Reader’s Question: Travelling from Dubrovnik to Vienna without flying

Question…

Good day, We are going to Croatia in Spring.  We will be on a boat tour that finishes in Dubrovnik.  After Dubrovnik, we want to go to Vienna, Austria. Can you please advise us on options to get to Vienna, apart from flying?  Are there ways that are more scenic or relaxing?  We had wanted to take a scenic train, but rail travel seems to be logistically difficult and impractical.  
We know we can fly.  Any suggestions re trains, boats etc would be appreciated.
Thank you, 
– PZ

Answer…

Hello there, and thank you for your email and interesting question!

First thing first – as you may have found, Dubrovnik has no train station. So you definitely won’t be able to start the first part of your journey by train. 

When in spring are you travelling? Hopefully it is from 1st April onwards as you will be able to use Kapetan Luka’s catamaran that sails from Dubrovnik to Split. Journey time is 5.5 hours, as the catamaran makes stops on the island of Mljet, Korcula, Hvar and Brac along the way. I know you had said that you will be on a boat tour prior to this journey, but perhaps you could make an overnight stop on one of these islands? And then continue with the catamaran after a day or two? This would mean buying two days worth of tickets, however, but this would make the journey more leisurely!

(If you are travelling before 1st April, then there are no catamarans operating yet from Dubrovnik to Split, and you will need to make the journey by bus.)

Once you reach Split, you can then start your rail journey. You will need to travel first to Zagreb – however, at this time of year there are generally only trains from Split to Zagreb in the morning (departure time at 8.01am). This means that you would definitely have to stay in the night in Split after arriving by catamaran. (Or bus, in fact.) Again, this is not a problem and makes your journey a bit less rushed. Stay close to the Diocletian’s Palace area of Split and you have fascinating sights, restaurants, cafes, shops and more right on your doorstep. (This area is also only a 10-15 minute walk from the train station in Split.)

The train to Zagreb from Split takes 8 hours and 19 minutes and gets you into Zagreb’s capital city at 4.20pm. There is then an option to travel directly on to Vienna that same day BUT it involves leaving on a train that departs at 4.30pm (meaning a transfer time of just 10 minutes…that’s cutting it way too fine, in my opinion!) and also involves travel via Hungary that requires THREE changes of train.

I would suggest another overnight in wonderful Zagreb (where there is so much to see and do!). You have a number of fine accommodation options within walking distance of Zagreb’s train station (called Zagreb Glavni Kolodvor), including the grand Esplanade Hotel which was built in the 1920s to accommodate Orient Express passengers. Other picks that aren’t 5 star hotels are also definitely available!

After staying the night in Zagreb, there is then a train at 7.05am that takes you to Graz in Austria, arriving at 11.22am. Technically, there is then an 11.26am departure for Vienna but – again – I feel this is too tight. There are departures to Vienna every hour at 26 minutes past (sometimes more than one train an hour) so you could push back to the next departure – 12.26pm – or even later (perhaps having lunch in Graz). The train from Graz to Vienna takes 2.5 – 3 hours.

You can look up Croatian Railway timetables – and buy tickets  – on the Croatian Railways website but you can only do so 2 months in advance. You can look up timetables and also buy tickets for trains from Zagreb to Austria on the Austrian Railways website.

Happy travelling from Dubrovnik to Vienna!