Croatia Rijeka area

[Cowley]

We're thinking of having a holiday in Croatia later in the year and I was wondering if anyone on here had any experience of travelling on trains in the Rijeka area? Any other experiences of the country appreciated too.
There seem to be a few diesel loco hauled services in the country but I think the area we're looking at may be electrified.

Thanks all.

 

[endecotp]

I've been there. I think everywhere was much easier, quicker and probably more comfortable to reach by bus or ferry, unfortunately.

I have a vague recollection of visiting the station cafe...

Split is more interesting than Rijeka.

On another trip I went to Pula, taking the train from Postonja. That was a slow rattling journey on what might have been a former Swedish DMU. Pula has some Roman remains and better beaches than most other places. The caves at Postonja are well worth seeing.

This is all more than 10 years ago.

 

[Cowley]

I've been there. I think everywhere was much easier, quicker and probably more comfortable to reach by bus or ferry, unfortunately.

I have a vague recollection of visiting the station cafe...

Split is more interesting than Rijeka.

On another trip I went to Pula, taking the train from Postonja. That was a slow rattling journey on what might have been a former Swedish DMU. Pula has some Roman remains and better beaches than most other places. The caves at Postonja are well worth seeing.

This is all more than 10 years ago.

Thanks for that, it looks like we'll be staying at Pula. I mentioned Rijeka because it looked like more of a transport hub.
I've looked up the caves, will try and see them while we're there.

 

[70014IronDuke]

Thanks for that, it looks like we'll be staying at Pula. I mentioned Rijeka because it looked like more of a transport hub.
I've looked up the caves, will try and see them while we're there.

I'd say the Roman remains in Pula are quite spectacular.

A lot of the Adriatic coast line (in Croatia, Slovenia and further south) has a sudden, spectacular drop from the karst hinterland to sea level, making for long, tortuous zig-zag rail routes for any lines that connect to the sea ports/resorts, including Rijeka (which is electrified, IIRC).

I think you mean Postojna (not Postonja)? Not trying to be picky - just if you make a mistake like this you can end up with the wrong ticket to the wrong place. That line (from Ljubljana to Trieste) is also quite slow and tortuous - which makes it v scenic, of course.

Yes, Postojna caves are spectacular. If you go on a rainy day in summer, the tours tend to be quite full. Bit of a trek from Postojna station to the caves.

ps I'd say Croatia, at least on the coast, is not cheap these days. Unfortunately there tends to be a bit of a 'We only have three months, let's screw the tourist while they're here mentality".

 

[reb0118]

I've been trying to get to Pola for some time but hope to do so this year.

You can access the area via Triest (very cheap flights to Monfalcone), & Triest itself is worth a day or two. There is a regular bus to Capodistria (3/4€ 40 mins.) where you can get the train (one change) to Pola.

Pola was the main Adriatic port for the Austro - Hungarian navy.

Enjoy.

Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk

 

[Cowley]

Thanks folks, useful stuff. I've booked it and payed for the accommodation. We're going to spend the first week in Pula and the second week in a small town near the bridge to Krk. Should be great and hopefully I'll be able to incorporate a small train journey in while we're there...

 

[shredder1]

I flew into Zadar in September, we did most of Croatia and all the other former Yugoslavian states, an interesting part of the world. Zagreb is the main rail centre and also has a railway museum and loco sheds which are easy to get around. We found steam still operating in Bosnia and an amazing railway dump in Albania if you can get that far down, Begrade, Serbia is worth a visit too, and Kosovo for the Nohabs. On Slovenia, Ljubljana is an incredibly busy corridor and well worth a visit.