my wife and i are trying to figure out this busy part of the trip.
26 sept
booked train from salzburg (leave 0812) to ljubljana (arr 1431)
the train passes through lake bled.
27 sept
booked air zagreb (leave 0630) to split (arrive 0720)
Here is the advice i need: on 26, i need advice on what i can fit in before flying out of zagreb on 27th.
a bit of lake bled?
a bit of ljubljana?
If you plan to take the direct train that leaves Ljubljana at 18:35 and arrives Zagreb at 20:53, then that gives you almost 4 hours to nip out and walk through the center of Ljubljana and back. I wouldn't try to go into any indoor sites. You can leave your luggage in a locker at Ljubljana train station, and allow time to retrieve it. There is also a later bus that is direct, and for sale through the DB schedule site. Train and bus stations are near each other.
is there anyway we can squeeze in a bit of lake bled, in other words is it worth the effort?
the train from salzburg to ljubljana (via villach) does stop at lesce bled.
I read that there is a plane ride one can take very close to the lesce bled train station? I guess if i try to squeeze this in, i will miss out or have very little time in Ljubljana or have to deal with transportation issues going from lake bled to ljubljana and onto zagreb.
To add to Laura's great advice, you do have enough time to have a short visit of Ljubljana, but you would be cutting it close if you wanted to include Bled as well. That said, if you really want to see both Lake Bled and Ljubljana and won't be coming back to this part of the world, what you can do is the following:
get off the train at Lesce Bled (a 10-minute drive from the lake) at 13:51 and take a taxi to the bus station in Bled, which is by the waterfront and where you can leave your luggage
visit the lake waterfront for an hour
pick up your luggage and take a taxi back to the train station at around 15:15, catch the 15:45 train to Ljubljana
arrive in Ljubljana at 16:52
visit the city centre
take the 20:45 Deutsche Bahn bus, arriving in Zagreb at 23:11
I don't want to recommend doing this as there are plenty of things that can go wrong and you won't get to see the castle or go to the island, but if you really want to visit both towns, this will give you just enough time to take a stroll along the waterfront in Bled. As for Ljubljana, three hours or so is enough time for a walk around the riverfront and the old town before returning to the bus/train station.
thanks much. i have enough information to plan.
i will skip lake bled and spend more relaxed time in ljubljana and then relax in zagreb before my flight.
