LJUBLJANA
Welcome to Slovenia! Time to explore a beautiful country full of mountains, rivers, lakes, and beaches!
Exploring Ljubljana:
Day 1 is all about exploring old town Ljubljana! Your first order of business will be to stop in at the tourist center right next to the triple bridges and pick up a 24 hour tourist card. This €40 card will get you free public transit, a funicular ride up to the castle, entrance to the castle, a 4 hour bike rental, and a free riverboat cruise for 1 hour (please note that this does not include the green river boats that you see. There is only one pick up on the SE side of the triple bridge down a flight of stairs. There is a gate in place until the boat arrives but the times are posted near there so you can plan for when the next one will arrive). Once you get this card, start checking each of the items off the list.
Whether you have picked up a bike or not, Old Town is easy to explore within a day. Simply stroll through the pastel colored streets, or take one of the free trams that you will see driving around, to see almost all the sites on the list.
When you are ready for a break, a great option for lunch or dinner would be a stop at the central market (closed on Sundays) where you can find local cuisine from street vendors. Otherwise, there are plenty of good options that line the river where you can enjoy a local charcuterie board and a glass of orange wine, which Slovenia is known for!
If you would like to see a more artsy side to the city, then walk on over to Metelkova Mesto, old army bunk houses that have been turned into art studios and a club like atmosphere at night. Be more cautious at night though, as the venue can draw an interesting crowd. Just be aware of your surroundings and visit in the day if you are only interested in the art.
must see sites
- Triple Bridges
- Funicular
- Castle
- Riverboat Cruise
- Central Market
- Metelkova Mesto
- “The Area With Ljubljana’s Own Weather”
- Prešeren Square
- Dragon Bridge
- Tivoli Park
- Ljubljana Cathedral
- Robba Fountain
- Town Hall
LAKE BLED & VINTGAR GORGE
Lake Bled:
To have a little more freedom to explore, we did rent a car for the last 2 days in Slovenia (You can also ask your hotel to set you up with a day tour if you would prefer that option) and our first stop was the picturesque Lake Bled, a must see while in Slovenia. The drive out to Lake Bled is just shy of 45 minutes and very well marked. Once you get into the town area, just follow signs to the lake and you will see a few different parking lot options (the one we found was cash only so have a few Euros on hand).
The best thing to do while visiting is take a boat ride out to the island where the church is located. There are Pletna boats that charge €18 per person roundtrip and leave multiple times per day. The other option is to rent a boat and row yourself to the island for €15-20 per hour. This is what we chose to do and boy was it a fun experience but be prepared to put in some work! We were able to make it there and back in 1 hour but we did not pay the €6 fee to go into the church once we reached the island and we felt a little rushed. If you do go over your 1 hour limit, they will just charge you for 2 so maybe start with 1 and see how you feel.
Once done, it will probably be time for a quick stop for lunch at one of the lakeside restaurants (be prepared, all of them are touristy and more expensive).
Vintgar Gorge:
From Lake Bled, you can reach the gorge by car and park in 1 of 3 parking lots, take the train from Bled Station to Podhom Station and walk 15 min to the park entrance, take the bus from Bled Station to Podhom Station, or take a taxi. Directions for all of the above can be found on their official site. If you do opt for the train, make sure you have up to date train times as the ones posted when we went were outdated and we ended up having to find a taxi with the help of the staff in a local bar.
The entrance fee is €10 per person and tickets can be purchased ahead of time on your phone. We would suggest doing this as we still had to make the purchase on our phone once we reached the ticket office, but the WIFI was very slow and we almost ended up having to wait for the next time slot.
The gorge is absolutely beautiful and well worth the 3.5 or 2.6 mile walk depending on which path you choose. Currently the path is one way so you will be making a loop through the gorge back to your starting point. Parts of the path on the shorter trail are rocky and somewhat steep so keep that in mind when selecting your route.
must see sites
- Lake Bled Island
- Church
- Vintgar Gorge Walk
POSTOJNA CAVES & PIRAN
Postojna Caves:
For your last day in Slovenia, we suggest heading out to the coast with a stop at the Postojna Caves along the way. Just a 40 minute drive outside of the city center you can find the world famous cave experience, complete with underground train ride. The tour costs about €40 and takes 1.5 hours to complete. And let us warn you, dress warm because it's a chilly 50 degrees Fahrenheit down there and you are committing to the full 1.5 hours!
We learned this the hard way, showing up in our summer attire, ready for the beach and asked if it was possible to just take the train down there and back (about 30 min roundtrip) to see the caves and not do the full tour. However, with a bit of a language barrier our question got lost in translation, and while we were told that we could do this, that was not actually the case. Imagine our surprise when we go to get on the train with everyone pulling out bulky sweatshirts or renting what can only be described as a cloak that Hagrid from Harry Potter would wear and then descending into the dark and cold cave and realizing that there was not in fact a train to take us back up and the only way to get to the pick up spot was to complete the hour long walk through the freezing caves. The caves were amazing and worth the mild hypothermia to see, but to say that we needed to defrost after getting back into the sunlight is the understatement of the trip.
Piran:
About 50 minutes west of Postojna Caves, is the quaint, medieval town of Piran, where pastel buildings, clear, blue water, and delicious, Italian inspired seafood dishes await. The town is quite small and can easily be seen in a few hours with plenty of time to enjoy a meal.
There are 2 parking garages you can use, Garage Arze (more inland) or Garage Fornace (along the coast), both have free shuttle buses that leave every 15 min or you can walk about 15-20 minutes to reach Tartini Square.
Once in Tartini Square, you can meander through the streets, walk up to the city walls above the town, check out St. George's Church, take a swim, or our personal favorite, climb to the top of Punta Lighthouse at sunset to overlook the ocean! If you are hungry and want to eat some seafood or pasta, check out Rostelin, where the pasta is handmade in a little shop next door with a large window for you to watch them making the pasta right then and there.
must see sites
- The Caves
- Tartini Square
- St. George's Church
- Punta Lighthouse