Getting to Ljubljana

Just wondering how most people get there?

I'd guess that most people coming from the USA fly. Unless they're on a wider trip to Europe and already there, that seems like the only rational way to go.

Thinking of stopping over in another European city before heading to Ljubljana.

That would be a good thing to think about, as there are no direct flights to Ljubljana from the USA (at least none that I'm aware of).

Frankfurt is an obvious connecting city from North America.

The closest direct, big-city train or bus connections are from:

• Zagreb 2 hrs by bus or train
• Venice 3.25 hrs by DRD bus or train/bus connection in Trieste now takes only 4.5 hours.
• Munich 5 hrs by bus
• Vienna 6 hrs early train
• Budapest 8.25 hrs train

We are back almost a month since taking "The RS Adriatic Tour." We chose to spend a week in Venice prior to heading to Ljubljana. We took the GoOpti shuttle from Piazzale Roma. It was a short 2.5 hour ride. We shared the ride with another couple. It was a very comfortable journey. They offer a 15 minute break along the way if requested. The driver was very kind & accommodating. We purchased our tickets online about 9 months in advance. We paid €52 for both of us. This included our two small suitcases.

We arrived 2 days early and very happy we were able to spend 2 extra days in Ljubljana. This is our new favorite city! We spent our first 2 nights in a lovely apartment on the river.
We enjoyed the good vibes from this incredible city.

This tour was at the top of the list of all the RS Tours we've taken. If you have any further questions feel free to pm me.

We were seriously looking at this tour two years ago, and noticed the inconvenience from Seattle. We were thinking of stopping at one of these cities on the way there for a day or two, and then stopping at another on the way back. The flights within Europe are cheap, so we would just fly from one and back to another: Amsterdam, Paris, London. I.e. Multi-city flight Seattle-to-Amsterdam & Paris-to-Seattle. In Europe tickets booked separately.

We used miles and booked United. Changed planes in DC (we are from Sacramento) then again in Munich where we got their code share partner to Ljubljana. So, all on one ticket. That was 2011 so old news. My meal in the DC airport gave me food poisoning so Ljubljana was a loss for me. My family loved it and we want to go back and spend more time. We also booked an apartment near Kotor for a week after the tour. That was a very fine icing on the cake of a great tour.

Ljubljana is in Slovenia, not Croatia. Thought that was worth pointing out.

Last May I flew direct from PHL to Venice and took a DRD shuttle van from there to Ljubljana. The flight was AA - seasonal (I took one of the first direct flights to VCE of the season). I was able to book it with miles.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend DRD - I had originally planned to take a train to Trieste, spend a few hours there, and then a bus on to Ljubljana, but I just missed the next train to Trieste and the next one wasn't for three hours. I had taken DRD before from Mestre train station and saw their van pull up and knew about it so just took it. Today I'd probably suggest a GoOpti transfer, a FlixBus if one was scheduled at the right time, or even the train via Trieste if you can make it (today you can get the train directly from Trieste to Ljubljana as well).

May I also recommend Daytrip ? We recently used them for transport from Venice to Zagreb, with a delightful stop for lunch in Ljubljana. Their point-to-point service means you could travel from Milan, Vienna, or Budapest (all great stopovers) to Ljubljana in 4-5 hours, or, better yet, plan on 6-7 hours and schedule a stop enroute at a point of interest. It's a great (stress-free) way to maximize your intra-Europe travel day.

I'm sure DayTrip works fine if you want to pay for it. They seem much more expensive than other options, because it's a private transfer.

For example, I just got a quote from Venice to Zagreb for a month from now. DayTrip's quote is 311 euros for two people. GoOpti's quote is 66 euros for two people for a shared transfer. If I wanted to stop in Ljubljana, I could take GoOpti from Venice to Ljubljana, leave my bags at the train station, and take a bus or train on to Zagreb.