Slovenia is one of Europe’s best-kept secrets for American travelers. With its breathtaking alpine landscapes, scenic vineyards, and charming capital city, Slovenia offers a blend of natural beauty and European culture that’s hard to beat—especially without the crowds you’d find in more popular destinations. From exhilarating hikes to picturesque bike rides and plenty of water sports options, Slovenia is an ideal spot for an active holiday. We discovered this firsthand on our recent trip, where we took on hiking trails, e-biking adventures, and mountain lake excursions in a stunning, uncrowded setting.
Like many Americans, we hadn’t previously given much thought to Slovenia—it’s not uncommon to mix it up with Slovakia or have trouble pinpointing it on a map. Our only prior Slovenian encounter was a brief drive-through from Croatia to Italy, and the 12-mile route was so brief we didn’t think much of it. But then, some good friends took an adventure trip to Slovenia and raved about it, insisting that it was our kind of destination. We enjoyed the stories and photos of their adventure and took a chance. They were right. We loved it.
Why Slovenia?
We love exploring Europe’s hidden gems, especially those with walkable cities, rich history, striking architecture, and plenty of scenic outdoor spots to explore. Slovenia checked all those boxes, and we decided to celebrate our 30th anniversary there. With a plan to hike, e-bike, and explore Slovenia’s unique landscapes, we were set for a memorable two-week adventure.
Two Weeks of Adventure
Although Slovenia is a small country-- only 10% the size of Minnesota and roughly the size of Massachusetts—we opted to spend our entire two weeks there to fully experience its landscapes and culture without feeling rushed. If you’re considering a similar trip, you could also pair it with Croatia’s beautiful Istria region. We planned our visit for late August into early September, which offered warm weather without the chill of the approaching alpine winter. As it turned out, our timing was perfect: we avoided major rainfall and even missed a massive early snowfall that hit the mountains just after we left.
Itinerary
Here’s an outline of our itinerary:
Fly into Ljubljana: 1.5 days exploring the city.
Julian Alps: 4 days of hiking with 3 nights in different mountain huts.
Lake Bohinj: 2 nights with canoeing and local exploration.
Lake Bled: 1 night.
Soča Valley: 4 days of hiking, river rafting, and e-biking.
Goriska Brda: 2 days in Slovenia’s wine country, exploring on e-bikes.
A unique highlight of our trip was Slovenia’s alpine hut-to-hut hiking experience. These mountain huts offer the basics—beds, towels, blankets, and warm meals—without the need to carry camping gear, allowing for lighter packs and longer treks. Staying in huts added an extra layer of immersion, giving us a blend of adventure and comfort with only the essentials on our backs.
Accommodations varied throughout our trip. Some nights, we slept in bunk beds and went a few days without showers. On other nights, we stayed in beautiful hotels that felt downright luxurious after time in the wilderness. This range of experiences made the trip feel all the more unique and memorable.
Vodnikov dom na Velem ploju (the first mountain hut on our trek (Triglav in the background)
Travel Planning
This was our first time using a travel planning service, and we chose to work with Slotrips based on our friends’ recommendations (ask for Katja). We knew what we wanted to see and do, and Slotrips took care of the logistics: from arranging lodging and transportation to curating our itinerary through a handy app and providing navigation for the hikes. It made everything seamless and let us focus on enjoying our trip without any planning stress. We highly recommend their services.
Ljubljana
Ljubljana, the charming capital of Slovenia, is both delightful and surprisingly easy to explore. Pronounced loo-blee-aa-nuh, this picturesque city offers an appealing mix of Austrian-influenced architecture, a vibrant riverside scene, and a relaxed, eco-friendly vibe. With its historic core free from car traffic, Ljubljana is a perfect city for a stroll. Here’s a list of top experiences you won’t want to miss:
1. Ljubljana Castle – Perched atop a hill, Ljubljana Castle provides stunning views of the city. You can either hike up the path or take the funicular from the base. We set out to take the funicular but found ourselves on the wrong street and ended up walking instead. Despite the heat, the hike was manageable and rewarding!
2. Open Kitchen (Odprta Kuhna) – If you’re in Ljubljana on a Friday in Spring or Summer, head to Pogačarjev trg for Open Kitchen, where local restaurants set up outdoor food stalls with a variety of dishes. We sampled Egyptian and Indian food, saving traditional Slovenian cuisine for the rest of our trip. It’s a lively way to enjoy global flavors in a unique setting.
3. Relax by the River – The Ljubljanica River flows through the city, lined with charming cafes, bars, and restaurants. We loved spending time here, soaking up the atmosphere. Free outdoor concerts added to the ambiance, and we found ourselves returning each evening. Highlights included riverside seats for people-watching and a cozy evening at Ala Pršuterija, where we enjoyed a spread of Slovenian charcuterie, wine, and beer.
4. Park Tivoli – Named the European Green Capital in 2016, Ljubljana is proud of its commitment to green spaces, with native forests covering almost half the city. Tivoli Park, the largest in Ljubljana, offers beautiful walking paths, gardens, and sculptures, making it a serene escape right within the city.
5. Free City Tour – Ljubljana offers complimentary walking tours, which are a fantastic way to learn more about its history and culture. The guides provide insights into the city's past and highlight significant landmarks. Make sure to tip them!
6. Admire the Architecture – Ljubljana boasts a stunning blend of Secessionist, Baroque, and Art Nouveau architecture. Architect Jože Plečnik, often credited with shaping the modern look of Ljubljana, designed many of the city’s structures. We particularly enjoyed buildings influenced by the Vienna Secession and Art Nouveau styles, especially those designed by Maks Fabiani, a noted collaborator of Otto Wagner.
7. Sample Slovenian Food and Drinks – While international flavors abound, don’t miss out on local Slovenian cuisine. Try a traditional dish like žlikrofi (Slovenian dumplings), kremšnita (a custard cream cake), or locally produced wines and craft beers. If you like sauerkraut - you can have your fill.
Lodging: We stayed at Hotel Cubo and highly recommend the hotel for its well-designed and modern rooms (price was around 130 euros) A made-to-order breakfast is included in the room price and was a delightful way to begin the day.
Triglav National Park Hiking
Rising to 9,396 feet, Mount Triglav is Slovenia’s highest peak and the crown jewel of the Julian Alps. With its distinctive three-pronged summit, Triglav holds a place of pride on the Slovenian flag, and locals say you can only be a true Slovenian once you’ve summited it. Nearly everyone we met had done it at least once in their lives, and it’s truly an impressive feat.
Triglav National Park, Slovenia’s only national park, is a pristine alpine wilderness with strict conservation rules: no camping, swimming in mountain lakes, or open fires. Instead, visitors can stay in one of 38 mountain huts, many of which are so remote they’re supplied by helicopter.
Knowing the remote nature of our planned hikes, we purchased trip insurance for the first time, just in case. With helicopter rescues rumored to cost around $10,000, it seemed like a good investment!
How Tough is the Hiking?
Hiking in Triglav National Park is no small feat. Coming from the relatively gentle trails of Minnesota, we found alpine hiking a new level of strenuous. The altitude alone (though not as high as hiking in the Rockies) was an adjustment, and the trails were steep with many elevation changes, both ascending and descending. Add in rocky terrain and you’ve got an experience full of natural obstacles like boulders and scree (loose, unstable stones that can make for a slippery, risky descent).
Hiking poles are essential here. We steered clear of “via ferrata” routes, which require helmets, chains, and clips on the severe heights and slopes, but some paths still had their adrenaline-inducing moments.
The mountain huts were a welcomed refuge with mostly cold beer and warm Slovenian food. We enjoyed the conversations with fellow hikers and stories from the day.
For more on the hut-to-hut hiking portion of the trip, we promise to tell all in another post.
Encountering Ibex on the trails was a highlight of the trip! (Two of these things are not Ibex)
Lake Bohinj
We arrived at Lake Bohinj mid-afternoon after hiking from our mountain hut Dom na Komni. We'd had a relatively easy day the day before, but no showers and were looking forward to having one at Hotel Bohinj. The hike was a bit of a slog with significant climbs and descents made slower because Roxanne slipped and jammed her bad knee. With some pain and lost confidence, she was extra cautious on the loose rock going downhill.
We made it finally to the Vogel Ski Center where we had Fantas and then beers with pizza for a late lunch. We opted to take the cable car down to the lake rather than do the road walk down the hill. We then walked the 3.5 mile lakeside path from the campground at the west end of the lake to the hotel where we showered and relaxed a bit before having a small dinner at Hotel Bohinj. They like people to have reservations even if the place is empty, and they continually reminded us of the fact we did not have the needed reservation throughout our meal. Besides that, Hotel Bohinj is an architect's delight- every detail is well-designed, and the modern rooms with balconies are very comfortable. And did we mention the wonderful shower??!!
The next day we skipped breakfast (not realizing it was included with our stay), bought some snacks at the local market, and picked up the canoe we had on reserve for the day. We then paddled the lake. The morning was cool, but warming. We made sure to paddle on the nude beach side of the lake - Roxanne's request, so many photos - and took our time on the water before finding a spot to have a little lunch and sit in the shade. We each took a little nap but then woke to gray and cloudy skies promising rain. The promise made was delivered and we huddled under a small tree while it rained hard for a good hour giving us a good soaking - then made our way back to return the canoe and stretch our legs.
We walked to and through the neighboring village of Stara Fuzina - a nice, small, tight-knit town of houses and out-buildings of the many local farmers situated on a small river. Everyone seems to heat their homes with wood, every house having cords and stacks of wood outside or in the open-air timber framed barn/shed.
We had a burger and fries dinner and went back to the hotel to read before sleep. In the morning, we had a good breakfast and caught the bus to Bled.
Bled
Bled is a cute, picturesque town on a very small lake. It's crowded and heavily touristed - everyone clamoring for Instagram photographs of the church on the island or the castle. We took the Pletna Boat Cruise to the Island Bled, where there is a hilltop church. Make sure to ring the wishing bell inside St Mary's church.
After that little excursion, we took a bus to Vintgar Gorge, along with everyone else in the area. Timed entrance tickets are required to walk with a tourist herd through this picturesque gorge.
While we had a perfectly nice time in Bled and enjoyed a nice pizza dinner on a patio and night-time stroll on the lake - I think we would both now skip Bled for extra time in the wine country or a visit to Piran on the coast.
Soča River Valley
Following Bled, we returned to the mountains - this time starting our hut-to-hut hikes in Kransjka Gora - a small town very near the Austrian border and made our way toward and then through the Soča Valley, heading westward toward Italy. We still had the view of Triglav nearly every step of the way but the hiking was easier with fewer steep climbs and elevation changes. We were, after all, hiking in the downhill direction of the Soča River - which in the spring is a raging torrent, but in late August when we were there, sometimes less than a trickle. The Soča is known for the aqua water and white limestone boulders and river bottom that accentuates the brilliant colors.
We hiked, biked, and rafted down the Soča - one day hiking in the morning and e-biking in the afternoon, the next day rafting in the morning and hiking the afternoon between lodging. We had a private and amazing meal at Kekčeva domačija (the owner is and chef and owns a vineyard in eastern Slovenia) and felt very fortunate to experience the beauty of the Slovenian mountains and the river valley. Things kept feeling more Italian - and the many memorials populating our path made great mention of Slovenia's prominent battleground status in WW1, the Russian Road and chapel, the Italian front, Ernest Hemingway being wounded as an ambulance driver in the Italian army, and in general, the horrible things that happen in war. 100 years later, the effects can still be felt in the ruins and armaments in the woods smack-dab in the beautiful scenery all around. Do soldiers in war notice the beauty all around them? If they do it must be with such a deep longing and loneliness and profound questioning.
Goriska Brda
We were driven from Kobarid after a day of hiking and then biking to Medana in the Goriksa Brda region (one of Slovenia's important wine areas) - a speck of a place just 800m from the Italian border. It felt more Italian too in the architecture, the landscape, and the food. We had an amazing multi-course dinner at Hotel Belica and a long and winding 50km e-bike ride in the morning, winding our way back and forth through Italy and Slovenia and the breathtaking views of vineyards and small villages. The grape harvest was underway and nearly finished but we saw workers in the fields and thought "Wow, that might be fun sometime. Can we do that for room and board?" and enjoyed being out early on a Sunday morning with so few cars on the twisty roads. We walked to a nearly private wine tasting at Movia Winery - hosted by the gracious Nina who knew everything about the operations and intricacy of the wine trade, harvest, and wines. Slovenian wines of this region are mostly white and slightly bubbly, not surprisingly similar to the wines of the neighboring Friuli region in Italy. If you happen to see some in your local wine shop - buy some!
We left Slovenia with unforgettable memories, new skills, and a deep appreciation for this small yet spectacular country. If you’re craving an active, scenic, and uncrowded European destination, Slovenia deserves a spot on your travel list.
Comments