Train from Budapest to Ljubljana

Some of the suggested routes go through Wien (Vienna). I just remembered that Austrian Rail offers SparSchiene fares for Budapest-Wien and either Wien-Maribor or Wien-Ljubljana. If you book far enough in advance by placing an international call to their Call Center, you might be able to get a fare of 19 EUR for Budapest-Wien and a fare of 29 EUR for Wien-Ljubljana. For more information, go here and then click on the SparSchiene link.

Other suggested routes go through Zagreb. On the Hungarian Railway site I couldn't find a quote for a single fare for Budapest-Zagreb, but I did find a reference stating that return tickets can be as low as the equivalent of 28.40 EUR in Hungarian Forints. The single fare should be quite cheap. I haven't found a fare for Zagreb-Ljubljana, but it should also be quite cheap.

Depending upon your departure time, the routes vary and the number of connections vary. To see them all, go to the German Rail site, www.bahn.de. Click on the drop-down flag menu for English. After you get summary timetables for Budapest-Ljubljana, click on the arrow to the left of each departure time to see the connecting points.

I went to the Slovenian railways site and found this page on travel from Budapest to Ljubljana, which includes some prices: http://www.slo-zeleznice.si/en/international_transport/international_links/hungary/budapest/

Hope this helps!

Kyla,

I just went there, too. The fare for Zagreb-Ljubljana is 12.20 EUR.

Thank you for all of your help. We're looking for the direct train which I think we found through raileurope but seems awfully pricey.

There is one direct train, but it is a night train that starts in Budapest and ends in Venice. It has sleeping accommodations--that's good. But it arrives in Ljubljana at 02:12--that's bad.

It's pricey for two reasons. (1) It's a night train so you have to pay for sleeping accommodations. (2) Rail Europe's fares are inflated.