Getting to Croatia by Train - from Italy, Austria, Hungary

22nd January 2026

It is certainly possible to reach Croatia by train from elsewhere in Europe. The main destinations in Croatia that you can reach by rail are Zagreb, Pula, Rijeka and Split.

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 by train. Check out our guides for travelling from Venice and from 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
Ljubljana – Pula (1 train per week) – 4 hours 35 minutes
Divaca (Slovenia) – Pula – 3 hours 30 minutes
Divaca (Slovenia) – (2 trains) – 45 minutes (summer only)
Budapest – Zagreb (2 trains) – 6 hours 30 minutes
Belgrade – Zagreb (4 trains) 7 hours 20 minutes
Sarajevo – Zagreb (1 train) – 9 hours
Mostar – Ploce (2/3 trains per week) – 1 hour 30 minutes
Sarajevo – Ploce (2/3 trains per week) – 3 hours 30 minutes
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)
Bratislava – Split (3 trains per week) – 18 hours (operates May to mid-October only)

Please do check train timetables carefully (on the Die Bahn website) as not all trains may run every day of the week. The Nightjet website also provides details of some of these long-distance European routes to Croatia.

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.