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Help with self-guided day trip to Julian Alps in December

Posted by (Minnesota) on

Our family of 5 (2 adults and 3 college aged kids) will be traveling to Croatia and Slovania the end of December. We would like to plan a one day self-guided drive to the Julian Alps. We will have a rental car with snow tires and we are use to driving in snow (we live in Minnesota). We will have a back up plan in case of bad weather or poor driving conditions.

Looking for insight on the best day trip driving loop, starting and returning to Ljubiana.

I have reviewed the RS Julian Alps drive, but looking for any insight on the best winter stops. We will have appropriate winter hiking gear and are use to cold weather. We are not planning to do any skiing or winter sports, but would love to do some short hikes and take in the winter scenery. Also, any good restaurant or must sees along the way? We will have snow tires, but our rental car company does not offer chains (they said not needed, but read a couple places Italy may require).

Any insight would be appreciated. It has been hard to find a lot of information on a December driving trip. RS book mentions accessing Soca Valley by going through Italy since Vrsic Pass will be closed for season.

Posted by
1200 posts

I think there's a good chance that the Vrsic Pass will be closed at that time of the year, so
check the conditions when you are there. Even if you can access it, I would be a bit leery
of driving it. Once you start it, there are few options for turning around if the conditions
are worse than you thought. Even though you are used to winter driving, winter driving
on fairly steep hills on narrow roads with tight switchbacks is another thing. There is
hardly any margin for error if the other person coming at you makes a mistake.

This probably means your alternative is going to Tarvisio and meeting the RS route just
before Bovec and going from there. I have not done this drive, but Street View ought
to be able to show you what it looks like.

I would also say that a 1 day trip has the potential to be a (very) long day, depending on
how many stops you make, and the weather conditions. And it will get dark fairly early
obviously. Apart from some short hikes and such, the museum in Kobarid could be a
couple of hours, and you'll drive more or less right by Skocjan and Postojna Caves, all
of which are worthy stops. And you would most likely skip Bled entirely to fit the drive
into a day.

You could also spend a day or two in Kranjska Gora and do some winter sports.

Depending on your pre/post itinerary, I might consider ditching the 1-day loop idea and
plan to spend a night or two on the drive, staying in Kobarid or someplace else along the
way.

Posted by
13 posts

Thanks for the tips. I'll check out the spots you mentioned. We will be doing Bled area a different day.

It looked like there were some appropriate winter hikes near Bovec that could be worthwhile in case anyone has any insights (Boka and Virje waterfalls). We will have winter hiking gear.

Posted by
1200 posts

The Bovec tourist office website has brochures and such, and can be reached by email.

In general, I found Slovenians to speak very good English, so you could probably email
them questions and expect to get decent answers.

Soca Valley Sights

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