Slovenia Road Trip Advice – Piran → Kobarid → Radovljica → Ljubljana

You'll need to be a bit flexible depending on your interests and the weather - some walks and mountain passes will not be accessible. But a few ideas:

I'd suggest stopping at Škocjan caves on the way from Piran to Kobarid, and potentially Tolmin Gorge as well (though that is also doable as a day trip from Kobarid).

In Kobarid, there's the WW1 museum and the Kozjak waterfall (both recommended). You can also go canyoning or white water rafting from either there or nearby Bovec - we went from Bovec but I like Kobarid better as a town.

The Vršič Pass could well be closed during your stay (I think it was April?) so you'll need to work out a route from Kobarid to Radovljica. This trip advisor answer has an excellent summary.

In that area, I'd recommend going to Lake Bohinj and Bled (the latter is gorgeous if you're early enough to avoid the crowds), and Bohinj / Mt Vogel / Pokljuka are very underrated. There's an alpine dairy museum in Stara Fužina too.

For tips for Radovljica, Adele in Slovenia is a local.

On the way to Ljubljana, we stopped at Škofja Loka. Kranj would also be an option (though the outskirts are ugly). Plus you may want to visit Postojna / Predjama from Ljubljana.

In Ljubljana itself, we ate a lot (food tour + Open Kitchen + gelato), went to the castle, and wandered around near the river and took lots of photos.

Don’t miss the Skocjan Caves or Lake Bled, or driving over the Julian Alps and through the Soce River Valley. The Tolmin Gorge is worth a stop and a walk as well.
We were there last month and stayed at Apartments Maria in Ljubljana, which is probably a 3 star - nothing fancy but centrally located right next to the Dragon Bridge.
We loved our stay at Farm Strle in Cerknica if you go through that area south of Ljubljana.
Can’t recommend our accommodation in Rovinj, but when looking, it helps to decide if you want to stay in the old town or the new town. The old town is a lot busier.

Ooops! You said Piran, not Rovinj.

Kobarid

I stayed at Tourist Farm Kranjc at Koseč and liked it quite a bit. It's a beautiful drive up a mountain near Kobarid; the drive takes you past the gorgeous church at Drežnica. The tourist farm offers a laundry service, which, as I recall, was something like $8 per load. When I stayed in 2019, the half-board dinners were quite good.

The WWI Museum is excellent and offers reasonably-priced guided tours of the museum, which I recommend. The museum offers outdoor tours, too. I did the Kobarid Historical Trail with a guide and found it quite interesting.

Vesna has irregular availability, but I would recommend her for a variety of experiences in the area.

Javorca Memorial Church is another very unique find in Slovenia. It's gorgeous. It is a memorial to the Austro-Hungarian troops who died in the Tolmin area defending the Isonzo Front. It does require a bit of white-knuckle driving on an old single-lane WWI supply road to reach it, but the pay off was worth it.

Hiking abounds. I much enjoyed Tolmin Gorges and walking along the Soča River toward Bovec.

Radovljica

I stayed at Bohinj during my time in this area, so I don't have a lodging recommendation for Radovljica. As mentioned above, you will have easy access to Bohinj/Bled.

Vintgar Gorge is a worthwhile activity. The earlier you arrive, the better your views due to crowds.

I have particular interest in WWII, so the Museum of Hostages at Begunje was of particular interest to me. Nothing is in English in this rarely visited museum which includes the cells of Partisans to be executed by the Nazis. Some of the prisoners left graffiti on the walls of the cells. I hired Sašo from the Radovljica/Begunje TI to go with me to interpret the graffiti. He also took me to the nearby castle. The town also has a church on a hill to which one can hike. There is also the Avsenik Museum, a museum of a famous family that produced folk music typical of the area (if I recall correctly, museum is in Slovene and German, but I still enjoyed it).

Radovljica has an excellent tourism website with multiple activities listed.

Happy planning!

Thanks everyone — this is all incredibly helpful!

Dave, thanks especially for the recommendation for the farm stay outside of Kobarid. We love the idea of staying somewhere like that.

We also really appreciate all the other suggestions on museums, trails, gorges, and driving routes — it’s making our planning and research so much easier!

We stayed at Kunstelj Pension in Radovlijica. It was good, easy to park there. They have a restaurant and there were a few more within walking distance. We took the train to Ljubliajana for a day. We enjoyed the longer loop at Vintgar Gorge. We also liked the walk to Voje waterfall.

I second Tourist Farm Kranjc. We were there this past June. We were there for 3 nights and wish we had spent more time there. It was very warm and was so happy we had AC. the food was great. We cancelled dinner reservations down in Kobraid as it was just so nice to have dinner, relax, and sit on the swing with a glass of wine. Just loved Slovenia!