Slovenia ideas and advise

[runlift]

I've been looking into our summer holiday and have landed on Slovenia. We have two children-6 and 4 and would like a mix of active type holiday (young children friendly) -walking, boat trips, cable cars, climbing, go ape style stuff, horse riding etc, and a beach, warm style holiday.

I was thinking of flying to Ljubljana and transferring straight to one of the lake destinations -bled or bohinj and staying for a week there. Hiring a car so we can travel around and go on day trips. I am torn between a more expensive hotel/eco resort, something more basic in a beautiful remote setting and a farm stay. Any recommendations welcome! Will we have enough to do?

Then for the second week going down to the coast to Piran for a lovely hotel break. Is there much to do there, is it warm enough? Or are there other nearby beach resorts that we should look at eg. Italy.

Thank you!

We stay at Bohinj regularly and never had an trouble with language
As well as he big hotels (by the lake & ECO hotel) there are lots of Soba (rooms to rent) in the surrounding villages, we are lucky enough to have access to a friends house so can't recommend any from personal experience, but we used to eat at Hiša Erlah before is became a Hotel, it was always good and great location less than 5 minutes walk from the lake in a beautiful location

Lake Bohinj - great to swim in in the summer, and plenty of things for the kids to do (cycling, cannoning, canoeing) as well as hiking

We were in Slovenia with our 6 yr old DTs last year. Went through Piran which I think would be good for a seaside bit of the holiday but we actually stayed in Rovinj (Croatia).

In Slovenia we did both the Skocjan Caves and Postojna Caves. The kids managed the walking needed for the Skocjan Caves fine. You can’t prebook the Skocjan Caves but definitely recommend you do prebook the Postojna Caves as queues are long. You can book a ticket that includes Predjama Castle which is also good.

The Soca Valley/Bovec is beautiful! We stayed at Pristava Lepena which was nice but really over-priced for what it is so not sure I would recommend. There is a Cable Car in Bovec which is fab. Is is possible to walk at the top but you need to be prepared for the fact it’s a proper big mountain you are on - steep and ice and snow etc!

We also did a family rafting trip with Soca Rafting which was the highlight of the holidays. There is a minimum height requirement- I think it’s 1m10.

We then drove the Vrsic Pass which is not to be missed and just had an afternoon at Bled which was lovely but very busy. Then stayed in an Airbnb by Lake Bohinj. Definitely prettier than Bled (in my opinion) but also colder! There is also a cable car there and again lots of walks at the top - and it’s lower than the Bovec one so more practical with kids. There is a boat across the lake but also kayaks/paddle boards etc to hire. We had a rainy day whilst there so went and used the pool at the Eco Hotel.

Finished the holiday with a day in Ljubljana. It’s a beautiful city but not massive so 1-2 days is fine. We stayed at the Adora Hotel which was nice.

If you are hiring a car it’s worth checking one way fees and crossing borders b fore you book flights. Picking up in Ljubljana and dropping in Trieste could be difficult.

@ginswinger many thanks for the recommendation for the Rikli Balance - I looked it up after seeing it mentioned on this thread, stayed there last week and we LOVED it!

Also @acatcalledjohn - we didn't go to Julija but to their sister restaurant, Robba - it was lovely.

Seconding Lipica Horses but try make sure you go when there's a show on, outside of this it's just expensive stables

Definitely Bohinj rather than Bled! Much more of an 'authentic' Slovenian experience rather than the Disney version. We stayed in some amazing mountain huts, but also a Soba room in Stara Fuzina, the largest village near the lake. We did a three-day hike in the hills around the lake, which was spectacular. The best experience was A tiny hut which used to be used as a summer cheese dairy, it can sleep up to six but the three of us were the only people staying overnight. Old wooden shingles on the roof, a wood stove, it was a fab experience. Next year we'd like to do Triglav, but that requires a lot of planning and better fitness.

Overall we were blown away by Slovenia, we'll definitely be going back.

The only down side: both DDs are vegetarian and it's something of a carnivore paradise.

I'm going to mention river swimming around Bovec. Because the coastline is so small and not cheap to stay there, an alternative is staying at Bovec and driving to a river to swim. It's not hard to find a place, just find a car park near a river and you're there! We went to lots of places and had a great time. The water is off the mountains and cold but perfect when it's 35 degrees. The Natisone river was a favourite of ours with plenty of campsites and hostels nearby.

If you're at Bovec, maybe visit Kobarid, a town with a rich history.

A word of caution, the Italian border is not often marked and it's easy to sail across it in these areas. If you don't have the insurance to cross the border, that could be a problem.

Following

Slovenia sounds like a great option for us - looking for somewhere sunny and beautiful with lovely towns and plenty of activities for our kids who will be 8 and 12 next summer (and DH who likes to ‘do stuff’ on holiday!).

Think we’d like hire a cottage as prefer self catering. Could anyone recommend two good locations (to do a week or so in each)? Or one good base? And any advice on what prices are like for eating out etc?

Thanks in advance 😊

This sounds like a great option for us too. Are there any good waterparks you can recommend?