Does anyone have experience with Go Opti car service. It appears to be like Uber or Lyft in the US.
I may use this service from Venice to Ljubljana. The price for this ride ranges from $100 to $150 (US) per person for a trip that should take 3 to 3.5 hours. The fare seems reasonable to low. I just want to make sure they are reliable.
I haven't used them personally, because I prefer to travel by train, but many travellers use them between Italy and Slovenia and can't remember any negative reviews. For so much money they has to be really good, trains and buses cost only a fraction of this.
I second the choice of using the train. The fare is much, much more reasonable than $100-$150. Plus, trains don't have to sit in traffic.
https://www.seat61.com/venice-to-ljubljana-and-zagreb-by-train.htm
GoOpti is well regarded here and on the Slovenia forums I frequent. I would use them in a heartbeat if need be, but I've not yet have the opportunity.
They aren't really like Uber or Lyft. You have to schedule them in advance, and the price probably goes up the longer you wait. But you can't just open your phone and request a GoOpti at any given moment and expect them to show up. They own their vehicles (it's not a "ride-sharing service") and schedule pick-ups based on prior demand. They do have shared transfers as well as private transfers (what you seem to be considering) - the shared transfers cost a whole lot less than $100 per person.
With frequent bus service now between Venice and Ljubljana (e.g. FlixBus), I don't see any need for a private GoOpti transfer unless you really don't want to deal with a bus and want something private and prompt. The train now runs between Venice and Ljubljana with a connection in Trieste; that's at least an extra hour longer than the bus and requires the connection in Trieste, but it is worth considering. I don't care for long bus rides, but a direct bus would be easier and faster than the train.
We used Go Opti a year and a half ago to travel from Ljubljana to Vienna. There were a couple of options at different prices, depending on whether you had a preferred pickup time or you were more flexible. We chose the option where we selected a two hour time frame for pickup. The day before the pickup I received both an email and a text message with the EXACT pickup time. The van was on time, the driver courteous, professional, and a good driver. There were two other passengers. We made a rest stop on the way and the driver dropped us off at the hotel where we were staying in Vienna. I do recommend them, although as others have mentioned the train or bus is cheaper. For our trip it was only slightly higher and we would have had to pay for taxis or other transportation if we went to the train or bus stations. The convenience of pickup and dropoff at our hotels was worth it for us. No hassles.
We used Go Opti last September from Venice to Ljubljana. We did a shared van ride with another couple. It was a comfortable 2.5 hr ride. The driver was right on time and could not have been kinder. He dropped us off a few blocks from the town and it was an easy 10 minute walk. We had purchased our tickets well in advance and it was much less than what you were quoted. We would gladly use this service again and would not hesitate to recommend them. Excellent customer service. We also enjoy taking trains in Europe but this service worked out very well. Enjoy Ljubljana!!
I agree with Ellen: the service was great.
We used Go Opti this past spring; Venice area to our Ljubljana hotel; and Ljubljana to Venice Mestre.
The vans were on time and the drivers very pleasant. We used a shared route.
The only confusing aspect was when we looked at their schedule way in advance, it appeared that pick up was very early in the morning and we only saw private, expensive options. Then when we looked at the schedule about three weeks out, the times shown were more specific, many shared options were listed, and the prices were quite reasonable.
We would use this service again.
Safe travels!
Pat, GoOpti doesn't have a set schedule for you to choose from. Instead, you choose any time you want and they give you a price. If you choose a weird time in the middle of the night, they'll still give you a price, but it might be expensive. If you choose a time more likely to coincide with those of other travelers, you're more likely to get cheaper options for shared transfer service e.g. someone else going to the airport at about the same time as you. With shared transfers, your cheapest price is a "window" of time you'd be OK with, and they tell you the exact time the day before. If you need a more specific time, it just costs you more.
We too traveled from Venice to Ljubljana last fall. There were 4 of us (all seniors) traveling together. We took an early morning train from Venice to Trieste to see the city and enjoy lunch while leaving our bags at the Trieste train station. Our GoOpti "private car" driver met us promptly at 3:00 PM at the Trieste Train station. He was pleasant and eager to please. The ride to Ljubljana took ~90 minutes and cost just €92 having booked far in advance. We were dropped off right by our hotel--the Adora.
Having researched the lengthy time to take a train from Bled to Hallstatt, we decided to do a second a second GoOpti "private car" ride for that route too. This one was also booked far in advance. This driver was less talkative, but very courteous and efficient. The ride took much less time than the train would have and cost less for the 4 of us.
There is no question that we will use the GoOpti service again.
