Best of Eastern Europe Tour

We took the train to Salzburg for 2 nights then took the train to Munich for another 2 nights. We flew directly from Munich to Chicago on Luftansa.

I'm doing the same tour in May. I will be taking the train from Lesce Bled to Salzburg (3.5 hours), staying overnight, then taking the train the next day to Munich (1 hour), overnight and home the next day. Tickets purchased on Deutsche Bahn 90 days in advance are 39 euro (second class). This worked best for me because of the airline I fly and the use of a frequent flier ticket.

We were able to book our return flight at an affordable price from the somewhat nearby Jože Pu?nik Airport (airport code LJU). Since our flight departed in the early morning the day after the tour ended, we stayed in a comfortable small rural inn not too far from the airport with transit arranged by our guide. The owner of the inn provided a box breakfast and free transit to the airport in the wee hours of the morning. Enjoy the great tour! Bruce

you can look around all the big cities around slovenia see if you can find a good deal, then either fly or train to that city and back. the airport in LJU is really small, but flying from there to any other big city is not cheap. i suggest you take a bus from bled to LJU. the train station in laci bled is on a hill by the lake, if you walk it can be exhausting with big bags. also be aware some trains to LJU involve a change in the middle - try to avoid that if possible.

I flew thru AMS to Prague and then Ljubljana back to AMS and home. The day before the tour ended, our guide arranged transportation to the airport from Lake Bled for all of those who were flying out of Ljubljana. She grouped people together by the times of their flights and then ordered the taxis for us. It worked out nicely and we knew ahead of time how much it would cost with a small tip.

I penciled in mid-week dates in September for an open jaw (multi-city) ticket from St. Louis to Prague and returning from Ljubljana Jože Pu?nik Airport near Lake Bled. Rather good connections at $1324 for multiple airlines and a couple hundred more if you want to stick with Delta Airlines. Search engines such as Kayak and Hipmunk (great graphics) are valuable when researching your options.

Hi Bob, From a born and bred fellow Missourian (Springfield, Missouri State) Did this tour several years ago and it was fantastic! Changed my life actually. Fly into Prague a day or two early if possible, to account for any possible travel delays, get over jet lag. You might consider a day trip to Cesky Krumlov prior to the tour beginning. You can get minivan trips from Prague that are quite reasonable. Smallish, quaint town and a good place to get your feet wet. I actually went off on my own after the tour and went by train from Bled to Zagreb Croatia, then to Split (also by train) and then onto Dubrovnik (after spending two nights in Split). Now, if you're flying back to St. Louis directly after the tour, there is an airport in Bled, and larger ones in Ljublana and Zagreb. Also check skyscanner.com and check flights from Bled to the larger hubs in Europe (Frankfort, London, etc). I'm doing the Best of the Adriatic tour in September myself. I really like that "neck of the woods"

Hi again Ross! Just so you know, there is no airport in Bled, the airport south of Bled is Ljubljana Airport for international flights. Best connections are to Munich, Frankfurt and Paris but there are others also. From Bled, definitely check out Ljubljana, Lake Bohinj and Kranjska Gora as a few beautiful places nearby. On September 16, dont forget to go to the Cows Ball! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-PU-wiV9dI&feature=endscreen&NR=1 Cheers
Greg&Rona

In Nov. we took the train from Bled to Villach then the bus to Venice. Took about 4 hours and 30 minutes. We departed from Venice.

Hi Greg! You are correct of course. I was thinking of Ljubljana's airport, which is about as close to Bled as the Denver airport is to me in Denver. The Cow's Ball? That sounds fantastic. I will have to research this!

Took the tour in 2011. Guide was very helpful with connections. I went to Vienna for 4 days, but several tour members took the train with me and left from there. I got a flight with only 1 stop to Portland. The other tour members were pretty happy with their connections too.

This does not answer the question you asked but: After the tour, I wish I had stayed an extra day at Lake Bled. It was so beautiful and relaxing. Great for re-charging.