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Travel time between Vienna and Zagreb, others

Posted by on

My wife and I are planning our second trip to Europe. We had such a great time the spring of 2014 that we decided to go again this October for what might be our last trip to The Continent. We're planning to purchase a Global Eurail pass and cover a lot of territory in about four weeks.

In order to get a grasp of the times between destination urban areas, I looked up what I thought were accurate travel times on the trains between Vienna and Zagreb (goal to see Plitvice park) and then from Ljubjlana (sp?) to Milan as we work our way to Paris for the flight back to New York City. I was stunned to see a 9hr/32min time from Vienna to Zagreb and even more stunned to see a 10hr/34min time between Ljublana and Milan. Am I reading things wrong? Is it really that lengthy by rail between those locations? On the maps I'd think 4-6 hours would be about right for both legs of the journey.

Thanks for any experience you might have had with those trips between cities.

Posted by
16893 posts

The fastest daytime travel times from Vienna to Zagreb are 8.5 - 9 hours with a connection at Villach or there is a direct overnight train that takes under 7 hours. The fastest train schedules from Ljubljana to Milan take 8.5-9.5 hours with 2-3 connections. For the portion across the Italian border, more direct bus service is available (not covered by passes).

Travel times on the DB train schedule link at How to Look Up Train Schedules and Routes Online are correct and published at least through September. Don't bother looking at any later dates than that.

Posted by
4684 posts

The formerly-communist countries don't have many true high-speed lines yet.

Posted by
11294 posts

"The formerly-communist countries don't have many true high-speed lines yet."

Yes, and in addition, remember that during the days of the Iron Curtain, it wasn't supposed to be easy or fast to get from East to West or vice versa. I know it's been a while since the Wall fell, but the connections are only gradually being improved. The high speed trains that are being built in former communist countries are focused on domestic service first, so international connections can still take a lot of time.

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