Train or bus to Vienna

Any suggestions about the best (cheapest, most reliable) way to get from Bled in northern Slovenia to Vienna using public transport? I've found I can get to Villach, just over the Austrian border, in an hour by local train and then catch an Austrian (ÖBB) train from there to Vienna. However, tickets for this second train are available online for €48.80 each. Does anyone know if there is a long-distance bus which might be cheaper or another way of getting there? I will be travelling on a Saturday. I am also wondering whether the price for this train is likely to be the same if I bought tickets from Villach station on the day of travel. The ticket price is not a special offer (like the SparSchiene advance tickets that ÖBB sometimes sell).

Thanks very much.

I don't know about bus service.

Since the 48.80 EUR fare appears to be the standard fare, your ticket will cost the same whether you book it online or buy it at the station.

I would have thought the best option for you would be to try and book a Sparschiene ticket from Ljubljana to Vienna (€29) and hop on at the nearest station to you on the route...

[http://www.oebb.at/pv/en/Travel_within_Europe/SparSchiene/SparSchiene_Slovenia/index.jsp]...

I think #2's idea will work. According to the timetables at www.bahn.de, trains going from Ljubljana to Villach stop in Bled.

But is that Sparscheine ticket valid for the Bled-Villach route? The only routes mentioned are via Graz, which would require going "backwards" a bit to Ljubljana. But I don't know if that means they are not available via Villach.

The Slovena Railways page suggests that Sparschien is only valid for specific trains:
http://www.slo-zeleznice.si/en/international_transport/international_links/austria/vienna_wien_from_ljubljana/

alan, I don't know if that is the case but if it is then it would probably suit the OP to go back to Ljubljana to get this train as the price to Villach from Bled would be similar and they have indicated no other reason for going to Villach other than to link up with a Vienna bound connection...might take a little longer though so it really depends whether time or money is the priority...

Thanks for these ideas and for spotting that the only point of going to Villach was to catch a train to Vienna. The SparSchiene ticket from Ljubljana was the original plan but has two problems:

The first is that they can't be bought online from where I am now (UK) (http://www.oebb.at/pv/en/Travel_within_Europe/SparSchiene/index.jsp)

The other problem is that the only trains I could catch leave Ljubljana at 08:05 and 16:00. One involves leaving Bled very early in the morning (and, as I understand it, it's a long way between Bled station and the town iteself), and the later train brings us into Vienna very late http://www.slo-zeleznice.si/en/international_transport/international_links/austria/vienna_wien_from_ljubljana/

I liked the idea of getting a SparSchiene ticket from Ljubljana and simply catching the train as it comes through Bled, but it think the train heads north-east via Maribor and not via Bled.

It's looking like I'll just get a ticket from Bled to Villach and another from Villach to Vienna on the day. Thanks for trying to help me out.

Have you ever booked a Sparchiene ticket? I see the one from Vienna to Ljubljana for 29E but when I try to book online for four people it ends up being 236E. Thanks!

mvincent,

Perhaps there are less than four SparSchiene tickets left for your departure date and time.

I just did a dummy booking for 2 July and was shown a SparSchene fare of €116.00 for four tickets.