Despite the distance between Venice/Venezia and Trieste, the only direct train sevices which connect the historical heart of Venice with its fellow city on The Adriatic are the Regionale Veloce (RV) trains.
Express trains, on which seats can be reserved, aren't available when travelling from Venezia S. Lucia station.
That's because the relatively small number of express trains which head to Trieste from other Italian cities would have to divert off their direct routes to call at S. Lucia station, so they only call at Venezia Mestre station on the mainland.
Final Destination: Trieste
All these trains also call at: S. Giorgio di Nogaro
Most of these trains also call at: the new station at Trieste Airport
There are also IC and Frecce express trains between Venezia/Venice and Trieste, but ALL of those trains depart from Venezia Mestre station and not from Venezia S. Lucia.
Travelling on to Croatia by train:
There are now 3 x trains per day from Trieste to the Slovenian capital, Ljubljana - these trains also call at Divaka, Pivka and Rakek.
The Regionale Veloce (RV) train which is usually scheduled to depart from Venezia S. Lucia at 10:39 has a 19 minute connection into the new EC train which calls in Ljubljana and then travels on to Wien/Vienna via Maribor and Graz.
Though as that connection isn't guaranteed, SMTJ's recommendation is to depart from Venezia an hour earlier.
The connecting trains to Trieste from Venice, are usually scheduled to depart from Santa Lucia station at 05:01* on Mon-Fri only and at 16:39 daily.
Though as that latter train has a 23 min connection into the final train of day on to Ljubljana, the more risk-free option is to depart from Venezia S. Lucia on the 15:39 train instead.
*=This train travels via Udine, do if you will be booking tickets at the station, specify that you want to travel on this route.
Mon - Thurs: = 14 x trains per day
Friday = 11 x trains
Saturday = 14 x trains
Sunay = 11 x trains
Book early and save: No
Tickets will cost the same price if purchased at the same station immediately before departure.
Don't forget to stamp your ticket before boarding these trains
The trains between Venezia S. Lucia and Trieste Centrale take two routes (1) via S. Giorgio di Nogaro and (2) *via Udine..
These are the trains via S. Giorgio di Nogaro, they are 45 mins faster and around €6 cheaper.
Tickets for these trains will cost the same at the station, as they do online, but it can be worth looking up the departure times of these faster (2hr 5min) trains on Trenitalia before heading to the station.
*If you book a ticket for the faster train (via S. Giorgio di Nogaro) it won't then be valid on the slower train via Udine, because of the longer route.
So avoid jumping on the next train to Trieste without checking if it is travelling via Udine first.
Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
---|---|---|
Trenitalia | * |
Even if you will be buying tickets at the station, it's worthwhile looking up the departure times of these trains from Venice to Trieste on the Trenitalia website.
Check that you're looking up these trains which call at S. Giorgio di Nogaro - they will be the journeys with a duration of around 2hr 10mins.
There are other trains from Venice to Trieste which travel via Udine, but THESE trains via S. Giorgio di Nogaro are cheaper AND FASTER.
Also tickets to Trieste won't be valid on the longer route via Udine, so take care to board a train, which won't be travelling through that city.
These trains tend to be popular and seats can’t be reserved, so it pays off if you're able to board around 8-10 mins before the train is due to depart.
So if you will be buying tickets at Santa Lucia station, you won't save by booking in advance online, then aim to be there a minimum of 25 mins before the train departs - and give the comparatively easy to use Trenitalia ticket machines a try.
The scenic highlights are at the climax of the Venice to Trieste journey, there are coastal views from the right hand side of the train, for the final 15 - 20 mins of the journey.
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This is one of more than 100 train travel guides available on ShowMeTheJourney, which will make it easier to take the train journeys you want or need to make. As always, all images were captured on trips taken by ShowMeTheJourney.