I recently wrote down some of our experiences / suggestions in Slovenia for friends who plan to visit it for the first time. I figured why not share it here as well. Perhaps of use to someone.
Slovenia
The most beautiful thing about Slovenia is its nature. There are many different landscapes and natural features. It's a wonderful country for hiking, cycling, canoeing, flyfishing and camping. The many incredibly clear rivers — with the Soča being the largest and most well-known — vary in color from emerald green, to blue, to yellow. The colors often resemble those of a subtropical swimming paradise. You’ll also come across countless gorges and waterfalls (waterfall = "Slap") you can hike to. However, the water is very cold — sometimes too cold for swimming, though playing in the shallower parts is fine. Thanks to the thousands of kilometers of rivers, it's easy to find your own private pebble beach for swimming or picnicking.
Slovenia is incredibly diverse, but not very large. I think the travel time from one end to the other is comparable to the Netherlands. Despite the mountain roads, it’s totally doable to be in the mountains in the morning, in a city in the afternoon, and by the sea in the evening. The roads, built with European subsidies, are excellent. However, a vignette (toll sticker) is required — which you can buy in Austria or Italy, or just after crossing the border.
Slovenia is heavily focused on outdoor sports like kayaking, paragliding, and mountain biking. They’re also ahead in terms of sustainability — almost everywhere you’ll find waste separation and various eco-friendly options. The food is generally simple but tasty and very affordable. Influenced in some regions by the proximity or Autria, but also in otehr parts heavily by the italian kitchen. There are several places where you can enjoy fine dining if that is something you enjoy.
In short, you can divide Slovenia into: natural parks, mountain regions, wine areas, salt flats, a small coastline, and a few ‘big’ cities. Rivers, waterfalls, valleys, and castles. Triglav is, in my opinion, the most touristy area, but also incredibly beautiful. Other parts of the country are quieter and less extreme in terms of nature, but still absolutely worthwhile. People often speak English, or (some) German, and Italian in the border regions and are always very friendly in our experience.
Triglav National Park
Located in the northwest of the country, Triglav National Park is without a doubt the most beautiful area in Slovenia. The mountain Triglav holds a significant place in the country’s history and culture. Just driving here with a campervan is an experience — you’ll be amazed at every turn. If you enter the country from this side, you’ll be really impressed. Keep in mind that some parts of the mountains you might not want to pass through in the dark. There’s a pass with 64 hairpin bends for example.
Soča Trail (Soča Pot)
The Soča Trail is an accessible, beautiful, and varied walk along the banks of the Soča river. It’s a very long trail that follows the river and is very doable, even with children. The nice part is you can do a section at a time and then pick up a different section later in your vacation.
Lake Bled and Lake Bohinj
These lakes are well-known tourist attractions. It will be relatively busy during peak season — for good reason, as they are truly beautiful places. If you have the chance to visit Slovenia in the off season, may or june or september are great times.
Ljubljana
Slovenia doesn’t have many large cities, and even the capital Ljubljana is not too big and can mostly be visited by foot. Beautiful, atmospheric old buildings and canals. Definitely worth visiting. A day or two (or a day trip) is enough.
Piran
Slovenia also has a small stretch of Adriatic coast. A must-visit is Piran — a beautiful little coastal town nestled against a hill. We’ve been here a few times and love it. A lovely, large central square overlooks a small harbor and the sea. Important to know: the city center is car-free. You can park the camper just before entering the center, and from there it’s an easy walk.
Velika Planina
Absolutely highly recommended. If there’s one trip you shouldn’t skip, it’s this. It’s an original herder village high in the mountains on a karst plateau — kind of like an open-air museum with many traditional wooden houses. It reminded me of an old Japanese samurai village. You can sample local food, milk, etc. There are two ways to get there: the easiest is by cable car. But for those with a fear of heights (like me), you can drive up to a certain point by car and then hike the rest of the way. It’s a beautiful hike and well-trodden, but perhaps a bit long for small kids. We brought bikes and cycled the rest of the way (mountain bikes). It’s doable, though quite steep — so we had to walk parts of it. If everyone’s okay with the cable car, I’d recommend that option.
Predjama Castle
A medieval castle built into a rock face. It’s stunning. You can go inside and explore for an hour or so, and there’s food and drink available. The castle and its setting are the main attractions.
Postojna Caves
These are enormous caves where you can take a guided tour — optionally by train. Truly vast and tall. It was quite a walk on foot. Slovenia has several other major caves that are also worth visiting.
Salt Flats
Slovenia is known for its large salt extraction flats. A surreal landscape. We haven’t had the chance to visit them yet, but they’re often mentioned as a highlight.
Wine
Slovenia has vast wine regions, comparable to Burgundy. Pleasant rolling hills. Several wine farms double as a camp site. We once stayed with a lovely family (Camping Vrhpolje) who welcomed us with wine from their vineyards accompanied by olives. They let us borrow their bikes.
Hiša Franko
If you’re up for a true culinary experience, try Hiša Franko. It’s not cheap, but you’ll be dining at a Michelin-star level. We once had a fantastic dinner here together. Beautiful outdoor seating.
Campsites
Kamp Soča
We once ended up here by chance, outside the peak season, in Triglav National Park. A beautiful green campsite located at the confluence of the Soča and Lepena rivers, surrounded by massive mountains. A stunning place. You can choose your own spot, campfires are allowed, and the river is just steps away. In the morning, they offer a wide variety of fresh rolls. One of many charming wooden suspension bridges takes you across the river. In high season i twill be busy, as Slovenia has become quite famous with tourist in the last decade or so.
Kamp Klin
Across the river from Kamp Soca lies Pension and Camping Klin — an open, green meadow campsite with the same amazing mountain views and river junction. There’s also a restaurant. When we were here in peak season last time, it was noticeably busier. We usually don’t reserve spots, but during high season it might be smart to book one of these two as your starting point. There’s plenty to do in the area for a long stay. Either of these camp sites is lovely and a great place to start when you arrive in Slovenia coming from teh North of Europa. They are a great starting point from which to discover Triglav National Park.
Kamp Vili
This campsite deserves a proper intro. It’s a beautiful, small, terraced campsite along the Soča, run by owner Vili. The atmosphere is cozy, almost a bit hippie. Young folks, but also older people with camper vans. Vili often cooks for his guests and it’s super relaxed. But… Vili is a very, very strange guy. The first time we randomly arrived, he started talking about Srebrenica and who-knows-what when he found out we were Dutch. He’s definitely half drunk most of the time — if not more. He jokingly (?) mentioned that my wife could stay if she left me outside. We laughed it off and ended up having a great time, and he turned out to be very friendly. But he does this weird ‘gatekeeping’ thing. Last time, with the kids, he said other campsites would be better for families — not very welcoming. It kind of makes you want to leave. But that’s just his thing. If you push through and joke around a bit, and not take hi mto serioulsy he’ll let you in and you’ll have a great time. Just good to know beforehand — otherwise you’ll turn around after three minutes and never come back. Reviews online show it clearly: 50% think it's the best campsite on Earth, 50% say they’ve never been treated so rudely and strongly advise against visiting it.
Camping Forest School Mozirje
Even in high season, this relatively new and charming campsite wasn’t too busy. It’s in a less touristy area, but we stayed longer than planned because we liked it so much. Beautiful and spacious.
Kamp Škoflje
A large open field surrounded by forest and along a smaller river, perfect for swimming. This campsite felt like wild camping. A few other people were there, but it was so spacious it felt like you were alone. Not much to do besides swimming and fishing. This is a great base to visit the Postojna Caves. For example, you could go from Triglav to Ljubljana, then via the caves and/or Predjama Castle to this site, and continue toward Piran.
Kamp Šobec
A huge campsite. Green and with a natural swimming area — basically a diverted part of the river made into a small lake. Not the coziest, but perfectly fine. It’s especially useful if you want to visit Lake Bled, since this campsite almost always has availability due to its size.
Camping Vrhpolje
A very small garden campsite. It’s basically a family of winemakers hosting you in their backyard. Friendly people who greet you with olives and homemade red wine. If it’s not too crowded, it’s a perfect place for a stopover or short stay. We were allowed to borrow their bikes with child seats.
Kamp Lazar
We once had lunch here, didn’t camp. Looked like a great site and we made a note to remember it for the future.
As a family we’ve been to Slovenia around 6 times now, and I’ve also gone by myself 4 or 5 times for fishing and hiking. If you’re limited on time and have to choose, I’d definitely not skip: Triglav, Piran, and Velika Planina. But within a 2 week vacation, you can easily add salt flats, caves, and castles. On our first two visits we focused on Triglav, with side trips to the coast, Ljubljana, and some local sightseeing, but on later visits we explored more of the country. If you have 3 weeks you’ll definietly have enough time to sufficiently visit the country and see all it has to offer. Be ware though, you will want to go back again and again.
