It is certainly possible to reach Croatia by train from elsewhere in Europe. The main destinations in Croatia you can reach by rail are Zagreb, Pula, Rijeka and Split; in the case of the latter, however, you will definitely have to travel via Zagreb.
Despite being relatively close to Croatia, travelling by train from northeast Italy isn’t the best option. Again, most journeys involve travelling via Zagreb. For this reason, it’s better to travel by bus or ferry from here rather than train. Check out guides from travelling from Venice and Trieste.
A great website for researching train travel in Europe is Die Bahn. You can search for timetables for practically any journey in Europe, including journeys internal to Croatia. If you’re searching for journeys to Zagreb, make sure you search for “Zagreb Glavni Kolodvor” (“Zagreb Main Terminal”, the main train station in the city).
International routes to Croatia by train
Here’s a list of some of the direct train routes from European cities to places in Croatia – and approximate journey times – to give you an idea of what routes are possible. Of course, there are more options if you choose a non-direct option!
- Ljubljana – Zagreb (7 trains per day) – 2 hours 20 minutes
- Ljubljana – Opatija (2 trains) – 2 hours 30 minutes
- Ljubljana – Rijeka (2 trains) – 2 hours 45 minutes
- Budapest – Zagreb (2 trains) – 6 hours 30 minutes
- Belgrade – Zagreb (4 trains) 7 hours 20 minutes
- Sarajevo – Zagreb (1 train) – 9 hours
- Graz – Zagreb (1 train) – 4 hours
- Vienna – Zagreb (2 trains) – 6 hours 35 minutes
- Salzburg – Zagreb (3 trains) – 7 hours
- Innsbruck – Zagreb (1 train) – 10 hours 35 minutes
- Venice Mestre – Zagreb (1 train) – 6 hours 50 minutes
- Munich – Zagreb (3 trains) – 9 hours
- Frankfurt – Zagreb (1 train) – 12 hours 35 minutes
- Stuttgart – Zagreb (1 train) – 11 hours
- Zurich – Zagreb (1 train) – 14 hours
- Budapest – Split (3 trains per week) – 15 hours (operates mid-June to end of August only)
Please do check train timetables carefully (on the Die Bahn website) as not all trains may run every day of the week.
Once in Zagreb, of course, you can then change for trains to a number of other destinations in Croatia. Alternatively, you could transfer to the main bus station in the city for even more options! See our Bus Travel in Croatia page.
Useful Train Websites
Check out the following websites for timetable details:
- Croatian Railways
- Die Bahn
- Trains in Croatia Our guide to travelling around by train once in the country