I’m writing this article for people who don’t know much about Slovenia and are still deciding whether they should go to Slovenia. My suggestion is that you should go and I’m going to reason that with some facts speaking in favor of Slovenia.

1.) Location

Slovenia is a country in central Europe, bordering Italy to the west, the Adriatic Sea to the southwest, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast and Austria to the north. But, in order to get a real idea where Slovenia is I’ve marked it on the map of Europe.

2.) Political aspect

The Republic of Slovenia has been an independent democratic republic since 1991, when Slovenia seceded from Yugoslavia. Unlike Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia and Bosnia, war in Slovenia only lasted for ten days (Yes, I said days not years:) and claimed nineteen victims (on Slovenian side). Slovenia has been a full member of European Union since 1.5.2004. One of Slovenia’s achievement is last few years is also Slovenian presidency of the EU council in the first half of the year 2008.

3.) Currency

When Slovenia was a part of Yugoslavia, our national currency was “Dinar”. Together with the independence we changed our currency – we were using “Slovenian Tolar”. But, when we joined European Union, our goal was to also join Monetary Union as soon as possible. As first country, which joined EU in 2004, we achieved our goal on 1.1.2007, when our currency became Euro (€). Now our national currency is Euro, which is a great advantage for you, because you won’t have to switch currencies all the time. 
 

4.) Economy

When Yugoslavia was falling apart, Slovenia was lucky from two perspectives. Firstly, war in Slovenia only lasted for 10 days, which means, if we ignore other facts, that Slovenia started its transition (from socialism to capitalism) without delay, which occurred in other Yugoslavia countries (because they were in war). The consequence is that Slovenia has already completed the transition and therefore our economy is more stable than economy of other former Yugoslavia countries.

Secondly, we were lucky because even in Yugoslavia, Slovenia was the most developed part of the country. However, Slovenia had quite many problems when we became independent, because our economy lost a big market for our products – all other Yugoslavian countries. That caused a smaller economy crisis in 1992/93, but the economy has recovered quickly, because we focused on the market of European Union. Of course, former Yugoslavian markets are still very important for our economy.
 

5.) Safety 

Slovenia is a small country with little political influence on mayor countries. Therefore Slovenia remains free of terrorist incidents. Overall crime rate in Slovenia is low, but, like in any other country, it can happen (if you are unlucky). I still suggest normal preventive measures, such as locking your car (which I consider normal) and use of “secure wallet” (under shirt wallet).

In my previous article I described three out of seven most beautiful Slovenian seaside spots. In part II. it’s time for other four ones.

4.) Strunjan

Next spot moving from north to south is Strunjan. It’s famous for attractive Strunjan cliffs. Strunjan cliffs are part of Strunjan Nature reserve, also famous for being the highest flysch cliffs at the Adriatic Sea.  Strunjan cliffs look like this:

As you may notice, there isn’t much space between the sea and the cliff, but there is enough space for many wild beaches, appropriate for naturists as well. Strunjan also has one big settled beach, but they unfortunately charge entry.

Another thing worth-seeing in Strunjan is so called “Strunjan hill” (recognizable by a paved road). Slightly below the top of the hill is a church, dedicated to Mary, mother of God, and on the top of the hill famous Strunjan cross. From the top of the hill it’s possible to see cliffs, and there is also a path, leading to the sea (reachable only on foot).

Strunjan has its own thermal spa as well in case you want to swim in winter.

5.) Piran

Visit of Piran is recommendable especially because of its remarkable architecture. Piran is a typical seaside town with architecture, typical of towns in Istria. It is also the most crowded city on Slovenian coast.

On your Slovenia holidays, you will probably want to see “Piran walls”, Marina in Piran and Tartini square in the center of Piran (the most famous one of eight squares in Piran). Piran offers great entertainment as well – many festivals take place in Piran. The most famous church in Piran is St. George church (“cerkev Sv. Jurija”).

St. George church in Piran

Piran also has its own beach in the town center and some in the surroundings.

6.) Portorož

Portorož is the most tourist attractive town on the Slovenian coast. It has beautiful promenade by the sea (recently renewed) and some very luxurious hotels. Portorož even has its own airport, which offers tourists sightseeing flights. Despite the fact that Portorož is getting more and more sophisticated, there is still a camp in Lucija, settlement just an arm length away from Portorož. There is a big town beach in Portorož with very fine sand.

Portorož also has a big marina and quite many casinos.

I definitely recommend taking an evening walk in Portorož, but I must warn you that prices in Portorož are higher than in other seaside towns in Slovenia (but are still lower than in Nice or Dubrovnik). In the summer time traffic in Portorož (and in other parts of Slovenian seaside) can be quite heavy, especially at weekends.

7.) Sečovlje

Sečovlje is a settlement near Croatian border, famous for salt works (salt producing territory). Sečovlje is worth visiting because you can take a tour around Sečovlje Saline Nature Park (SSNP), where you can see the whole process of salt production.

Slovenia has 46 kilometers of its own coast. It borders on Italian coast in the north and on Croatian coast in the south. Despite the fact that the coast it self is rather small it has quite many towns and interesting spots, worth mentioning and visiting on your Slovenia holidays. I will describe seven of them (of course most important and tourist interesting ones), sorted from north to south.

1.) Ankaran

Ankaran is a village only few meters away from Italian border. It is interesting because of very fine sand in the sea (you don’t have to walk on rocks when you are going in the water). Water isn’t as high as in other parts of Slovenian coast, which makes this one more family friendly. Besides all other sorts of accommodation available (apartments, hotel), Ankaran has its own camp as well (and the cheapest boat launching ramp for nautical enthusiast). The only problem in Ankaran, as in all other parts of Slovenian coast, is parking. Owing to many one day tourists arriving by car, it is quite hard to get a free parking space, especially at weekends.

2.) Koper

Koper is the largest coastal town and sixth largest town in Slovenia. It is well known for the largest Slovenian port called “Luka Koper”. Koper has interesting history as well – the consequences are many well maintained medieval buildings. It has quite many hotels, apartments, casinos and other tourist facilities, but in my opinion Koper isn’t number one tourist spot in Slovenia, because it only has one beach and even this one is located beside the busy road. If you decide to visit Koper, I suggest taking a walk in the center, visit Prešeren square (“Prešernov trg”) and Tito square (“Titov trg”), maybe some churches, for example Church on Tito square from 12th century. You can go shopping in one of supermarkets in Koper if you are interested in that (I’m not, but I know many people who want to shop everywhere).

3.) Izola

The name Izola derives from Italian word “isola”, which means “an island”. The center of Izola was an island which was connected with the land in 19th century.
Izola is a famous fishing town. The town also has lits own marina, which was renewed recently. There are many restaurants on waterfront, offering fishes and other seafood.
Izola has five major hotels and two camps. It also has two more known beaches – one near the town center (it’s possible to park in the parking place near shipyard for free and then walk to the beach), and the other one, more famous called “Simonov zaliv” (Simon’s bay). It is possible to park there as well, but you will have to pay for it (5€/day).

Other four spots from Slovenia coast will be described in the following article.

Yesterday evening I was walking in Ljubljana and I got an idea. Ljubljana is fully decorated since the beginning of December and I’m sure you want to know how it looks like. Some of you may be visiting Ljubljana in December, maybe even for Christmas or New Year. That encouraged me to take some pictures while I was walking and present those pictures to you.

I started my “trip” in the Čopova Street – the main street in the center of Ljubljana. As you can see there are a lot of local people doing holiday errands, but I have also noticed quite many tourists taking pictures of Ljubljana (like me). Then I was walking along Čopova Street and came on the Prešeren square.

We could say Prešeren square is the main square in Ljubljana and is therefore the most decorated one. At weekend, different music groups have (free) concerts on Prešeren square. I continued my way across Tromostovje (Three bridges) …

… and saw something new.

I can’t think of an appropriate translation, but I would say these are small wooden houses. In those houses merchants are selling everything you can imagine and even more. Then I went to see the city hall and I noticed a big Christmas tree in front of it.

I finished my walk at one of the promenades along Ljubljanica. I noticed that Ljubljana castle changes color from red to blue and green.

At many points on my way it was possible to buy hot tea, mulled wine (highly recommended), chestnut (be careful buying that because it might be old – the main chestnut season is over), almonds, candies and many other things. If you don’t want to waste your money, I suggest buying only mulled wine – Slovenia is wine-producing country and all wine offered in the streets is home made (and not some cheap Macedonian imported wine).

In this article I would like to present you the river Ljubljanica – the river flowing through Ljubljana, the capital city of Slovenia. Hopefully you will discover some interesting hidden spots to visit on your Slovenia holidays.

Ljubljanica rises in Močilnik (beautiful place near Vrhnika you might want to visit) and its journey ands in Podgrad, where it outfalls in the river Sava (which flows through Zagreb, Belgrade and then outflows in the river Danube). It is 41 km long.

Until now I was talking about so called “Little Ljubljanica” which is only the last part of “Big Ljubljanica”. Owing to special landscape called Karst (Kras) in western Slovenia, rivers don’t flow just on the surface, but they also flow underground. Which means that the same “river” flows one part of its journey on the surface, then disappears and later comes back on the surface. Then disappears again and later come on the surface once more. This is typical of all Karst rivers and it is also one of the reasons for so many caves in Karst. As you will be able to see in Postojna cave or other similar caves, through every cave flows a river.

River disappearing underground

Few centuries ago people didn’t know that rivers in Karst can disappear and then come back on the surface; they thought that they are seeing different rivers – so they named the same river seven times. So now each part of the river on the surface has different name, but practically we are talking about the same river. These names are: 1.) Trbuhovica (Prezidsko polje – Babno polje); 2.) Obrh (Loška dolina – Cerkniško polje); 3.) Stržen; 4.) Rak; 5.) Pivka (flows through Postojna cave); 6.) Unica; 7.) Ljubljanica.

Ljubljanica is interesting for tourist especially as river flowing through Ljubljana, because of sightseeing tours on boats. Other, more hidden parts of the river Ljubljanica might be interesting as well, especially places where the river leaves the surface and goes underground.  

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Bled is a village in north-western part of Slovenia. It is well known by the lake with the same name (Lake Bled). The lake is special because of a beautiful island on it. That is why many people say it’s like heaven – beautiful lake with clean water all around you, you (possibly with people you love) driving on your boat, looking at an island with beautiful church and a cloudless sky above you if you are lucky.

The main tourist attraction is of course the lake. It’s up to 2 km long and 1,3 km wide. Maximum debt of lake is 36 m. In the summer time the lake temperature can reach 25 °C, so it is possible to swim in it. Even in autumn, lake temperature stays rather high, so it is usually possible to swim in Lake Bled until the end of September. 

There are many options for you in Bled. The best and also the most romantic one is to rent a boat and paddle on the island (boats with petrol engines are forbidden). If you don’t want to paddle, several gondolas are carrying passengers on the island (they are cheaper than boat rentals, but you probably won’t be alone there). When you are on the island, I suggest a slow walk around the island – it’s even possible to swim when you are on the island. Quick look in the church from 17th century is advisable as well.

Bled isn’t all about the island. I suggest visiting the Bled castle and those of you who like to walk might want to take a walk around the lake (approximately 2 hours easy walk). For golf enthusiasts is also taken care of. Moreover, Bled is famous for traditional Slovenian dessert – the crème slice (locally called “kremšnita”).

Over the whole year, Bled offers tourists and local people many festivals with different topics, such as music and movie festivals. Usually festivals start at the evening and last all night.
Accommodation in Bled is not a problem – there are many hotels with different offers and prices. Some of them even have their own swimming pools (for those who don’t like to swim in lakes).

When you are in Bled, you might want to see another lake nearby. Lake Bohinj is only around 20 km away from Lake Bled. Lake Bohinj is the biggest permanent (we have one bigger lake but it doesn’t have water whole year) and natural lake in Slovenia. Lake Bohinj is a part of Triglav national park (TNP).

At the end I would like to warn you about prices in Bled. Because of many tourists and all the fancy glamour some services might be expensive – for example meals in fancy restaurants can cost quite a bit, and high star hotels are also quite expensive. So, before you go anywhere, ask for the pricing list if you want your holidays to be budget friendly. Of course, boat rentals, museum tickets and other things fancy tourist aren’t interested in, have more budget friendly prices.

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Weather in Slovenia is not as simple as you might think considering the fact that Slovenia isn’t a big country. That is why I’m going to inform you about some aspects of weather that might help you while traveling.

First of all, mostly because of landscape variety, weather is different in different landscapes of Slovenia, which means that seaside has different climate than only 30 km distant Karst. And of course, Karst has different climate that 60 km distant Ljubljana. And so on. So I will describe each climate separately. 

Mediterranean climate in the West

Mediterranean climate is typical of Primorska region, the region including the seaside and practically all the western part of Slovenia. It has very hot summers and mild winters. The main problem of this climate is a short-term but very strong wind called “burja”, blowing up to 100 km/h. It can blow all over the year, but most commonly blows in winter (so don’t worry if you are planning Slovenia holidays in summer). Snow isn’t very common in areas with Mediterranean climate (especially not at the seaside).

Continental climate in central and eastern Slovenia

Typical of continental climate are hot summers and cold winters. Because of proximity to mountains, central Slovenia has much more rainfall than eastern Slovenia (1300 mm in Ljubljana vs. 800 mm in Murska Sobota). Most precipitation falls in spring and autumn. In wintertime snow is common. In summers rain showers can surprise you in the afternoon. Unfortunately, hail is getting more and more common.

Severe alpine climate in mountain regions

In Slovenian mountains weather can cause you many problems. Typical of alpine climate in Slovenia are very cold winters and cool summers. A lot of snow falls in winter, and in some areas snow remains until the next winter. Despite climate changes, Slovenia still has its own glacier. In summer, rain is frequent and can be quite strong.  

Conclusion

When planning your Slovenia holidays it is very important to look the weather forecast and select suitable clothes, appropriate for the area you are planning to visit. Although Slovenia isn’t like England (it doesn’t rain all the time), umbrella might be useful because when it rains it usually rains heavily. Because of the wind, wind jacket can also be useful. Do not forget to take your hiking shoes if you are planning to visit Slovenian mountains, because the rain there is more frequent and paths can be slippery.

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Postojna cave, in Slovenian language called “Postojnska jama” is second greatest Slovenian tourist attraction (first place belongs to Bled). Postojna cave is a name for a system of caves, typical for unique Slovenian landscape called Karst (Kras). The caves were hollowed out by the river Pivka. Postojna cave is with its 20.570 m also the longest cave system known in Slovenia and the most visited tourist cave in Europe. Postojna cave was opened to the public in 1819.

Postojna cave is important because of the special natural environment, giving home to the endemic olm, the largest trogloditic amphibian in the world (In Slovenian language it is called “Človeška ribica”, which in direct translation means “human fish”).

It is time to focus on the tourist side of Postojna cave. You are probably wondering, how it looks like when you come to Postojna cave. Considering its length (20.570 m), you may think your sightseeing might look like very long underground hike. Don’t worry! The whole Postojna cave is not opened to the public and the part that is opened to the public has an underground train, driving you around the cave. So, you will just sit and enjoy, listen to the tourist guide informing you about many important details about the cave.

So, by now you are probably asking your self “Is the Postojna cave the right place for me to visit on my Slovenia holidays?”. I believe it is, because it is an experience you won’t forget (train ride, unique water made sculptures, olm, …).

But, you must know that Postojna cave system is only one part of 8500 Slovenian caves. So, if you don’t want to pay (let face it) high price for visiting Postojna cave, you can still see other Slovenian caves. They aren’t as long as Postojna cave (but many of them are longer than you can walk in one day) and train won’t drive you around, but they are beautiful and they will reveal you many secrets about Karst.