The main, most important, we could say the only public transport in Ljubljana is Ljubljana’s city bus. Ljubljana doesn’t have tram or any similar type of transport. Of course there are trains, but they only drive to and from Ljubljana, not between different parts of the city.

You will get or probably find without problem maps with timetables and routes schemes. But, because the system has changed this year, you may have difficulties with paying the rides. Until September 2009, we were paying bus rides with cash or we had monthly tickets. In September, the system has changed – bus ride can only be paid by special Urbana Card (it looks like credit card from the outside). So, your very first main concern, when you decide to use Ljubljana city bus is to get Urbana. It costs 2€ (only the card, without any cash on it).

You can buy Urbana in the Tourist information Center (located in the center, near market hall), in one of many tobacco shops, at the Central bus station or even in some supermarkets.  It is possible to pay rides for more people at the same time with one Urbana, so if you are a group and you ride together you can only buy one Urbana.

When you buy Urbana, you also have to fill it and the best thing to do is that you fill it where you bought it to avod any further problems. You can also add credit using machines called Urbanomat. They are recognizable by their green color. You can put in from 1€ to 50€. Every ride costs 0,80€ and during 90 minutes, counting from the start of the ride you can change as many buses as you want. So, you loose 0,80€/person on your Urbana and you can use any bus you want for 90 minutes. The ride is charged when you enter the bus, not when you leave!

Urbanomat

When you enter the bus, simply touch the card to one of the green card readers (usually near the driver), everything else will be done automatically.

What about safety on the buses? Of course it is possible some pickpockets will find you, but it is rather unlikely. That of course doesn’t mean you don’t need to be careful, but you don’t have to panic about that either. Use normal travel wallets (those you can carry under t-shirt) and everything will be ok.

For those who will come in Ljubljana by car and don’t want to drive in the center, there is another option. You can park at “Dolgi most P+R” parking (exit Ljubljana-West from the highway) and only pay 1€ for whole day parking. You also get two tickets for bus, but they can be used only on bus number 6 or 6B, driving from Dolgi most through center in Črnuče.

When you are planning your Slovenia holidays, you probably won’t forget to include Ljubljana, the capital city of Slovenia. When I go traveling in foreign cities, one of my biggest concerns is always the problem of transport – how am I going to move from one part of the city to another? But, because Ljubljana is my home town I can give you some good tips to resolve this problem. I will concentrate on “private” means of transport; public transport will be described in other article.

Driving in Ljubljana by car

If you are type of person who likes to drive in cities (so you probably hate public transport), this is a good option for you.  It is also possible to use your car in Ljubljana. Because Ljubljana is not a big city, it isn’t very likely to fall into traffic jam (especially in summer time). Rush hour is usually from 7.30 to 8.30 AM and from 3.30 to 4.30 PM. But, even if you drive during rush hour it isn’t that horrible. It will take more time, but you will get everywhere (It’s not like in major cities, where traffic isn’t moving for an hour).

You can park in the city center – there are two options. Cheaper one is to park on the streets in city center – they cost 60 eurocents per hour, but parking time is limited for 2 hours (from 8.00AM to 6.00PM, before and after parking is free and time is not limited). If you park on the street don’t worry for your car – Ljubljana isn’t like Rome – your car will probably be the same (without scratches, bumps etc.) when you come back. Second option is to park in park garages – they are more expensive (up to 2.5€/h), but time isn’t limited.

Taxi transport in Ljubljana

Taxi services are well developed in Ljubljana. I only have one important suggestion for you – do not stop taxi on the street, because they will most commonly charge you much more than if you call taxi service and then taxi picks you up. Look in tourist brochures or ask in hotels to get a specific phone number. Normal taxi prices are from 1€/km. It’s important to ask for the price before you start the ride.

Riding a bicycle or driving a scooter

It’s possible to rent a bike in Ljubljana for as little as 1€/day. Ljubljana has well organized bicycle trails network (in Ljubljana and also whole circle around Ljubljana). Attention: It’s not allowed to drive scooter on bicycle trails in Slovenia! 

Walking in Ljubljana

If your hotel is located in the center of Ljubljana, the best way to enjoy the beauty of Ljubljana is by foot. City center isn’t big; you can walk from one part of the center to another in less than half an hour (easy walk). Even if you came in the center by car, bus, taxi or however, I suggest walk through the center – it’s the best and easiest way for sightseeing in Ljubljana. The best walk is from center of Ljubljana on Castle hill (also in center of Ljubljana) – it takes around 20 minutes. But if you don’t want to walk, you can go on the Castle hill by funicular.

In this article, I would like to present you some basic information about Slovenia holidays in winter. Slovenia has always been famous for family friendly ski trails with reasonably priced accommodation. Slovenian ski runs are, compared to Austrian and Italian, cheaper and less crowded. Slovenian ski resorts are also very modern – old chair lifts and cable cars are disappearing and are being replaced by modern ones.

Slovenian ski resorts have a great deal of additional offers. There are many restaurants on ski trails, offering traditional Slovenian food and drink. Beginners can start their winter adventure in ski school with many professional instructors. For those who like to relax after skiing, Slovenia has several thermal springs near ski resorts – spa offer is usually included in ski tickets. Adrenalin lovers, who don’t want to rest in the evening, can go night skiing (possible in all major ski resorts).

Slovenian ski resorts also take care for people, who don’t just want to ski – sledding and skating are possible in or nearby all major ski centers.

Cheap ski holidays are offered by many Slovenian ski resorts. The most famous one in northwest Slovenia is Kranjska Gora – only few kilometers (miles) from both the Italian and Austrian borders, there is a typical alpine resort, from one perspective most suitable for families, beginners and unprofessional skiers. From another perspective, Kranjska Gora also offers many challenging ski trails. Therefore Kranjska Gora is also famous for traditional every year hosting of the FIS World Cup races.

Another very important ski center in Slovenia is Cerkno – 70 hectares of well prepared ski trails, modern facilities and beautiful nature.

Ski center Krvavec is situated in central Slovenia, only 25 kilometers away from Ljubljana, Slovenian capital city and is therefore very attractive for weekend tourists from Slovenia and Croatia.

Rogla is another Slovenian ski centre, located in eastern Slovenia and consequently attractive for Croatian and Hungarian skiers. Another important ski center, offering winter holidays, is Mariborsko Pohorje in northeastern part of Slovenia. Slovenia also has many smaller ski centers with one or two ski trails, with no crowd whatsoever, appropriate for little children’s first “ski steps”.

Slovenia holidays in winter can be a thrilling experience for a very reasonable price. If you decide to go, I hope you will enjoy it. And if you are planning to visit Slovenia at the end of March, don’t forget to visit Ski jumping finals in Planica (near Kranjska Gora).

Slovenia is reachable by car, motorcycle, train, bus or plane. Well, if you are fan of challenges, Slovenia can also be reachable by foot. And for sea lovers, Slovenia is also connected with world by sea.

My personal opinion and experience is that when you are in Slovenia, you must have a car or a motorcycle. It may be your own, if you visit Slovenia by car or motorcycle, but if you visit Slovenia by any other means of transport, I recommend renting one (if you didn’t arrive by motorcycle, you will probably want to rent a car).

Visiting Slovenia by car

From that point of view, if you are coming from nearby countries, the best way to organize your Slovenia holidays is travel to Slovenia by car. Slovenia has, in past few years, built a brand new motorway network. You may say that you hate traveling by car because of traffic jams. If you don’t arrive in Slovenia on Saturdays (in summer, otherwise day isn’t important), you most likely won’t have difficulties with too much traffic on our roads. From year 2008 we also have new motorway toll method – vignettes for personal vehicle up to 3,5t. You have three options – 7 day vignette for 15€, monthly vignette for 30€ or annual vignette for 95€ (prices are for personal vehicles – cars and most of vans; prices are lower for motorcycles).

Visiting Slovenia by train

Slovenia also has national rail network. Arriving to Slovenia by train may be a good option, but travel in Slovenia by train isn’t a good decision. Because of landscape variety, Slovenian trains are slow and it will take too long to get anywhere. Besides, you will miss beautiful sights on the way. So, even though you came to Slovenia by train, I suggest traveling in Slovenia by car.

Visiting Slovenia by airplane

If your home is far away from Slovenia, you will probably visit Slovenia by plane. Slovenia has two larger airports (well, in comparison to other European airports, both are very small). One is near Ljubljana (Letališče Jožeta Pučnika) and other near Maribor (Letališče Edvarda Rusjana). You have three major airline companies flying to Slovenia. Slovenian national airline is Adria Airways. Easy Jet flies from London to Ljubljana and Ryan Air flies from many European cities to Graz, Klagenfurt (Austria) or Venice (Italy) – all these are near Slovenia (Graz and Klagenfurt less than an hour, Venice about three hours). When you will arrive to Slovenia, you will probably want to rent a car – please reserve it before you go on a trip in order to save some money on the trip.

Visiting Slovenia by bus

Bus can be a good option if you are traveling to Slovenia with an organized group. If you are traveling alone, train is a better option (cheaper, faster). When you are traveling by bus, together with a group, you have much less travel worries – but, also much less freedom. The choice is yours.

Travel to Slovenia by sea

There is a direct cruise line between Venice and Slovenia, driving from April to October.

The capital city of Slovenia is Ljubljana. Ljubljana is not a typical capital city with high skyscrapers, heavy traffic all day long, Chinese district, people from everywhere and many troubles like polluted air and garbage on the street.

Ljubljana is a rather small city, with 300.000 citizens, many historical and also several modern buildings, with fresh air and clean streets.

Although Ljubljana is small compared to other Europe metropolis, it is the largest city in Slovenia.
Ljubljana is a place for tourists who like to enjoy modern city culture at daytime, but during the night they like peace. Because of Ljubljana’s littleness, Ljubljana is a very quiet city at night. That’s why Ljubljana is appropriate for families with little children.

But this doesn’t mean there is no night life in Ljubljana – contrary! Ljubljana offers tourists and young people many parties, concerts of celebrities and for those who like to meet new people, many other places to hang out.

Ljubljana is also one of the safest cities in the world. According to Global Peace index ranking, Slovenia is world’s ninth safest country.

Historically, Ljubljana was established in the times of Roman Empire. Roman name for Ljubljana was Emona (there are remains of roman wall in the city center). Ljubljana continued developing its culture during the middle age – therefore Ljubljana is culturally rich city. The main symbol of Ljubljana is medieval Ljubljana’s castle on castle hill of Ljubljana. When visiting Ljubljana, visit of the castle is also important because of the view it provides – the whole city can be seen from it.

Citizens of Ljubljana are friendly and hospitable. That makes city even more attractive. Ljubljana also has its own, world famous university (University of Ljubljana) that is why Ljubljana also has many libraries. With several museums, Ljubljana can satisfy even most pretentious cultural fans. Owing to Slovenian catholic tradition, Ljubljana has many cathedrals as well.

When planning Slovenia holidays, Ljubljana is a must see. Once people see Ljubljana, they don’t want to go back home. If they don’t decide to stay, they take home some very pleasant memories.

Slovenia is definitely not an urbanized country. Majority of Slovenian territory is rural and therefore especially appropriate for hiking and cycling. But that isn’t all. Thanks to many Slovenian rivers, Slovenia is also famous for canoeing (rapids are present in majority of rivers in Slovenia, such as Kolpa, Sava, Krka, …).

If you don’t like hotels, apartments and other similar kinds of accommodation in the cities, I recommend staying during your Slovenia holidays in one of two hundred Slovenian tourist farms. Tourist farms are normal farms with extra space for accommodation. They usually offer many things that hotels don’t – for example traditional Slovenian food and wine. People running this farms are also very friendly and helpful. All this is available at low prices (usually lower than city accommodation). If you would like to get sight of Slovenian countryside while enjoying Slovenia holidays, tourist farms are definitely the right option. It is also a great opportunity to meet some local people – don’t worry, most people, especially young, even in countryside speaks English.

The other thing you might be interested in is trips to the mountains. Owing to variety of Slovenian landscapes, you can choose how high mountains you want. There are three different mountain ranges in Slovenia: Julian Alps, Dinaric Alps and Kamnik-Savinja Alps. Julian Alps are generally higher and more pretentious for hikers.

Watching beauty of Slovenian countryside from perspective of bicyclist is an unforgettable experience. I can’t tell you the best route to go to, because there are too many. I can on only tell you one fact – cycling in Slovenia isn’t as easy as for example in Netherlands. Slovenian landscapes are hilly and from this perspective unfriendly to bikers. But, if you take that in consideration, you will enjoy.

Doesn’t matter where you are headed to, Slovenian countryside also has many great but still low budget restaurants, offering several kinds of food. If you decide for a meal in one of them, don’t forget to ask for original Slovenian wine. Contentment guaranteed!