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8-nights Slovenia itinerary help

I have a 2-month Europe backpacking trip this summer (which I've posted about in the general Europe forum) and one of my stops is Slovenia.

I originally was going to do:

  • 2 nights in Lake Bled (with a day trip to Lake Bohinj)
  • 4 nights in Ljubljana (with day trip to Predjama Castle and Postojna Caves)

But now I've also took interest in seeing Maribor (and potentially stepping out of the city to see some vineyards and countryside, although I don't know how doable that is without a car). So I tweaked my itinerary around to add a couple of days in Slovenia. Now I'm wondering if 8 nights would be sufficient to see Ljubljana (with the day trip), Bled, Bohinj and Maribor? I've also seen other cities near that seem really nice but I probably need to cut myself off at some point haha.

I would start in Maribor (from Zagreb, which I think makes the most sense since I'm going toward Venice after Slovenia).
How would you build that itinerary? And if you have any pointers on some ways to see a bit of Slovenian countryside without a car I'd love to know! I'll be going to a couple of national parks already during my trip, but I could always use more ''outside the city'' time.

Posted by
3835 posts

Slovenia is great! I haven't been to Maribor but would agree with you that it looks like a nice place to visit. The city has a well-done tourism website that includes contact information for the tourist information office. If no one here is able to offer you advice on how to get around the area without a car, I'm sure the TI office would be able to provide the information you need to have a nice visit to Maribor.

Posted by
5687 posts

I visited Maribor some years ago - I didn't have a car but also didn't have any interest in vineyards. My guess it that it won't be hard to find someone to give you a tour.

Maribor is an interesting if sleepy town. You might consider a day trip from there to the old town of Ptuj, the oldest town in Slovenia. It's an even more sleepy (and smaller!) town than Maribor.

Ljubljana is lovely, charming, and also fairly small (for a capital city!). It doesn't take a lot of time to see, but it makes a great base for day trips. Bled is a convenient base for exploring the lake an taking a bus trip to say Bojinj.

Consider a day trip from Ljubljana to the town of Škofja Loka (easy bus trip). It's a cute town and there are some hiking opportunities nearby.

I think two nights in Maribor, four in Ljubljana, and two in Bled is fine if you can work out the details of everything you want to see in each place.

Posted by
404 posts

I agree that Ljubljana is charming but on a tight schedule like yours, 2 days is plenty. -BUT- you are using it as a base for day trips so I think your timing is about perfect.

A packed picnic lunch before or after the cave hike is a good thing. There are tables in a cute little area.