Slovenia, early planning stages advice
Hi,
We've traveled extensively in Austria, Bavaria and the Italian Dolomites and Sud Tirol. We are very used to driving in these countries and for this trip we will also have a rental car.
We are intereted in visiting Slovenia next September or October for 5 or 6 nights. We would be coming from Austria (probably Zell am See) and then returning to the Salzburg/Berchtesgaden area. We love the mountains, small old towns, quaint villages and are looking to stay around the Julian Alps, Lake Bled and Ljubljana. We don't care to stay "in" cities, but rather on the outskirts in a quieter, more "scenic" area close by. We don't need a packed schedule, as we travel at a rather slow pace and really like scenic (mountain) drives, such as the passes in the Dolomites and Austrian Alps. Any help with things to see and do and recommended places to stay (Pensions, B&B's, farms are a plus) would be appreciated. As I stated, this is very early planning and I do intend to read up on Slovenia more soon. Thank you.
Paul
Paul
NYC area 10/24/12
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Paul,
Looking at the same area(Slovenia) for part of our trip for next August so it will be interesting to read some of the responses.
Hi Lane,
Go figure we're both looking to visit Slovenia! Hopefully we'll get some responses!
Paul
A couple of thoughts:
Lake Bohinj - meh. Not as pretty, nothing to do, and most of the walking trail is on the opposite side of the road, not actually on the lake.
Bled is the fairy tale place as described. Stay there.
Vintgar Gorge is meh. Might be nice, but you've probably done Partnach Gorge, and if you have, there is no comparison.
If you're driving through Austria, bring some euro for tolls. That Austrian vignette - yeah, it doesn't cover a lot of the tunnels.
Just spent 3 days in Slovenia last month. Loved the country. Piran was a magical place for us - really neat small town on a peninsula. Enjoyed a night and following morning before heading to Ljubljana which is one of the most vibrant cities we've ever visited. About 25% of this city's population is under the age of 25 - all univeristy students. Lots of neat shops/cafes along the river. Easy day trip to Lake Bled too- about 70 minutes by train.
Also went to Maribor but found it not quite as much fun as Lj.
We came in from Italy and went out toward Hallstatt ( stay in Obertraun and walk around the lake - you'll love it.)
The Julian Alps is a beautiful area. I would have loved to spend more time in that area when I was there last year!Lake Bled is worth a visit, as are some of the surrounding medieval towns. Most of the towns are very small, so unless you venture into Ljubljana, you won't really feel like you are in a city. Provided that there is no snow yet (I'm not sure when their winter begins) you will want to drive the Vrsic Pass for some beautiful views and a really steep and narrow road. You may also want to venture into the Karst area if you have time, and check out the caves.
Tourist Farms are big in that area, along with renting apartments. In Bled, I stayed at Andrea's Home, which are apartments (no breakfast but a decent sized kitchen and within walking distance to a grocery store if you are tired of eating out). In Kobarid I stayed at the Tourist Farm Kmetija Kranjc which is outside of town in a beautiful location on a mountain. Wonderful breakfasts, and the owners gave us tips on where to hike/drive to see some scenery. You can find both these places on Trip Advisor.
Don't forget to buy the sticker for your car when you drive into Slovenia from Austria.
Highly recommend Tourist Farm Hudicevec. Clean, piney rooms, massive amounts of food (you can get a half board option that includes dinner) and authentic farm life. My kids helped feed the pigs every morning! Owners are bit reserved, but we liked it. All major sites are within 1 hr. drive.
Loved Predjama Castle, Postojna Caves and rowing a boat out to the island in Lake Bled. Beekeeping Museum (in RS book) was interesting to us, but might not grab everyone. Lipizaner horse farm and Ljubljana castle were skippable, IMO.
We really loved Slovenia--it was like Austria without the tourists. Really lovely little country.
Thanks for all the suggestions.
Would this make sense... 2 nights at the Tourist Farm Hudicevec to visit Predjama Castle and spend at least a day and evening visiting Ljubljiana then 4 nights in/near Lake Bled (thinking Pension Berc or The Dolinar-Krainer)to visit Lake Bled, Lake Bohinj, Vogel cable car, day trip to drive Vrsic Pass and a day in Logarska Dolina area with a drive of the Panorama Road there? Wondering if this is a sensible plan, as we don't want to stay "in" Ljubljiana itself. Looking forwrd to staying in a very scenic area and on a farm preferably.
Paul
Hey Paul,
We were in Slovenia for just three days last June, but I loved it. It fits my personality, I guess. I like the outdoors, I like things modest and quiet, and I like things neat and tidy. Slovenia was perfect. Rather that do a new recap of our experience there, I will point you to the blog entries that pertain to those days;
http://lee-reidfamilytravels.blogspot.com/2012/06/lessons-learned.html
http://lee-reidfamilytravels.blogspot.com/2012/06/since-our-last-two-days-were-both-get.html
http://lee-reidfamilytravels.blogspot.com/2012/06/logarska-dolina.html
Let me know if you have any specific questions about places we saw. I can give you the precise roads we took to see the Logarska Dolina valley if you want. It was an amazing, hair-raising and scenic drive...
Hi Randy,
Really enjoyed reading you blog. Seems we have similar personalities. While I enjoy driving alpine passes, what you describe about the drive to Logarska Dolina and then the "Panorama Road" seems a bit un-nerving. We've driven a few roads like that, but not on purpose. That said, I would appreciate the directions/roads you took though.
Paul
I'll send you a private message...
Paul we loved Randy's description of driving in Slovenia. We have visited Slovenia 3 times when on our European holidays, always renting a car there. Have driven throughout most of the country...my husband did the driving..while I frequently said " Oh my god!" ..when off the main roads "experiencing ETBD"! which was most of the time. We stayed at Tourist Farm Hudicevec 5 years ago and I agree with Angela, a great place to stay. We have stayed in a number of tourist farms in Slovenia and they were all excellent.
Hi,
Wow, this is all fantastic. You are making me feel more confident that Slovenia won't be as tough to plan as I originally thought. Randy, I will take some time to look over the driving route. Thank you.
Paul