Need a Plan B to get from Amsterdam to Ljubljana

There are direct flights on Lufthansa from Frankfurt, but they look expensive, like 323 EUR per person.

You could also take a train to Ljubljana, with the last leg being a night train from Munich. You could break this up by taking a train to Munich on the 19th, spending a night in a hotel, then seeing Munich for the day and taking the night train to Ljubljana the evening of the 20th. With a sleeping compartment and a night in a hotel in Munich, this would still be less than the cost of a train to Frankfurt airport and flights to Ljubljana.

Probably too risky for you, but...Wizz Air has a direct flight 8/18 in the late afternoon (4:50p) from Brussels South Charleroi Airport (CRL) to Ljubljana. (This airport is not simple to get to from Brussels as far as I know.) It's a cheap flight (probably figure more expensive after you figure in extra fees), but if you arrive early enough in AMS, you might be able to get there with enough time. You could book it with no extra and throw away about $30 if you don't use it, but at least you have it as a backup-backup flight.

Brussels Airlines has a direct flight from BRU to LJU, the main Brussels Airport (super easy to get to by train) on Friday 8/19 at 2:05p. You you could stay over the night before in say Antwerp or Leuven (or Brussels of course) and get to BRU by direct train. If you wanted to indulge in a quick visit to a city like Bruges or Ghent, that's probably doable - might sound crazy but I might do it.

You could also fly from AMS say to Venice on arrival day (if you want to risk that flight not being canceled) and take a shuttle to Ljubljana from there...or spend the first night in Venice.

Thanks Sam and Andrew. Looking at the options you have provided. Since we are arriving at AMS at 12:20 pm, I don't know if the Wiz option on the 18th would work. I've never taken a night train. Hmmm....Don't want to risk another flight out of Schiphol to Venice. Ironically, I originally thought we would fly into Venice and then take the GoOpti shuttle into Ljubljana, but the flight to AMS and then taking Transavia the next seemed a better choice. Of course, that was when Schiphol was considered a dream airport to travel to/ through.

The easiest thing to do, then, is to just take the train from Schiphol to Brussels, relax there, and get up at a leisurely time the next morning before that early afternoon flight out of Brussels. BRU is an easy airport, and there's no reason to stay near the airport - the train service from the center of Brussels is quick and reliable. The Grand Place in the center of Brussels is pretty at night. It's no Amsterdam otherwise, but it's not a bad place to spend your first night. Some people really like Antwerp (I didn't) which is another option if you'd rather spend the night there, since you can get a direct train from there to BRU too.

I don’t think you have to take a night train, but I would take trains. This is possible thanks to the nice cushion you built yourself between arrival and the start of your tour.

The main problem is that the tickets are going to be expensive at this point.

For guidance, look at The Man in Seat 61's website — in addition to talking about routings and purchasing tickets, he gives advice on the setup of the various stations and event what decent hotels are nearby.

And indeed, with the number of passengers that airlines have been told to reduce coming in and out of Amsterdam in the next two months, I unfortunately believe that you will be getting that second email.

I think you have several good suggestions, but one other thing to keep in mind is that Zagreb is only about 2-1/2 hours from Ljubljana by bus or train.

I assume you have two separate tickets (#1 GEG-SEA-AMS, #2 AMS-LJU).

There are several not-terribly expensive, one-stop options that currently look like they could work (this assumes they don't get cancelled, too). Departing AMS on Friday 8/19, I see:

Two options with an end-to-end time of 3:15 or 3:35 respectively:

• SwissAir (via Zurich) - $142
• Lufthansa (via Munich) - $166

Two more options, cheaper but longer layovers - end-to-end time of about 6 hours:

• LOT (via Warsaw) - $121
• SwissAir (via Zurich) - $126

All four of these options would get you to LJU on Friday 8/19 by 12:25 to 1:05 pm. That assumes, of course, that they aren't also cancelled.

Trains are less likely to be cancelled, but would complicate your journey somewhat.

Exciting times to travel, eh?

Thanks Sam and Andrew. Looking at the options you have provided. Since
we are arriving at AMS at 12:20 pm, I don't know if the Wiz option on
the 18th would work.

Probably not, getting from Schiphol to Charleroi would take around 3 hours, so even if your first flight is on time and there are no lines at immigration, it will be tight.

I've never taken a night train.

Maybe it is time to try it? A night train from Amsterdam to Austria and then a day train to Ljubljana the next day. Or as someone else mentioned. take a train to somewhere in Germany, spend a night there before you continue. Trains aren't that complicated, even if guess they are unfamiliar to many Americans (but this is what the forum is for). So turn your trip into an adventure?

But whatever option you choose, book as soon as possible, because you won't be the only person trying to find a different way to travel from Amsterdam.

You can do this without a night train as follows.
First night at a hotel near Amsterdam Centraal station.

Next morning train to Ljubljana beginning at 7:38 am. You book the train at www.bahn.com by specifying a 20 hour stopover in Munich. So the first train is to Mannheim with a cross-platform connection to Munich, arriving at 15:28. That is an 8 hour train ride. Get a hotel room for the night near Munich Hbf and check out Munich in the evening. Next morning, after some quick touring get the 12:17 direct train to Ljubljana, arriving at 18:31. The cost of those tickets, 2nd class is 109.90 EUR per person. On top of that, buy seat reservations for the trip at 5.90 EUR per person per day. If you want 1st class, ticket cost is approximately 50% more, but the seat reservations are included.

That is for a SuperSparpreis ticket, meaning it is like an airline ticket, train specific, nonrefundable, nonchangeable. Buy soon as price will go up the longer you wait.

Thank you everyone! I am digesting all the information provided, and will research your suggestions further. I guess I better go to bed now, so I can get up and go to work to make money for all this extra travel.

Terri - It is a great tour. One of our favorite RS tours so far. ljubljana is one of the places that I intend to visit again someday. You have several options to get there, but my advice is to choose an option that allows you more time to visit ljubljana. It is off the beaten path and not the easiest place to incorporate into future travel plans. Have a wonderful trip - you have an amazing adventure ahead of you.

We went to Slovenia in September 2017 for a rowing race at Lake Bled and hiking in the Julian Alps. We took the exact train route in Sam’s second suggestion (no night train). We started in Amsterdam to visit friends, then took the train to Munich ( booked in advance to get a great price). Overnight there at a nice modern hotel close to the station ( Hotel Schiller5) with time to walk the length of the pedestrian street to Marienplatz in the morning before catching the noon-ish train to Ljubljana. That was a relaxing journey with great scenery, and enjoyable companions in our first-class compartment.

https://www.schiller5.com/en/home-en