Slovenia 14 days/13 nights Road trip

Day 2:
7:30am tickets to Vintgar Gorge, booked online two weeks before departure. IMO, the official websites’ parking directions were confusing. Let me clarify: there is limited parking right outside of the entrance. When we got there at 7:15, there were less than 10 cars parked (less than half full); cost was 10 euro collected by a friendly man wearing a safety vest. Once this lot is full, there is another parking lot nearby further uphill that has a shuttle bus. (But the walk to the entrance from that parking lot is only 5-10 minutes downhill.)

At 7:30 AM, there were only four or five small groups of families/friends there besides us. No other sounds besides the rushing water and chirping birds in the gorge, walking on the boardwalk is the unique part of the park. Upon reaching the end of the gorge, you have a choice of trails to walk back to the parking lot. We chose the longer one that passes St. Katarina church. The trail was clearly marked. It took us through an open field with grazing cows. Very picturesque.

Back to the parking lot by 10:00am. We packed a snack, ate by the riverbank. We then decided to check out the Vogel mountain cable car at Lake Bohinj. The town of Bohinj was more crowded than we previously imagined. We drove through the town slowly as many people (and many small children) were walking around. Cable car to the top. The summit has a large area with grazing cows, some chairs to sit, nice views. We walked to a chairlift higher up the mountain (I left my jacket in the car, it got chilly up there). The chairlift part was fun, the scenery was so beautiful, so quiet, only the chirping of birds were heard.

Explored the area a little and walked down to the cable car, and back down the mountain.

Back to Bled by 1pm, took a short break at the apartment, decided to go visit Bled castle. The walk from our apartment to the castle was 25 minutes. There is a parking lot at the base of the castle. It was a hot day, so the stairs going up the castle was uncomfortable. The view from the top of the castle made the hike worthwhile. The castle itself is cute and tiny. There were a couple of large tourist groups there, and it got really crowded and too hot. We did a quick walk through and left a little after 3pm.

Kids wanted to ride the toboggan luge ride (Straza Bled), which one can see from the castle on the other side of the lake. From the bottom of the hill to the entrance was actually not a short walk. At one point we were not sure if we were on the correct path, but we didn’t get too lost. Just had to watch out for small signs. It started to drizzle so we were worried that the luge would stop running, but they kept running and we got on. It was a fun diversion for the kids.

We had dinner at Central, a restaurant recommended by our host. It is a practical restaurant for families. Good value, tasty food. I had grilled chicken with roasted vegetable and potatoes. Most of the restaurants we went to had their menu labeled with allergens. If they don’t, I just have salad. I stayed away from most soup except Jota. Every cook has his/her own version of Jota, I loved them all. (Most restaurants in the EU have allergens listed on their menus.)

Over dinner, we asked our teens to give some ratings on the things we did that day: Vintgar Gorge was a solid 8.5 or 9/10, (they never give 10/10); toboggan was 7/10. These were the two things they would recommend to their friends. The town of Bled itself they gave 5/10. From a mom’s point of view, I think they would have enjoyed Bled more if they were younger, Bled lacks the “thrill” bigger kids go for, however, it is a well-oiled tourist town that offers many things younger children would enjoy. Vogel mountain summit reminded me of the Austrian alps.

Day 3:

Weather reports said 90% chance of thunderstorms. We were planning on going to Velika Planina but our friendly waiter from the night before assured us that the weather reports are just “smoke, do not believe it”, “it can change very quickly”.

Morning walk around the lake, took some nice photos with very few people around. The morning looked bright and sunny, so we decided to head over to Velika Planina. The drive was easy: head north after Kamnik for about 20 minutes. Small parking lot for Velika Planina is on the left (heading north) off the road. The cable car runs every 30 minutes (we got on at 10am), and another chairlift took us to the summit. The woman at the ticket counter apparently keeps track of the weather on the mountaintop. She informed everyone to get down by 2pm, because of a predicted thunderstorm.

Velinka Planina is like another world. No cars, no paved roads. There are plenty of easy hikes to keep us busy all day, but because of the impending storm, we had to pick and choose. The overcast sky gave a mystical feel, herds of cows grazing in open pasture, the only thing missing was a fire-breathing dragon flying around. A lot of the huts were closed or looked abandoned.

My husband and the kids had homemade apple strudel at an open hut that was serving food; they said it was excellent.

It began to drizzle at noon. Hikers were making their way back to the chairlift. The rain was steady by the time we got on the chairlift. There were people still heading up on the chairlift as we were heading down (hmm?). Apparently it was not raining at the parking lot.

Since our time at Velika Planina got cut short, we decided to go to Kamnik. It started to rain again as we were leaving. It began thundering and then turned into a downpour by the time we reached Kamnik. We parked our car, had our picnic lunch in the car while waiting for the rain to stop. At 2pm, the sun came out. Walked around Kamnik, starting at the tourist information office. Maybe it was because of the weather, but there were no other tourists in town, the streets were empty.

(Tip: some parking lots are metered. Look for signage, typically with a meter icon. Often, the pay station is not easy to find. It may be as much as 50 meters away, maybe shared by two or three parking lots in the same area. How it works however, is fairly straight-forward except the instructions are not in English (use Google translate), very similar to those found in major US cities. After paying for a certain time, take the ticket and place it on your dashboard. Alternatively, you can use an app called “EasyPark”. You can download this app before you leave home and link it to Paypal or another payment method. If the parking lot participates with EasyPark, there will be signage indicating this. The app also has a GPS function and can locate you to see if you’re in a participating parking lot. The advantage of using the app is a) no Euro coins needed, b) you only pay for the actual time that you park, that is, no firm estimation necessary. You make a rough estimation but you stop the timer when you leave. The disadvantage is that you pay a fee for using the app. It’s a small percentage that is only a few cents more for a short time but adds up over a longer time period. You can also extend your time estimation via your phone app so you don’t have to return to the car if you need more time.

Kamnik is a beautiful medieval town. For the best view, go up to the castle ruin at the town center. The view was incredible after the rain. We walked around, bought a post card and mailed it out too. We had some snacks, poked our heads into some local stores. Rain started again at around 4pm, so we headed back to Bled.

Dinner at Ostarija Peglez’n on the main road along the lake. They were fully booked for dinner but because we showed up at 5:30pm, we gave us a table. We just had to finish by 7pm. My kids had seafood pasta, delicious they said.

Day 4:
Morning walk around the lake. Drove to Radovljica.
Walked around old town Radovljica, visited the Apicultural Museum. Small museum but worthwhile, very educational.

About the free parking lots: if there is a blue line in front of the parking spot, that’s municipal parking, which means they are free for 1 or 2 or 3 hours (ask a local if the signage is not clear). At Kobarid it is free for 2 hours, in Radovljica for 3 hours, in Bovec I remember it’s 1 hour, but double check with a local, write the date and time of arrival on a piece of paper, put it on the dashboard. You can go back and change the time later without having to move the car. The parking lot nearest the tourist information office, down the street from the Apicultural Museum at Radovljica, had three sections. One section is for town residents only. The information is written on the big board at the parking lot. Make sure you park in the correct section.

After a picnic lunch, we drove to Logarska Dolina. There are many ways Google Maps can take you to Logarska Dolina. We followed the advice of the Rick Steves book to stay on the major expressway going east as much as possible before turning north. Although it adds distance, that would actually save time by avoiding some really slow mountain roads.

Tip: However long Google maps says the trip is, add 33% or 30 minutes. Google maps calculates travel time based on the speed limit. But on windy rural mountain roads with multiple switchbacks, Slovenians didn’t feel a need for an official speed limit. Just use your common sense (realistically it’s 30-40 kph). Google Maps, however, will use the default speed limit of 90 kph (totally unrealistic), leading to a falsely fast travel time. There may also be construction sites turning two way roads into one lane. Google Maps sometimes can detect that and adjust the travel time, but not always. However, if your trip is very short and on major roads, it should be accurate.

We stayed at Ojstrica Country House for three nights. Beautiful setting. Wonderful breakfast. I brought my own gluten free bread. We had dinner there as well for 3 nights. Delicious homemade meals, for a good price too.

Ojstrica House seems to be popular with young families. There is a fenced play area in front of the side porch where parents can watch their children play while having their meal. There is an open field next to the hotel as well. Kids can really run wild on it. Some little kids even managed to climb on top of haystacks.

Celiac alert: they coat their fish with flour before grilling, so ask the waiter to tell the chef not to use flour. Their sausage is also gluten free.

Slept in Logarska Dolina. This place is so beautiful, we loved staying there.

Day 5:
Morning walk.
Panoramic Road: We drove in the counter-clockwise direction, starting in the village of Solcava. Some sections are gravel, not paved, but they are relatively short sections. It is not a dangerous road but need to just go slow and be patient. It is narrow and windy, not meant for more than 30 kph in many sections. However, if the weather is bad with moderate rain, I can imagine the drive becoming a bit scary. But then again, if there is moderately heavy rain, the primary reason for the drive which is enjoying the scenery, may not exist. We finished the loop by mid-day. Ate lunch back at Ojstrica House.
Hikes at Logarska Dolina: Slap Rinka (the hike to the top of the waterfall is steep, but my two teens went up, loved it). You can drive to a parking lot near the end of the valley closer to the waterfall and hike the rest of the way.

Slept in L.D.

Day 6:

Cave Kayaking at Peca underground. https://www.podzemljepece.com/?page_id=1405

This is a truly unique experience at a closed zinc/lead mine, all four of us agreed that this is the most memorable, interesting, and a one of a kind activity on our entire trip. It is out of the way from everything else; you would go there only for this. The drive there from Logarska Dolina took us 2 hours each way (on main roads, avoiding smaller mountain roads). Google Maps may offer a route with half the distance over the mountains.

Booking is by email. I booked in April.

My husband and I were the oldest people in the group of 10. No previous kayaking experience needed. You have to be older than 10 and taller than 150cm to participate, and I am going to add strong knees. There will be (very narrow 300) steps to go down (and go up after finish) to the lowest level and dragging your kayak against the current to the starting point. We wore a helmet and headlamp, like real miners.

The changing room is deep down in the mine. There is no privacy in the changing room (surprise!), and you can’t wear pants under the boot pants, only underwear or leggings or swimsuit. There is a curtain that closes halfway if you feel shy, but even behind the curtain you still have your Belgian brother and Italian sister changing next to you. We just kept our heads down, it was fine. Bring a complete change of dry clothing. You can leave a bag with dry clothes in the same location where you change. You end up in the same area to change back. The neoprene overalls that you wear has a supposedly waterproof pocket where you can put your phone, but given the advice of “bring dry clothing”, my husband and kids didn’t trust it, so they left their phones in the changing area. So I was the only one who took a phone for photos while kayaking. (Tip: if you have one of those waterproof phone/wallet pouches they sell for water parks, use that instead) In the end, the inside of the neoprene overalls did get a little wet for everyone.

For lunch, they had gluten free bread for me, which I informed them at the time of booking. The lunch was just bread, salami, and cheese. Calorie dense and no fiber.

Returned to Logarska Dolina. In the town of Solcava (gateway town to L.D.), there is a grocery store and one Petrol station (remember – green handled pump is unleaded gas, black is diesel). Next door to the grocery store is a shop (called Bicka) that sells handmade wool sweaters, slippers etc. The store opens from 3pm until 7pm. The owner is a friendly elderly lady who does not speak much English (Google translate to the rescue). Many of her products are made from felted wool. Her handmade slippers are so dense that I have never seen anything like them. I bought two pairs. This is a unique store. I did not see products like hers anywhere else in the country.

Slept in LDDay 7:
Leaving the beautiful Logarska Dolina, heading to Kobarid via Vrsic Pass.

Vrsic Pass: not a difficult drive, easier by far than the Panoramic Road. Just drive slowly and patiently as there is much more traffic here compared to the Panoramic Road at Logarska Dolina. Watch out for motorcyclists, bikers, walkers and sheep. There are many pullover areas for short hikes. We went from north to south. Once at Vrsic Pass, it was very crowded at mid-day when we arrived. Parking looked like a mess at first sight, but we were lucky and found a spot just big enough for our T-ROC only 10 meters from the Vrsic Pass sign. Some nice hiking trails from there.

On the way downhill again south of Vrsic Pass, there is a WWI era tunnel visible from the road. It is marked “1916”. Walking though the tunnel was fun for the kids.

In Kobarid, we stayed at Apartma Skednj in Ladra, 10 minutes from Kobarid center, away from all the other tourists. It’s a residential neighborhood. Luka is a great host.

Slept in Kobarid

Day 8:
Kobarid Museum in the morning.
River rafting after lunch. We went with Soca Rafting in Bovec, did the regular rafting tour. We all enjoyed it, felt safe and had some thrills. Our guide was experienced and funny, highly recommended. This is a beginner rafting tour, experienced people go canoeing.
Do arrive at their recommended time, 45 minutes before the time of the tour to find parking, change into swimsuit, bathroom etc. There are good size lockers that cost 1 euro. No toilets after this point. Tip: For this particular company, their website was not very good at explaining the procedures around the rafting itself. The 45 minute suggested pre-arrival time is also when they size you for the neoprene wet suits, helmets, lifejacket, and water shoes. You bring all that with you onto a bus that takes you about 15 minutes away to the water access point on the Soca River. Once at riverside is when you change into the gear. (If you have your bathing suit on already, then no need to hide behind the bushes!) They allow you to put your shoes and your bag of dry clothing and towels in a van that will meet you downstream. The rafting itself: you are guaranteed to get thoroughly wet. I would bring a phone only if you can guarantee a waterproof way to protect it. But both your hands will be on the oars almost the whole time so only a Go-pro type device would be practical. They have a professional photographer stationed along the river with a telephoto lens at a couple of points along the route. You can choose to purchase the digital photos at the end. At the pick up site downstream, there is a changing area behind curtains that one can use. You pass off your wet suit, life jacket, etc, at this point. Bus back to the original location in Bovec. There is a free shower next to the lockers if you wish to shower as well. The water in the river is crystal clear (and cold).

Slept in Kobarid.

Day 9:
Beginning of a heat wave.

Kolovrat Outdoor Museum in the morning. Watch out for those rusty trench roofs, three of us hit our heads on them.

It got quite hot after a picnic lunch. We decided to visit Tolmin Gorge. Parking is free closer to town, with a shuttle bus to the Gorge. Shuttle bus runs every 15 minutes. There is a foot path that goes from the parking lot to the entrance of the gorge, a 15 minutes walk. It was a hot day, so we took the shuttle. Tolmin Gorge is pretty, the trail leads us to some nice view points. After seeing both Vintgar Gorge and Tolmin Gorge, I would vote for Vintgar Gorge if there is only time to visit one of them. The boardwalk along the gorge at Vintgar brings us closer to the water, feeling to be part of the gorge. Moreover, the hike back to the entrance after Vintgar Gorge is gorgeous. At Tolmin, the walk back to the entrance is a paved road under the hot sun.

There were still many sites we did not see. However, the day just got too hot (90’s) that any more sightseeing/walking/hiking would be more torture than leisure, so we decided to call it a day and go swimming.

We asked our host for a recommendation, he sent us to Nediza river, east of Kobarid “in the direction of Italy”, 6 km away. There is a park past the village of Robic, where there is a pay parking lot. The swimming area is behind the trees. Water is crystal clear, it has a shallow side and a deep end. Many locals were there cooling off. I think we were the only American tourists there.

Slept in Kobarid

Day 10:
Leaving Kobarid, heading to Skocjan Caves and Piran.

We pre-booked a 10am tour at Skocjan Caves. When we got there at 9:45 am, all tours were sold out before 1pm, so definitely book ahead. I picked this cave over Postojna caves after reading many reviews. After we finished the guided part of the cave, we pick the longest of 3 routes back to the parking lot. The longer walk took us to more caves around a huge sinkhole, some waterfalls, and a lot of uphill walking.

We chatted with a Slovenian-Canadian family on our walk out. They have been to Postojna caves, and they reported that Skocjan caves was ten times better.

Drove into Piran. Traffic not bad at all, although we were warned it could be bad. Slight congestion at Koper, for maybe 10 minutes. Parked in the big garage just outside of Piran center (Fornace). We stayed at Casa Al Porto Antico. Bright modern apartment in an old building.

Walked around Piran in the late afternoon. It got too hot to walk along the shore, so we wandered in the alleys where there was more shade.

Dinner at Rostelin. They don’t take reservations. We showed up by 6pm, no wait. The waitress said it usually gets busy after 7. Pasta of the day was excellent (according to my husband). I had beef cheek.

Slept in Piran.

Day 11:
Leaving Piran, via Idrija to Ljubljana.

On the way, we took a 30 minutes detour to look at Predjama castle. Did not go inside. The attendant may let you park for free if you tell them you just intend to look from the outside and be out in 15 minutes.

Next ,we visited the Mercury mine at Idrija (Antonijev Rov). It was an interesting visit. However, since we had already visited the zinc/lead mine when we did the cave kayaking, and the underground mines are loosely the same layout/idea, I feel that we could have skipped the mine and visited the smelting plant instead. If you have more time, you can visit both the mine and the smelting plant. They are at two different locations, a few kilometers apart. After visiting the mine, we only had time for lunch before heading to Ljubljana to return the car by 4pm.

I actually felt a little sad as we drove toward Ljubljana, I missed the countryside of Slovenia. After returning the car, we called for a taxi from the rental car return location to Ljubljana city center. Uber and Lyft do not operate in Slovenia.

It was well over 90F in Ljubljana. Most restaurants and shops do not have AC or maybe don’t turn them on.

To escape the heat, the kids voted to go to an escape room. The “Key Escape Room” is not far from our apartment. We did their ”Wonderland” room. It has some electro-magnetic gadgets in addition to the traditional locks and keys. It was fun.

It was a long, hot day. We had a simple dinner at a small café and called it a day.

Slept in Ljubljana, stayed at Barbo Palace – excellent location within the pedestrian zone one block away from Congress Square and the river.

Day 12:
10am tour at Joze Plecnik house. We booked online ahead of time. This is recommended because the guided tours are very small groups (7-8 people). There was a group of 4 who also showed up at 10 am but did not have pre-booked tickets. They were asked to wait until 11 am for their tour. You are not allowed to tour the house without a guide.

Lunch at Gostilnica 5-6kg. We just happened to walk by this place when we were hungry. Outside seating was full by 12pm. This is one of the best meals we had during our trip, just around the corner from Joze Plecnik house. Lunch special had a meat dish, salad and pizza. The baked chicken with mashed potatoes was out of this world.

It was so hot that after walking to Joze Plecnik house and back to the city center, everyone was exhausted. Nobody wanted to do any long distance walking, so we just strolled along the west side of the river.

We went to the “Key Escape Room” again (something to do indoors), did a different room. There is another escape room that is 15 minutes walk away, but none of us wanted walk that far in the heat.

Kids saw a “hole in the wall” ramen place and wanted to eat there. I went to the next street for Indian because they have gluten free options. We were ready for a little variety after eating Slovenian food for more than a week.

Slept in Ljubljana

Day 13:

Explored the east side of the river. Walked around the outdoor markets, had some very sweet peaches and cherries. Went inside some shops, bookstores, stopped wherever it interested us.

We were all exhausted from the heat the day before, so today we decided to take it easy. Took a midday break in our apartment.

Last dinner was at Julija’s, walked in at 5pm. Their apple strudels were the best my family had. Everything was delicious.

Our meals at Julija and Gostilnica 5-6 kg are the two best ones in our entire trip.

Slept in Ljubljana

Day 14:
Flight home at 6:40am from LJU.

Reflection:

We would have seen more of Ljubljana if it were not for the heat wave. It was over 90F with fairly high humidity for the last fours days of our trip. We all got some degree of heat cramp/heat exhaustion in Ljubljana. I think Southern Italy would probably feel like this in the summer. Piran would be more pleasant too if it were a little cooler.

Slovenia is a big playground, user friendly and easy to enjoy. We did not meet even one unfriendly Slovenian during our trip. The country is one of the cleanest we have been to. Among all the places we stayed, Piran and Ljubljana were the most expensive in general. As for shopping, I saw more unique handmade crafts outside of Ljubljana, and they were cheaper. Adults wear shorts and leggings outside of Ljubljana.

Our teens feel that if they were to do it again, they would spend less time in (or skip) Ljubljana and investigate some mountain biking trails/tours, more hiking, watersports and swimming in the mountains.

Even though Bled is touristy town, after staying around in that area for a few days, it is still a good convenient home base.

With more time and looking for more thrill, besides endless hiking options, there are many mountain bike trails, either manmade or semi-manmade. The mine where we had our underground kayaking tour offers underground biking, difficulty level goes up to XXBlack Diamond. Soca Rafting has canoeing school that students get to spend 3-4 hours a day on the water everyday. We wouldn’t mind spending another week or two hanging out at Soca valley and L.D. We all loved L.D.: remote, not crowded and so beautiful.

Thanks for the report! We're headed to Slovenia in September and appreciate the helpful information.

You are welcome! I am glad it's helpful.

We too will be in Austria & Slovenia the entire month of September. Thank you for taking the time to provide such great detailed information.

What a great report and great trip! You definitely did things not well-reported here, so thanks!

P.S. I stayed at the Victoria Apartments also in 2021 and loved our hostess and the apartment.

What a wonderful trip report! Thank you for sharing. My 18 year old daughter and I were in Slovenia for a week earlier this month and overlapped in some of your places. I think we were also in Ljubljana as the heat wave was beginning. That said I wish I had read trip report as I would have gone to a few of your spots!

I I’ve also not done trip reports for the same reason. One thing I could add is vegetarian/vegan food availability. No surprise, we were fine in Ljubljana, but had few options in Bled and Kobarid. I hope to go back to Slovenia again; next time I would prioritize staying in a place with a kitchen outside of the capital.

I am curious about your overall thoughts around staying in Kobarid. We spent two nights there and while we really enjoyed the World War I museum and some of the outdoor museums, overall that was our least favorite stop on the trip. In thinking about how to advise people to allocate their time, I wonder if there’s a better place to stay or way to see that area. We went to Bovec one evening but it didn’t seem much livelier.

Thank you so much for writing your trip report. I found it immensely helpful and appreciated the tips!

Susan and JimmyB-Have a wonderful time, Slovenia is beautiful.

TexasTravelMom-Victoria is so friendly; all the places we stayed in Slovenia were spotlessly clean.

denisek- I understand what you are saying about the WWI museum and the outdoor museums. How to advise people to allocate their time would depend on their interests. We spent the morning visiting WWI museum before our 1pm rafting appointment, some history and some water time in the afternoon was a productive day for us. If time allows and physically able, white water rafting is a memorable experience. We stayed in Ladra, 10mins south of Kobarid, I would stay there again, it is a quiet, real neighborhood(no town center, no stores, just people living there-this is what we prefer). Kobarid and Bovec, both are functional towns cater to tourists(ATM, grocery stores etc). Bovec is busier and a hub for outfitters, a younger vibe maybe? After a full day of physical activities, we were tired and ready for bed by 9pm everyday, so cannot say how the towns were like later at night. Also I would be too scared to drive on those narrow roads after dark. Check out www.soca-valley.com, there are so much more we could have done but did not know until we got there, our apartment hosts were also valuable resources.

Jenspur-I am happy you find the report helpful.

Lovely, lovely trip report. Makes me want to strap on my hiking boots and head back to Slovenia!

The underground kayaking sounds wonderful. Your trip report is bookmarked so I can include that activity when I return.

Thank you Dave.

As we will be in Slovenia (with a few days in nearby Italy and Austria towns) for 23 days starting the end of August, I really appreciate reading the details of your trip. We will visit many of the same places in western Slovenia, so your report is very helpful!

I am curious about your experience with a VW T-ROC. There will be four adults on our trip. Each of us will bring a carry-on sized suitcase and a backpack that would fit under an airplane seat. The VW T-ROC seems to be the most common and economical rental car for four people. But we were concerned about fitting four suitcases and four backpacks in the back. How was the luggage space for your family?

Would you share which rental agency you used and how many drivers were on the contract? And did you rent an automatic or manual transmission? Manual is so much cheaper, but thinking automatic would be so much easier in the mountains!

We loved our T-ROC. We have four carry on luggages(hard case), they fit nicely side by side in the trunk. We also have four school size backpacks. We pack light (RS style). We usually put two or three backpacks in the trunk, I keep mine by my feet. There are space between my two teens in the backseat, sometimes they put their bags there. The only time we had to squeeze things tight was to make room for groceries (4 larges bags).

We used Enterprise. My husband was the only driver on the contract. They will ask you again how many drivers will be driving when you pick up the car. Since we were not driving long distance and neither of us intend to drink alcohol during the day time, having two drivers was not necessary for us. I remember it was like 20 euro for an extra driver. If you are driving to Austria and Italy, confirm with the rental person about extra insurance when you cross the boarder. You will also need to buy a sticker/pass at a gas station before you enter Austria/Italy . The sticker for Slovenia was in our car already at rental.

We got automatic transmission, don't know how to drive manual... It will all depends on your(and your backup driver's) comfort level with manual transmission on mountain roads.
Have fun!

Thank you, leeshao

Thank you for this wonderful trip report. Full of useful tips for an upcoming trip in Oct.

Thank you for this wonderful and detailed trip report and for linking it in my Slovenia itenerary post to alert me. I will be reading through your report in detail as my trip is coming up in a month.

I had one question about car rental -- did you get CDW insurance from Enterprise or used a credit card for coverage? Did Enterprise rental come with Third Party liability coverage? If so, what were the limits? What was the experience with Enterprise like for returning the car and them noting damages to the car etc? I have never rented a car in Europe, but will be during this trip, and wanted to arm myself with some information.

did you get CDW insurance from Enterprise or used a credit card for coverage? ---neither, we booked our car via Expedia, at check out, Expedia offered car insurance which we took after shopped around, their price was good and the name of the company is Allianz.

Did Enterprise rental come with Third Party liability coverage?--Yes, liability insurance is mandatory.

If so, what were the limits? --don't remember, it was whatever required by Slovenia law

What was the experience with Enterprise like for returning the car and them noting damages to the car etc? -- At the car return, they noticed some horizontal scratches on top of the bumper, we don't know how they got there, it was on a odd surface, anyway, they charged us on the credit card, we submitted the claim to Allianz after we got home and got a check within a week or two.

Thank you for the response, leeshao.

I went through your trip report and really appreciate the level of details you have provided, especially about parking app and municipal parking etc.

Driving the Panoramic Rd in Logarska Dolina -- was it mostly paved or were there unpaved sections? What was it like driving on unpaved rds, if any? Do you know if rental companies (Enterprise in your case) prohibit driving on unpaved roads?

Regarding Vintgar Gorge hike, how far ahead did you book? Anything else you recommend prebooking?

Driving the Panoramic Rd in Logarska Dolina -- was it mostly paved or were there unpaved sections? mostly paved, some short unpaved section, not dangerous, just go slow. locals drive on it all the time.

What was it like driving on unpaved rds, if any? --not bad, just go slow.

Do you know if rental companies (Enterprise in your case) prohibit driving on unpaved roads? no such thing

Regarding Vintgar Gorge hike, how far ahead did you book? 2 weeks

Anything else you recommend prebooking? any tour, kayaking, rafting, skocjan Caves, Joze Plecnick house,

Wonderful, detailed report on a lesser reported on area! Thank you! You mentioned Rick Steves guidebook, was that your primary source for planning?

Tammy,
I start my trip planning in Europe with RS books, my itinerary is 80% based on his books.

Thanks again leeshao. From Radol'ca to Logarska Dolina, did you cross the Austrian border or did you swing south to take A-1 expressway east of Ljubljana and then up north on 225? How long did the drive along Panoramic Rd take?

Pam,
From Radol'ca to Logarska Dolina, did you cross the Austrian border or did you swing south to take A-1 expressway east of Ljubljana and then up north on 225? We took the expressway and went up north.

How long did the drive along Panoramic Rd take? for about 3 hours with stops. we left hotel at LD around 9am , back to our hotel by noon for lunch.

Thank you for the great report! I got a kick over the description of your kayak lunch - dense with no fiber. I sure hope that we can go to Velika Planina. I was looking for something like this on our way from Radovljica to Ljubljana. Your tips about parking and restaurants were also great. We've traveled around Europe a fair amount and my hubbs always freaks out about parking options.

KayC,
We worry about parking too, who wants a parking ticket(or worse, get towed) while on vacation in another country!?

Another enthusiastic thank you for this amazing trip report! My husband and I will be spending two weeks in September with our daughter visiting many of the same places you went. I especially appreciate the level of detail about things like cars and driving and parking, which are so hard to learn about otherwise.

We have been debating about a rafting trip, so thank you for the recommendation.

And I didn't know you needed tickets for Vintgar Gorge.

I think I will have to print out your whole report and go over it with my highlighter!

bistoa,
I am glad you find it helpful. Rafting is not one of the top "to dos" from other reviews. Our 17 years old son was the one bugging me about it, glad we listened to him and jump on it. If you have the time for it, highly recommend. I booked 1pm (warmer temp) tour because the water is cold. Soca is beautiful, being on the water was an amazing experience.
Have a great time there!