Slovenia - Italy by train...?

Question

My bf and I were thinking of going to Italy, but then we saw Slovenia, which looks beautiful!
We're thinking of getting the train down through Italy, so can we fly to slovenia, get the train from there to Italy down to Rome and fly home?
I've never crossed a border before, I've always flown, so I'm not sure what happens when we get to the border of Slovenia & Italy, or if indeed you can get a train over!
Obviously I know you can do it from England to Wales etc but they're all part of the United Kingdom so...
Any help appreciated, especially from personal expereince :)

Answer 1

No problem at all! When you cross the border from one schengen country to another, nothing happens. Pretty much same as crossing from England to Wales.



Now, from what I've seen there aren't any direct train links from Ljubljana to Rome, but there's Ljubljana-Venice which takes a little less than 5 hours. From there on you could continue to Rome.



The other option is Ljubljana->Villach (Austria) and then Villach->Rome. That whole trip takes a little over 12 hours.



And also, you sound like a really nice Brit! :P

Answer 2

Slovenia and Italy are both Schengen treaty countries - it's an open border. There are trains, but not a lot of options. The one that I've taken is the train between Ljubljana and Venice. You would leave Ljubljana at 2:28 am and arrive in Rome at 11:13 am with a train change in Mestre (the station on the mainland near Venice). http://www.ferroviedellostato.it/homepage_en.html This isn't particularly good timing, but the train originates in Budapest and stops in Ljubljana en route.



You might find this site useful for train travel: http://www.seat61.com/ . There is a link to the Slovenian train site as well as others in Europe.

Answer 3

I think what Putka has recommended is good.