after an Adriatic Cruise from Venice

Check the times and compare. You might find that, by the time you get out to VCE, allow time for check-in, etc. that the arrival time is similar. For instance, looking at a totally random date this September (17), and searching ITA Matrix for flights and bahn.com for trains, I'm finding direct flights VCE-MUC at 9:10 am and 1:30 pm. Now, the first would be too early for my comfort, so that means waiting until 1:30. Apparently the train from MUC to downtown Munich takes about 45 minutes, so with an arrival at 2:35 you're not getting into town much before 4. Now, there's a train that leaves Venice Santa Lucia station at 8:50 (with a stop at Mestre station at 9, which might be a better bet for you as you can take a land taxi there from the cruise terminal); this should be doable unless your ship docks very late. With a comfortable 1-hour transfer in Verona, this will get you into Munich at 4:24.

 

Now, if you think you can make the 9:10 flight, or if you find different/better timed flights for your exact date, this changes the calculation, but it just goes to show you that you need to do the math. Ultimately, it's about looking at all the possibilities and finding what works for you.

Thank you so much. This has really peaked my DH interest, the video is beautiful.

Karen

Hi

I just booked 3 nights post cruise for Hotel Piran in Slovenia. Will look into car rentals from Venice. Thought this might be the best introduction into driving in Europe and doing a stay.

Any thoughts or suggestions appreciated. Karen

Karen,

Not sure where in Slovenia Hotel Piran is, but I googled Venice to Slovenia and was surprised to see it takes only 3-4 hours to drive.

This is a link to a 5 year old post about the drive.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g274862-i501-k3443245-Advice_for_driving_from_Venice_to_Slovenia_and_back-Slovenia.html

Should make for an interesting end to your trip. Just be sure to purchase the window stickers for each country as needed, you don't want a hefty fine.

Have a great trip!

Since Agabbymama mentioned "window stickers" thought we would expand on the subject. Some (not all) European countries require a "Vignette" which is a window sticker that indicates you paid a required fee. Some countries only require this for using their main roads (Switzerland is an example) while they are not necessary on secondary roads. But for typical tourists it is usually a no-brainer to purchase a Vignette when required (there is a nasty fine if you get caught without one). This is not an issue in Italy! But Slovenia does have a Vignette and I believe theirs is relatively inexpensive (7.5€). Make sure to read-up on their regulations, and where you can purchase the sticker. I just read that Slovenia levies fines of 300+ Euros for lack of a vignette so pay heed )

Hank

When we rented a car in Italy, we were asked specifically if we were going to Eastern Europe. I checked and Slovenia is considered Eastern Europe so be careful when renting a vehicle

I contacted Avis.

Thank you for contacting Avis Customer Care regarding international

travel.

We where not able to locate an Avis branch in Piazza Roma, however for

rentals originating at our Venice Marco Polo Airport branch, vehicles

rented from Italy may not be driven into Eastern Europe, C.I.S., Baltic

States, Cyprus, Finland, Greece, Malta, Turkey, or any countries outside

Europe, including Africa and Middle East. You may however drive to

Slovenia, Croatia, and Czech Republic.

You may drive to Slovenia, but you can only rent an Economy Manual,

Compact Manual, Compact Wagon Manual, Intermediate Manual, Standard

Automatic, Standard Van Manual, and Full Size Van Manual. An additional

charge of 35.00 EUR per rental will apply. The Blue Stamp must be put on

the front window of the vehicle and can be bought at the entry to

Slovenia, in tobacco shops, gas stations and newspaper stands. In case

of no stamp in the window fines range between 300.00 EUR to 800.00 EUR.

In order to ensure you are getting the correct information for the

location you plan to pick up at, please access the website http://www.avis.com

and then click on Locations. Then select your location. Once there,

scroll down to Location Terms & Conditions, and then Travel Into Other

Countries.

Also my Travel Agent friend contacted Hertz and you can drive to Slovenia with at least a 3 day rental.

Karen

Good to see they are lightening up on E. European restrictions. Used to go to Altenberg, Germany (used to be in E. Germany) for a sporting event. Prague was only 60-some miles away, but we couldn't drive there. Too many rental cars were being stolen/stripped back in the late 90s/early 2000s. We'd have to drive 40 miles back to Dresden to catch the train.

Yes, cars did get stolen; our team had a rental car (brought from Finland on the ferry) stolen in Latvia while at dinner :eek:

Hi

I just booked 3 nights post cruise for Hotel Piran in Slovenia. Will look into car rentals from Venice. Thought this might be the best introduction into driving in Europe and doing a stay.

 

Any thoughts or suggestions appreciated. Karen

I will be staying in Slovenia next month and traveling back through Venice airport. I have booked a transfer with GoOpti. They have both shared and private transfers. It's only 2.5 hrs from Ljubliana, so seems pretty easy. I'll let you know how it goes (unless you are definitely renting a car).

In Slovenia, I'll be staying in Ljubliana and day tripping to Bled and possibly the coast.

I will be staying in Slovenia next month and traveling back through Venice airport. I have booked a transfer with GoOpti. They have both shared and private transfers. It's only 2.5 hrs from Ljubliana, so seems pretty easy. I'll let you know how it goes (unless you are definitely renting a car).

 

In Slovenia, I'll be staying in Ljubliana and day tripping to Bled and possibly the coast.

I am looking at GoOpti for the exact same transfer. How did it go?

We are doing a cruise from Venice and looking to add on 4 days after the cruise. Any ideas on where to go? Thinking of Vienna or Munich and flying back to Toronto from there.

 

Also thought of driving from Venice to Slovenia and flying back to Toronto from Venice.

 

Thanks for any advice, Karen

Rick Steves (my travel guru) used to recommend trains for getting around Europe, but recently he has changed his advice to flying, as flying within Europe is often much less expensive. So, That's what we did last time. Our cruise was Rome-Rome, but we flew to London, first, spent a few days, then flew to Rome (for something like $100). If you fly, then you can pick anywhere in Europe... it opens up a lot more options. Then, we flew home from Rome after we disembarked.

Personally, I prefer to do stuff pre-cruise, rather than post-cruise. After the cruise, I'm just happy to continue on home. We are cruising this October Venice to Athens... we will spend 4 nights in Venice first, but that's because we love Venice. :-) We will also spend 2 nights in Athens post-cruise, but that's unusual for us.

So, I would definitely suggest that you look at the flight possibilities. Have fun! And, hey! I'm just a few hours from you, in Kingston!

I am looking at GoOpti for the exact same transfer. How did it go?

This thread is from last year, so I'm not sure the original poster will be back.

My husband and I will be going to Ljubljana from Venice following a cruise next May, and after looking at all our options, GoOpti seems to be the only reasonable means of transportation since we don't want to rent a car. Our friend in Slovenia says GoOpti is good and getting better all the time.

Interestingly enough, we are flying back to the states after Ljubljana from Zagreb, Croatia! We plan to use GoOpti for that transfer also. We found it will cost less to get to Zagreb from Slovenia than it would to return to Venice, and the air savings were substantial.

Cindy

We spent a week in Slovenia last year. We had also previously had land holidays in Croatia and Montenegro, but preferred Slovenia.

We stayed in Lake Bled, but did have a car which was essential to appreciate the beautiful scenery.

Lovely people, excellent food and wine, thoroughly enjoyable.