I loved my time in Slovenia June 2024. Here was my itinerary:
Day 1 - Land in Ljubljana - overnight Ljubljana; Hotel Slamic (air conditioning, lovely breakfast and terrace for wine/food; convenient location; wonderful staff).
Day 2 - Ljubljana - Free Walking Tour; Ljubljanayum Food tour (excellent & so many places we stopped for local food, farmer's market, etc.); walked in the Center; Odprta Kuhna (open kitchen) for dinner; sunset tour of castle; overnight Ljubljana. Favorite eats were - Klobasarna for sausage & Ričet, Romantika for gelato and le Potica for miniature potička
Day 3 - Depart Ljubljana in rental car and drove to Piran. Stopping in Vipava Valley for lunch at Majerija in tiny, wine village of Slap - overnight Piran at Memento B&B (amazing!)
Day 4 - Piran & area. Local tour guide was gone so I toured the area by myself - churches, overlook onto the sea, square & local shops, etc. I loved the local artist, Nika's Tiny Houses. Favorite restaurants were Fritolin Pri Cantini and Pirat Piran - overnight Piran
Day 5 - Depart Piran, stopping at Skjocjan Cave on way towards Kobarid. I loved this cave tour as it was so informative and incredible. Not entirely over-run by tourists and still so much natural beauty. On to Kobarid. Toured Kobarid Museum, hiked before sunset to Waterfall Kozjak (Slap Kosjak), casual dinner at Hisa Polonka - overnight in Kobarid at local apartment Apartment Masera (good breakfast, very basic room)
Day 6 - Departed Kobarid for Most na Soča and took auto train to Bohinjska Bistrica. This was incredible! They only take cash! Relaxing to just ride inside your car, on the train car, and look at the beautiful countryside and homes.
Drove my rental car right off the train car and to Bohinj and wandered around lake, toured the church, went up to Vogel on cable car but was too foggy to see much and too rainy to hike down so just hung out on top of the mountain for a bit. Then the rain cleared and I went to Slap Savica (Savica waterfalls) and hiked up the trail to the top and what a gorgeous view! After climbing all of those stairs, I treated myself to a delicious dessert and beverage at Planinski dom Savica restaurant at the bottom of the trail. Then went back to Lake Bohinj and waded in it off the beach and walked around town. Dinner was my favorite at the Michelin restaurant at my hotel, Hotel Majer’ca. The hotel had small but amazing rooms!
Day 7 - Bohinj - Near Stara Fužina, there are several popular hikes and waterfalls. I did the Mostnica Gorge & Voje Valley hike, a well-known option, starting from Stara Fužina and leading to the 21m high Voje Waterfall. Incredible – it took me a long time but I was slow! Some of the trail was a bit slippery due to recent rain but some was very flat - including a lovely valley area with mountain huts right before the waterfalls. My break before heading back down was a delicious bowl of soup at Okrepčevalnica - Snacks Slap Voje (cash only) - a small restaurant with snacks and light meals near the waterfalls. Drove to Bled and overnight in Bled at Penzion Mayer (free bikes!, great breakfast and lovely, big room with view of the castle and lake).
Day 8 - Bled - Great breakfast at hotel (probably my best in Slovenia) and then morning bike ride around the lake with free hotel bike, tour of the castle and espresso and cream cake on the terrace with a lovely view. Drove to Radovljica and visited the bee keeping museum which was incredible! Cute little town. Drove back to Ljubljana and returned the rental car. Overnight Lljubljana at Hotel Slamic for early train departure. The hotel was so sweet and packed me a yummy breakfast to go for the next morning.
Day 9 - depart Ljubljana on 5 am train to Budapest