Slovenia in late July 2023

Posted by Marianne on 02/02/23 06:26 PM

I have a conference in Vienna in early August, and we are thinking of visiting Slovenia in late July, before the conference starts. We are particularly interested in the mountains, some moderate hiking, flowers, and birds, and have begun to gather some books and resources, and I've downloaded a number of the lengthy trip descriptions/blogs that have been posted here; thank you! (We also watched the RS webinars in the Festival of Europe). Any other guidance concerning our interests would be great.

One question: what is the best place to stay to do a variety of shorter day hikes, excursions, drives, etc. in and around the Julian Alps and vicinity? We'd be happy to stay in one place, but can move around if needed.

What I'm not sure about is travel to and from Slovenia -- whether to fly in and out of Vienna, perhaps renting a car there? Whether to fly to Ljubljana, rent a car in Slovenia, and then take the train back to Vienna. Any wisdom here would be welcomed!

Posted by valadelphia

02/02/23 06:51 PM

4316 posts

Haven't gotten to Slovenia yet, but I love logistics questions! I would first check if you can fly into Ljubljana and out of Vienna at an affordable rate. If it's gotta be round-trip Vienna, I think I'd rent a car there and make my way to Slovenia and back, provided you have enough time--driving is faster than flying or public transport. I do know you will need a vignette for your rental car in Slovenia. Austrian cars have them, so inquire with the rental agency about the process for Slovenia.
Look for Cicerone guidebooks--they are devoted to hiking.

Posted by acraven

Washington DC

02/02/23 07:19 PM

27047 posts

Ljubljana doesn't have a lot of air links. I know some folks taking the Adriatic tour end up flying into Venice. GoOpti runs a shuttle service to Ljubljana from Venice. Reports here have been positive. I haven't used GoOpti myself.

You could also explore flying into Zagreb. Zagreb and Ljubljana are about 2-1/2 hours apart by both bus (I think more frequent) and train. Getting to Ljubljana from Graz would take longer, but it might be a useful waystation on your way from Slovenia to Vienna.

Ljubljana, Zagreb and Graz are all very attractive cities.

Posted by Cyn

Colorado Mountains, USA

02/02/23 07:47 PM

7326 posts

This was many years ago, and we rented a car at the Airport in Venice, Italy, and drove east into Slovenia. After taking it through Slovenia and Croatia, we returned it back in Venice. But then, Venice at the end was part of the itinerary, and Slovenia was just a few days in the greater schedule.

From Venice, we drove around the coast of the Adriatic and spent the first night in Piran. Bled, and in particular, renting a rowboat (or taking a piloted boat) on Lake Bled, is one of Rick Steves’ “back doors of Europe.”While I’ve not spent time staying in Triglav National Park, I wonder if that’s something you might look into?

Posted by Marianne OP

02/03/23 07:41 PM

6 posts

Thanks to all for this input; very helpful, and I'll be doing some further research to follow up.

Posted by ksandarela

02/13/23 04:31 PM

2 posts

Hi Marianne, I am a local guide in Bled and a mountain lover, so I would definitely recommend going to Bled (it's around 4 hours of ride from Vienna, you can easily get here by direct train or with a car - i think that train costs around 25 €). Bled offers a lot, especially if you are keen on mountains, amazing landscapes, alpine valleys, lakes and flowers. It's not just the Bled lake, it's the surroundings ;)

From Bled you can easily go to Bohinj, maybe to visit the most beautiful Alpine valley, in my opinion - the 7 Triglav lakes valley. It takes the whole day of hiking (both ways) but it's totally worth it! There is also a beautiful mountain plateau of Pokljuka, where you can easily reach the 2000-meters peaks with majestic views over our highest mountain Triglav, and surrounding mountain ranges.

You are welcome to visit us in Bled and our agency, Altitude Activities, where we do a lot of guided hiking tours, sight-seeing tours and other outdoor sports activities :) I am sure that you will love it!