Koper is excellently positioned for visitors travelling between Italy and the Balkans. Trieste is just 20 kilometres north — about twenty minutes by car. Ljubljana is 90 kilometres northeast, about an hour by car or direct bus. Piran and the rest of the Slovenian coast are 40 minutes south.
The train connection from Ljubljana takes about two and a half hours and involves a change at Divača. Direct buses from Ljubljana are faster and more frequent. From Trieste, regular buses cross the border — the journey takes about 45 minutes.
Koper has its own ferry connections to Venice in summer, operated seasonally by Venezia Lines. The ferry takes about two and a half hours and docks near the Piazzale Roma — a remarkable approach that gives some sense of what Koper's old Adriatic sea trade must have felt like. Check schedules as they vary by season.
The old town is small and walkable. A car is useful for reaching the beaches north and south of the city and for day trips into the Karst hinterland, but within Koper itself it is unnecessary.