Ljubljana to Vienna: transfer, train or bus

Ljubljana and Vienna are two capital cities roughly the distance apart that London is from Paris, and yet the journey feels longer than it should, because a mountain range and a border sit in between and neither rail network was built with the other city in mind.

The train

There is a direct service, but it runs once or twice a day and takes around six hours for a distance a car covers in under four. Most connections involve a change at Villach or Graz, which adds waiting time rather than travel time.

Check the actual date you are travelling rather than a general timetable: direct services on this route have been added and dropped more than once, and the country you are told to change trains in depends on which one is currently running.

The bus

A coach covers the route in five to six hours including the border, at a fraction of the transfer price. It is a reasonable choice for one traveller with one bag and no early flight to catch.

The trade-offs are the ones every long-distance coach has: a fixed departure time, a bus station at each end rather than a hotel door, and a luggage hold that assumes you packed lightly.

Driving yourself

Both countries require a motorway vignette, Slovenia's and Austria's are separate stickers and neither covers the other. Vienna itself charges for parking almost everywhere inside the Gürtel, by the hour, with no free option near the centre.

The Karawanken tunnel, the direct way through the mountains, carries its own toll on top of both vignettes. It is worth it for the forty minutes it saves over the pass road, but it is one more thing a rental agreement may not mention.

A private transfer, and why the airport costs more than the city

Door to door in under four hours, at a fixed price agreed before you travel: €370 for the sedan and €450 for the van to central Vienna, or €390 and €470 to the airport.

The airport costs more, which surprises people expecting the opposite. Vienna International sits on the far side of the city from the direction a car arrives from, so reaching it is about 20 km further than reaching the centre, not shorter. The fare follows the distance actually driven, not which one sounds like it should be closer.

For one traveller this is a premium over the bus that is hard to justify. For three or four sharing the car, or an early flight out of Schwechat, or luggage that a coach hold was not built for, the per-person cost lands close to the bus fare and the day is entirely your own.

The short version

• Alone, one bag, flexible on time: take the bus.
• Heading to the airport: budget for slightly more than the city fare, not less.
• Three or more, or an early flight, or you would rather not learn about Austrian vignettes at the border: a private transfer.
• The train, only if a six-hour ride with a change is the point of the trip rather than an obstacle to it.