Getting there & Getting around

Getting there

Tourism to Slovenia has taken off recently with the launch of cheap Easyjet and Wizz Air flights from western Europe to Ljubljana. Slovenia's national airline, Adria Airways, has nonstop flights between Ljubljana's Brnik airport (LJU) and practically every major city in Europe, as well as from Tel Aviv. There's a departure tax of 36.00 for passengers leaving by air, which is usually included in the ticket price.

Buses travel between Slovenia and Italy daily, using Nova Gorica in Slovenia as the easiest exit and entry point. Koper also has good bus connections with Italy: some 17 buses a day go to and from Trieste, 21km (13mi) to the northeast. It's also easy to travel by bus to and from Hungary, Croatia, Austria and Serbia-Montenegro.

The main train routes into Slovenia come from Salzburg (four to five hours away), Trieste (three hours), Vienna (six hours) and Zagreb (two to three hours). Trains between Amsterdam and Ljubljana take 18 hours. There are dozens of international border crossings if travelling by car, motorcycle, bicycle or even on foot.

On weekends between mid-April and mid-October, it's possible to sail between Venice and Izola (one of Slovenia's Adriatic coast towns) by catamaran.

Getting around

Except for long journeys, bus is the preferred way of getting around Slovenia. There are frequent departures and the network has an octopus' reach across the country. In some cases, there's no choice; travelling by bus is the only practical way to get to Bled and Bohinj, the Julian Alps and much of the coast from Ljubljana. You might need to make a reservation on Friday afternoons, when many students leave Ljubljana for the weekend. With the exception of the new ICS express train between Ljubljana and Maribor, travel by rail is best left to sightseers: one of the prettiest rides chugs through the Soca Valley.

Driving a car can be a good way to get to some of the most beautiful and isolated towns and villages in Slovenia, and rental prices are reasonable. Rental agencies at Brnik Airport and in Ljubljana have the most competitive rates. The country's tolls and petrol prices are relatively inexpensive. Slovenians drive on the right.

Visa information

Citizens of Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, the USA and most European countries do not require visas for stays of up to 90 days. Citizens of other countries can get 90-day visas in advance at any Slovenian embassy or consulate, or 30 day visas on arrival.