Category: Slovenia
Ljubljana

Ljubljana

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Ljubljana

Ljubljana is a small nice city with a small, yet bustling center. The city is so charming and perfectly walkable, so no car is needed here. To get the best out of your stay here, I recommend that you stay one full day and night to see what all this city has to offer; and the best way is to stay somewhere in the city center to optimize your time. However, if you are a budget traveler, like me, finding a good hostel in the center can be tough, but I’ve the perfect one for you:) (click to request info). It is a hostel right in the center with all the day & night action literally just a step out of the door!

A walking tour around the city center is the best way to explore the city and I’ll give you here some tips to help you navigate the city. There are 2 main squares in Ljubljana’s city center; each on one side of the river: Mestni Trg & Presernov Trg, which are located in the pedestrian only zone. The city’s layout is along the river, so navigation is easy. I don’t suggest that you stick to a particular itinerary here, the city is very relaxed, compact, and there are hidden gems at every corner…so, armed with a good map (click to request info), just walk around, cross its famous bridges like: the dragon bridge and the famous Tromostovje bridge, visit the market, and have a bite or drink at one of the amazing riverside restaurants 

The only plan you, maybe, need to make; is if you want to visit the castle which lies on a hill overlooking the city. You can go up there by public bus or a funicular 

At night, the riverside restaurants become bustling with people, especially during the weekend, servicing nice cocktails and delicious food in an amazing setting

However, these places tend to close around midnight, so if you are up for a late-night drink, you should head to another area which is away from the river, yet only 5 minutes walking (click to request info)  
Soca Trail

Soca Trail

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Soca Trail

When you first see this majestic river, you won’t believe your eyes…its turquoise blue color is something out of this world and like no other river I’ve seen before! You’ll want to walk along this river forever to satisfy your eyes with its magnificent color & the best way to do so and discover its magnificent waterfalls and narrow deep gorges is to hike the 25 km Soca trail.

The Soca trail is the oldest hiking trail in the Triglav NP, and although it is long, it is an easy hike as you’ll always hike downstream. However, since this is a one-way hike, you’ll need to take care of some logistical steps first.

The trail starts at Soca river source, known in Slovenian language as Izvir Soca, and continues all the way to the town of Bovec and will take you around 8-10 hours to complete. Yet, arranging the logistics of this hike On Your Own is not easy, especially in low season, as most outfitters in the area offer transportation only as a part of a guided hike which the independent adventurer in you doesn’t want! When doing this hike in low season (April), the public bus that takes you from Bovec to Izvir Soca won’t be running so you need to arrange your own transport. After a lot of research, I found only one tour company that offered to transfer us (1-way) to the parking lot at the top of the trail & let me acknowledge this…their service was great and I highly recommend them (click to request info)  

Now to the hike itself. The first part of the hike will be from the parking lot where you’ll be dropped to the source of the river. This is actually a detour of the trail and the only upstream part, but the seeing the source of this majestic river with the background of the towering Julian Alps mountains is an amazing experience. It’ll only take 20 minutes to hike from the parking lot to the source and 10 minutes back. You’ll hike up in the forest next to the river and after about 10 minutes you’ll start getting the stunning views of the mountains at your back 

Continue hiking up, but be careful as the last part of the trail is along a narrow edge with sheer drops on your side! Luckily, it is easily manageable part and there are ropes that can assist you, but don’t forget to look back or you’ll miss this view:)

The source of the river is a spring in the rocks which really exemplifies the stunning meticulous order of nature as a tiny crack leads to a roaring river!! So admire & enjoy.

Now that you are back at the parking lot, you’ll start hiking the Soca trail proper which is a well-marked and easy to follow trail. From here it’ll be all downstream and easy and the beauty surrounding you will make you stop many times for pictures:) As this is the widest part of the river, the color isn’t as turquoise as further downstream, but still unique. This entire section of this trail to Alpinium Juliana will be in the shade of the forest next to the river with a nice refreshing breeze.

The next section stretches to Markov most and in this section you’ll start crossing the river through the famous Soca river hanging bridges

This will be a long section so a picnic along the river will be well deserved 

At the end of this section, you’ll cross the Markov most and walk briefly along the side of the road.

The next section continues along the river till you find a sign pointing towards 2 directions: “easy way” & “hard way”…so take your pick:) We chose the hard one as we still had some adventurous spirit in us and also we found out that the easy one will take you back along the road. The start of this way was really nice walk very close to the river

Then it took us uphill which was really tough and slippery…but you are here for the adventure:)

After around 5 km you’ll start approaching the crown jewel of the entire trail…The Soca Gorge!! Starting from here you’ll have to walk along the road as the river becomes really narrow and the gorge starts. This is nature at its best which demonstrates how forceful the water flow is and here the turquoise color of the water becomes very vivid and beautiful. 

There are many hanging bridges that cross the gorge to all you to enjoy the views and experience the force of the soca river, firsthand.

After the gorge, you’ll now enjoy a leisurely walk in the valley towards Bovec, but you’ll be tired and the grass is so green so don’t resist taking a break:)

 
Predjama Castle

Predjama Castle

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Predjama Castle

A castle built inside a cave!! Yes, it is true:) Predjama Castle is truly a one-of-kind attraction that you’ll only find in Slovenia. The Castle is located in the southwest region of the country and is easily accessible by car from Ljubljana via E70. You drive on this highway for 50 km, then you’ll find signs for the exit that takes you to a byroad towards the castle. Then, you’ll drive around 20 minutes more on this road till you reach the castle complex. However, if you don’t have a car, there are tour buses that goes from Ljubljana to the castle during the day.

You won’t believe your eyes when you first see the castle, it is an engineering marvel & since I’m an engineer, you can understand my fascination with it:)

You can enter the castle and take a tour, but for me the main reason of visiting this castle was its location, so take your time admiring it, I bet you’ll want to take a picture from every angle hoping to capture the perfect one…hope I did a good job:)

 

The ticket for entering the castle costs 14 euros/person (2018) and there is also a cave complex next to it which you can visit. For a complete list of the tours, prices, and timing, there is comprehensive website with all the details (click to request info)  

After you finish your tour, there is a nice restaurant where you can enjoy a drink or food in the terrace with amazing views of the castle…So Enjoy! 
Lake Bled

Lake Bled

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Lake Bled

Lake Bled is one of the famous touristic destinations in Slovenia & rightly so! It is a very picturesque lake with crystal clear water with towering mountains surrounding it and, above all, the small little church in the middle of the lake!!

Although you’ll find lots of organized tours offering a trip to lake Bled, it can be easily done on your own. The lake is located in the northern part of the country, near the Austrian border, and is only 40-minute drive from Ljubljana via E61. If you don’t have a car, you can still reach the area easily through one of the many regular buses from Ljubljana to Bled. Although you can visit lake Bled as a day trip, I recommend that you spend one night there and allow yourself one complete day to explore and enjoy the beauty of the area at your leisure.

Without a question, the main attraction here is the lake and you should plan your day to do as many activities as you like to explore this majestic lake and enjoy its beauty. The first must do activity is to hike the entire recreational trail around the lake; and believe me when I tell you, that you can’t get enough of this lake:) Start the hike from the far end to the church and walk counter-clockwise. This way you’ll be constantly excited with every step as you are getting closer to the church and with unobstructed views. Throughout the trail you’ll find yourself taking a multitude of pictures with every step you take, like I did:) Some from the furthest point to the church

Some when you get closer…

& some when you get to the closest point:)

However, to get the best views for the entire lake with the church in the middle, you’ve to head into the forest and up the mountains where there is a short trail that will give you the best views ever!

The Ojstrica trail will lead you uphill in the forest and after 30 minutes of hiking from the trailhead (click to request info), you’ll reach a viewpoint with the same name; and OH MY!! What a view!! 

There is also a bench at the top, so if you are lucky (like I was:), you sit, enjoy a stunning view and have an amazing picnic

When, and if, you were able to leave this view and head back down, there are some more activities that you can do and enjoy. If you want to visit the church itself, there are two ways of doing so: the adventurous way, and the relaxed one. So depending on your mood you can either rent a kayak and paddle your way to the church (will be a tough paddle if windy), or take a touristy boat ride with one of the many touristy outfitters around the lake…so make your pick:)

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