Venice or Trieste to Lake Bled for €23

There's a cunning, cheap and scenic way to travel from Venice or Trieste to Lake Bled in northern Slovenia, via the border town of Gorizia, where Italian and Slovenian railway stations are just a few kilometres apart.  It requires no pre-planning or reservation, it cannot sell out, just turn up and go.  It's cheap, safe and comfortable, and avoids long journeys in cramped buses.

Venice or Trieste ► Lake Bled

• Step 1 from Venice, travel from Venice Santa Lucia to Gorizia Centrale by direct regional train.  Trains run every 2 hours, journey time between 2 hours 13 minutes & 2 hours 40 minutes, fare €15.40 in 2nd class.  No reservation is necessary or possible, just turn up and buy tickets at the station.  You can check times and fares at www.trenitalia.com, if you're sure of your departure time you can buy a ticket online just to save time on the day.

• Step 1 from Trieste, regional trains link Trieste with Gorizia Centrale every hour or half-hour, journey time 43-52 minutes, fare €5 in 2nd class, check times and fares at www.trenitalia.com, if you're sure of your departure time you can buy a ticket online just to save time on the day.

• Step 2, take local bus number 1 from Gorizia Centrale station to the bus terminus at Piazza Transalpina, known as Trg Evrope in Slovenian.  The fare is around €1.60, buses run every 10-15 minutes, buy a ticket from the machine outside the station.

  Gorizia (Italian) or Gorica (Slovenian) is essentially one large town split in two by the Italian-Slovenian border, which runs right through the Piazza Transalpina.  During the Cold War, a closely-guarded barbed wire fence ran across the middle of this square, but now there's free movement across it.  A plaque in the centre marks the border crossing and a small but moving display of pictures recalls the day the last piece of Iron Curtain came down.

  Walk across the border into Slovenia, Nova Gorica station is just 100 metres from where bus 1 terminates.  Gorizia Centrale station to Nova Gorica station is 2.4 miles, 3.9 km, you could walk it in 45 minutes.  Bus information for this Gorizia town bus 1 is at www.aptgorizia.it (select Servizi then Urbano Gorizia).

  Alternatively, there's also a direct international bus from Gorizia Centrale to Nova Gorica station (final destination Gorizia bus station, beyond the rail station) leaving every hour from 08:35 until 19:35.  Buy tickets for this at local shops, or on the bus for €1.30.  Bus information for this international bus is at www.aptgorizia.it (select Servizi then Urbano Gorizia).

• Step 3, take a Slovenian domestic train from Nova Gorica to Lake Bled.  Trains leave Nova Gorica direct to Bled Jezero every couple of hours, journey time 1h50, fare €6.60.  You can check train times at either www.bahn.de or potniski.sz.si, the latter will also confirm the price.  Don't worry if you end up with time to kill at Nova Gorica, there's a bar on the platform for a beer while waiting the next train.

Lake Bled ► Trieste or Venice

• Step 1, take a Slovenian domestic train from Bled Jezero to Nova Gorica.  Trains leave Bled Jezero for Nova Gorica every couple of hours, journey time 1h50, fare €6.60.  You can check train times at either www.bahn.de or potniski.sz.si, the latter will also confirm the price.

• Step 2, at Nova Gorica, walk 100 metres across the border into Italy on the Piazza Transalpina, known as Trg Evrope in Slovenian, and take bus number 1 to Gorizia Centrale station.  Fare €1.60, buses run every 10-15 minutes.

  Gorizia (Italian) or Gorica (Slovenian) is essentially one large town split in two by the Italian-Slovenian border, which runs right through the Piazza Transalpina.  During the Cold War, a closely-guarded barbed wire fence ran across the middle of this square, but now there's free movement across it.  A plaque in the centre marks the border crossing and a small but moving display of pictures recalls the day the last piece of Iron Curtain came down.

  Nova Gorica station to Gorizia Centrale is 2.4 miles, 3.9 kilometres, you could walk it in 45 minutes.  Bus information for this frequent Gorizia domestic bus 1 is at www.aptgorizia.it (select Servizi then Urbano Gorizia).

  Alternatively, there's also a direct international bus from Nova Gorica station to Gorizia Centrale station leaving every hour from 08:16 until 17:16 then 19:01.  To catch this bus (which starts at the bus station, but stops outside the rail station), cross the square outside the station and go to the bus stop on the right side of the road - the small hotel/bar opposite the bus stop sells bus tickets, or buy on the bus for €1.30.  Bus information for this hourly international bus is at www.aptgorizia.it (select Servizi then Urbano Gorizia).

• Step 3 for Venice:  Travel from Gorizia Centrale to Venice Santa Lucia by direct regional train.  Trains run every 2 hours, journey time between 2 hours 13 minutes and 2 hours 40 minutes, fare €15.40 in 2nd class.  No reservation is necessary or possible, just turn up and buy tickets at the station.  You can check times and fares at www.trenitalia.com.

• Step 3 for Trieste:  Regional trains link Gorizia Centrale with Trieste every hour or half-hour, journey time 43-52 minutes, fare €5 in 2nd class, check times and fares at www.trenitalia.com.

Route map

The trains & journey

The Italian regional train from Venice Santa Lucia to Gorizia Centrale.  Cheap, easy, no reservation needed...

Bled Jezero station, easy to reach from Venice or Trieste via Gorizia.  Photo courtesy of Steve Mason.

Bled Jezero station (and bar!) with the little branch line train approaching.  Photos courtesy of Havlin.

View over Lake Bled near Bled Jezero station.  Photo courtesy of Steve Mason.

In Bled

Bled Jezero is a local station right next to the lake, 2.5km from Bled Castle, 3.5km from the centre of Bled old town. 

Lesce-Bled is the station on the mainline between Ljubljana, Salzburg & Munich, 3.7km from the centre of old Bled, 5.8km from Bled Castle. 

You can travel from Bled Jezero to Ljubljana in 1h40 with a change of train at Jessenice, or from Lesce-Bled to Ljubljana by direct train in 55 minutes.  Several daily trains link Lesce-Bled with Salzburg, Munich & Zagreb too.  Just use www.bahn.de/en to find train times.

For train travel from Lesce Bled to Salzburg, Munich, Zagreb, Belgrade and so on see the trains from Ljubljana page.

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