Date of trips: August 20-24, 2017 and May 27-June 3, 2019
After my visit to Croatia in 2016, every subsequent trip seemed to fall short and I found myself chasing that same beauty I’d experienced along the Adriatic. I googled “is there anywhere as beautiful as Croatia” and I found a TripAdvisor post about Slovenia. My travel partner at the time wasn’t thrilled about visiting what seemed like an obscure destination. But the moment we arrived, both of us were totally wowed by the natural beauty of this small country. From architecture out of a fairy tale, gems across the Mediterranean, the stunning Julian Alps— Slovenia exceeded every expectation.
Slovenia left such an impression that when I started dating Steve, we planned a trip to Slovenia on our very first date.
This blog will be formulated a little differently to highlight my favorites from both trips to Slovenia. My first trip, we based out of Ljubljana and day tripped. The second, we went without a plan and stayed where we found ourselves for the evening.
This would be a good itinerary to get started although it’s missing the more eastern parts of the county.
Ljubljana – 2 days
Bled – 1 day
Bohinj – 1 day
Bovec – 2 days
Piran – 2 days
Highlights:
Ljubljana
The Airport in Ljubljana is the Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport
Car rental is inside the airport and easy to find. It’s a 25 minute drive to the city center. Driving in Slovenia is very easy but be aware you must have a “vignette” displayed to avoid a ticket. If your origin is Ljubljana, the car will come with it but if you drive in from Croatia, Austria or Italy be sure to get one as soon as you cross the border.
Accommodation
Each trip we stayed at the Best Western Hotel Slon. I had such low expectations because of the Best Western in the name but it’s a very nice hotel with an amazing breakfast buffet (mimosas included!).
Activities
One of the best experiences I had in Ljubljana was Wine Tasting. I found my absolute favorite wine in the world, a sparkling red wine. Each time I went I brought two bottles home with me. I’ve linked the company below and the TripAdvisor link as well.
https://winetastingljubljana.com/
Sites:
Primarily I enjoyed just walking along the river Ljubljanica and admiring the architecture of the famous Jože Plečnik.
Park Tivoli was a nice quiet area to walk around and have a picnic
Franciscan Church of the Annunciation
Ljubljanski Grad (Ljubljana Castle). I got up at sunrise and climbed to the top of the fortress for city views.
I absolutely loved the artist district Metelkova mesto. It was a 20 minute walk from the hotel and it was such a cool and vibrant experience. It’s a street art hub that used to be barracks then the artist coalition began squatting there in the 90s.
Bled:
I visited Bled both trips as it is the most iconic Slovenia destination.
We did the full lake loop and also a trail up for a viewpoint. I’ve linked both AllTrails routes below.
Ojstrica Loop on AllTrails
Lake Bled via Bled City Center on AllTrails
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/slovenia/bled/blejsko-jezero?sh=sxlnu6&u=i
I also did Bled Castle for more aerial views but I never did take the boats to the island to ring the bell tower (although I wish I had). Here are some pics from the Castle. There’s a small fee to enter and they take cards.
My second trip, we stayed nearby at Pension Pibernik. It was a really cool glamping venue but we stayed in the actual hotel room. We loved this spot. It was cute, comfortable and had activities along the grounds like fire pits, hammocks, etc.
https://www.pension-pibernik.com
Bohinj:
On my first trip, we just day tripped and rented paddle boards. Then we headed to Slap Savica and Vogel Ski Lift for panoramic views.
Slap Savica:
Beautiful waterfall 25 minutes from Bohinj
Vogel Ski Lift:
20 minutes from Bohinj on the way to Slap Savica. Took the lift up for panoramic views of Lake Bohinj
My second trip to Bohinj was much more adventurous. I read about a hike to the top of Vogar for panoramic views of Lake Bohinj. I’ll link the AllTrails but we ended up extending the hike by walking a total of 20 miles around the entire lake. We parked in a paid lot in Stara Fuzina.
Vogar Viewpoint on AllTrails
We ended up staying the night at Hotel Jezero directly on Bohinj.
Bovec/Triglav National Park:
We did this as a day trip my first trip. It’s 2 hours from Ljubljana in the Julian Alps. I wish we had at least 2-3 days here to hike and explore. Our main event was canyoneering here. I found Aktivni Planet and booked a Fraterica Canyon experience. I nor my travel partner had ever done anything like this.
Fratarica Canyon (Log Pod Mangartom)
The cost was 90 euros each and it took 3 hours to hike up and rappel down. My travel partner decided against it once we reached the top so it ended up being myself and a couple with the guide. All these photos are from my GoPro so not the best quality. We hiked, zip lined, rappelled, abseiled. It was much harder than I was prepared for but so beautiful and exhilarating.
Abseiling a 50 meter waterfall
After canyoneering we had lunch in the cute little town of Bovec. My guide convinced us we had to drive to Mangart Peak. It was a very very scary drive with only 1.25 lanes most of the winding mountain road. But the views were amazing. You can also hike this if you have more time than we had.
We could see Italy on the other side of the mountains.
Soca River Valley was a must-stop on the way to Mangart Peak.
Getting that view ⬆️
Here is a great resource for all the Soca River Valley
https://www.soca-valley.com/en/in-search-of-adventure/nature/2020122811445323/the-great-soca-gorge/
Caves:
Predjama Castle is an hour from Ljubljana and we did this as a daytrip. It’s a really cool castle built in a cliffside.
https://www.postojnska-jama.eu/en/predjama-castle/
Since the tour of the castle would take too long, we decided to check out a hike near some caves I found nearby. We skipped the more touristy Postojna Caves and Skocjan Caves because I saw the lines and wanted to have a more private experience. But these are nearby if you want something more structured.
I’ve linked the AllTrails for the 4.4 mile route through all the caves and forest.
Rakov Škocjan Loop on AllTrails
I found this website to be helpful for not just this area but all around Slovenia.
https://www.slovenialocations.com
These Rokav Caves were so cool and there were absolutely no tourists there. The river Rak appears out of a cave and disappears again in another. On the two hour hike we visit a half open cave where the Rak runs through (Tkalca Jama). A collapsed cave arranged by nature as a beautiful garden where the Rak runs through surrounded by high cliffs (Zelske Jame). You’ll see our pictures of the bridges, the remains of collapsed caves.
Near here is also Lipica Horsefarms where you can book a tour of these famous horses or even just drive through the pastures. We didn’t do this but I wish we had!
Vintgar Gorge:
This was 45 minutes from Ljubljana and 10 minutes past Lake Bled. It was pouring rain when we were there but that meant no other tourists and massive water flow.
Piran:
I went to Piran on both trips as the final stop. We stayed at Hotel Piran both times and it was so lovely.
Steve and I did a hike to nearby Portoroz but the main event in Piran was just wandering the streets, admiring the sunsets and enjoying some relaxation.
We also climbed the bell tower at St. George’s Church for views of the whole city including Tartini Square.
In closing:
Both of my trips to Slovenia were filled with breathtaking landscapes and unforgettable experiences. If you’re planning your own adventure and have any questions or need tips, feel free to reach out—I’d be more than happy to help!
Leave a Reply