tips on after-tour travel from Ljubljana

We a traveling to Slovenija this October.
We are planning 6 days in Ljubljana as we keep reading more and more positive words about the city.
Our experiences in other cities across Europe tell us that there is always plenty to do for at least 5 days in any medium/large city.
Just look at Things to Do on TripAdvisor.

I love Slovenia, and there are some neat things to see. I'm not sure what the tour will cover. It sounds like it will go from Rovinj to Ljubljana and on to Bled, stopping "one or two of your guide's favorite places to savor the verdant Slovenian countryside" before you get to Bled. I might guess where the guide might stop, but I'm not sure. But that sounds like not much time - you'll spend half the day in Ljubljana, I'd hope.

Besides spending a few more days in Ljubljana, there are neat little towns like Skofja Loka and Radovljica. I'd guess Radovljica might be one of the guide's stops on the way to Bled, as it's nearby and on the way. There is a little bee keeping museum in the tiny town, which is old and charming. (There is a long bee keeping tradition in Slovenia.) But I'd rent a car and drive from Bled to Skofja Loka, over the hills (not through Kranj) via Kropa and Jamnik - it's really a beautiful scenic drive to Skofja Loka, and there are places you'll want to stop (like Jamnik and Skofja Loka, which is a really neat town. (The drive from Skofja Loka on to Ljubljana is nothing special).

Or you could drive the "Julian Alps Loop" up the Vrsic Pass from Bled counter-clockwise down into the Soca Valley, stop in Kobarid (if you like World War I history - the old war museum there is well regarded).

Near Bled, many like to hike Vintgar Gorge or visit Lake Bohinj, which is much larger but less developed than Bled (which is touristy and built up).

Some people drive up to Logarska Dolina (never done it - would be a long day trip but a night might be better). On the way you could stop at another charming little town called Kamnik (which I I have seen).

You could go east and hit up the less touristed towns like Celje, Maribor, and Ptuj (the oldest town in Slovenia).

If you loved Rovinj in Croatia (I did!), you could head back to the Slovenian coast and see more; Slovenia has a little chunk of Istria too. Piran is a charming town that like Rovinj has a prominent Venetian bell tower.

Much of this is detailed in the Rick Steves Croatia/Slovenia book.

Dave, I love Ljubljana, but unless you are a "slow traveler," six days is a lot of time there. It's more of a small city than even a "medium" one. There are a few museums but nothing that's exactly "world class." It's not a big town. It IS a great place to base yourself if you want to do day trips nearby as I've mentioned above, though I might prefer to do nights in those places instead of heading back to Ljubljana at the end of the day. Personal preference. But otherwise, for the city itself, I'd think 2-3 nights is plenty for most people.

Ljubljana is a great place to be. There's a variety of architecture, and it has some museums I enjoyed. I agree that the latter are not the equivalent of what you'll find in most other (larger) capital cities. Ljubljana cannot compete with Zagreb in that regard. So I suppose 2 or 3 full days might be about right. If the weekend is a possibility, look for the art and craft markets, in different locations but both very near the river.

If the tour doesn't go to the Postojna or Skocjan caves, that would be a good day-trip from the city. The Vintgar Gorge is also nice.

You could also spend 4 days in Istria. I believe there's at least one bus a day from Ljubljana to Rovinj, though having a car in Istria would be very handy.

If you decide to stay a few extra days in Ljubljana, a great day trip (with a car) is to the Skocjan caves (as acraven mentions) and nearby Lipica (about 13km from the caves) to see the Lippizaner farm and stallions. Check the website if you want to be there on a training day to see the horses in the ring. Driving in Slovenia (with the necessary vignette!) is easy.

From Lipica, it's not much further to Trieste, Italy (14km) or to Piran, Slovenia (45km.) You could add 2 or 3 nights in either and make a day trip to Lipica and the Skocjan caves.

If you're only adding a few nights, I'd stay in Ljubljana and make the day trip from there.

@Andrew,
"I love Ljubljana, but unless you are a "slow traveler," six days is a lot of time there. "
Well, we are trying to be semi-slow travelers.
For us, Ljubljana does include a day trip to Bled.
But, we like to walk and eat. A lot. Anywhere from 4-7 miles a day.
TripAdvisor says 13 museums.

We are not Rick Steves' travelers in the sense of "visit xyz in the afternoon and then drive to abc to stay overnight". We will spend 10 days in Slovenija and only sleep in Piran and Ljubljana.
We don't drive because we love trains.
For us, vacations are to visit a new place with zero pressure. There is always jutri.

Hi,

I too, am taking this tour this summer (the Jun30th departure - is that your timeframe Nancy?). I am wondering about the after-tour decisions and flight options (I saw your other post too Nancy) as well. I would LOVE to spend more time in Ljubljana, but I can't afford (literally and figuratively) to stay much beyond the 15 days of the tour. I am considering returning to Ljubljana Sunday afternoon, but then taking the GoOpti bus to Venice the next morning (Monday) to fly back to Boston from there. But, that makes a LONG travel day and not much time in Ljubljana. But, I'm thinking that's the most likely for me now.

I will also look into flying into Amsterdam (I would love more time there) as well. Maybe flight connections/times will be better there than from Venice.

Nancy, feel free to PM me and we can chat about options as well.

:) Enjoy,
Gretchen