Field report: By night train to Slovenia: What should you know?
Slovenia is a wonderful holiday destination. Situated between mountains and crisscrossed by beautiful rivers, a holiday in Slovenia is an unforgettable experience. For many, however, the question arises as to whether it makes sense to forgo the car or the plane for a trip from Germany to Slovenia and instead take the climate-friendly alternative of the train. The night train option in particular also promises a time advantage, as it offers the possibility of spending most of the journey asleep and arriving fresh at the destination.
Using a travel report of a trip from Osnabrück to Ljubljana/Tolmin, we would like to give you information on what to look out for when travelling by train from Germany to Slovenia (during the main summer holiday period). Depending on the route, you should definitely allow for a good amount of preparation time, generous transfer times, and some anticipation of surprises.
How to research train connections
Travellers from Germany may appreciate one aspect of Deutsche Bahn: the connection search, which not only allows you to enter a desired destination station, but even individual streets, even in smaller villages. As a rule, the connection overview also shows buses, regional trains, and walking routes. Unfortunately, you will miss this feature when searching across borders.
Tips for research
When trying to find connections via the starting point and destination, it is essential to select a destination with a train station, otherwise a connection cannot be displayed. Before planning possible train routes, it's best to research several options for your destination station and, if applicable, options for local onward travel, which can prove quite cumbersome depending on your own language skills.
For international travel, Deutsche Bahn offers an international website where a trip with Deutsche Bahn can be booked. The advantage: if you miss a connecting train, there may be the option of using other means of transport or even hotels. When choosing a route, you should still make sure to allow for generous transfer times: after all, who wants to take a night train only to then have to book a hotel due to a delay? In our case, it was not possible to make a booking including the Nightjet via Deutsche Bahn's international website, which is why all journeys were ultimately booked with the individual providers.
Travel option with the night train: ÖBB Nightjet
For the trip to Slovenia by night train, the ÖBB Nightjet was the obvious choice, as it operates several night trains that travel through Germany to Italy and Croatia, among other destinations, making it a suitable option for a destination in Slovenia. Due to not overly extensive research, the decision was made in favour of the night train from Stuttgart to Zagreb, more precisely from Munich to Ljubljana, as a shuttle bus option to the destination Tolmin was also directly available. More in-depth research would also have revealed options for a night train to Austria (e.g. Amsterdam–Innsbruck) with a day trip through Austria and Slovenia. In that case, we would have seen more of the beautiful landscapes of Austria and Slovenia, but would also have had to delve much more deeply into the Austrian and Slovenian rail and bus networks. However, for the optimal route, it can be worthwhile to invest more time in researching possible (alternative) connections.
In addition, of course, the train from Osnabrück to Munich and the shuttle bus from Ljubljana to Tolmin also had to be booked.
The booking
Reservation options on the night train
When selecting the night train, the next decision had to be made: seat, couchette, or sleeper car.
The sleeper car offers a maximum of 3 beds, its own washbasin (or even its own bathroom, if booked), and an extensive breakfast, providing maximum comfort at the most expensive price (in our case, over €200 per journey and person for the trip from Munich to Ljubljana).
The couchette car offers 4–6 places in a small compartment. At the time of booking, only couchette places in 4-berth compartments were still available, at a price of €100 per person and route. In our case, the couchette compartment was a 6-berth compartment where the top bunks remained free, leaving room for luggage. Anyone carrying larger backpacks or suitcases should keep in mind that with all 6 places booked, there is hardly any room for one's own luggage.
By far the cheapest category was the seat, which was available for under €35 per person and route, but offers very little comfort. Anyone who wants to save as much as possible and is willing to accept significant comfort trade-offs can also choose the seating car.
Construction work as a minor inconvenience
However, there was a first setback when booking: For the return journey, it was indicated that the night trains would be diverted at the border via Spielfeld due to construction work (on the other side of Austria), and the expected delay would naturally have an impact on the choice of connecting train. Unfortunately, no information about a possible delay was available on the website. A friendly ÖBB staff member stated over the phone that experience showed delays of 60–90 minutes, in rare cases over 120 minutes, but no more than 180 minutes.
Did the booking go smoothly?
After careful consideration of sensible buffer times (due to the possibility of attending a festival, a very large buffer of 5 hours was factored in for the outbound journey), 4 hours were planned for the return journey due to the expected delay. The booking from Osnabrück to Munich via Hanover proved to be unproblematic and was also shown directly in the Deutsche Bahn app. The cost of a discounted ticket (fixed to a specific train, cancellation excluded) including seat reservation came to €60 per person and route.
With the booking of the shuttle bus from Ljubljana to Tolmin for €27 per person and route, the trip was fully booked just under six months before departure and, at under €200 per route and person, was also cheaper than a flight (at least €300 due to the lack of a direct flight) and, according to a fuel cost calculator, cheaper than driving for up to 2 people, especially when vignettes are factored in. In terms of price, train travel can indeed compete with driving under certain conditions (early booking, no option to cancel), and anyone willing to accept a drop in comfort can also spend considerably less.
Surprises
The trip was booked, and the transfer times were planned generously – even in the event of major delays, there should be no stress. So what could possibly happen, apart from a complete cancellation of the night train?
Unexpected problems
Although the train was not cancelled entirely, three months before departure we received an email informing us that the booked couchette car would be replaced by a seating car due to maintenance work. We were offered either a free cancellation or compensation of 50% after travel. Since the price for the seating car was still cheaper than the original couchette price, even taking the compensation into account, we decided (not least out of convenience) to go ahead with the trip and apply for the compensation later.
Is ÖBB more reliable than DB?
At this point, it became clear that ÖBB was not necessarily better organised than its often-criticised counterpart, Deutsche Bahn. Delays were already expected for the return journey, and here too the couchette car was to be replaced by a seating car. Apart from one email about the diversion via Spielfeld, communication overall remained rather sparse.
Experience with Deutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn, too, did not shine consistently in terms of organisation. The trip was planned for early August (i.e. during peak travel season), including a transfer in Hanover. To our surprise, the IC train was almost on time, so the connection seemed achievable. However, previous cancellations and delays significantly held up boarding, meaning we could only take our reserved seats after about 20 minutes. In addition, the Deutsche Bahn app indicated that the booked train would be cancelled from Hanover onwards, while at the same time showing the same ICE as an alternative.
In Hanover, the information was contradictory. The departure board advised against boarding, even though the booked train consisted of two coupled ICE trains. According to an external source of information, our reservations applied to the part of the train that was actually running. At the information desk, it was finally confirmed that we should board despite the contradictory displays (provided seats had been reserved). The platform was correspondingly overcrowded due to previous cancellations.
After a rather adventurous boarding process, we were fortunately able to quickly take our reserved seats. Once you're seated, travelling on the ICE is actually quite pleasant. Even the air conditioning worked reliably. Despite a delay of just over an hour in Munich, our time buffer was sufficient to store our luggage in a locker at Ostbahnhof and visit the festival for almost two hours. Here too, we were lucky: while hardly any larger lockers were still available at the main station, we found free ones at Ostbahnhof.
Thanks to the frequent S-Bahn service, we remained well on schedule. Finding the correct platform for the night train, however, once again proved complicated. The booked night train to Zagreb via Ljubljana was not listed on the departure board – instead, a train number with the destination Venice appeared. A railway employee finally explained: the carriages bound for Venice would be coupled on in Austria, while the existing carriages would continue towards Croatia. So the train was to be split during the night.
Experience with the night train (ÖBB)
When the night train pulled in, there was a pleasant surprise: the booked car was indeed a couchette car. Although space is limited, two free upper berths provided a bit of extra storage space for luggage. However, you shouldn't expect a peaceful night's sleep. Noise can be particularly disruptive at stations, and without air conditioning, the compartment quickly became warm. Nevertheless, the journey was noticeably more comfortable than a seat. The next morning, we arrived in Ljubljana relatively on time and reasonably well rested.
Two hours later, the shuttle bus towards Tolmin took us along scenically impressive, but at times winding, mountain and country roads. Anyone travelling through Slovenia by car and using motorways or expressways needs a digital vignette for vehicles up to 3.5 t; mountain and country roads such as the route to Tolmin are vignette-free. After almost exactly 24 hours of total travel time, we arrived in Tolmin relaxed, thanks to the generous buffer times.
Return journey
On the return journey, surprises were kept to a minimum. The shuttle bus took us back to Ljubljana from 11 a.m., where a day trip was planned. Upon arrival, however, all the lockers were occupied, and private providers had unusual opening hours. After a visit to a café at the station, lockers fortunately became free again, so nothing stood in the way of our city visit in the summer heat of 30 degrees.
The night train was due to depart around 10:15 p.m. This time, the correct train number was displayed, and boarding the once again booked couchette car went smoothly, with only a short delay. According to the conductor, the diversion via Spielfeld was not due to begin until the following weekend, so despite the later departure, no major delay was expected.
We finally arrived in Munich with a delay of around 40 minutes and had plenty of time for breakfast before continuing on the ICE to Hanover. Occupancy was significantly lower on the return journey, so we had no trouble taking our reserved seats and arrived at our respective destination stations almost on time.
Overall, the journey from Germany to Slovenia went comparatively smoothly despite a few uncertainties. The key factor is planning generous transfer times to cushion the impact of delays or train cancellations.
Advantages and disadvantages of a night train journey
Night train journeys are generally comfortable, but do not replace a hotel stay. The biggest challenges lay not so much in comfort, but rather in the sometimes inadequate communication from the railway companies. Anyone willing to do thorough research in advance, plan generous time buffers, and react flexibly to surprises can travel relatively relaxed and cost-effectively even during peak travel season.
However, the time advantage of the night train is reduced by the necessary buffer times. From four people onwards, driving can also be more economically attractive.
Car as an alternative
Travelling by car from Germany to Slovenia offers above all planning certainty and flexibility. A one-time route planning including alternatives for traffic jams is sufficient, modern navigation systems minimise the risk of detours, and comfort as well as luggage capacity are significantly higher. Vignettes for Austria as well as vignettes for Slovenia can be conveniently registered online.
Important notes
Anyone who still decides to travel by train should keep the following points in mind:
Early and careful planning is essential.
Allow for generous transfer times.
Expect limited communication and possible changes.
Seat reservations on long-distance trains are strongly recommended.
Couchette cars offer comfort, but are not comparable to hotel rooms.
Luggage capacity is limited.
Train travel is particularly attractive price-wise when booked very early.
Anyone who takes these aspects into account can experience a long-distance train journey including a night train as a scenically appealing and climate-friendly trip. Nevertheless, certain limitations have to be accepted due to organisational weaknesses in European rail travel, which is why this form of travel cannot be recommended without reservation.
The Europamaut team wishes you a pleasant trip!
We wish you a pleasant journey and hope that our insight into a night train trip has provided you with all the relevant information. If you are considering travelling by car, you can find detailed information on tolls in Slovenia and vehicle classes in our guide. You are welcome to purchase your digital vignette from us. Should any of your questions remain unanswered, feel free to contact our support team at any time by email.
