a couple of hours later. You can get all train times from the OBB website, but prices are not posted for international destinations. The train station takes credit cards, but the bus station is cash only.