Travel from Ljubljana to Budapest

You can't buy these tickets through European web sites. Plan to buy them in a train station in Europe. Seat reservations are optional, so it really can't sell out.

Google Maps shows a bus connection from that station to your hotel in Budapest. Would take about a half hour. There's an option with only one bus but more walking...or two buses and less walking.

The Art 'otel (one of only 3 hotels I have staid at in Budapest) is connected to Kelenföld by the 19 Tram. A 30 minute ride. Get use to the tram, because of where the hotel is located you will be using that and the M2 Metro a lot. If you get a room on the front of the hotel, above 1st floor (your 2nd floor), the view of the Parliament is pretty spectacular.

Here is some info on the trains ... https://www.seat61.com/international-trains/trains-from-Croatia.htm#Zagreb-Budapest

And Déli is connected to your hotel by the M2 Metro.

I stayed at Art 'otel on the river side above the 1st floor. James is right... the view of Parliament and the Danube was indeed pretty spectacular -- especially at night.

Thanks very much for all your helpful responses. That provides a lot of help and peace of mind for someone traveling new territory. We will try to get a train ticket at Ljubljana, and we have made arrangements for the hotel to send a car to pick us up at whichever station we wind up at; if the train doesn't work, FlixBus will be our backup. BTW, the Art o'tel response to that request was very quick and nice. I was not as adventuresome as you guys and gals to take the tram at night in a strange town! We also have our Parliament tickets for the next day.

You need to get comfortable on the trams and metro day and night. One, its perfectly safe and two; your hotel is so far removed from what you are going to Budapest to see that you will need to be comfortable with the transit system. Fortunately the trams are fun and the Metro over to Pest, well, lets say, its pretty interesting ... down, down, down, down ..... but, again, very safe.

I'm comfortable with public transit in strange cities, but I know some people aren't.

However, if you will have a working smart phone, then using Google Maps as your public transit (and walking) guide will make it infinitely easier. You don't have to worry about which bus or train to get on or a schedule. Tell Google Maps you want to get to your hotel, right now, from where you are standing at the train station...and it will tell you how to walk to the bus or tram stop, for the one leaving next, that will get you to hotel quickest. It may even have real-time delay info ("tram is delayed 5 minutes") depending on the city.

I've used my phone with Google Maps this way in numerous European cities. A good example was St. Petersburg: buses are cheap, but mostly everything is in Cyrillic which I don't read. But my phone told me which bus to take where, in English. It was extremely easy and reliable. I never had to look at a schedule.

No, this is too simple for that. They just have to learn 2 really simple Metro Lines and 3, maybe 4 very simple tram routes. Geeee, that sounds terrible! Naaaa, very easy and worst case scenario is you get off and ride one going the other way. OH! And you need a TravelCard..

Don't underestimate how intimidating public transit can be for people who aren't used to it.

A smart phone with Google Maps would be extremely useful for navigating around Budapest on foot and with the trams, buses, subway, etc. not just for getting to the hotel. I was there in 2005 without a phone - managed just fine but it would have been a lot easier to get around with one.

Don’t worry about the train tickets, just buy them at the international ticket counter in the main train station when you arrive in Ljubljana. The train won’t sell out so you can buy them just before departure as well, but by then the cheapest fares (starting at €15) might not be available anymore. Note that there is no dining car on the train, so bring food and drinks with you.

I just did this journey by Flixbus, good Option. New coaches with WiFi, reasonably comfortable and shorter overall travel time than train. The train and bus stations are literally across the street from each other in Ljubljana. You can buy tickets ahead using the flixbus app. Flixbus goes to Negliplet station after klenfold, which was right on tram and metro lines.