Best of Eastern Europe Tour

Ljubljana is a very small city and walkable. If you want to eat at the castle restaurant make a reservation. Even in late October they were fully booked.

I was in Ljubjana last September, but at the start of the Best of Adriatic Tour.

Ljubjana is very walkable and its core is very pleasant to spend time in. Some of the activities that I did on my free time before the tour included taking a boat ride on the river (very easy to do, just walk up to one of many entry points), going up to the castle, walking along the river, enjoying the food markets, listening to an outdoor concert, and taking a day trip to Postojna Cave.

I think that if you spend 2 nights after the tour you will find that it is sufficient.

PS I did laundry at a great laundromat just 5 minutes walk away from the Hotel Mrak. There were directions in multiple languages!
Samopostrežna pralnica perila Speed Queen Address: Trg mladinskih delovnih brigad 10, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

When we stayed in Ljubljana (2018) prior to the Best of the Adriatic Tour. Two nights were perfect. There is plenty to keep you occupied as well as relaxing. I will add to some of the previous highlights already mentioned. We enjoy architecture and Ljubljana was especially memorable due to Slovene architect Jože Plečnik. We took a guided tour of his home and found this to be a great introduction to the city and beyond. He had a major impact on the modern architecture of Vienna and Prague as well. We discovered his work in Vienna and Prague the following year. Enjoy your planning! https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/slovenia/ljubljana

We did most of your list in one free afternoon/evening on the Adriatic tour, minus doing laundry as Ljubljana was the first stop on our tour. Another day or 2 would be good.

Although we didn't do laundry in Ljubljana, I have used Speed Queen locations in Spain and France and will search them out on future trips. Well run, clean, and easy to use.

I think 2 extra nights is likely plenty, especially if you just want to relax before heading on to the next portion of your trip. I also did the tour of Plečnik's home, and it was great. There is a great food tour done by Ljubljanayum.

Does anyone who took this tour in 2022 still have the hotel list? Can you DM it to me? Thanks!

We were on BOEE in September 2022. 2 nights in Ljubljana will be fine.

On the tour we were there for only an afternoon. Not a lot of time. I broke away from the tour to explore on my own because it’s a great town and there is an amazing market that was calling my name. It was an absolute highlight of the entire trip. An amazing gathering place of people, beautiful foods and beverages, just really a cool place to be.

We would definitely go back and spend at least 2 full days there. I think 3 nights would be a bit much but of course it all depends on what you like to do and how much time you have.

Thank you to ALL who took time to tell me of your personal experiences:
Barbara: I didn't know there was a restaurant at the castle. Thanks for the info.

Carol, now retired (me too)! Boat Ride: We'll have to look into it. I love boat rides in cities. And my "personal"
laundry-person (husband) thanks you for the laundromat info.

Janis: Since our tour begins in Prague, we'll have to seek out Jože Plečnik's buildings in that city, as well as a guided tour of his house in Ljubljana.

Dave: I'm not sure we'd appreciate doing a food tour if we depart the city the following day. I think I would enjoy it more if we were staying several days beyond a tour.

Mo R: Sounds like the Outdoor Market is not to be missed!

Are you headed to Padua to join the RS Village Italy tour? If so then you should consider adding a day or 2 pre tour to experience more of Padua. Hopefully you have enough time to experience both cities fully.

Rocket,
We are headed to Padua, by-passing Venice (I heard all those gasps); staying 3 nights in that city on our own before heading north to the Dolomites.
Any suggestions for a hotel in Padua?
And we are staying 2 nights in Ljubljana following the Eastern Europe tour, upon recommendation of the posters above.

To your last question we stayed the Hotel Al Fabiano as part of the Village of Italy tour. A very unique hotel with lots of turns and different corridors. We had the room over driveway into the parking area which had a very nice balcony. Lots of nice places to eat and walking distance to many major attractions. We were on the BOEE tour in 2019. We wished had more time in Ljubljana we only spent about 4 hours before we headed off to Lake Bled. We spent an extra day in Lake Bled renting bikes and heading out to a nearby park that had a hike through a river canyon which was a highlight of our time in Bled. I would say 1 or 2 extra nights in Ljubljana would be fine.

Good Luck with your travel plans.

We were on the BOEE tour 8 months ago. We did not have a lot of free time there on the tour. We visited a school and then did a tour of town. (Not sure if the school visit is still a thing or not. We were their first RS tour.) The tour was a great overview of the town and we did go through the market. Afterwards, we had a short time to explore on our own before we headed on.

They take you on a couple of hour city tour including through the market and we also got some tasty samples. Then we had a little time to get something to eat etc... if you wanted before heading to a hospitality school for drinks and snacks made by the school. Ljubljana was lovely but tiny, and 2 additional nights would be more than enough.