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.