Doing some early planning for Aug/Sep 2012. We'll have a van and would like to spend a day in Ljubljana; visit Lake Bled and drive around the Julian Alps; head down to the Karsk region for the caves and castle; and then make our way to Ravinj. It's nice not to have to keep packing up, so is there a good central base where we could possibly spend 3 or 4 nights and drive to these places fairly easily?
Alternatively, is it better to break it down to 2 + 2? I'd been considering Skofja Loka but not sure if we'd be better to stay up in Bled for its proximity to the Julian Alps drive. In that case, is there a nice place on the southern side of Ljubljana that people could recommend? Hope this makes sense. I'd appreciate any advice. Thanks, Kathy
Posted by
Bellevue, WA, USA
811 posts
if you have a car then you can be very flexible. road is good, not much traffic, and you can find cheap places to stay along the way. i think typically people use bled as base for the alpine activities for a couple of days, LJU as a base for the capital and towns near by (big cave about 1.5hr away and a nearby castle), then on the coast say piran or koper area for another 2 days.
Posted by
Puyallup, WA, USA
881 posts
Ljubljana and Bled are the two obvious choices. LJU is the much more centrally located. The Postojna caves are only 38 minutes from downtown, Skocjan is 1hr15m, and Bled is 43. I would suggest: - Start in Bled. Spend one night there, and do your exploring the first day & second day, then head to LJU late. - Spend a day or two in LJU looking around, it's worth it. Be there on a Thursday if you have the choice, the town comes out. - Postojna - Postojna is on your way to Ravinj so you could do the caves that day on the way, spend a day there, or do more than one cave (suggested). Postojna has: Postojna Caves - well worth it, amazing and worth the time. Take a train ride 10 minutes into the cave!
Predjama - My favorite castle in all of Europe. Small, but home to the Slovenian Robin Hood. Built into the mouth of a cave! :) Skocjan - worth another side trip. This is the one more like 1hr15mins outside the city. It's incredible. Less industrial/touristy than Postojna (which is still worth seeing), and a bit like "Lord of the Rings" inside. Believe it or not, these 3 caves/cave systems are so totally different, you won't get bored seeing all 3. All 4 locations will show up on Google maps, so search for them & take a look at the land. You'll see LJU is most centrally located. As David said,driving there is super easy. **Check on your parking costs where you stay in LJU just to be safe. Cheers! Chris
Posted by
OP
Adelaide, South Aust, Australia
35 posts
Hi David and Chris, This is brilliant advice - thank you so much!! Between you, you have made it very much clearer and I will follow your suggestions. If I can 'stretch the friendship further', do you have any accommodation you could recommend in or near Bled, and in or maybe just out of the capital? While there is a hotel in Skofja Loka which sounds great, I'm thinking further south might be a better option. What do you think? Looking forward to hearing from you soon. Cheers,
Kathy