Slovenia Trip Report

[Vespasia]

Sorry this is so long! It's actually a shorter version of what I originally wrote. 

I just returned from 10 nights in Slovenia and wanted to post a trip report because it’s a country that isn’t visited as often or for as long. Slovenia had been high on my list for ages and it really didn’t disappoint. It’s one of the most beautiful countries I have ever seen. The people were also incredibly friendly and 99% of them spoke perfect English, which made life easy. The food was amazing and the wine was both cheap and delicious.

Our basic itinerary was 2 nights in Ljubljana, 3 nights Bled, 2 nights Kobarid, and 3 nights in Vipava Valley. In general, we try to do a few things each day while still having some time to relax and I felt like this breakdown worked well. There were several other areas of the country that I wanted to explore but couldn’t fit into the amount of time we had. We rented a car when we left Ljubljana and found the driving to be very easy. 

Ljubljana:
The first day we arrived in the evening and just had enough energy to grab dinner and do some wandering. The city itself is gorgeous and incredibly clean.

For our full day in the city, we did a food tour with Ljubljana Yum. It was really fantastic and a good balance of history, walking, and excellent food from a nice array of restaurants. Our guide was great and even though there were only 4 of us (max size if 6) it wasn’t awkward at all.

We ended up doing a boat tour along the river that was nice but nothing super special compared to some other cities. I’d still recommend doing one if you’re there just to see the city from another angle.

It was really hot out (around 90) the whole time we were in Ljubljana which put a bit of a damper on things but I still enjoyed the city.

Food recs:
Vino in Ribe - seafood restaurant/carryout 
Pekarna Ana - bakery owned by world renowned chef Ana Ros

Lake Bled and the Surrounding Area:
We picked up our rental car and went to Radovljica on our way to Bled to visit their beekeeping museum. Beekeeping is huge in Slovenia and has a unique folk art of painted panels that date back to the 18th century. It was actually very cool and the town itself is super cute. 

The next day we went to Lake Bohinj In Triglav National Park for the day. We parked about halfway down the lake and walked to the cable car station to go up to Vogel Ski Resort. The walk itself was on a nice path above the road and along a forest. The cable car ride itself was absolutely jam packed with people but once we got to the top it was worth it. The views over the lake and of the Alps were incredible. There are many hiking paths from the ski resort and we just did a short one.  We also wanted to take the boat from one end of the lake to the other and back again but I didn’t set our parking for long enough and so we skipped it.

That night we did the tasting menu with wine pairings at the Bled Castle Restaurant. The food was very good, the wines were excellent, and the views were wonderful. Admission to the Castle was included so we went up an hour early to wander and enjoy the views. I’m glad we did because the walk up included several flights of steps up the side of the mountain so we seriously needed time to cool down before we were presentable.

The next day we had hoped to do Vintgar Gorge but the weather called for storms so we skipped it. This was the right choice as we got caught in quite a downpour just walking around Bled. We also had to skip a walk all the way around the lake and a pletna boat ride to the island because of the weather.

Other food recs:
Gostilna Lectar in Radovljica
Pizzeria Rustika 
Old Cellar Bled

Road Trip through the Alps:
This was by far my favorite day of the trip. We drove from Bled to Kobarid through the Julian Alps and over Vrsic Pass. We stopped at Zelenci Nature Preserve (gorgeous lake with mountains behind), Jasna Lake (less beautiful lake, prettier mountains plus a semi dry stone river), the Russian Chapel (memorial to the Russian POWs that built the road), and a few other random pull offs with stunning views. The parking area at the top of the pass was crowded with cars so I was glad we’d stopped before then.

This was definitely the most scenic drive I have ever done and even just my random photos out the car window came out really nice. The road and the pass is windy and fairly steep with 50 switchbacks and there were a lot of cyclists on the road as well. MH did all of the driving and wasn’t too stressed by it but I could see it being challenging for a lot of people. On the other side of the mountains we stopped along the Soca River at a kind of random spot but there are lots of options. The water is such a unique color and incredibly clear.

This whole area had a ton of options for things like white water rafting, kayaking, and paragliding but we didn’t take part. I sort of regret this but we didn’t want to cram too much in.

Kobarid:
We had one full day in this picturesque town and spent the morning hiking to Kozjak Waterfall. You can park at the start of the hike but we just walked from town. Part of it is along the Soca River and the hike itself has some incline but overall was pretty easy.  There is a smaller waterfall on the way and then the main waterfall itself is in a gorge accessed through raised wooden walkways.

The next morning we went to the cheese museum and dairy in town. It wasn’t anything particularly special but it was interesting to learn about the extensive damage to the grazing lands in WWI and the impact of collectivist agriculture under Yugoslavia. Plus there were cheese samples!

We’d originally planned to hike some WWI fortifications on our way to our next town but decided to do Tolmin Gorge instead after skipping Vintgar. I’m so glad we did because the gorge was amazing and the crowds were pretty limited even considering that some of the paths were narrow. There was a good amount of climbing both down into and back out of the gorge so I was glad it was a bit cooler that day but it was still hot and tiring.

Foods recs:
Restavracija Kotlar - seafood including local trout
Mlkerna Planika Dairy - the creamiest ice cream I have ever had

Vipava Valley:
After leaving the gorge we headed to a small village called Place in the Vipava Valley where we stayed at a fantastic apartment on a winery. We spent a lot of this part of our trip just sitting on our balcony drinking wine and eating cheese.

The first full day we had in this town we went to a wine tasting at Lepa Vida, which was really fantastic both in terms of the information shared about the history of winemaking in the area and the quality of the wine and snacks. I left there with 8 bottles of wine, the most expensive of which was around $20. We had considered doing a full day tour with a driver or a cycling wine tour but it’s probably just as well we did not because my suitcase was full as it was. 

The next day we headed to Predjama Castle and Postojna Cave. The cave was incredible and almost didn’t seem real. It is accessed initially via train and then you walk for another hour or so before taking the train back out. I’m claustrophobic but the ceilings are very high most of the time so I was fine.

There’s another cave in the area called Skocjan that is a world heritage site and probably a bit more natural and less touristy but MH is a sucker for trains so we picked Postojna. With more time I probably would have been both.

Predjama Castle is near Postojna and can be accessed by shuttle with a combined ticket. The castle itself is built into a mountainside cave and looks very impressive from the outside. The cave walls were incorporated into the interior of the castle, which made it really unique. There’s also a section where you can walk back into the caves around the castle. 

The next morning we flew from Ljubljana to Brussels for one night. I was sad our bags were checked all the way through to DC because they had a great selection of wine and olive oil at the airport that I absolutely would have bought if I could have brought it home. 

[Vespasia]

I'm going to attempt to attach some photos

Lake Bohinj from the cable car



Lake Jasna


Tolmin Gorge

[Vespasia]

Russian Chapel


Vrsic Pass Views


Postojna Cave

[mrsukyankee]

Thanks for sharing Vespasia. Such gorgeous pictures!

[sakoro]

Jul 11, 2024 18:31:53 GMT -5 Vespasia said:

Sorry this is so long! It's actually a shorter version of what I originally wrote. 

I just returned from 10 nights in Slovenia and wanted to post a trip report because it’s a country that isn’t visited as often or for as long... 

Thanks for writing this! I passed through Slovenia briefly on my way from Trieste, Italy to Pula, Croatia in 2001. I think we had to change busses somewhere (maybe Izola). My main impression was that it was really rural. The area we were in wasn’t particularly scenic so it was great to see your pics!

How did you learn about Slovenia and why was it so high in your bucket list? It sounds like a great alternative to Italy, which can be expensive and crowded in the summers.

[erbear]

Thanks for sharing this. I have iFit on my treadmill and I’ve been doing a running series is Slovenia, Serbia, Bosnia and Montenegro right now and it’s STUNNING. I really want to go

[cheekywife]

looks gorgeous! glad you had such a great trip.

[Vespasia]

sakoro I don't remember exactly how I heard about it at first but I know that it was billed as a much cheaper Switzerland, which sounded very appealing. It's not as cheap or as quiet as it used to be but still very reasonable, even in the summer. There are also way fewer tourists than in other European countries, especially once we left Bled. I'd considered it for a milestone birthday in 2019 and have followed their official tourism Instagram ever since. They do a really great job of showcasing the beauty of the country. 

erbear that's cool! I have a iFit enabled bike but I cancelled my subscription when the app kept crashing. I might need to give it another chance now that I have (hopefully) solved the issue. I definitely spent a lot of time looking up trips to locations I rode through!