How to take the rail journey from the Austrian capital to The Adriatic

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Wien / Vienna to Trieste by train

Step on board one of Europe's most fabulously romantic railway journeys

Routes you can take to go from Wien / Vienna to Trieste

When travelling between most cities by train there is only one logical option, though on other journeys there is a choice between different trains or alternative routes. If different options are available you can use the info to decide which is best for you.

Choose one of the following options:

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Journey guides for travel to Wien / Vienna

Route Information

Station Guides

Wien Hbf/Hauptbahnhof Rail Station Guide

The entrance to Trieste Centrale looks as beautiful as it did back in 1878

Trieste Centrale Rail Station Guide

Travel Time (approx)

8hr 54min

Frequency

Daily

Travel Info

1 x train per day

Travel Information

Departing from WienVienna:

This train to usually departs from Wien Hbf at 07:58.

If your journey in Vienna is commencing in the south west corner of the city, or the area on the ring road around the Opera House - then it's likely that you'll have a faster and more convenient journey if you join the train at Wien-Meidling station.
Wien Meidling is connected to line U6 of the Vienna Metro, which serves the western side of the city centre.

Final Destination: Trieste

The train also calls at: Ljubljana, Logatec, Postojna, Pivka, Divaca, Sezana and Villa Opicina

This is a direct journey

You will be travelling on one of these trains...

EC (Austria <> Croatia and Slovenia) Train Guide

Journey Features

Scenic - YesLandscape (Hills / Mountains)River views

Good to Know

The train is due to arrive in Trieste Centrale shortly after 17:15 so connections are available with trains on to Tarvisio, Udine and Venezia/Venice.

This epic journey includes the passage over the fabulous Semmering Pass, so wonderful that it's a U.N.E.S.C.O. World Heritage Site, though that's partially due to the construction methods and not just because of the scenery.
Though aside from when the train is travelling over the numerous viaducts, the trees tend to obscure the views, particularly in the summer.

The best views can be seen from the left of the train (when facing the direction of travel) between Wiener Neustadt and Murzzuschlag.

The video, which was filmed travelling in the opposite direction, gives an impression of the journey: and showcases that the scenery can be fabulous even on grey day.

Though this is a journey which saves the best until the final 90 minutes
After the train departs from Celje, it will head south through a series of lovely valleys, as it follows the course of the The Savina River

And then after departing from Zidania Most for the final 45 mins of the journey, the train travels through the wonderful Sava River gorge.
The best of the views on this part of this trip will also be on the left - again this video was filmed on a train traveling in the opposite direction, but it showcases what makes this journey so special.

Then after Ljubljana this train travels on through the through the Slovenian landscape before looping around after it crosses the Italian border in order to descend to the Adriatic coast at Trieste.

The Guardian newspaper have published a detailed guide to this journey.

Ascending up to the Semmering Pass

The view from one of the Semmering Pass viaducts on a grey day

Beginning to descend after Semmering station

South of Wiener Neustadt

Travelling through Slovenia south of Maribor

Through the river valley between Celje and Zidani Most

Departing from Zidani Most

Travelling through the Sava River gorge in Slovenia east of Ljubljana

The general guide to Austrian rail travel Discover what's good to know about using the major stations, taking popular journeys, booking tickets and travelling with Eurail and InterRail passes.

The general guide to Italian rail travel Discover what's good to know about riding the trains, taking popular journeys, booking tickets and travelling with Eurail and InterRail passes.

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: 6 months ahead of the travel date

The train usually departs from Wien Hbf at around 07:58, so target that departure time when looking up this journey.

Discounted tickets

The discounted tickets are the 'Sparscheine' tickets and they can be booked online up until the day of departure, but they CAN'T be booked at stations, so booking last minute at the station is always more expensive.

Though you'll usually need to book the 'Sparscheine' tickets at least a couple of days ahead to obtain them at the cheapest possible price.

Book a Sparschiene ticket and it will be specific to the departure you selected when making a booking and it can't be refunded at all if you subsequently change your travel plans and it also can't be exchanged to an alternative, later departure.
Though when an adult book a Sparschiene ticket, up to four children age 14 and under can be included at no additional charge.

Trains departing at different times can also be cheaper than others leaving on the same day, so you may need to look through the day's departures to find the cheapest fares

It can pay off to take a look at the guide to Austrian train tickets - it should help you save time and money and confusion.

Refunds / Exchanges

Sparscheine tickets = cannot be refunded or exchanged at all.
Sparscheine Komfort tickets = can be cancelled free of charge up to 15 days ahead of the journey, but if you cancel it with 15 days left to go, you'll receive up to* 50% of what you paid for it
Standard-Ticket = can be cancelled and obtain a full refund at any time pre-travel date.
Instead of an Exchange policy the idea is that once a Standard ticket has been refunded, an alternative ticket can then be purchased.

*Seat reservations

Seats will automatically be assigned when booking tickets, but rail pass users will need to be pay a reservation fee prior to boarding.

Child tickets

When booking 'Sparschiene' tickets each adult (aged 15 and over) can take up to four children aged 14 and under for free!
These children will still require tickets, but there will be no charge for them.

When not booking 'Sparschiene' tickets;

Children aged 5 and under travel for free
Children aged 6 – 14 travel at half-fare

Bike tickets

You will need purchase both a bike ticket AND a reservation for your bike prior to boarding; more info on how to do this is available on the [bikes on trains guide](/travel-info-and-tips/taking-a-bike-on-a-european-train/).

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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.

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