3 Days in Slovenia
Ljubljana aside, there is so much in Slovenia to look out for! Initially when Noel planned for 3 days, I thought it'd be too much but there were still places that we eventually didn't end up heading to (sadly due to bad weather!). Within Ljubljana, we didn't see a need for a car, but once we were done exploring the city center, we rented a car to explore the other areas.
We rented a car from Atet, costing approx 100 euros for 3 days (excluding petrol). This car rental company is not located near Ljubljana station, and while they did pay for our taxi to and from Ljubljana train station, there was a lot of waiting involved (and dragging of suitcases around). That aside, we didn't face any hiccups with the car rental company and they were one of the more affordable ones, so no complaints!
-
We booked an AirBnB for 2 nights somewhere relative close to Lake Bled to make our drives out more convenient. Unfortunately, we both found the place a little odd, so we decided to cut short our stay there and left first thing in the morning for Lake Bled. There are a quite a number of parking lots around the lake. To catch the sunrise, we parked near the west side of the lake, very convenient location but costs 3€ an hour!
We thought we'd be the only ones but even at that hour, there were people taking walks and even swimming (though it was cold and the water smelled weird...)
After that, we shifted the car to another parking lot where the charges were a lot more affordable -- parking charges only start from 8AM onwards. 1st hour is free, 2nd hour chargeable at 2€. It was barely 7AM then and none of the shops were open, so we took a stroll around the lake.
In the middle of Lake Bled sits a church on a small island. There is a 99-step staircase to the church, and if you ring the bell found in it, it is said to make wishes come true. To get there, you can either take a pletna (~10€ per round trip), row your own boat (~20€ per hour), or swim (free). If not, you can just enjoy the view from afar (which is spectacular!)
We ended up at Sava Hoteli Bled to rent a row boat. Not the cheapest boat rental option around, but they opened at 8AM, hours earlier than most others along the lake.
Boat rental rates per hour:
20€ for a small boat (up to 4 pax)
25€ for a big boat (up to 5 pax)
10€ for each additional hour
If you're up for a picnic on a boat, you can pack your own food or get the full package from the hotel. 65€ gets you 2 hours of boat rental and a picnic basket filled with snacks.
We started off on the Eastern side of the lake, which is a further journey to the island as compared to starting from the West. It took about an hour to row to the island, take a quick walk around, and row back to our initial starting point. Fortunately, Noel's rowing skills from his school days came in handy, if not we would've taken way longer trying to manoeuvre the boat. While we brought our own snacks for a little boat picnic, we threw that out the window as it got a little warm after awhile (especially for the boat rower, also not me hehe.)
A short drive from Lake Bled led us to another beautiful natural destination - Vintgar Gorge. If you ended up at Lake Bled via public transportation, you could cycle or even walk to Vintgar Gorge by following signs. Known for its emerald green waters, the gorge is part of Triglav National park and spans only about 1.6km long, so it won't take too long to complete the trial even if you have a tight itinerary.
We arrived around 9.30AM and it was already fairly crowded, we had to park and walk about 10 minutes to the entrance of the gorge. The trial took us about 2 hours, and by the time we were on our way out, the entrance was so packed that people were standing in line just to start their walk. Parking for cars is a flat 5€, while entry tickets cost 15€ each for adults.
We made a pit stop for lunch, before heading to Lake Jasna. We weren't expecting much but it was beautiful - large lakes surrounded by mountainous views. There were a lot of families enjoying a sunny day out, with kids playing in the water and parents lounging in the sun. If we knew, we would've packed lunch and enjoyed a nice picnic by the water!
Noel then found our new accommodation for the night (since we cancelled on our original airbnb), and we took a drive in the mountains and ended up in a guest house quite literally in the middle of nowhere. (TBH, don't remember much of the drive because I was sleeping through most of it. Food coma, oops.)
Our last minute accommodation turned out to be better than expected. The guest house is ran by a local couple who despite speaking very little English, was really kind and hospitable. It felt nice to have a very clean bathroom after a day of traveling via the night bus to Slovenia, and the strange airbnb experience we had. We also had a nice relaxing evening under the patio, enjoying fresh fish and greens for dinner while sipping a glass of 50c wine. The next morning, we were greeted by a fresh selection of bread and self-cured ham for breakfast.
The weather was pretty unforgiving for Day 2 and 3.
Initially, our plan was to hike to the top of Mt Triglav, but we decided against it as the weather was really bad and we heard reports of potential avalanches. There are several ways up, through our research we found that most people start the ascend from Krma valley for about 5-6 hours to one of their pre-selected mountain huts. From there, they will either take the 2 hour ascend up to the summit, or stop at the hut for the night before continuing the ascend the next day. These huts don't have booking sites, so you either have to call them or email them. We reached out to Dom Planika hut and managed to secure a booking through email. Prior to the trip, you need to prep all the hike equipment as the ascend to the top could be quite dangerous without the proper tools. To be honest I was actually relieved we eventually did not go through with the ~15 hour journey, but it was sad to see Noel disappointed so hopefully our next major hike will go smoothly...!
We also wanted to take a trip down to Lepa Vida winery for some orange wine tasting - unfortunately we couldn't find a time slot that matched and it was not the best idea since we were driving.
So instead, we made our way to Predjama castle, fortunately the skies cleared up a little as we arrived. We took a quick walk around to catch a glimpse at the castle built within a cave mouth (skipping the castle tour as we weren't very interested).
Since our hike fell through, we had to find an alternative for our last night and we randomly ended up at a ski resort (though it wasn't winter). Due to bad weather, most of the outdoor activities were suspended so we didn't end up doing much.
At the last minute we decided to visit Velika Planina, one of the last few herdsmen's villages located in the heart of Kamnik Alps that still follows the traditional Alpine herdmen's culture. It was a relatively short drive from our accommodation to the cable car station that takes you up. As far as we know, the only way up is either by hiking or via the cable car/chair lift (driving is not permitted).
The cable car took us mid-way, then we transferred to a chairlift. We also saw people making their way up by foot, seemed like an easy hike that would've taken about ~30 mins. It was cold (in July) and so quiet. Extremely calm and soothing ride to soak in the view.
Once we got off at the top, there were signs to navigate through the hills. It started off foggy when we got there. Visibility was so bad we could barely even see meters in front of us. Fortunately the fog started clearing up a little and we caught a glimpse of the little huts and free roaming cows!
The area is pretty large, and there are a few huts where you can sit down for a meal and try Å¡truklji (traditional Slovene dish - cheese dumplings)! Unfortunately we only had an hour or two, and with the relatively poor weather we didn't get to experience this place fully.
We rented a car from Atet, costing approx 100 euros for 3 days (excluding petrol). This car rental company is not located near Ljubljana station, and while they did pay for our taxi to and from Ljubljana train station, there was a lot of waiting involved (and dragging of suitcases around). That aside, we didn't face any hiccups with the car rental company and they were one of the more affordable ones, so no complaints!
-
We booked an AirBnB for 2 nights somewhere relative close to Lake Bled to make our drives out more convenient. Unfortunately, we both found the place a little odd, so we decided to cut short our stay there and left first thing in the morning for Lake Bled. There are a quite a number of parking lots around the lake. To catch the sunrise, we parked near the west side of the lake, very convenient location but costs 3€ an hour!
We thought we'd be the only ones but even at that hour, there were people taking walks and even swimming (though it was cold and the water smelled weird...)
Just enjoying my cheese sandwich while the bf takes his morning shots
In the middle of Lake Bled sits a church on a small island. There is a 99-step staircase to the church, and if you ring the bell found in it, it is said to make wishes come true. To get there, you can either take a pletna (~10€ per round trip), row your own boat (~20€ per hour), or swim (free). If not, you can just enjoy the view from afar (which is spectacular!)
We ended up at Sava Hoteli Bled to rent a row boat. Not the cheapest boat rental option around, but they opened at 8AM, hours earlier than most others along the lake.
Boat rental rates per hour:
20€ for a small boat (up to 4 pax)
25€ for a big boat (up to 5 pax)
10€ for each additional hour
If you're up for a picnic on a boat, you can pack your own food or get the full package from the hotel. 65€ gets you 2 hours of boat rental and a picnic basket filled with snacks.
We started off on the Eastern side of the lake, which is a further journey to the island as compared to starting from the West. It took about an hour to row to the island, take a quick walk around, and row back to our initial starting point. Fortunately, Noel's rowing skills from his school days came in handy, if not we would've taken way longer trying to manoeuvre the boat. While we brought our own snacks for a little boat picnic, we threw that out the window as it got a little warm after awhile (especially for the boat rower, also not me hehe.)
Cue The Notebook lake scene. Plus more sweat, and accidental dog poop.
A short drive from Lake Bled led us to another beautiful natural destination - Vintgar Gorge. If you ended up at Lake Bled via public transportation, you could cycle or even walk to Vintgar Gorge by following signs. Known for its emerald green waters, the gorge is part of Triglav National park and spans only about 1.6km long, so it won't take too long to complete the trial even if you have a tight itinerary.
We arrived around 9.30AM and it was already fairly crowded, we had to park and walk about 10 minutes to the entrance of the gorge. The trial took us about 2 hours, and by the time we were on our way out, the entrance was so packed that people were standing in line just to start their walk. Parking for cars is a flat 5€, while entry tickets cost 15€ each for adults.
We made a pit stop for lunch, before heading to Lake Jasna. We weren't expecting much but it was beautiful - large lakes surrounded by mountainous views. There were a lot of families enjoying a sunny day out, with kids playing in the water and parents lounging in the sun. If we knew, we would've packed lunch and enjoyed a nice picnic by the water!
Statue of Zlatorog (the mythical chamois with the golden horns who lived on Mt Triglav) by Lake Jasna
Noel then found our new accommodation for the night (since we cancelled on our original airbnb), and we took a drive in the mountains and ended up in a guest house quite literally in the middle of nowhere. (TBH, don't remember much of the drive because I was sleeping through most of it. Food coma, oops.)
Green, green views / Bunch of sheep crowding around a car for warmth
Our last minute accommodation turned out to be better than expected. The guest house is ran by a local couple who despite speaking very little English, was really kind and hospitable. It felt nice to have a very clean bathroom after a day of traveling via the night bus to Slovenia, and the strange airbnb experience we had. We also had a nice relaxing evening under the patio, enjoying fresh fish and greens for dinner while sipping a glass of 50c wine. The next morning, we were greeted by a fresh selection of bread and self-cured ham for breakfast.
The weather was pretty unforgiving for Day 2 and 3.
Initially, our plan was to hike to the top of Mt Triglav, but we decided against it as the weather was really bad and we heard reports of potential avalanches. There are several ways up, through our research we found that most people start the ascend from Krma valley for about 5-6 hours to one of their pre-selected mountain huts. From there, they will either take the 2 hour ascend up to the summit, or stop at the hut for the night before continuing the ascend the next day. These huts don't have booking sites, so you either have to call them or email them. We reached out to Dom Planika hut and managed to secure a booking through email. Prior to the trip, you need to prep all the hike equipment as the ascend to the top could be quite dangerous without the proper tools. To be honest I was actually relieved we eventually did not go through with the ~15 hour journey, but it was sad to see Noel disappointed so hopefully our next major hike will go smoothly...!
We also wanted to take a trip down to Lepa Vida winery for some orange wine tasting - unfortunately we couldn't find a time slot that matched and it was not the best idea since we were driving.
So instead, we made our way to Predjama castle, fortunately the skies cleared up a little as we arrived. We took a quick walk around to catch a glimpse at the castle built within a cave mouth (skipping the castle tour as we weren't very interested).
Since our hike fell through, we had to find an alternative for our last night and we randomly ended up at a ski resort (though it wasn't winter). Due to bad weather, most of the outdoor activities were suspended so we didn't end up doing much.
Had an eventful drive up the mountains with a cute road block
At the last minute we decided to visit Velika Planina, one of the last few herdsmen's villages located in the heart of Kamnik Alps that still follows the traditional Alpine herdmen's culture. It was a relatively short drive from our accommodation to the cable car station that takes you up. As far as we know, the only way up is either by hiking or via the cable car/chair lift (driving is not permitted).
The cable car took us mid-way, then we transferred to a chairlift. We also saw people making their way up by foot, seemed like an easy hike that would've taken about ~30 mins. It was cold (in July) and so quiet. Extremely calm and soothing ride to soak in the view.
Chair lift to Velika Planina
Once we got off at the top, there were signs to navigate through the hills. It started off foggy when we got there. Visibility was so bad we could barely even see meters in front of us. Fortunately the fog started clearing up a little and we caught a glimpse of the little huts and free roaming cows!
The area is pretty large, and there are a few huts where you can sit down for a meal and try Å¡truklji (traditional Slovene dish - cheese dumplings)! Unfortunately we only had an hour or two, and with the relatively poor weather we didn't get to experience this place fully.
Harvest Moon life on the mountains
Comments