Slovenia in Spring?

My husband and I were in Slovenia at the end of March in 2008 for a few days (staying in Bled). A couple things that stick out in my mind are that the caves under the Predjama Castle were closed because "the bats were sleeping" (as we were told - but the castle itself was open) and the scenic Vrsic Pass was also closed to traffic as it opens later in the season when the roads are completely clear of snow/frost. Instead of the Vrsic Pass we did a big loop drive northwest of Bled and making our way over to Klagenfurt, Austria, and then back down to Bled. The scenery was gorgeous. As for climate, we had great weather for that trip but that assessment won't be all that helpful for your trip! Instead, you may want to check out Weather Underground's Trip Planner, as they will give you a summary of historical weather data on the date range you input and you'll have a much better idea of what is normal at that time of year. http://www.wunderground.com/tripplanner/index.asp Happy planning - it is a fantastic part of the world!

Slovenia is indeed a great place to visit (I was there in May), and the spring can be a nice time to be there, although I think you have good reason to be concerned about the weather at the time you're proposing. Let's start by being honest: how many full days will you really have there - not including travel days? First you say you will have "about 7-8 days (including travel days)", later you say "there is plenty to do to merit a week". You don't have a week. You have about 5 days there, one of which will be suffering jetlag. That's an incredibly short trip. If you get bad weather for a few days (very possible) it could severely limit what you get out of those few days. On a trip so short, even a couple days of bad weather can really have a huge impact. I would be less concerned about things being "closed" than I would about the weather just making a big slice of your (already very limited) usable time unusable. We were in Slovenia and Croatia in mid- to late-May. The tourist season begins June 1 (many things in Croatia especially were on this high/low season schedule) so we were "early". We did not encounter anything that was "closed" but public transportation (bus and ferry) schedules were very limited compared to what was available in "high" season. We did get some intense rain storms for several days, including our day in Bled. We just stayed in our room for part of the day (it was REALLY raining hard) - there wasn't much else we could do without getting soaked. March/April seems pretty early - any chance you could move the trip out a few weeks? If not, could you extend it so at least if you get 4 straight days of rain (quite possible) it doesn't rain out your entire trip?

Thanks for your feedback. I'll definitely give serious thought to the weather, but coming from Chicago... Unfortunately, our timing is dictated by our son's spring break schedule. We're looking at a Monday arrival/Monday departure, so realistically 6 full days. Meanwhile, one other question regarding where to base ourselves. Typically, we settle in one place and do day trips (we'll have a car). Any thoughts on Bled vs. Ljublijana? It seems the later might have some advantages if we plan to drive to the coast...

It's a tough call as far as where to base yourselves, as Bled is stunningly beautiful (especially if there is still snow on the mountaintops when you are there) but you are right in that Ljubljana might be better situated. On the other hand, Slovenia is so small that you are really never that far away... With a full week, however, I would be inclined to base the first 3-4 days around Ljubljana/Bled and the last 3-4 days around Maribor so you can check out the eastern half of the country.

I can recommend Tourist Farm Hudicevic as another base idea. We spent a week there a few years ago and cannot say enough good things about it. Run by a family with 10 children, it is spotless with spacious rooms. We had the family apt. which included a kitchen we never used. :) On the half board plan, they feed you absolutely enormous amounts of food. And the kids can help feed the pigs early in the morning. It's a bit off the beaten track, but within striking distance of Ljubljiana, Predjama (must see castle!), and Postoyna (must see caves!). Here's a nice review and you can click through to the Farm homepage. http://www.sloveniaforyou.com/AccommodationHudicevec.htm
Current rate for overnight + half board is 32E per person.