Ljubljana Slovenia

Ljubljana is certainly walkable once you're in the city center. But I can't comment on how long you'd want to be out walking around in November - it's likely to only be in the 40s based on a quick check I did. We were there in early October and it was fine but that's probably not helpful for you. The main charm of the city, for me, was strolling the street and admiring the "Disney" look to the architecture and hanging out in a cafe or two. Keep in mind that Koper to Ljubljana is 100 km each way so you're looking at some significant travel time.

Ljubljana is a very nice city. The problem is getting there without a rental car. A quick online search indicates that it's close to 2 hours from Koper by bus and closer to 2-1/2 hours by train. The scenery's probably really nice, but that doesn't give you a lot of time in Ljubljana, and neither the bus nor the train runs really frequently, which would make me a bit nervous if I had a drop-dead time to be back on the ship.

I'm guessing there will be taxis at the port happy to take you to Ljubljana, which is about 70 miles away. You may have better luck confirming this and getting an estimated cost on a cruise forum. Or, of course, there may be attractive tour possibilities, though possibly not much cheaper than a taxi for two people??

If you should decide not to go as far as Ljubljana, you have the option of the much closer, and smaller, Piran or the Italian port of Trieste. I believe both are of considerable tourist interest, though I haven't visited either one. Or, for something different, the Skocjan Caves could easily be visited. In fact, with taxis I think you could easily do both Piran and the caves.

Just a word of warning regarding November - Ljubljana can get foggy, as do many cities in Alpine basins. I'd want to have a backup plan just in case that happens during your visit. Piran, Trieste or the Skocjan Caves are all close to Koper and it's easy to arrange a taxi or take a bus there.

Do you know what excursions your cruise line is offering for that port? We visited Ljubljana as a cruise excursion but our port was Piran not Koper. If the cruise line offers an excursion, that may be the easiest way to travel because they would arrange bus service. With transportation we were only there a few hours and found it to be a very lovely city. We would love to go back when we have more time, but it was easy to see some highlights in the time we had. Our tour walked the entire time between drop-off and pick up so it is a walkable city.

Thank you for all the messages. Our cruise ship offers two excursions from Koper, one is a do it on your own after a 90 minute coach ride to the market in Ljubljana. The cost is $89.95 for 6 hours, this is in American funds which will be $119.00 Canadian which is our rate.. We were just looking at cheaper options. We would be able to visit the city for three hours, which may be enough if cold weather or rain dampens the day.

Excursions through the cruise line are usually a bit more expensive than making one's own arrangements. But one advantage to taking a tour through the cruise line is that if a delay in your return is encountered (bad weather, fog, traffic jams, etc.) the ship will wait for the excursions to return. On several occasions we've been delayed and the ship has waited. Not so if you are off the ship totally on your own. On several occasions we've seen people who returned too late actually running along the pier as the ship pulled away. Don't mean to put a damper on things, just something to think about. We've been to Koper and Ljubljana on a cruise and highly recommend them.