i have a cruise coming up with one port of call Koper. I'm looking at excursion to Postojna Cave and Predjama castle. However, from the tour descriptions it sounds like the walking involved is somewhat more intense or not the most suitable for those who are older. Is this accurate for both the caves and the castle? I am traveling with my mom who is 75. She can walk but something that turns more into a hike is likely not a good fit.
Is visiting Piran a better alternative? What about Ljubljana?
I didn't go to the castle, but Postojna Cave works like this: you take a little train into
the cave, and then you have a mile or so of reasonable walking (not many steps if
any, there is some up & down but it's almost all without steps, just ramps, there are
railings, and it's pretty well lit). Then you take the train back out again. I don't
recall any places to really stop and take a break along the way, but there is no
compelling rush to get through; you nominally are supposed to stay with your
tour, but it didn't seem particularly mandatory.
The nice thing about Postojna is that there's a hotel/restaurant right next door so
you have a place to eat & relax before and/or after the cave tour.
Ljubljana is a nice city, no hills, and there's a funicular to get up to the castle if you
want to do that.
Predjama Castle involves walking uphill from the parking lot to the Castle. Once at the Castle there are stairs involved as you move through the building. If your mother felt this was too much, there are restaurants just up from the parking lot where she could relax.
I felt there was quite a bit of walking in the caves. Not really a problem for most people, but could be challenging for some. There really isn’t any place to sit and rest inside the cave if she gets tired.
Ljubljana has walking through town, but plenty of places to sit and rest if needed. A boat cruise down the river provides scenic experiences while seated and relaxed.
As an update, I went to Skocjan cave. My mom didn't go but we did a little bit of strolling around Koper which was nice but very quiet though. I was convinced to do Skocyan by a tour agency in the port. It's lesser known but more intermediate level hiking. there are paved paths but it does go around the underground canyon with the river passing through. Definitely a very unique experience that i would recommend to other visiting Slovenia. The cave was not too far, maybe 30 to 40 minutes away and the tour was about an hour or an hour and a half from what i remember. So really ideal if you don't want to spend an entire day.
Jason, thanks for reporting back!
