Slovenia (possibly Croatia) at Christmas / New Year?

[allegretto]

Hi - has anyone been to Slovenia in the winter? I am looking for somewhere with beautiful scenery, a bit to see and hopefully a nice spa but on a budget! Are there public spas, for example, or are they in expensive hotels? Children are 12 and 6. Thanks!

(We will be driving so will have the car).

Bled is very lovely, on the lake, surrounded by hills, lots of places do wellness sort of activities.

Thanks!

We went to Kranjska Gora this summer - a ski resort about half an hour north of Bled. It was lovely and I can recommend the chalets we stayed in wholeheartedly!

The scenery is beautiful - it's in the Julian Alps - and it is on the border of both Italy and Austria so you get three countries for the price of one.

The Ramada Hotel looked nice - we went swimming there and I think they have a spa too.

Therma Catez

We went there in summer - brilliant for kids as there is a big indoor water park with lots of slides, and also a mini bowling alley and a few other things. It's a bit dated but very affordable (we paid €300 for accommodation and pool entry for 2 adults and 3 children in the summer, but in the on-site mobile homes not the hotels - the actual spa itself is attached to one of the two hotels).

It's a little bit dated but you get a whole lot for your money! Slovenia is small so no matter where you stay you can easily get to the fairytale scenery if you have a car. We visited a palace just 5 or 6 kilometres from Therma Catez which didn't look much from the outside (more of a fortress) but was amazing inside (breath taking ceiling frescos and a museum of local history inside - entry was only €6 for the whole family!)

Thank you both of you - I'll look into it.