If I hire a private driver can I easily visit Skocjan Caves and Predjama Castle in 1 full day? If I want to see Postijna Caves is it possible to squeeze that in also? Not sure I want to visit 2 caves in 1 day but they both look so compelling! Or is seeing the Castle from the outside sufficient for most people and maybe I can drop that? Any companies that anyone likes? I am planning to go a Monday in May so you have an idea the season we are going.
Jenn
Hi Jenn,
I did this half-day tour the day before the RS Adriatic tour started. I enjoyed it very much! The minivan picked me up half a block from the hotel. I was the only one in the minivan who went inside the castle, and I was glad I did. It wasn’t an expensive entrance, and the way its build is incorporated into the rock is very interesting, plus I took some nice photos of the view.
Ugh, it keeps trying to open the “Get Your Guide” app when I copy the link. It’s the “From Ljubliana: Postijna Cave & Predjama Castle Half-day tour”
I can only speak for visiting the Skocjan caves. We were there last month and it is absolutely not to be missed. Truly the highlight of our trip. It takes about two hours total - a 10-15 minute walk to and from the caves, and about an hour and a half inside. The Predjama castle is not very far away but closer to Postijna.
So yes, entirely doable in a day, and if you really like caves you should think about Postijna, but probably for most people Skocjan would be enough and seems to be more highly recommended than Postijna.
Thanks! I keep debating, the caves are definitely high on my list!
Jenn
This is the challenge of trip planning, aye? Trying to figure out how to do all the things you want to do in limited time.
I spent 25 days in Slovenia in 2019 and wanted to see both caves but had time for only one. My impression from research was that Postonja Cave was more of an attraction and a bit theme park-ish. Škocjan Caves was more hard-core nature (I'm using singular verb to recognize Škocjan Caves as a singular site).
I did a transfer from Ljubljana to Piran arranged by Mateja, a very professional guide with whom I saw sights in and around Ljubljana for 2 days before the transfer. I saw (1) the outside of Predjama Castle (enough for me), (2) the off-the-US-tourist-radar Park of Military History Pivka, and (3) Škocjan Caves. Škocjan Caves was one of the coolest things I saw during my 25-day trip (and I saw a lot of cool things!) -- some of the caverns are truly Lord of the Rings caliber.
I don't think it would be difficult at all to see Škocjan Caves and Predjama Castle with a private driver in 1 full day. Adding on Postonja? I'm not sure, but there certainly is no harm in asking a company if you could get all that into one day.
One other thought... I saw another post where you ask about Piran. Slovenia Explorer has a good reputation for group tours and has a group trip that covers Piran and Škocjan Caves at a pretty reasonable price. https://www.slovenia-explorer.com/scheduled-day-trips/skocjan-caves-piran
Have been to both caves but not the castle.
You don't say where you would be coming from, but, assuming Ljubljana, another
option would be to rent a car. It is an easy drive, mostly highway to Skocjan, and
there is a free parking lot. Postojna also has a large parking lot, and a shuttle bus
that can take you to the castle as well. From the rental car station in downtown Ljubljana,
it's like 1 or 2 turns to get to the highway.
If you ended up settling for Postojna Cave and the castle, you can catch a public
bus for next to nothing at the downtown Ljubljana bus station.
Skocjan is more dramatic, but Postijna is more visible. You cannot take pictures in
Skocjan until the very end of the guided tour (a lot of the tour is somewhat dimly
lit, and also there are some narrow walkways and steep drops, and they probably
want to keep people from dropping phones and cameras into the caves).
We are likely to be coming from Lbujlana downtown, we fly in 1 day prior, then have the next full day. We could consider renting a car, but not sure how easy it is, if there are tolls, parking issues, etc. My hubby often drives in Europe on vacation and since we are only having 1 full day he thought getting a driver might be easier. If we did rent a car we would pick up downtown.
Jenn
I never ended up using them, but Slovenia Explorer was very responsive, helpful, and friendly. Driving in Slovenia is pretty darn easy, so renting a car isn’t a bad option either. Plenty of parking at both, they are very popular sights. You could see all of this in a well-planned day. I might tackle Postijna and Predjama in the morning, and schedule an entry time for Skocjan in the afternoon. Skocjan has a couple different routes after the main cavern, so the whole route can take somewhere between 90min and closer to 2-1/2hrs. I’d recommend doing the full loop if you have time, but by scheduling this in the afternoon you have the opportunity to take the quick exit if you’re feeling beat. There are snack bars available at these places, but you might want to pack a sandwich instead.
Note: RS guidebook paints Predjama’s interior as kind of a bust and suggests just stopping for the view.
