I need to travel from Split to Piran Slovenia. What might you recommend? There seems to be a bus but the website is bad and they do not respond to my email questions. I thought perhaps rent a car and drive to Pula and then take a boat/ferry from Pula to Piran but that website is also difficult to understand....so...? Another possible option might be to fly from Split to Llubijana then train or bus to Piran via Treist. Has anyone tried any of these options?
Posted by
Washington DC
28065 posts
It's hard to imagine that taking a ship around the Istrian Peninsula would be time-efficient, even if such a route exists. Which, surprisingly to me, it does, at least in high season. Trieste Lines. But the ship runs only twice a week.
Rome2Rio.com suggests a bus from Split to Trieste, Italy, then a short bus ride to Koper, connecting there to another bus to Piran. It can be difficult to get solid schedule info on this type of international routing off the internet. Whatever you discover now should be verified (at least for the first leg of the trip) at the Split bus station upon your arrival. If necessary you can move up the coast in stages (Split-Sibenik-Zadar-Rijeka or Opatija) and then look at options to Trieste.
I'm sure there's a way to get from Ljubljana to Piran by bus (I have taken a bus from Ljubljana to Rovinj, Croatia), but it looks as if flying from Split to Ljubljana requires multiple connections and is quite costly for such a short trip. I don't think throwing a flight into the mix is going to be helpful unless your ultimate destination is other than Piran. Are you going to Piran just to pick up a ferry to Venice, by any chance?
The fact is that transportation between Croatia and Slovenia is not good unless you are driving.
I hope Dejan notices this thread and is more helpful than I have been.
Edited to add:
OK, I've found a current website with info about the Split-Trieste bus, which turns out to be an overnight run. Not for me. But it's possible there will be more service in high season. When are you traveling?
Posted by
Slovenia
470 posts
Look at Croatia Airlines, there might be some seasonal domestic flights heading to the northern coastal airports from Split (Pula or Rijeka). From there, just take a shuttle transfer to Piran. That would be by far the quickest and easiest way. The other options are not as appealing - taking a bus north to Rijeka and then another to Trieste, from where you can take another bus to Piran, booking a shuttle transfer straight from Split, etc.
I think the best option save flying would be to rent a car in Split, do a leisurely scenic drive to Rijeka, drop it off there (not Pula, no sense detouring through the Istrian Peninsula if you are not interested in visiting) and then take a shuttle transfer from Rijeka to Piran. If there are direct buses from Rijeka to Koper, you could also take one of those, as Koper is an easy local bus or taxi transfer away from Piran.