Feedback on Slovenia itinerary

Hi Pam. We were in Bled and Ljubljana last summer and enjoyed them; your trip sounds good! A couple of thoughts...
- good idea to rent your car in Ljubljana and not at the airport. I see there is a Europcar location near the train station and you can select on their website for automatic transmission.
- you say "2 day trips via bus to Bled and Vintgar Gorge hike". The Vintner Gorge hike is only a couple of miles from Bled.
Have a great trip!

Everything sounds well thought out. I would consider picking up the car a day or two earlier for your trip(s) to Bled. The bus is certainly a viable option, but having the freedom of the car might be worthwhile. I’m sure there are some cheaper, out of the way lots in Ljubljana where you can park.

My train to Zagreb in high season was packed and miserable, the bus going the other way was better. Flixbus has seat reservations, like a plane. On the other hand, Zagreb’s train station is a pleasant walk from Jelevic Square versus a tram/taxi from the bus station. Either works, small details.

If you haven’t settled your accommodations, I highly recommend Mescanka rooms in Ljubljana. Hotel Jagerhorn in Zagreb was perfect for a night or two, especially at the end of a trip.

There is a Sixt rental car office in the Ljubljana train station, entry door is on
the platform next to first railway track. Sixt is a major brand in Europe (as is
Europecar), I found them to be professional and courteous. It is pretty easy
(1 or 2 turns) to get from the railway station out of Ljubljana to the highway so
renting in the city is the better way to go IMO. Plus, the airport is in the wrong
direction of where you want to head after you pick up the car.

There should not be an additional charge to rent downtown and drop off at
airport but worth checking. Since you've not rented in Europe, be sure to inspect
the car and take pictures before you leave. They went over all of the existing
issues with the car, which gives you some idea that they do track them.

Vrsic Pass drive is not bad but if it's crowded and you are stopped on a hill it
is probably nice to have an automatic unless you're good with stick shifts.

And of course, gas is ~$8 a gallon so be prepared for that. Also, I seem to recall
that the pump colors for diesel and regular fuel are reversed in Europe compared
to the US, so be careful for that.

I would try to include the museum in Kobarid as part of your itinerary on the
second half of your trip.

There are buses from Ljubljana directly to Postojna, so for instance, if you can do
Bled/Vintgar in one day, then you have the possibility of doing Postojna/Predjama
another day before you embark on the driving.

Hi Pam - We will also be in Slovenia (plus a little of Italy near the border) for about 3 weeks in September. I am so excited!

Your itinerary looks great. I believe the airport shuttles are the best way to get to LB the evening you arrive. We are renting and returning our car in the LB downtown area, which should work for you since the FlixBus/Train departs from that area.

We plan to see the Kamnik Costume Festival on Sept 6-8 and the Cow's Ball in Bohinj on Sept 15. Have you explored the Car Train as a way to/from Bohinj?

We are including Idrija for the mercury mine tour. It is not too far from Tolmin and I believe there are hiking spots on the route between the two towns. So many choices!

Thank you very much for all the responses, great tips and suggestions. It turns out I will be staying in Kranjska Gora rather than Tolmin for the Julian Alps part of the trip. So it might make sense to see Bled/Vintgar Gorge on the drive from Ljubljana rather than Karst caves. Planning day trips from Ljubljana using public transportation to Karst Caves.

I will check out automatic car rental options from Europa Car and Sixt in Ljubljana rather than at the airport as I am staying right in the city center and can walk to the train station. What has been your experience renting from these two companies vs Avis/Hertz?

I know there is a shuttle in summer from Postojna caves to Predjama. Does anyone know if it will run in the first two weeks of September?

How difficult is it to find parking in Bled/Vintgar Gorge?

Yup, the Kobarid museum is definitely on the list. I do want to visit as many of Eastern Front sites as I can.

@Barb, which car rental company are you using? Yes, I do plan to use the shuttle the first evening to get to the city. Regarding the car train, I might do it if the timing works out that day. Otherwise, drive via Predel Pass to Kranjska Gora. Thanks for the info on the costume festival and Cow's Ball. I will see if I can fit them into my plans, depending on how much time is spent on hiking/sightseeing/WW1 sites. Yes, far too many things to do, but I do plan to return to Slovenia.

Also, do car rentals come with Vinjeta pass for highway/expressway driving or is that something I have to get separately? I am assuming there is no additional tolls to drive on the toll roads apart from the cost of pass itself. Is that correct?

In no particular order....

• I would offer that Sixt and Europcar are perhaps the Avis and Hertz of Europe. They are major companies.
  

I suspect the toll sticker is not standard on every car. I asked when I rented
my car and they changed the car they were going to give to me.

• the shuttle between Postojna and Predjama was running in April, so I have to
  assume it will be running in September

• can't speak for Vintgar, but parking in Bled can be a bit tricky. There is street
  parking. and the lower lots in the commercial area are pay lots. Another street
  or two up, and the parking was free.

• it is about ~30 miles from downtown Ljubljana to Bled, so I think spending the
  day in Bled/Vintgar and then driving to Kransjka Gora via Jesenice would be
  another option for the first day. Going via Predel Pass doesn't seem very
  efficient unless I'm missing something.

"drive to Ljubljana airport to drop off rental car and depart to Zagreb in the afternoon via bus/train/GoOpti shuttle."

For our trip, I'm renting from Sixt from LJU airport and dropping at ZAG. The extra drop cost was minimal vs the hassle of dropping car and taking a bus (with 4 people...) and we can use the time saved to see Zagreb for a few hours.

Don't mean to add confusion, and I'm not an expert on Slovenia at all (but I hope to know more after our trip in 2 weeks) but looking at the amount of time you have I'd lean towards 3 bases for exploration. First is stay in LJU for a few days when you arrive - easiest for jet-lag. From there you can see the City and make easy trips to the caves and such. Then have one chunk of time on the "east" side (Bled/Bohinj/Vintgar/Kranjska Gora) maybe even pop up to Austria. And a second chunk of time for the "west" side - basically the Soca Valley/Tomlin/Kobarid - and maybe pop over the Italy if the mood strikes.

Someone mentioned the motor rail from Bohinj - which we hope to do and looks pretty fun (and efficient).

https://www.goslovenia.si/travel-guide/car-train-in-slovenia/

@pam

My husband and I will be traveling with another couple and we did a lot of car rental cost comparison. Our choice was impacted by wanting all 4 drivers on the contract. And we will cross the borders of Austria, Italy, and Croatia during our trip.

We chose Renty.si, a Slovenian company that gets great reviews and permits additional drivers at no cost. Most companies allow 2 drivers with the standard rental and then add a hefty fee for additional drivers. The other companies we were down to were ATET, Avantcar, and Autoeurope. All have downtown locations, although Renty and ATET are not right near the train station.

Renty, ATET, and Avantcar were all super responsive to my emailed questions and each automatically included a Slovenian vignette. Every car rental agency added a different cross-border fee (in addition to the different toll passes). There were lots of variables for us to consider, your needs may not be as convoluted as ours!

Thanks everyone for all the feedback.

@Barb, thank you for car rental company information. I wasn't aware of extra car rental charges for crossing the border even if not dropping the rental car in a different country. That's good to know.

@jboat, I know from my past trips that frequent lodging changes is not something I enjoy. I much prefer to stay longer in each base and cover as many sights as convenient and skip anything out of the way and cover it during a different trip.

@shoeflyer, Predel Pass option is for return trip for Vrsic Pass drive from Kranjska Gora to Soca Valley, not for the drive from Ljubljana to Kransjka Gora. For Vrsic Pass drive, I might do the car train for the trip back from Most na Soči to Lake Bohinj and then drive to Kranjska Gora if the train times work out.

Another question: what prefix does one use to call emergency (112) or roadside assistance (1987) numbers in Slovenia from a US phone? I have, so far, never needs to call these numbers, but since I will be driving for the first time in Europe, I thought I should make myself aware of this information.

Thank you.

We did a similar road trip in July, here is my report, some of it might be helpful to your planning:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/slovenia-14-days-13-nights-road-trip