After returning from a 6 week, nine country, experience of a lifetime across Europe, the question we keep getting from family and friends is of course “what was your favorite place?!” This question is SO hard for us because we love something about EVERY place we visited. BUT we BOTH have a gut response to answer this question, and it is Slovenia. There is something special about this country and something that truly makes you fall in love. So, we are going to provide some insight into what makes this country so magical for your visit to Slovenia!
Visit Slovenia: Our Top Picks
1) Ljubljana
The first trick to visiting the amazing capitol city of Slovenia – figuring out how to pronounce it! I won’t even attempt to spell it out – here’s a link to listen!
This capital city was one of my personal favorites during our entire trip. It is quaint, personable, and walkable. In the main area, the “old town” everything is truly within a 15 minute walk. This town also has more shopping per capita than any other European town! It is quite a college town but not in an annoying way – lots of great cafes and hangouts! Ljubljana is famous for its bridges crossing the river that runs through the center of the city. The town also has many museums and a gothic castle up on the hill overlooking the city!
We used Ljubljana as our base town in Slovenia to see the many other sights we discuss below. It was a great base town because it is central to pretty much everything and has the most access. We loved coming back to grab dinner and a drink in this beautiful town after a day exploring Slovenian countryside! We stayed in an awesome apartment associated with Adora Hotel. It was a little noisy (right above the street) but was in a great location!
2) Lake Bled
I discovered Lake Bled randomly scrolling through my Instagram feed – once I saw it I felt crazy wanderlust to go here! I was not disappointed. The town Bled is not that amazing, which is why you really don’t need to stay here for long but you MUST visit the lake and take a stroll around it.
The lake has this tiny island in the middle, Bled Island, with this gorgeous old gothic church. You can rent a rowboat and spend several hours rowing on the lake, along with taking a trip to this island. Lake Bled also has a castle perched on a sheer cliff directly above the lake. The views from the castle are absolutely the BEST. You must take a trip up to the castle to take some pictures. There is a trail to walk up but you also can drive (we learned that the hard way!). If you prefer a guided tour or arranged trip, click here!
Take a walk around the lake to the side opposite the town for the best views of the mountains. You can get some amazing pictures with the island, castle, and mountains from this side of the lake.
3) Lake Bohinj
We spent the morning and early afternoon at Lake Bled and then made the short trip to Lake Bohinj for the rest of our afternoon. We truly went here just to rent a rowboat and spend some time on the lake enjoying the mountain views. For mountains alone, this lake seemed to have better views than Bled. But Lake Bled is still AMAZING. We enjoyed a nice afternoon row-boating and watching the sunset behind the mountains before we made our way back to Ljubljana for the night.
4) Triglav National Park: Vintgar Gorge
AMAZING! We crammed the Gorge along with the Vrsic Pass and the Soca River all into one day! We highly recommend dedicating more time for the national park – it’s on our list of places to return!
The Vintgar Gorge was beautiful. There is a small entrance fee to access the Gorge. Then you walk the narrow path alongside the roaring Radovna river through the Gorge. There are mini waterfalls throughout and the Sum waterfall at the end of the path. Try to come in the off-season to avoid crowds! The Gorge is not too far from Bled and is certainly something to see on a trip to Slovenia. Click here for some more travel information on accessing the Gorge, if you aren’t going through a tour company!
4) Triglav National Park: Vrsic Pass
So this is just a road – but a road that is unbelievable. We highly suggest having a rental car during your trip in Slovenia so you do not miss a thing – including random stops on the side of the road when you want to take a picture of all the beauty! This pass offers incredible views of the Julian Alps. We suggest entering the pass after visiting the Gorge and driving all the way through to the other side and the Soca River!
5) Soca River
Nicknamed “The Emerald Beauty,” this river does not disappoint! We hope to visit Slovenia again to spend a day or so out on the river kayaking or rafting! On this trip we only had time to drive along the river and get out to play at the specific access points for getting on the water. However, based in Bovec are many different companies offering awesome river day excursions!
Here’s a video of our journey exploring these beautiful places in Slovenia:
After our trip through Slovenia, we made our way down to Croatia to the coastal village, Rovinj. BUT if you want to stay in Slovenia and still find some beaches, we have heard amazing things about the coastal town, Piran, which is still not far from the capitol, Ljubljana!
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~Brooke Hartman
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