Hello
Just wondering what would be the best town to base ourselves in (August) when visiting for a week? We will be relying on public transport and would like to stay at one accommodation (or 2 at a push) in a place that has plenty to see and do (shops, restaurants sightseeing, walking etc) and just do day trips around the area
We haven't been on our trip yet (going this July) but I too researched this question, including asking someone originally from Slovenia. He recommended using Ljublana as a base camp. His thoughts were that it was a nice city and it is very central to a lot of different destinations - Lake Bled, Postojna Caves, Predjama Castle, Piran, Logarska Dolina, etc. He also mentioned that after a day of sight seeing, it's a nice city to come back to to relax and have a drink by one of the canals. We are renting a car, so we're not factoring public transit into that decision. But I would imagine that if there is decent public transit anywhere in Slovenia it would revolve around Ljublana.
Yes, Ljubljana would make a nice base for western Slovenia, which is where most tourists focus their sightseeing. If you're the type who wants to avoid changing hotels and have one base, Ljubljana would be nice for that. The trains don't go everywhere but Slovenia does have a good bus system. You might consider a few nights in Piran on the coast - beautiful town. I loved Ljubljana also but it is small.
Bled makes a good base if you want to spend a few days exploring nearby Lake Bohinj etc. If you just want to see Lake Bled, you can easily just day trip in from Ljubljana.
Most tourists seem to see western Slovenia but I enjoyed visiting Maribor and Ptuj as well in the eastern part of the country. You can day trip to Ptuj (a beautiful little old town) by bus or train from Ljubljana I think (I stayed over in Maribor.). Another really nice small town closer to Ljubljana is Škofja Loka, which I think you can get to by bus. (I had a car by then.)
I would use Bled and Ljublijana. Bled---The Alps, Lake Bohinj, the nearby gorge (can't remember the name right now). The Soca River is beautiful but public transportation is a bit of a challenge in this part of the country.
