Hello! I have been lurking here for awhile and learned so much already from the helpful posts. We are a family of 6 from Washington State, two parents plus four kids, ages 10, 11, 13, and 16. We will be traveling to Italy for 15 nights mid to late June, then moving to Slovenia at the beginning of July for the final 9 nights of our trip. We will be joined by my 16 year old's 18 year old friend for the last 14 nights of the trip, which will make us a group of 7 while in Slovenia. We will be renting a 9 passenger van.
In Italy, we will be visiting Rome, Florence, Emilia Romagna (2 nights at an agriturismo and 3 in Bologna), and Venice, in that order. In Slovenia, we currently have 4 nights (Saturday-Wednesday) booked at an apartment in the town of Kobarid (minimum stay of 4 nights required), followed by 5 nights (Wednesday-Monday) booked with Marriott points at the Four Points in Ljubljana.
I am hoping Slovenia will feel like a bit of an escape from the heat and crowds of Italy, and I would like to not be rushing around from place to place too much.
While in Kobarid, we would like to do some hiking and maybe biking, go rafting, maybe visit an adventure park with a ropes course, and visit a farm (agriculture is of particular interest to my husband.)
While in Ljubljana, I would like to work in day trips to Piran (a must!), Velika Planina or Logarska Dolina, Lake Bled and/or Bohinj. We also want to experience Ljubljana itself, and eat at the Open Kitchen on Friday and possibly visit the flea market(?) on Sunday. Additionally, somewhere in here I would like to visit Predjama castle and one of the caves. Phew! So much for slowing down in Slovenia!
Our 5 nights in Ljubljana at the end are pretty much set in stone, and we are flying out of the Ljubljana airport. While I am content with the large apartment in Kobarid, especially at the price of 150 euro/night, I have still been looking for a tourist farm that could accommodate us for less than 200 euro/night. There is not an overwhelming amount of information on groups our size traveling in Slovenia, and often apartments on farms will have space for up to 6, but not 7. Once you have to book 2 separate units, the price really goes up!
I am looking for suggestions for tourist farms that could accommodate our group, and it doesn't necessarily have to be in Kobarid. We are just looking for some good hiking or biking, and a rafting trip or other semi-adventurous activities. Also, suggestions on choosing and organizing our day trips from Ljubljana. I was thinking of visiting Piran on Thursday in hopes of maybe avoiding some of the worst weekend crowds. Thanks in advance!