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Option 1:  Using the Paris-Munich City Night Line sleeper train...

This is the simplest, cheapest and most time-effective option.  If you prefer daytime trains, or need to travel on the few off-season days when the Paris-Munich sleeper isn't running, see option 2 below.

London ► Ljubljana, Zagreb

• Travel from London to Paris by Eurostar, leaving London St Pancras at 15:00, arriving Paris Gare du Nord at 18:56.  It's a 10 minute walk from the Gare du Nord to the Gare de l'Est.

• Travel from Paris to Munich overnight by the City Night Line sleeper train 'Cassiopeia', leaving Paris Gare de l'Est at 20:20 and arriving in Munich at 07:16 next morning.  This excellent train runs daily in summer, but only 4 times a week in winter.  It runs daily until 13 Dec 2008, then on Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays until 26 March 2009, then daily until 2 November 2009, then on Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays again.  It has sleeping-cars (1, 2 & 3 bed compartments, standard with washbasin or deluxe with shower), 4- & 6-berth couchettes & ordinary seats, see the photos & information below.  Click for more pictures & information about this train.

• Travel from Munich to Ljubljana and Zagreb on modern, air-conditioned EuroCity train, leaving Munich at 08:27 and arriving in Ljubljana at 14:29 and Zagreb at 16:57.  A restaurant car is available from the Slovenian frontier at Jesenice (reached at 13:30), serving drinks, snacks and affordable full meals (treat yourself to lunch!).  The scenery through southeast Germany & Slovenia is stunning, with views of snow capped mountains, lush meadows & winding rivers.

Zagreb & Ljubljana  ► London

• Travel from Zagreb or Ljubljana to Munich by air-conditioned EuroCity train, leaving Zagreb at 07:00 and Ljubljana at 09:27 and arriving in Munich at 15:35.  Enjoy the excellent scenery over lunch in the restaurant car.

• Travel from Munich to Paris by the City Night Line sleeper train 'Cassiopeia', leaving Munich at 22:44 and arriving at Paris Gare de l'Est 09:30 next morning.  This excellent train runs daily in summer, but only 4 times a week in winter.  It runs daily until 13 Dec 2008, then on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays until 25 March 2009, then daily until 1 November 2009, then on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays again.  The trains has ordinary seats, couchettes (4- & 6-bunk) and sleeping-cars (1, 2 or 3-bed rooms, deluxe with shower or standard with washbasin).  Click for more pictures and information about this train.  Walk from the Gare de l'Est to the Gare du Nord.

• Travel from Paris to London by Eurostar, leaving Paris Nord at 11:13 and arriving London St Pancras at 12:38.

Introducing the City Night Line sleeper from Paris to Munich...

The Paris-Munich overnight train is one of the German Railway's excellent City Night Line sleeper trains.  Called the 'Cassiopeia', it has brand-new 'Comfortline' sleeping-cars (1, 2 and 3-berth deluxe rooms with private shower and toilet, 1, 2 and 3-berth standard rooms with washbasin.  There is a shower at the end of the corridor for passengers in standard rooms, and all rooms have powerpoints for laptop computers), and modern air-conditioned couchettes (choose between a berth in a 4- or 6-berth compartment), and ordinary seats (not recommended).  Inclusive fares are charged covering travel plus sleeping accommodation.  The sleeping-car fare includes a light breakfast. Click for more pictures and information about this train.

1, 2 or 3 bed sleeper: The most comfortable & civilised option, standard with washbasin or deluxe with shower & toilet.		4-berth couchettes:  Ideal for families, much more space per person than 6-berth couchettes.		6-berth couchettes:  A very economical option, far better than a seat for just a few euros more...		Above:  One of the new 'Comfortline' sleeping-cars on the Paris-Munich City Night Line sleeper train 'Cassiopeia'.  More pictures...

On board the EuroCity train from Munich to Ljubljana & Zagreb...
Above:  A modern, air-conditioned Croatian Railways coach on a EuroCity train from Munich to Ljubljana and Zagreb.  These trains use a mixture of the best Austrian, Croatian and Slovenian coaches - this is just one example.  A restaurant car is available for much of the journey serving drinks, snacks and full meals.  Photos courtesy of Tobias B Köhler.

How much does it cost?

1. London to Paris  by Eurostar:	Return fares start at £59 2nd class,  £149 1st class.  One-way fares start at £44 2nd class.  Advice on one-way Eurostar fares.  Child, youth & senior fares
2. Paris to Munich by  sleeper train (per person)	In a seat	In a couchette		In the sleeping-car (standard room)
		6-bunk	4-bunk	3-bed	2-bed	1-bed
Savings fare, one way *	29 euro (£21)	39 euro (£29)	49 euro (£36)	-	-	-
Savings fare, return *	58 euro (£42)	78 euro (£58)	98 euro (£72)	-	-	-
Normal fare, one-way:	110 euro (£81)	122 euro (£90)	127 euro (£94)	139 euro (£103)	156 euro (£116)	258 euro (£191)
Normal fare, return:	220 euro (£162)	244 euro (£180)	254 euro (£188)	278 euro (£206)	312 euro (£232)	516 euro (£382)
Child under 14 with own berth:	55 euro (£39)	61 euro (£44)	64 euro (£46)	70 euro (£50)	78 euro (£56)	-
Child under 6 without own berth:	Child under 6 sharing a berth travels free...
3. Munich to Ljubljana	£52 one-way 2nd class, £81 one-way 1st class.  £104 return 2nd class, £162 return 1st class.  Special fare just £21 one-way, £42 return 2nd class if you book in advance (limited availability).
3. Munich to Zagreb	£64 one-way 2nd class, £92 one-way 1st class.  £128 return 2nd class, £184 return 1st class.  Special fare just £21 one-way, £42 return 2nd class if you book in advance (limited availability).

* Savings fares = Special cheap fares, book in advance, limited availability, no refunds, no changes to travel plans. 

Normal fare = fully flexible, refundable, buy any time.

How to buy tickets online...

The cheapest & easiest way to book this journey is online.

Buying tickets online using www.raileurope.co.uk...

This involves two websites, so do a 'dry run' first on both sites to check prices and availability before booking for real.

• Go to www.raileurope.co.uk.

• It's best to book London-Munich in two stages.  Step 1, book the sleeper from Paris to Munich.  Enter 'Paris' to 'Munich' and your dates of travel.

• Step 2, after booking the Paris-Munich train, stay on www.raileurope.co.uk and click 'continue shopping'.  Now book a Eurostar ticket from London to Paris and back to connect with the sleeper.  Use the recommended Eurostar times above as a guide, but by all means book an earlier Eurostar outward or a later Eurostar on the way back if these have cheaper seats available or if you'd like to stop off in Paris.

• Step 3, now go to the German Railways website http://bahn.hafas.de, use the journey planner to bring up the connecting Munich-Ljubljana or Munich-Zagreb trains shown in the train times above, and buy the ticket.  It will show if any cheap special fares are available.  Tickets can be sent to any address, or in some cases printed out yourself.

Buying tickets online using www.bahn.de/citynightline...

If you have any problems with www.raileurope.co.uk, try this option instead.  It involves 3 websites, so do a 'dry run' first on all 3 sites to check prices & availability before booking for real.

• Step 1, go to www.bahn.de/citynightline, the German Railways official sleeper train website.  Select 'English' top right.

• Book from Paris Est to Munich Hbf and back on the overnight sleeper train.  Availability of cheap 'Savings' fares ('sparnight' in German) and fully-flexible normal fares will be shown, for each type of seat, couchette & sleeper.  You pay by credit card and print out your own tickets in .pdf format.  Easy!  Note that the prices shown on www.bahn.de/citynightline are in euros, and are the total cost for all passengers selected, not per person.  Top tip:  If the 29/39/49 euro special fares are sold out on www.bahn.de/citynightline so only full fares are available, you can sometimes find a 55-80 euro couchette fare for this train using www.raileurope.co.uk or www.voyages-sncf.com, which is still cheaper than the full fare.

• Step 2, go to www.eurostar.com to book your connecting Eurostar tickets between London and Paris, using the Eurostar times above as a guide.  By all means book an earlier Eurostar outwards, or a later Eurostar on the way back, if this has cheaper seats available of if you'd like to stop off in Paris for a while.  Return fares start at £59, for one-way fares on Eurostar see this advice.  Eurostar tickets can be sent to any UK address, or picked up at the station if you're travelling at short notice or booking from overseas.

• Step 3, now go to the German Railways main website http://bahn.hafas.de, use the journey planner to bring up the connecting Munich-Ljubljana or Munich-Zagreb trains shown in the train times above, and buy the ticket.  It will show if any cheap special fares are available.  Tickets can be sent to any address, or in some cases printed out yourself.

How to buy tickets by phone...

If you prefer to book by phone, just call Deutsche Bahn's UK office on 08718 80 80 66 (lines open 09:00-17:00 Monday-Friday, no booking fee, £3 credit card fee), or a booking agency such as European Rail on 020 7619 1083 (lines open 09:00-17:00 Monday-Friday, £25 booking fee applies).

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Option 2:  Using daytime trains (with overnight stop)...

This option is useful on days when the Paris-Munich sleeper isn't running, or if you prefer daytime travel.

London ► Ljubljana, Zagreb

• Day 1, travel from London to Munich by daytime trains either via Paris or via Brussels & Cologne.  See the London to Germany page for train times, fares & how to buy tickets.

• Spend the night in Munich.

• Day 2, travel from Munich to Ljubljana and Zagreb on modern, air-conditioned EuroCity train, leaving Munich at 08:27 and arriving in Ljubljana at 14:29 and Zagreb at 16:57.  A restaurant car is available from about 13:30, serving drinks, snacks and affordable full meals (treat yourself to lunch!).  The scenery through southeast Germany & Slovenia is stunning, with views of snow capped mountains, lush meadows & winding rivers.

Zagreb & Ljubljana  ► London

• Day 1, travel from Zagreb or Ljubljana to Munich by air-conditioned EuroCity train, leaving Zagreb at 13:00 and Ljubljana at 15:25 and arriving in Munich at 21:35.  Enjoy the excellent scenery over lunch in the restaurant car.

• Spend the night in Munich.

• Day 2, travel from Munich to London by daytime trains, either via Paris or via Cologne & Brussels.  See the London to Germany page for train times, fares & how to buy tickets.

Fares & how to buy tickets...

• See the London to Germany page for train times, fares & how to buy tickets between London & Munich.

• Then use the journey planner at the German Railways website http://bahn.hafas.de to bring up the Munich-Ljubljana-Zagreb train shown above, and buy the ticket.  It will show if any cheap special fares are available.  Tickets can be sent to any address, or in some cases printed out yourself.

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Option 3:  London to Ljubljana via Venice...

As the direct EuroCity train 'Casanova' has been withdrawn between Venice and the Slovenia frontier, this route is no longer recommended.  The Italians have proved more effective then the Yugoslav communists at creating an iron curtain at this point!

• Travel from London to Ljubljana as described above.

• Rijeka:  Trains run from Ljubljana to Rijeka two or three times a day.  There are direct trains at 06:20 (arriving Rijeka at 08:51) and 14:55 (arriving 17:25).  On Mondays-Fridays, there's also a departure from Ljubljana at 16:53, change at Pivka & Sapjane, arriving Rijeka 19:55.  If the EuroCity from Munich is on time or only a little late, you might make the 14:55 train to Rijeka, but 26 minutes is a tight connection in this part of the world.  You can check Ljubljana-Rijeka train times using http://bahn.hafas.de (English button top right). 

• Advance reservation isn't necessary for Ljubljana-Rijeka trains, so you can buy a ticket at Ljubljana on the day & hop on, indeed this is cheaper than buying a through ticket from outside Slovenia.  The ticket office at Ljubljana is easy to find and English is widely spoken.  The Ljubljana-Rijeka fare is only about 13 euro one-way, 20 euro return.

• Returning, trains leave Rijeka at 05:20 (Mondays-Fridays only, change at Ilirska Bistrica) arriving Ljubljana 08:02, at 12:57 (arriving 15:25) and at  20:45 (arriving 23:22).  Allow plenty of time (an hour or two) to make connections in Ljubljana.

• Koper:  Trains link Ljubljana with Koper five or six times daily.  Arriving in Ljubljana off the EuroCity from Munich, a train leaves Ljubljana at 15:40 arriving Koper at 18:10.  For other options and return train times, see http://bahn.hafas.de.

London to Split or Zadar overland by train...

• First, travel from London to Zagreb as shown in the London to Zagreb section above, arriving Zagreb early evening. 

• An overnight train leaves Zagreb daily at 22:55, arriving at Split next morning at 06:57.  It has modern air-conditioned sleeping-cars with 1- 2- & 3-berth compartments (see photos below), but no couchettes.

• Alternatively, you can stay the night in Zagreb and continue to Split or Zadar by daytime train next morning.  This is a good option, as Zagreb to Split is a very scenic train ride:  Mountains, lakes, rivers, and even vineyards.  There are two or three fast modern 'ICN' air-conditioned daytime trains from Zagreb to Split, for Zadar you must change trains at Knin.  ICN trains tilt round the bends on this mountainous route, cutting the journey time to 5½ hours from a previous best of around 8 hours.  Check train times using http://bahn.hafas.de (English button top right).  Seat reservation is compulsory on ICN trains.  If you buy your ticket at Zagreb station, the fare is about 170 Kuna (£17), which includes a complimentary coffee & sandwich.

• Returning, the overnight train leaves Split at 22:22 as train number 824, arriving Zagreb at 06:31 next morning.  Brand-new sleeping-cars with 1- 2- and 3-berth compartments are available (see photos below), but no couchettes.  See the London to Zagreb section above for the connection to London.  Alternatively, travel by fast 'ICN' daytime train and spend the night in Zagreb, u se http://bahn.hafas.de to find train times from Split or Zadar to Zagreb.  Seat reservation is compulsory on ICN trains.  If you buy your ticket at Zagreb station, the fare by ICN train is about 170 Kuna (£17), which includes a complimentary coffee & sandwich.

Above:  The overnight train between Zagreb & Split has modern air-conditioned sleeping-cars with 1, 2 & 3-bed compartments with washbasin.  Photos courtesy of John Allen

London to to Ancona in Italy by train, then ferry to Split...

• Travel from London to Ancona by train, taking Eurostar to Paris, the overnight sleeper to Bologna and a fast train on to Ancona.  For train times and fares between London and Ancona, see the London to Italy page.

• Sail from Ancona to Split or Zadar by ferry.  Allow plenty of time for the connection & check-in at Ancona.  Several shipping lines run overnight ferries on various days of the week between Ancona & Split, including www.jadrolinija.hr & www.bli-ferry.com.  Between June & September, there's also a daily fast ferry, taking 4 hours, leaving Ancona at around 11:00 and returning from Split at 17:00, see www.snav.it.   To book Jadrolinija ships from the UK, contact their UK agents, Viamare Travel on 020 8343 5810.  There are also some sailings to Zadar.