Slovenia travel guide

When to go, what to do, and why you’ll love it

Why you’ll love it

This article contains links from which we may earn revenue. These links are signposted with an asterisk. More information here.

There are two things to know about Slovenia, a country in Europe’s geographic heart. The first is that they say every Slovene should climb Triglav, the country’s highest mountain, pictured on the national flag, at least once. The second is that the harshest insult in the native tongue is “May you be kicked by a hen” — riper affronts originate in Slovenia’s former Yugoslav partners. So, not only is Slovenia polite to a fault, the outdoors is hardwired into the national psyche. That seems curious for such a small country — until you visit. By any standard, Slovenia has a ridiculous amount of outdoors: the full, tourist-brochure wonderworld of alpine peaks, sparkling Adriatic coast, pretty wine hills, virgin forest and cave systems that could double-up as sets from The Lord of the Rings.

Factor in short distances — you can drive across Slovenia in four hours — and you have a country that’s a holiday jackpot for outdoor activities. The hiking and biking are terrific, as is the canyoning, rafting, paragliding and skiing. It’s only once you’ve stopped gawping that you recognise how heart-swellingly lovely the locals are. You’ll experience it in family vineyards, when one hour becomes three as you chat — even in capital Ljubljana. That seems curious too until you remember that for most of its history Slovenia hasn’t been Slovenia at all, but instead a state within Austro-Hungary or Italy then Yugoslavia. Since 1991, it has been independent — hello, world!

They’re bound to tire of us eventually. I’d go soon if I were you.

Main photo: Lake Bled (Alamy)

It’s only once you’ve stopped gawping that you recognise how heart-swellingly lovely the locals are

 

What to do

Start a trip — or end it — in Ljubljana*. A baroque core the colour of fondant fancies, whimsical 1930s modernism, fine shopping along Mestni trg, café society beside the Ljubljanica river, a splendid market on Vodnikov trg — the capital is Slovenia in microcosm, relaxed and walkable. What lures you away is what appears from the hilltop castle: the Julian Alps.

The classic route heads north, starting in alpine foothills at Velika Planina, where footpaths link hobbity summer dairy villages, and taking in medieval Radovljica, worth a stop if only for its Apiculture Museum. Beyond is Lake Bled, Slovenia’s tourism hotspot, actually a pipsqueak resort whose natural beauties — a silver-blue lake plied by gondolas, a church on an islet, a castle on a bluff, a backdrop of peaks — are worthy of Disney. Too busy? Try Lake Bohinj in the bosom of the Triglav National Park. Like Bled, it’s a base for activities operators and a gateway to hike in Slovenia, including two-day hiking trails up Triglav. Alternatively head into the heights from ski resort Kranjska Gora before a hairpinning drive into the Soca Valley: crashing alps, a turquoise river that’s one of Europe’s premier whitewater playgrounds (operators are in Bovec) and a food scene focused on Kobarid.

You can take a touristy daytrip from Ljubljana to visit the Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle*, which is wedged into a cliff. And that’s fine — but the former isn’t a patch on Unesco-listed Skocjan Caves, which you’ll visit open-mouthed and on foot. With two days spare, continue to the Adriatic coast — Italianate Piran is the pick of the resorts.

Where to stay

As a small fry of European tourism, accommodation here tends to be personal, family-owned and good value.

Pack your bags for Ljubljana and you’ll find a mix of international names and boutique options. Choose the pedestrianised centre where possible — you won’t need a car until you leave town. Lake Bled* has the greatest quota of accommodation: period grandees’ villas and art deco piles on the shores, cute pensions, appealing alpine-style chalets. It also makes for a good base to explore the central Julian Alps. Otherwise, try Kranjska Gora* (book far ahead during ski season) and around Kobarid* for the Soca Valley. On the coast, Portoroz* has international brands, Piran has small character stays. The pension or gostilna, the Slovenian equivalent of a British inn, replaces the hotel in remote areas, most perfectly comfortable if occasionally a touch dated.

You come to Slovenia for the countryside, so try to spend a night or two in a tourist farm. Graded from one- to four star — from hostel-style rooms to comfy en suite rooms or apartments — most offer an authentic rural stay: farm-fresh homemade breakfasts (most offer half-board), perhaps the opportunity to go horse-riding or borrow bikes. Owners generally speak English. Alongside the national tourist board, source beds through the Association of Tourist Farms. In a similar vein, Slovenia has embraced glamping with gusto.

More than 170 mountain huts ease logistics for multiday hikes and comfort varies considerably. Many offer robust, hiker-friendly food — source options via the Alpine Association of Slovenia.

A final word about spa hotels: the term here once inferred traditional health cures, their target market being the long-term injured and elderly. While most have shifted to pampering, it’s worth double-checking websites unless you enjoy a cross between an A&E and retirement home.

Don’t miss

The Italianate Karst region around the Skocjan Caves is an emerging food destination yet to be gussied up for outsiders. Explore from hub Stanjel to find wine villages stuffed with family producers of wine and prsut (prosciutto). Continue west through the Vipava Valley to tour the vineyards of Goriska Brda*, a Slovene Tuscany that really should be better known. Incidentally, the Karst’s indigenous sturdy horses were the forerunners of Lipizzaner horses, first bred at Lipica and anyone of an equestrian bent should take in a tour and show at the progenitor stables.

If you’re driving on the northwest loop, a scenic car-train between Lake Bohinj and Most na Soci is excellent. For a second visit — or to be sure of escaping other tourists — go east. No matter how many alpine valleys you’ve seen, Logarska Dolina northeast of Ljubljana is a jaw-dropper: a real masterpiece of geography close by the peaks of the Kamnik Alps. Hikers take note.

East of the capital are brown bears in the virgin beech forests of Kocevski Rog and the lovely Kolpa valley, where one of Europe’s warmest rivers slaloms between wooded valleys spurs and accordions wheeze in village restaurants. Slovenes can’t get enough of the place. Call into Sticna Monastery en route: art, architecture and the Cisterian monks’ fruit brandies. Health-giving, apparently.

Further east is the second city Maribor and pocket-sized Ptuj, founded by Romans, and a must-visit on Shrove Tuesday for the Kurent: a pre-Christian procession from some feverish nightmare. Surrounding vineyards of the Podravje region are excellent; the wine-hills around Jeruzalem village just as tempting.

No matter how many alpine valleys you’ve seen, Logarska Dolina northeast of Ljubljana is a jaw-dropper

When to visit

June to August is peak season, although it’s just as striking in May and September; the latter is far quieter for mountain hiking (high-altitude hikes can be sketchy until mid-June). Come from December to early March for skiing.

FAQs

Is Slovenia expensive?
Yes, when compared to other nations of the former Yugoslavia (notwithstanding Dalmatia in Croatia) or Eastern Europe. Compared to neighbouring Austria and Italy? Not so much. As a gauge of prices, mains in a restaurant average £9-14, a large beer costs around £2.50.

How many days are enough for Slovenia?
Slovenia is the travellers’ friend — distances are short, travel times are low. A week will squeeze in Ljubljana and a five-day whirl around the Julian Alps. With a few days’ walking and bike rides, perhaps a rafting or kayaking trip, and a sidetrack to the coast you’re looking at at least ten days.

What’s the best way to get around in Slovenia?
Travel by public transport is doable with time. Slovenian Railways snakes to gateway destinations from Ljubljana, such as Lake Bled; it also transports bikes for a nominal fee. Local buses provide regional transport (Lake Bled to Lake Bohinj runs hourly, for example). For anything under a fortnight, however, a hire car maximises your time.

Currency Euro

Take me there

Inspired to visit Slovenia but yet to book your trip? Here are the best packages from Tui* and Expedia*.

Get planning

Best time to visit Italy
Beach break, foodie escape or a long weekend in the city? Italy’s all-season climate means the boot will always fit — whenever you choose to stomp
Best Croatia tours: from Dubrovnik to Zagreb
The climate and scenery will draw you in — but it’s the variety that will keep you returning to Croatia year after year. Here are the tours that showcase it best
Where can I go on holiday in 2022? Covid travel restrictions explained
Our horizons are broadening at long last — tests to get back into the UK have been dropped for fully vaccinated travellers and Spain has loosened its entry requirements for teenagers
Which countries are on the UK green list for travel?
For the unvaccinated, the holiday options are finally starting to look a bit more promising. But, as our guide shows, green doesn’t always mean go