Vienna to Ljubljana

Where are you looking at this information?

I started with Rome to Rio, then www.oebb.at/en and www.flixbus.com.

According to Oebb.at, EC151 is operating from June, 28 till 4th September.

Can you tell me how you found that information? I see 2 other AM trains for 4 Sept, but nothing until PM on the 9th. Is that likely to change?

Another option is Go-Opti shuttles that will do a shared shuttle transfer from Vienna to Ljubljana.

There are no good train connections from Vienna to Ljubljana on September 9th. You have at least one change, and arriving either in the wee hours or in the early morning when taking an overnight train.

So I would guess that Flixbus is the best option for you, providing several connections per day.
https://shop.flixbus.com/search?departureCity=40de1f31-8646-11e6-9066-549f350fcb0c&arrivalCity=40de8044-8646-11e6-9066-549f350fcb0c&route=Wien-Ljubljana&rideDate=09.09.2022&adult=1&_locale=en_US&features%5Bfeature.darken_page%5D=1&features%5Bfeature.enable_distribusion%5D=1&features%5Bfeature.train_cities_only%5D=0&features%5Bfeature.add_return_date%5D=0&features%5Bfeature.add_return_date_only%5D=0&atb_pdid=2d2cad2e-a421-48b3-8763-c9ff2d5a2879&_sp=d79f4b2b-d3c1-437b-887a-1ed2f1931075.1656552144380&_spnuid=c8457214-5013-4059-906f-1e7047921582

Thanks to all for your help!

There use to be a night train? no more? too bad.

That has always been the problem with Slovenia and Croatia (you cant get there from here .... a lot of "here's").

Although you could expand your trip and spend a night or two in Zagreb (very interesting city) which you can get to on a cheap non-stop flight from Vienna; then its a 2 hour bus ride up to Ljubljana.

For me, travel has always been a really fun puzzle generally driven by transportation options that open up a lot of new possibilities.

Once in Europe I wont spend more than 3 hours going anywhere direct; I always find a place to explore along the way.

There is a night train, problem being that you have to start with a night train to Venice, and get off Villach at 4 am and wait for the night train that goes from Munich to Ljubljana that comes through at 6:30 am. 2 1/2 hours waiting in Villach station in the wee hours is not a very appetizing prospect.

James, you may not remember but you helped us out several years ago with a Budapest plan when our Istanbul plan fell through days before our trip. We still talk about that--thank you! And we still haven't gotten to Istanbul! Slovenia and Croatia seemed logical from Vienna and I do usually enjoy working out transportation issues, but this one has been challenging for sure! I reached out to Mark Smith (ManinSeat61), and he thinks that missing 7:48 train that we want is a routine booking issue and will appear in time. So I'll wait a bit, and in the meantime work on some other tricky spots.

Sam (yay Wisconsin), thanks for reminding me that things can always be worse. That night train scenario makes the Flixbus option sound fabulous!

Barb, I was trying to book a train to Poprad a few days ago and was having problems. Then I waited until the trip was less than 60 days out and all worked well. Hope you have the same luck. Glad you enjoyed Budapest. Come back and visit again when you have the chance.....

he thinks that missing 7:48 train that we want is a routine booking issue and will appear in time.

No, it will definitely not "appear".

If you search the OeBB timetable for this connection using a date prior to September 4th, you will find the direct train from Vienna to Ljubljana (departing at 7:58am, by the way).

Clicking on this connection will show the details. There is a little button labeled "Service days", which will reveal that this train is operated between June 30th and September 4th, only, i.e. it is a summer connection during vacation time.

Hence there will be no direct train on September 9th.

Edit: OeBB has extended the service days for this train, probably due to complaints, to October 14th.

Just a follow-up...I checked again today and that 07:58 direct route is now an option for Sept 9. Yea!

Train schedules can be a bit spotty 60 days out. Glad it worked out.

The train schedule was not spotty, but OeBB has changed it recently. The direct train between Vienna and Ljubljana is now operated until October 14th.