Slovenia

What to see

Ljubljana

Attractive capital city of cobbled streets and imposing Baroque and Hapsburg architecture that is presided over by a hilltop castle. There’s also a great café scene by the river and some lively nightspots too.

Lipica

Known for the famous white Lippizaner horses, which were first bred here for the Spanish Riding School in Vienna. Tour the stud farm and watch breathtaking riding performances of skill and technique.

Ptuj

Medieval town that is full of history and cultural monuments including a castle, museum, monastery and churches.

Bovec

Outdoor activity centre and a great gateway to the Julian Alps that sees adventure enthusiasts flock to it.

Sempeter

Roman-era necropolis containing complete tombs and a mass of columns, stellae and fragments carved with characters and mythological beasts.

Kranjska Gora

Slovenia’s best ski resort and an up-and-coming destination for powder fanatics.

Top experiences / sites of particular interest

Lake Bled and Lake Bohinj

Fairytale-type lake with an island church and atmospheric castle. Walk the water’s edge or plunge into the lake to cool off during summer. During the winter the water freezes and is ideal for skating and curling.

Bohinj

is less-visited and consequently more serene.

Julian Alps

Rugged mountain range that remains one of Europe’s least spoiled. Head here for bold trekking excursions or to tackle some of the scrambles and climbs in the region.

Mount Triglav

Sacred summit and a place of pilgrimage for Slovenes looking to hike, scramble and climb.

Scocjan Caves

Carved out by the Reka River, the 5800m long caves are thought to be the world’s largest underground canyon system.

When to go

Weather & Seasons: Slovenia is blessed with warm summers, between May and September. Winters, however, are cold. Snow is frequent, with the best skiing conditions being from December to March.

Important Dates and Festivals: There are a wealth of festivals and events to look out for. Most popular is the Beer and Flowers Festival, the local equivalent of Octoberfest, which is held in June. The nation’s premier cultural event, the Ljubljana Festival takes place between July and September.

Getting there / around

Flights: There is an international airport close to Ljubljana. There are no scheduled domestic flights.

Rail: Rail links are reasonable and train travel is cheap.

Road: Roads are good, well-maintained and expanding.Buses and coaches are most commonly used to connect the majority of towns. Car hire is also readily available in the main centres. Beware that driving, especially in the Julian Alps can be a hair-raising business – there are 49 hairpin bends to negotiate to cross the Vrsic Pass for instance.

Potential itineraries

City Breaks: Because the Slovenia is so small and compact it’s easy to get about and to see a lot of what is on offer in a short space of time. In just a couple of days you can complete a circuit of some of the most attractive scenery the country has to offer.

Short Trips:If you go a little slower and take a bit more time then you can stop to revel in what you find. Begin in Ljubljana then head into the mountains towards Kranj and Bled. Head to the ski centre Kranjska Gora, explore Triglav National Park and exercise your legs before crossing the Vrsic Pass and descending to Bovec. Follow the Idrijca River southeast before looping back to your start point.Again, in under a week you can head south west from Ljubljana through the Karst region, past the Skocjan Caves to Lipica. Push on to the coast and explore the stretch of Adriatic shoreline around Izola and Piran.

Guides

Overall Country Guides: There are comprehensive country guidebooks to Slovenia available from Lonely Planet, Rough Guides and Bradt.

Pocket Guides: Concise, pocket sized guides are published by Insight and Berlitz.

City Guides:Thomas Cook produce a city guide to Ljubljana whilst their is a Moon Spotlight guide to Zagreb & Ljubljana.

Walking & Climbing Guides: Walkers are well-catered for by Cicerone who publish a good guide to the Julian Alps and a more general book on Trekking in Slovenia. Climbers should pack a copy of Mountaineering in Slovenia or Slovenia Sports Climbs, both produced by Sidarta.

Maps

Road Maps: There are good road maps and complete country coverage of Slovenia from Reise Know-HowandFreytag & Berndt .

Top 10: Freytag & Berndt also publish an interesting Slovenia Top 10 Tips map featuring recommended sites.

City Maps: Freytag & Berndt also cover Ljubljana. The Julian Alps are covered by Freytag & Berndt.

Read More

Slovenia is poorly covered by travel writers and often merits only a chapter in the course of a bigger story. Rebecca West’s Black Lamb and Grey Falcontarries for almost no time at all, whilst Colm Toibin’s The Sign of the Cross, Travels in Catholic Europe includes just a single short chapter.

For an insight into local life read Forbidden Bread by Erica Johnson Debeljak, a memoir of an American woman who followed her Slovenian husband home.

Local Dishes

Lookout for Austro-German influenced food such as sauerkraut, sausage and strudel as well as breads stuffed with savoury and sweet fillings. Try the decent local red and white wines to accompany your food.

Sight & Sound

Music: Music, especially classical, is very important in Slovenia. Listen out for choral singing in churches and monasteries and folk songs being sung in the mountainous regions and rural areas. Ljudska glasba (folk music) is usually accompanied by the frajtonarica (button accordion) bisernica (lute) and several types of flute.

Language

Slovenian and Serbo-Croat.

Currency

Euro (€) made up of 100 cents.

Visas

UK and US citizens do not require a visa before entering the country.

Health issues

issues Inoculations for hep A, hep B, rabies, tick borne encephalitis (TBE) and typhoid are recommended.

Safety, FO travel advice

Generally safe.

Useful Telephone Numbers

Slovenian country representatives can be found

in the UK at

and in the US at

There are no tourist boards in either country.
For more information visit: www.slovenia.info.