"Ryanair have recently..." Trieste Transportation Tip by maykal

Ryanair have recently introduced flights from London Stansted to Trieste from as little as £15 one way, although finding a flight for that price can be tricky. Prices seem to rise and fall every hour, so keep checking their website to hunt for a bargain. Flights leave every day at 1pm, arriving in Trieste at 4pm. This makes Trieste an ideal gateway to Slovenija and Croatia, with 17 buses a day to Koper and Piran, and several buses to Croatian cities such as Pula, Rijeka and beyond. (This might sound as if I have taken all this from a guidebook, but I had a long time to wait at the bus station, so there was ample time to read the timetables at least a dozen times!!!). Trains connect Trieste with Ljubljana (4 hours away, most of that time spent at the border undergoing lengthy baggage and train searches) and Venice, with connections to most Italian cities. There is an overnight train each night at 9pm to Napoli, stopping at Venezia, Ferrara , Bologna and Roma Tiburtina (arriving at 7am)...no need to book a seat, as Trieste is the start of the train.
From the airport, there are shuttle buses to Trieste every few hours...their timetable does not seem to correspond with flight arrivals, which is strange as Trieste is not the busiest airport in the world...my flight landed just after 4pm, and by the time I had emerged from baggage reclaim and passport control, the bus had already left, probably empty as no other flights had arrived since lunchtime! Very odd system, although admittedly it was Easter Sunday so services were probably minimal. There was also some confusion as to whether tickets should be bought on the bus or beforehand at the upstairs bar in the terminal building...the woman at tourist info seemed to think no ticket was needed before boarding, although the bus drivers had other ideas.
Getting around Trieste...well, there are buses going in all directions from the station, but it is an easy city to walk around...finding somewhere to buy a ticket for the buses (try the tabachi inside the railway station) is difficult enough to put you off anyway! However, buses are the only feasable alternative to walking the 5 kilometres to the youth hostel and Miramare castle...take the no.36 heading to Grignano...if you go through a tunnel, you've gone too far. Heading the other way, a pleasant alternative is to walk to Barcola and then take a bus to Trieste...you'll be chucked out the hostel early morning anyway, and sunrise over the city is quite spectacular.

Mode: TO,AROUND
Type: Train