If we liked Slovenia, where else ..?

[Yika]

We (single mum me with my tween DD) are just back from Slovenia. We loved the diversity of activities, the beautiful scenery and mountain air, the hikes (me), adventure sports (DD) and the lakes. Where could we go next that would provide a similar mix?

Slovakia has all the above, although I haven't been to Slovenia so I don't know how they compare. Plenty of hiking, beautiful scenery, kayaking, raft rides, dry toboggans, waterparks.

Italy? Friuli is (obviously!) very similar to Slovenia.

Thanks, will look into Slovakia!

..and Friuli!

@Yika

Where did you stay? Was it value for money and what was the weather like?

I’d love to hear more about your holiday in Slovenia OP

Bavaria - but it’s expensive

Slovenia is fab! Austria, Bavaria, parts of Croatia would offer similar.

The alps in summer are lovely. We stayed in Morzine. You can buy a cheap tourist pass that gives access to the gondola and chair lifts. There is an open air swimming pool with a slide and an indoor one up in Avoriaz with lazy river etc. Lots of mountain walking surrounded by the tinkling of cow bells (easy with the chair lifts). Mountain lakes for kayaking, river rafting, pony trekking, gorge walks etc. Plus Lake Geneva & Evian in easy day trip distance. So much to do!

Sounds amazing OP - following for ideas!

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll look into all of these.

@weekendninja we stayed in 3 locations: in the mountains near Kobarid, a lakeside village at Bohinj, and Bled. They were all lovely and Kobarid allowed us to explore the Soca valley (which was also where we did the white water rafting). Lake Bohinj is simply beautiful and it's much quieter than Bled - though Bled is lovely too. Again lots of outdoor activities in the Bohinj area. But you could easily stay in one location and do day trips. Everything is accessible and public transport is fantastic. I hired a car but it wasn't really necessary. In general I found Slovenia very clean and environmentally conscious - actively encouraging public transport (discounted or some even free if you stay in Bled for a minimum number of days), signs up everywhere encouraging people to drink tap rather than bottled water, free dispensers of natural sunscreen at the lido to avoid chemicals in the lake, etc.

In answer to your other questions, yes I found it good value for money - food for example was relatively cheap and I thought the activities were good value too - and the weather was lovely - mostly very hot (26-30) with a couple of thunderstorms and cooler days.

Op Slovenia sounds perfect for me as a single mum!

would love to hear more about where you stayed and what you did?

An sorry just seen

How long did you go for? Total cost?

Another vote for Slovakia, especially Eastern Slovakia and the Tatra mountains - it's inland, but has beautiful scenery and lots of castles and medeival towns. Very underrated. If it's outdoor activities, stay in or near the Tatras - you can also visit Slovensky Raj, which is a series of hills and ravines with some stunning walks that are good for active kids - they include ladders, suspended bridges etc so it's quite exciting.

Romania was surprisingly good. I also love the Czech Republic but the town's are mainly on rivers (so lots of kayaking and beautiful castles) rather than lakes.

The Austrian Lakes; Achensee, Mondsee, Attersee, Wolfgangsee are all extremely beautiful. As are the German equivalents - Alpsee, Ammersee and Titisee and I'm sure there are loads more in both countries.

Austria.

Southern Germany (Bodensee)

Montenegro and Albania for sure. The romanian mountains around Brasov or Sigisoara are also beautiful, quiet, with lots to do.

@Endlesslypatient82 we only went for a week but there is so much we didn't do and would still like to (we didn't really visit any sights other than outdoor ones). I wouldn't like to quote our budget as I booked quite late so paid over the odds and we weren't particularly on a tight budget. There is plenty of free stuff to do e.g. you can swim directly in the lakes for free, there are many lovely walks etc. Activities such as the rafting or zip lining were around 50-60 EUR per person. There were many young people and families.

No advice but I loved Slovenia! Would love to go back. We stayed in Bled but Lake Bohinj is stunning too

Montenegro and Albania for sure. The romanian mountains around Brasov or Sigisoara are also beautiful, quiet, with lots to do.

For a complete change of pace (or completely flat) you may consider a few nights in Berlin (visit the big sights and Potsdam) then hire a car and head south to Tropical Islands (which is fabulous and if budget is tight you can stay in the campsite or a Novasol holiday let in the area around the big swimming dome. Then a week travelling through Brandenburg. It’s pretty flat, but you can kayak your way through gherkin-growing villages - you can buy beer and gherkins from local sellers’ back gardens as you go around! - and it feels very German. Beware it can be roasting hot in summer (but then so can the UK these days…)

We have just come back from a day trip to Slovenia (from Italy) and I loved it! We went to the Postojna Caves and the Predjama Castle and even my 12-year-old was impressed! It's so beautiful and amazingly well-organised. It immediately struck me how similar it is to Austria. I love Austria and used to live there and Slovenia had a similar feel. Of course Slovenia was part of the Austria-Hungarian Empire, so it's no wonder they are very much like Austria.

So if you loved Slovenia - go to Austria! It's one of my favourite places on Earth.

If you liked the alpine bit of Slovenia Transylvania is fantastic. Stay in Brasov or Sibiu. Utterly beautiful, very cheap.

Can fly to Bacău instead of Bucharest (which is grim as a family, avoid).

If you preferred coastal Slovenia try Montenegro.