Slovenia Outdoors

We have families too, and we love to take them on vacation. We understand what parents need from a family trip to Europe; We need to see our kids excited, stimulated, educated and tired out by the end of the day from having lots of fun. We have designed this trip as if we were taking our own families on a vacation and we are sure you will have as much fun as will fit into a week in Slovenia.

Itinerary

Day 1: Depart U.S.

Day 2: Arrival at Ljubljana airport and transfer to hotel. Our lodging during this trip will be at Hotel Zlatarog, situated at the far end of unspoiled Lake Bohinj at the edge of Triglav National Park. Hotel Zlatarog is a favorite summer destination for families, with swimming, kayaking and hiking all nearby. Enjoy a welcome reception before dinner at the hotel.

Day 3: We will let the kids sleep in and meet at 11 for a brief orientation. After lunch we will hike to Savica Waterfall, one of the most famous and popular waterfalls in Slovenia. Fed by mountain springs, it is about 240 feet high in total. Its waters emerge from underground channels at the top of the 78 high waterfall, disappearing underground again and resurfacing lower as a 25 m high waterfall. The hike is about an hour each direction. The rest of the afternoon we will relax at our hotel on the shores of Lake Bohinj to swim and kayak.

Day 4: Today we explore Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. A walking tour will take us through the old town and up to the castle for a beautiful view of the city. We allow a few hours of leisure time before a traditional Slovenian lunch. After lunch we will visit Lake Bled and take kayaks to the island in the middle of the lake. After a short tour of the island and its church, we will organize the children to race their kayaks once around the island. After returning the kayaks it is a short bus ride to our hotel and supper.

Day 5: This morning we will explore Triglav National Park. Mount Triglav is the highest in Slovenia and also in all of the former Yugoslavia and the Julian Alps. The scenery is truly spectacular and will remind the children of “The Sound of Music”. We take a short bus ride to Mrcina Ranch in Studor, where a herd of sturdy Icelandic horses will be saddled up and waiting to take us for a ride into these spectacular mountains. After our ride we will enjoy lunch at Studor and a visit to the Oplen House museum. Then we will hop on the bus for a short ride to the gondola at Bohinj, which rises from the lake approximately 1000 meters, ending at ski slopes with an incredible view of the valley below and the mountains of the national park. We take some time here to stretch our legs, walk around and enjoy the views from this altitude, returning afterwards to our hotel for supper and a concert by local musicians.

Day 6: Today we rise early, hop on the bus and visit the limestone caves of Postojna. These are the world’s largest tourist caves, with every sort of limestone formation one can imagine, a child’s fantasy of how a pirate cave would look. Then we visit Predjama, a medieval castle perched in a cliff. After stopping for lunch we continue to the walled city of Piran. A well-preserved Venetian port, Piran is just the right size for an afternoon’s exploration of its narrow streets, compact houses and churches. Piran’s early Greek history is revealed by its, name, which comes from pyr – the Greek word for fire. Beacon fires lit at Punta at the very tip of the peninsula were used to guide ships to the nearby port of Koper. We will stay in Piran for dinner at a charming restaurant on the water before returning to our hotel for the night.

Day 7: Today we take the bus to the Soca river to descend through the beautiful Soca valley for a few hours on a river raft. The Soca is a fast river with a good descent; river rafting is the safest way to be on such a river and both children and adults will love this adventure. Hemmingway made this area famous in his novel A Farewell to Arms, describing the experiences of an ambulance driver for the Italian army during World War I. After our raft trip we will visit the award-winning WWI museum in Kobarid (Best European Museum, 1993), the site of the greatest highland battle in human history during WWI. After dinner in a local restaurant we will return to our hotel for the evening.

Day 8: We start the day with a pleasant hike in Triglav National Park. We will take the bus to a high starting point, and walk downhill for an hour and a half, ending our little hike at a local restaurant specializing in regional dishes. After lunch we return to Bled for a boat ride on a local pletna. We return to our hotel to pack, swim, take a last kayak paddle or walk, play a rousing game of Aquarian Gladiator if the weather is warm, eat dinner and say farewell at a closing reception.

Day 9: Transfer to the Ljubljana airport and depart for home.

This tour offered in collaboration with local company Touring In Style.