Caves & Castles - Ljubljana

I’ve been looking at the Postojna cave website. It asks you arrive 30 minutes prior to your tour start time and to expect 90 minutes on tour. I believe they suggest 60 minutes for Predjama Castle. Sept on tours are hourly at the caves.

Not stupid. But you might have to choose 2. I saw Predjama Castle on the way to the stud farm.

I liked the tour at the stud farm. It started with an exhibition very similar to Jerez. Afterwards we had an included English tour of the barns, etc. and were able to get closer to the horses.

I think you will have to pick one cave or the other. Postonja Cave is very close to Predjama Castle. Škocjan Caves is very close to the stud farm. The difference between the caves? Postonja Cave comes with a train ride into the cave and is more of an attraction with a nature bent than a true natural experience. Škocjan Caves is very much a natural experience that requires quite a bit of walking. My original plan was to hit both caves, but I found so much in Slovenia to see that I had to narrow things down to just one. I chose Škocjan Caves and had zero regret. The Slovenians were pleased with my choice, too; all I encountered said I made the right choice. I've written this elsewhere, but toward the end of the tour at Škocjan Caves, I walked through an enormous cavern where it was hard not to do my best Gandalf impression, slamming an imaginary staff into the path and shouting "YOU... SHALL... NOT... PASS!"

Oh yeah, and Predjama Castle is usually more a "see the outside" kind of stop. The inside apparently is not that impressive (per R. Steves and per my guide who took me from Ljubljana to Piran with stops at Predjama Castle, the Park of Military History Pivka, and Škocjan Caves).

I visited the Škocjan Caves, which were impressive. I skipped the Postojna Caves which I assumed from the descriptions was more of a "theme park" experience whereas the Škocjan Caves require actual hiking. I guess some people really love those caves, but one set was enough for me.

There are so many lovely small towns in Slovenia that I'd suggest maybe adding a stop here or there to see more of them vs. just seeing another "attraction." E.g. the town of Skofja Loka about 30 mins drive from Ljubljana (you can take a bus there too) is a delightful little town. The scenic drive from there on to Bled through the mountains was spectacular - highly recommended too.

How's the stud farm??

We spent 3 hours at the Lipica Stud Farm, taking the guided tour, learning about the breeding program, and then wandering the paths and viewing the horses in the fields. It was a pleasant way to spend a morning.

You could arrive at Lipica at 9am opening time, take the 10am Guided Tour, wander the grounds for an hour and then go to the nearby Skocjan Caves in the afternoon.

We were there this past June. We did the stud farm and the Skocjan caves and it was easy to do in one day. We chose these caves because we prefer natural vs. more commercialized things. It felt more like the cave did when the original “explorers” as our guide referred to them, discovered the cave. We wished the river had been higher, but it was a dry time.

We weren’t able to see a performance or practice on the day we went to the stud farm, but that was due to our schedule. We aren’t really big horse lovers but we were still glad we went and found it very interesting. Enjoy your trip! Slovenia is beautiful..

Predjama is well worth a visit inside
Your guide had his own agenda no doubt
The Partisan Hospital Franja is very interesting too. Some way to the north

Predjama is well worth a visit inside
Your guide had his own agenda no doubt

Yeah... like keeping the customer happy 😊. For me, the Military Park at Pivka was far more interesting than the inside of a castle could ever be. It's a former Yugoslav military base. Tanks rolled out of it to put down Slovenia's successful attempt at independence. It has a Sherman and a Patton tank on display -- two of nearly 1000 tanks the US sold to Yugoslavia during the Tito-Stalin split. It has a great museum that shows the history of Yugoslavia and the history of Slovenia's move toward independence. I turned to my guide while watching video of the ceremony in Ljubljana (and on Triglav!) declaring independence and asked him what he was doing during the ceremony. He looked at me with disbelief at my foolish question and replied, "I was in the forest with a rifle, of course, like every man my age, waiting for Yugoslavia to attack."

The Partisan Hospital Franja is very interesting too.

Yup. Super cool... even though most of the original buildings washed away during a flash flood several years ago. It has been rebuilt well.

We visited Postojna cave and Predjama castle in one day from Ljubljana. We didn’t go inside the castle. Just viewed from the outside. I didn’t feel that the caves were Disney-esque. The train ride was fun, the cave is beautifully illuminated, and the tour was very interesting. Leading to the cave entry, there are a few shops and restaurants, maybe that’s what people think reminds them of Disney? Or that the cave reminds them of the Big Thunder Mountain ride!

You could probably do 2 out of 3 in one day: leave early and view the castle from outside, continue to the caves (check tour times), have lunch, then visit the stud farm.

I did Postojna Caves and Predjama Castle today as a small group day tour by Slovenian Explorer today. We left Ljubljana at 8:30 and returned at 2:30 pm with doing just those two activities.

I can recommend this tour company. One interesting guide and 5 tour participants. Hotel pick up and drop off. If you don’t have a car, this would be a great option.

I think the part of Postojna Caves that people may be thinking of when they say “Disneyland Ride” is the electric train that brings you far into the mountain to this amazing cave system. It can feel like you just boarded a ride. But, oh boy, what a ride! The train brings you past many lovely formations before depositing you at the start of the tour. The group is large, but it spreads out as you walk for the next hour through the caves. About every 10- 15 minutes, the guide will stop, pick up a strategically placed microphone and explain what will be seen in the next section of the caves. This is by far the largest cave system I have seen.

I can see why there are two camps about the Predjama Castle. The outside view is quite impressive. People wonder if the inside lives up to that? However, the inside is also interesting with a well done audio guide. Inside you could see the unique way that the natural cave shapes were blended almost seamlessly into the castle by the builders. The view back out of the castle gives a new perspective. Word of warning. Inside the castle are stairs, stairs, and more stairs.

If I was short of time and had to choose, I might skip the castle altogether and go to the stud farm. If you have time, go inside and enjoy.

You've likely already been on your trip, but we used this forum in hopes of figuring out which cave to visit during a trip we went on this summer. Maybe our experience will help others. We were in Slovenia with our elementary aged kids this July and visited Postojna, Predjama, and Skocjan in one day. We booked the earliest tour and purchased the full park ticket for Postojna tour and Predjama audio guide. We arrived a bit early and had time to check out the Expo Cave before our Postojna tour started. After the tour we grabbed some ice cream and then checked out the vivarium. We then drove to Predjama and did the audio tour (which we all enjoyed). We had lunch with a view and contemplated if we would have enough time to get to Skocjan and decided, why not. We arrived to be on the second to last tour of the day (after missing the exit and having to back track by twenty minutes). Then we drove to have dinner in Piran. It was a LONG worthwile day, with plenty of time to rest in the car. I would do it again in a heartbeat. If you are struggling to make the decision, have good walking shoes and don't mind a long day, I would recommend visiting both caves and Predjama. When we ask our kids what their favorite was, they have a different explanation every time.