Slovenia

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Although Slovenia is largely covered by forested areas (over 60% of its land size), it also features very diverse landscapes. Towards the northern and northeastern parts of Slovenia are the Slovenian Alps, which includes the highly visited Julian Alps and the Triglav National Park. Then large parts of the Eastern side are flat plains. The southwestern areas feature an entire network of caves, underground rivers and canyons (Postojna Caves and Skocjan Caves), as well as a very preciously short coastline with the Adriatic Sea.

Its capital, Ljubljana, is conveniently located in the central part of Slovenia.

The main tourist areas of Slovenia

The capital of Ljubljana

Because of its central and convenient location in the middle of the country, Ljubljana (‘lyoob-blyah-nah’) is often used as a base to visit the various tourist attractions all around the country.

Even then, Ljubljana is more than just a base to stay in. The capital is very small and compact, with large parts of its city centre pedestrianised as part of the city’s green and sustainability initiatives. This makes Ljubljana a very pleasant and perfect place to explore on foot. The main sights normally include the Preseren Square, Franciscan Church of the Annunciation, Ljubljana Castle, the Ljubljanica River as well as its numerous unique bridges.

Lake Bled

Lake Bled is arguably one of the most visited, as well as the most beautiful place in Slovenia. It features a medieval Bled Castle over a cliff edge, an island (Bled Island) in the middle of the lake, as well as numerous hiking routes all around. There are also amazing food, including the Bled cream cake – a specialty of Bled. It is no wonder why so many visitors flock to the lake when in Slovenia, whether on a day trip or a multiple-day stay.

The lake is located right at the border of the Triglav National Park, which is further described below.

Slovenian Alps and Triglav National Park

This northwestern part of the country is by far the most scenic and highly visited. Particularly, areas such as Lake Bohinj, Lake Jasna, Vintgar Gorge, the Vrsic Pass and the Soca River are a few of the most beautiful places that attract many tourists all year round. And especially so during the summer for the various impressive hikes, water activities and road trips. What’s more, there are some beautiful waterfalls such as the Slap Savica and Slap Kozjak. These places are part of the Julian Alps, the largest of the Slovenian Alps.

And to add as well, Mount Triglav in this area is Slovenia’s highest point at 2,863 metres (9,393 feet).

Skocjan and Postojna Caves

The southern side of Slovenia features some of the world’s most impressive cave systems, and specifically two of them are open to visitors – the Skocjan Caves and the Postojna Caves. Particularly, the Skocjan caves holds the UNESCO World Heritage status and features one of the world’s largest and most impressive underground canyon and river system.

Both caves feature impressive limestone cave formations, and the stalactites and stalagmites are the most majestic that I have ever seen.

And while you are in the area, why not also visit the Predjama Castle, which is the largest cave castle in the world. Perched precariously by a limestone cliff edge, the castle is built with a natural integration with the cave system. Many tours also combine a visit to the castle on top of a visit to Postojna Caves.

The coastline

Because Slovenia is largely landlocked with its other European neighbours, not many people actually notice that Slovenia does have a very short stretch of coastline with the Adriatic Sea. In fact, the coast only measures 47 km (29 miles) in length.

So you have another choice besides the lakes if you love some swimming during the summer. In particular, the coastal town of Piran is a great place to visit if you’d love some seafood, some swimming as well as a town to stay over.

And because this area was once under Venetian and Italian rule, Piran does feel very much more like Italy than Slovenia. In fact, the bell tower of Piran is actually modelled after the Campanile of Venice.

Getting to Slovenia

The main city in Slovenia is the capital of Ljubljana and is therefore a key gateway into the small country.

By air

There is no official carrier for Slovenia following the bankruptcy of Adria Airways in September 2019. However, there are still numerous airlines that arrive at the Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport (LJU), particularly the regional carriers from all around Europe.

Chances are that if you are flying from outside of Europe, direct flights are hard to come by. For this reason, you may have to fly into a neighbouring country before taking one of the rail or bus options below. Or hop onto a connecting flight from one of the European airports and carriers (eg, British Airways, Air France, KLM, Swiss Air or easyJet). Direct flights are available from major European cities such as London, Paris, Zurich, Amsterdam, Brussels and Madrid.

By rail

Because Slovenia is surrounded by Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia, there are multiple possible entry points by land. And if you love travelling by trains like I do, you can reach Ljubljana from Villach and Graz in Austria and from Zagreb in Croatia (all run by OBB), within a single direct journey under 3.5 hours.

It is also possible to arrive at Ljubljana from Budapest in Hungary by train, but that is going to take you over 7 hours even on a direct train. So I wouldn’t recommend doing so.

There is a lack of train connections from Italy though.

By road

You can also arrive at Ljubljana by bus, and Flixbus in particular, can bring you from Zagreb and Villach to Ljubljana in a similar time compared to the train. Flixbus also operates a service from Graz to Maribor (a Slovenian city in the east).

And if you are planning to arrive by Italy, you can also get a Flixbus service from Venice or Trieste to Ljubljana in 4 hours and 1.5 hours respectively. I personally have travelled from Ljubljana to Trieste by Flixbus.

There is also a TripstAir service that operates between the northeastern airports of Italy (Venice, Trieste and Treviso), Ljubljana and Vienna, but have not personally used the service before.

Getting around Slovenia

The best way to get around the country is by the public bus operated by Arriva. They can be easily recognised on the road by its bright cyan-coloured buses and they connect the key locations of the country. If you need to plan a journey from one point to another, you can easily make use of their website to find out the bus timings and connections.

Take note though, that I’ve found the buses to be often late by around 10 to 15 minutes. But at least they do arrive. Tickets can be purchased on board by telling the driver your desired destination – and yes they do accept cards. The cost of the tickets depends on the distance of travel but they are usually reasonable and affordable.

Getting around Ljubljana

The best way to get around the capital of Ljubljana is definitely on foot, especially when much of the city centre is pedestrianised. You probably may want to take a bus if you need to travel between the city centre and the Ljubljana bus or train station. But even then, you can also do a 15-minute walk. A bus ride in the city costs €1.50 and you can pay on board by card.

Exploring the Slovenian Alps

As I mentioned earlier, the Julian Alps is the largest part of the Slovenian Alps. While it is possible to get a public bus up to Vrsic Pass where you can do some hikes, it’d definitely be much more convenient and flexible if you drive. If you have a car, you’ll be able to stop at several points along the Soca River, hike to the Slap Kozjak and enjoy the views around Vrsic Pass easily in a day.

Getting to the southwest

If you are planning to visit Piran, the Skocjan Caves, Postonja Caves and/or Predjama Castle, then it might be easier to drive or join a couple of different day tours from Ljubljana. This is because it is not as straightforward getting to this area by the Arriva buses.

How can I manage costs?

Generally, Slovenia is not as expensive as its other western and central European counterparts. But there are still options available for you to further manage your budget.

Ljubljana Card

If you are visiting the capital (which you should), then you can definitely consider getting the Ljubljana Card. It not only gives you free entry to the Ljubljana Castle (plus the funicular ride) and a free cruise along the River Ljubljanica, it also covers all bus rides within the city. There are 24 hour, 48 hour and 72 hour options and you can read more about the card in detail here.

The cruise, the entry to the castle, plus a guided walking tour of the city will be enough for you to cover the cost of the card. So if you plan to do these activities, it will totally make sense to purchase the Ljubljana Card.

Transport pass

If you are not intending to drive or take day tours to get around, chances are that you will need some form of public transport to visit places such as Lake Bled or Lake Bohinj. The Slovenian bus services are generally quite affordable and doesn’t cost very much. But if you are planning to visit many places within a day, maybe a 1-day or 3-day transport pass will work well for you.

The pass allows you unlimited travel all around Slovenia and costs €18 and €22 for 1 and 3 days respectively. However, in order to enjoy using this day ticket, you need to also purchase a IJPP chip card for €5. You can read more in detail about this here.

Generally, I found the bus rides to be affordable. And even though I made 5 bus trips on my visit to Lake Bohinj within a single day, the total cost did not reach €18. Therefore I think it is not likely that this is worthwhile. Nevertheless, you can check the cost and timetable on the Arriva bus website to make sure.

Julian Alps Card

There are a few variations of the Julian Alps Card – one each for Bled, Bohinj, Soca Valley and Radovljica. Each variant of the card gives you benefits specifically for an area of the Julian Alps. To read in detail about each variant, you can refer to this website.

More generally, each variant gives you benefits to the attractions within the particular region, and which one to get will normally be driven by where you are staying. This is because you need to stay for a minimum of 2 nights in Bohinj and Soca Valley to be eligible for those respective cards, and minimum of 3 nights for Bled and Radovljica. Also, the card for Bled and Radovljica are free of charge.

The cards are not available all year round, so make sure to check the Julian Alps website for their applicable dates.

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