Germany to Croatia Train
Train from Germany to Croatia is one of the ways of travelling between these two countries. Travelling this route by train is relatively popular as there are affordable night trains connecting the biggest German and Croatian cities. Most trains connect the capitals Munich and Zagreb, from where you can continue by train to other Croatian cities. Most of the direct routes are seasonal, while others require train changes. The route is operated by Deutsche Bahn, along with ÖBB, Slovenske Železnice, Trenitalia and HZPP.
Below is the detailed guide for each popular train route from Germany to Croatia.
Munich – Zagreb
Train from Munich to Zagreb is a popular train route from Germany to Croatia. There are up to 2 direct trains, a daily train and a night train. The route is operated by EuroNight (EN) trains and EuroCity (EC) trains. The journey takes approximately 9 hours. However, this route is seasonal, so it is important to check the exact travelling date.
All trains depart from Munchen Hauptbahnhof located about a few minutes from Munich city centre. All trains arrive at Zagreb Glavni Kolodvor, located in central Zagreb.
There are also up to 7 departures that require a train change. On one of the departures, there is only 1 train change required in Vienna. Other departures can require from 2 to 6 (sometimes more) train changes. The train usually makes a stop in Salzburg, Villach, Graz or Vienna and then Ljubljana or Celje. These routes are operated by EuroCity (EC) trains, Railjet Xpress (RJX) trains, Railjet (RJ) trains and EuroNight (EN) trains.
NOTE: On some of the departures, part of the route is operated by bus instead.
The waiting time between trains varies from a few minutes to several hours. Accordingly, the total journey takes from 11 to 18 hours.
Tickets
A regular one way ticket for a daily direct train starts from around €40 and the price of a night train ticket depends on the type of car you pick. Railway passenger coach tickets start from around €27. The price of a couchette starts from about €47 and the sleeping car price starts from about €67.
The price of a regular ticket for other departures depends on the date and departure.
However, taking a bus from Munich to Zagreb is a faster and cheaper way of travelling this route. There are up to 14 daily departures of which most of them are night buses. Tickets start from €24 and the journey takes approximately 7 hours.
Munich – Rijeka
Train from Munich to Rijeka is also one of the popular train routes from Germany to Croatia. There is up to 1 direct night train, but it operates during the season only. The route is operated by EuroNight (EN) trains. The journey takes approximately 10 hours.
All trains depart from Munchen Hauptbahnhof located about a few minutes from Munich city centre. All trains arrive at Rijeka Main Train Station, located 1 km from the city centre.
There are also up to 5 daily departures that require from 2 to 5 train changes. Some of the trains go via Zagreb (train from Munich to Zagreb) and some of the trains go to Rijeka straight from Ljubljana. The train usually makes a stop in Salzburg, Villach, Graz or Vienna and then Ljubljana. These routes are operated by the following types of trains:
- EuroCity (EC) trains
- Railjet Express (RJX) trains
- Railjet (RJ) trains
- EuroNight (EN) trains
- Regional trains
NOTE: On some of the departures, part of the route might be operated by bus instead.
The waiting time between trains can vary from a few minutes to several hours, depending on the departure. Accordingly, the total journey takes from 12 to 21 hours.
Tickets
The price of a regular one way ticket for a night train depends on the type of car you pick. Railway passenger coach tickets start from around €27 and the sleeping car price starts from about €67.
The price of a regular ticket for other departures depends on the date and departure.
There is an alternative way of travelling this route. Taking a bus from Munich to Rijeka can save you both time and money, especially when the seasonal direct train is not operating. There are up to 3 night buses with tickets starting from €30. The journey takes around 7 hours.
Berlin – Zagreb
Train from Berlin to Zagreb is one of the ways of travelling between these cities. There are usually up to 7 departures, but there are no direct trains operating the route, on all departures you need to change a train from 1 to 4 times.
On departures where it is required to change a train once, trains run via Vienna. On most other departures trains go via Munich first. The route is operated by the following types of trains:
- Intercity-Express (ICE) trains
- InterCity (IC) trains
- EuroCity (EC) trains
- Railjet Express (RJX) trains
- Railjet (RJ) trains
- Nightjet (NJ) trains
NOTE: On some of the departures, part of the route might be operated by bus instead.
The waiting time between trains can vary from a few minutes to several hours, depending on the departure. Accordingly, the total journey takes from 15.5 to 22.5 hours.
The price of a regular ticket depends on the date and departure.
Save some time and money by taking a bus from Berlin to Zagreb. There are up to 2 night departures with tickets starting from €65, the journey takes approximately 14.5 hours.
Frankfurt – Zagreb
Train from Frankfurt to Zagreb is one of the ways of travelling between these two cities, although not the most popular one. There are no direct trains, all departures require train changes. Technically, there are up to 11 daily departures, but on some of them you would need to change a train up to 8 times.
There are departures with only 1 train change required, those trains stop in Zurich or Graz. The waiting time between trains is about 30-40 minutes and the overall journey takes about 14 or 19 hours. These routes are operated by Intercity-Express (ICE) trains, EuroCity (EC) trains and EuroNight (EN) trains.
On other departures, there are about 2-5 train changes. Trains make a stop in Munich, Salzburg, Graz, Vienna, Linz, Celje, Ljubljana, Maribor etc., depending on the departure. These routes are operated by the following types of trains:
- Intercity-Express (ICE) trains
- InterCity (IC) trains
- EuroCity (EC) trains
- Railjet Express (RJX) trains
- Railjet (RJ) trains
- EuroNight (EN) trains
NOTE: On some of the departures, part of the route might be operated by bus instead.
The waiting time between trains can vary from a few minutes to several hours, depending on the departure. Accordingly, the total journey takes from 14 to 22 hours.
The price of a regular ticket depends on the date and departure.
If none of these departures suits you, consider taking a bus from Frankfurt to Zagreb. This might save you some money and time. There are up to 5 night buses with tickets starting from €44. The overall journey takes 14-16 hours, depending on the departure.
Munich – Split
There are no direct trains connecting Munich and Split, but you can travel the route with train changes. First, you need to take a train from Munich to Zagreb, as described in the first section. Then, you can continue from Zagreb to Split by train.
An estimated price for the total journey starts from around €55. An estimated travel time is around 15 hours, not including the waiting time between the trains.
A much cheaper and faster alternative is taking a bus from Munich to Split. There are up to 4 night buses with tickets starting from €37. The journey takes approximately 13-15 hours, depending on the departure.
Frankfurt – Split
There are no direct trains connecting Frankfurt and Split, but you can travel the route with multiple train changes. First, you need to take a train from Frankfurt to Zagreb, as described in the section above. Then, you can continue from Zagreb to Split by train.
An estimated price for the total journey starts from around €87. An estimated travel time is around 20 hours, not including the waiting time between the trains.
Travelling from Frankfurt to Split by train is definitely not the most convenient option. As an alternative, you can consider taking a bus from Frankfurt to Split. There are up to 2 night buses with tickets starting from €63. The journey takes around 20 hours.
Berlin – Dubrovnik
There is no train from Berlin to Dubrovnik. Getting from Berlin by train is possible only to Split, with multiple train changes. The railway in Croatia stops in Split so there is no further train connection to Dubrovnik.
Anyway, if for some reason you want to travel from Berlin to Dubrovnik by using the train as much as possible, here is how to do it:
- First, you need to travel from Berlin to Zagreb, as described in the section above.
- You can continue from Zagreb to Split by train.
- As there is no further train connection, consider alternative options to get from Split to Dubrovnik.
An estimated total travelling time is no less than 26 hours, not including the waiting time in between. An estimated total price of all tickets is not under €107.
However, if time is on your side and you don’t like travelling by plane, you can consider taking a bus from Berlin to Split and then continue by bus to Dubrovnik.
Map of German railway
Source: bahn.de