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Vrsci Pass Loop - Comments/Suggestions re: Do in 1 day or stop overnight along the route?

Posted by on

Hi,

My husband and I are planning a 3+ week tour of Croatia and Slovenia in May of next year. (Starting in Dubrovnik and ending in Ljubjana)

I have drafted our itinerary with part of it being the Vrsic Loop drive as described in Rick Steves book. We will be staying in Ljubljana for a number of nights and our plan is to pick up a rental car after our stay there ends. We would then spend a few nights in Bled and from there start the Vrsci Pass Loop. We would either end the drive in Bled or Ljubljana. (Car to be dropped off in Ljubljana) I chose May as my reading suggests the Pass typically opens in April.

My understanding is that it would take about 5 hours to do the Loop but that would be with limited stops. My husband and I enjoy hiking, walking, visiting castles, old world charm. I'd like us to take some time to do at least some shorter hikes and spend a little time at some at architectural sites.

If overnighting is more condusive to better seeing what needs to be seen (or at least some highlights), do you have any suggestions as to which town to stay, accommodation? We like smaller, quaint towns versus ones with nightlife :)

If you found some 'not to be missed' things along the Pass route, that would be helpful.

Thanking you in advance for your advice,

Theresa
Canada

Posted by
1103 posts

Doing an overnight as part of the Vrsic Pass drive is a good idea in my book.

Leaving from Bled after breakfast, taking my time to drive the pass, and making
stops at most of the places in the RS book, got me to Kobarid around 5pm. I
did probably spend an extra hour in Kranjska Gora and the nordic area in Planika.

I think Kobarid or Bovec are candidates for finding a place to stay overnight, but
others may chime in, and I might go back into the subforum for possible recommendations.
There is one fairly modern hotel in Kobarid along with other hotel/pensions, apartments, etc.

Another reason to do the overnight is that you drive almost right by Skocjan Caves on
the return to Ljubljana, and that is definitely a stop worth considering. You can also
do it as a guided tour from Ljubljana, but since you have a car already....

As an aside, I am not sure Bled needs more than a night if your time there starts after
driving up from Ljubljana after breakfast.

Posted by
45 posts

If you want somewhere very peaceful (and a little closer to the Vrsic Pass), you could stay in Trenta. It's definitely a village rather than a town, which may or may not be what you want.

I prefer Kobarid to Bovec, personally, but you may ultimately be limited by accommodation availability, especially if you want a hotel. Tolmin is another option.

On my most recent trip to Slovenia we actually stayed in Kranska Gora and drove through the Pass or via Italy and Mangart on three consecutive days. It was the driver's choice to avoid shifting accommodation, and we all like Kranska Gora, but even as a keen and experienced mountain driver I'm not sure they'd recommend that again - it was a lot just observing and navigating from the passenger seat!

(Re-reading my description below it actually sounds insane! But it should give you a sense of the many options available.)

Anyway, there's plenty to do en route - on day 1 we didn't actually get further than Trenta starting in Kranska Gora. Three stops on the way up - once for the Russian Chapel, once for lunch and a viewpoint, once for an easy hike - and then we stopped in Trenta for advice from the TI and ice cream before we did the hike to the source of the Soča. Back via the same route.

Day 2 we stopped for a longer hike at the top of Vrisic, then again to hike near the Great Soča Gorge (I actually swam there too but it is freezing - there are warmer options elsewhere), then again to go white water rafting in Bovec. Back via Italy as it was getting dark.

Day 3 and a painfully early start - we went to Tolmin Gorge, the Kozjak waterfall and the WW1 museum in Kobarid. (My travel companions were not really war museum or indeed museum people, so this was for me and kept short - otherwise it's too much for 1 day.) Then back via Italy and the Mangart Saddle - this was July, so we had just enough light, and a very experienced mountain driver, but without both of those I definitely wouldn't!

I went to Škocjan on a different trip to Slovenia, but definitely recommended too.

Assuming you're less outdoorsy than my travelling companions, and stay overnight somewhere between Trenta and Kobarid, I think you could easily turn this into a more sensible two day excursion. 😅

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