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9 nights in Slovenia with kids and teens

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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!

Posted by
4108 posts

Welcome to the forum, Jill! What a great trip for your kids.

Tourist farms to accommodate a large group

I would encourage you to write to some of the tourist information offices in the Soča Valley to see if they are aware of any tourist farms with rooms for large groups that can be rented. Here is a list of tourist information centers (with links to contact info) from the official Soča Valley tourism website: https://www.soca-valley.com/en/soca-valley/tourist-information-centres/

Daytrips from Ljubljana

  • I agree that hitting Piran on a weekday is a good idea.
  • As you may have discovered, cave options are Škocjan vs Postojna. The first is hard-core nature with a massive cavern that had me wanting to shout "You shall not pass!" like Gandalf; it was truly impressive. The second is designed to give a more touristic experience of a cave, complete with train ride. The Slovenians I encountered strongly recommended #1 over #2. I followed their advice and was not disappointed.
  • Velika Planina vs. Logar Valley. Tough choice! I would tend to go with VP because it is kind of other worldly. I would make sure you know what its status is before you go. When I went in 2019, there were significantly fewer summer herdsmen on the mountain than in the prior year. On the adjacent Mala Planina is a memorial to a US B-17 Flying Fortress that crashed there May 29, 1944. Lt Otto Hinds was flying the plane, holding it steady while the rest of the crew parachuted out. He was the last to jump, but apparently his parachute deployed in the plane or did not deploy correctly for the jump or he was too low to the ground for it to work; he ended up with a significant injury and later died at the Bela Partisan Hospital deep in the forest in the valley (there is a path in the valley to the site of the field hospital). The Nazis torched all the buildings on Mala and Velika Planina because the herdsmen would not provide any info on the US airmen. So... all the buildings have been built since then... some with material from the B-17 flying fortress. There is a restaurant on the walk between Velika Planina and Mala Planina with amazing soup. Try the herdsmen's sour milk (not to my liking, but a worthwhile experience) and cheese (yummy!).
Posted by
9 posts

Dave-
Thanks so much for the thoughtful reply. Writing the tourism office is a great idea.

I didn’t know the history of Velika Planina, so thanks for sharing. It sounds like a must-visit for us, especially for my oldest daughter who loves both aviation (an aspiring pilot) and Middle Earth. :) Skocjan caves will be on our list for the same reason.

I have read and re-read your trip report from a couple years ago, and found it so helpful. Thank you!

Posted by
4108 posts

Happy to be of help. I'm glad you found the old trip report helpful. I'm probably unnecessarily hard on Bled in the trip report; it is cool to see. If you choose to go to Vintgar Gorge (which is worthwhile), it's great if you can get there early to avoid the crowds. I'd recommend by 8 am or so (when I got there). I continue to recommend doing it as part of a loop hike that includes the Church of St Katherine and an alpine meadow as opposed to an out-and-back walk as 99% of US travelers do. The hike really does offer nice views of the small villages in the valley below the meadow, as well as great views of Bled Castle in the distance (but not of the lake).

Posted by
3113 posts

If you are going to Ljubljana, consider Hostel Celica. It was a central prison during communist times, and the rooms are the cells. Fun!!

Posted by
9 posts

Thanks for the information on the hike Dave, we will definitely be doing that. I also appreciate the hotel recommendation Paul. We have already booked lodging but will keep it in mind if we ever return to Ljubljana!

Posted by
9 posts

Thank you for the info periscope. That tourist farm does look wonderful, but the location is not quite right, as you mentioned may be the case. The Vogel cable car at lake Bohinj looks great!

Posted by
4108 posts

I will second the recommendation on the Vogel cable car and will add a recommendation to consider taking the chair lift after the cable car all the way up to Orlove Glave, where there is a prominence with a cross and a circular map that names all the peaks in view (including Triglav -- the mountain so important to the country that [1] it appears on the flag and [2] climbers raised Slovenia's flag there as part of the ceremony when the country declared its independence from Yugoslavia on 25 June 1991).

http://www.vogel.si/summer/options/chairlift-ride

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