Look, I know that the concept of a train ticket that doesn’t resemble the cost of a small mortgage seems pretty out of reach for us Brits at the moment. But it turns out that cheap-and-cheerful train travel does actually still exist – if you head to a different country (or three).
Prepare to stare wistfully out of a train window (a la 90s music video) as you’re whisked past some stunning Italian, Slovenian, and Croatian scenery. Because we’ve found a handy new train route that will transport you through all three of those countries for less than the price of a pint in posher parts of Manchester. Not bad, hey?
The route
First built 150 years ago by the Austro-Hungarian empire, this train line is certainly no stranger to ferrying adventure-seekers between Italy and Croatia. The five-hour version of the route closed over 30 years ago, but it’s been dusted off for the summer and is well-and-truly back on track. The new-and-improved route takes just two hours and has eight stops along the way.
Operated by Slovenian Railways, the Stadler electric locomotive begins its daily journey in the Italian city of Trieste. Passengers can hop aboard at Villa Opicina station at 7.50am and be in a whole new country just ten minutes later. The first stop of the trip is a little town on the Slovenian border, Sežana. After that, the train calls at three more Slovenian stops – Divača, Pivka, and Ilirska Bistrica, before continuing on to Croatia. The final stops of the journey are the Croatian towns of Šapjane, Opatija Matulji, and the train pulls in to its final destination, Rijeka, at 9.54am. The daily return train leaves Rijeka at 6.25pm and arrives back at Villa Opicina at 8.40pm.
Passengers can opt to do the whole journey in one, or make more of a holiday out of it, hopping on-and-off at various stops along the way. For the full journey, adult tickets start at €8 (£6.88) each way, but individual tickets for each leg of the journey can be bought if you’re planning to stop off on route.
This super handy service is already in service and is currently set to run until September 30, but there’s potential for the route to become permanent in the future.
The timetable
Italy – Croatia
- Villa Opicina – 7.50am
- Sežana – 8.01am
- Divača – 8.11am
- Pivka – 8.32am
- Ilirska Bistrica – 8.54am
- Šapjane – 9.08am
- Opatija Matulji – 9.37am
- Rijeka – 9.54am
Croatia – Italy
- Rijeka – 6.25pm
- Opatija Matulji – 6.41pm
- Šapjane – 7.07pm
- Ilirska Bistrica – 7.25pm
- Pivka – 7.49pm
- Divača – 8.18pm
- Sežana – 8.28pm
- Villa Opicina – 8.40pm
If you need me; you’ll find me scouring the internet for cheap flights to Trieste.
Find out more and plan your European adventure here.