Headed to Slovenia

jkjod

jkjod

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My wife and I are headed to Slovenia next month, with a side trip into Croatia for Plitvice National Park. Itinerary is as follows:

Ljubljana --> Rastoke/Plitvice --> Piran --> Ljubljana --> Bled/Triglav National Park

I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has traveled to any of these places for pointers on what not to miss, favorites, hidden gems, etc.

I will be bringing more than enough film for my M2, after our trip to Yosemite last year I know better now. But just in case if anyone knows of good camera stores in Ljubljana or Piran that would be great info to have.

Thanks for the help in advance.

Jordan
 
i was in Slovenia about ten years ago, liked it. Liked Ljubljana very much, but also the Alps - did a walk at the front-line from the first world war, it was a nice and interesting walk, not only for people interested in modern and military history, but the scenery also was nice.

I have one picture from that trip on-line, this is Ljubljana:
Lubljana-L.jpg

Can't remember the film, but the camera was my el-cheapo Canon EOS 3000n and the 50/1.8 II
 
Jordan,

Plitvice are beautiful, but the light in the mid-day can be pretty harsh. If you have a chance, stay over night or two. Rastoke are lovely and there should be plenty of places to stay around. Both of these places will look lovely on film, something that will give you good greens and blues. There is a lot to keep you visually engaged in Plitvice. In Rastoke, look around at some of the surviving traditional architecture. when I worked there, if you were very lucky, you could run into an older person using some of the water overflow at the old mills as a laundry machine!

In Slovenia, besides the places you mentioned, Postojna caves are really worth a visit. You can take a train from Ljubljana.

Hope that helps...
 
Yes, thank you very much! Most people we talk to in the states have no idea where it is or why we are going to Slovenia in the first place, so hearing anything is welcomed. We are planning on doing the cave in Postojna as well as the Skocjan caves (if we have time to do both).
 
Are you primarily interested in travel advice or opportunities for photography?

In Ljubljana there are a lot of good restaurants now, and lots of tourists to eat in them. The old town is almost entirely closed to vehicle traffic, so it's very nice just to walk around. The market is very interesting, especially on weekends, and I believe they have an outdoor kitchen event weekly where loads of restaurants prepare and serve food in the market. I found the best opportunities for street photography tended to be late at night or early in the morning.

Piran is fantastic - I could spend weeks photographing there. Don't try to drive in - park in one of the satellite lots and take the shuttle bus. If you like wine, nearby (Koper) you can stop at Vinakoper - they have a restaurant and store, and some really excellent wines (and yes, there are plenty of other good producers throughout Slovenia, but Vinakoper is easy to find and just off the highway when going to/from Piran).

Bled is gorgeous, but it will be busy. Nonetheless, make sure you row out to the island and go up to the castle. For a slightly less hectic location, continue up the valley to Bohinj, another alpine lake. You can take the cable car up to to one of the summits, which is a ski resort in the winter.

I also really recommend driving up the Soca River valley to Kobarid. The scenery is spectacular, and there's a great WWI museum. Continue over the Vrsic Pass, the road through which was built by WWI Russian POWs and is still cobblestone in places, and loop your way back down to Ljubljana - it can be done in a day.

That'll do for starters, but let me know if you have further specific questions.

A couple photos from last summer to give you a taste:

Piran



Ljubljana

 
Advice on both really, I suppose. Just experiences in general. I was just reading about the markets in Ljubljana, unfortunately I don't think we will be there on a weekend. My wife and I were both a little bummed about that, although we will be staying in the "old town". Also we have planned to do the Vrsic Pass, good to know that loop can be done in a day as we weren't really sure - any other stops worth it on the Pass? We also plan to head to Vintgar and Bohinj on day trips.

We like food, it doesn't have to be fancy by any means...our favorite meals are usually whole in the wall places but have lovely atmospheres or lovely people. Recommendations are always welcome in that department. We will be sure to look up Vinakoper around Piran. We already have accommodations in Piran (they were too good and cheap to pass up). My only wish is that we had more days in Piran (or more for the entire trip really!) It looks like a wonderful city.
 
Since you seem to have your accommodations planned out, some idea of how long you have in each place would be useful. Will you have a car the whole time you're there?
 
Ljubljana (1 night, half day) ----> Rastoke (half day, night) ----> Plitvice (full day) ----> Piran (2 days) -----> Ljubljana (3 days) -----> Bled and surrounding area (3 days)

We will have our own car and indeed for the entire trip. We haven't really booked anything or planned anything other than Plitvice National Park. Those days in Piran, Ljubljana, and the Bled area are pretty much open to exploring. As I said, I know we only have limited days available but we are making the best of the few vacation days we have available.

I really appreciate your insight. Thank you.
 
jkjod said:
Ljubljana (1 night, half day) ----> Rastoke (half day, night) ----> Plitvice (full day) ----> Piran (2 days) -----> Ljubljana (3 days) -----> Bled and surrounding area (3 days)

We will have our own car and indeed for the entire trip. We haven't really booked anything or planned anything other than Plitvice National Park. Those days in Piran, Ljubljana, and the Bled area are pretty much open to exploring. As I said, I know we only have limited days available but we are making the best of the few vacation days we have available.

I really appreciate your insight. Thank you.
Click to expand...

If it were me, I'd use the first stretch in Ljubljana to acclimate yourself and get a feel for the city, nothing more. Don't bother with the car. Walk around, eat, drink, and figure out a plan for when you return.

For Piran, you could easily spend two days in town without running out of things to do, but if you want to check out the surrounding area, Portoroz is a more modern beach resort town with an interesting mix of Hapsburg, Italian, and Communist-era brutalist architecture. There are several beaches along the walking path from Piran (drops down along the cliff from the church - you can't miss it). You could venture into Croatia and see Istria, but in the short time you have it's probably too hectic.

I would do the drive up the Soca Valley when you leave Piran for Ljubljana, but that's not the only option. Note that traffic to the coast on Friday and from it on Sunday will be thick and slow.

In Bled, figure one full day at least there, one for Bohinj, and leave a little flexibility for the third. Lots of stuff to do around the lakes.

Slovenia is pretty easy for tourists to get around. Everything is well-marked in multiple languages, and English is widely spoken. I recommend getting off the highways and driving on the smaller roads when it's practical to do so. You'll find some fascinating little corners of the country that way.
 
sLOVEnija is gorgeous! My last time there was 3 years ago in August.
I have spent 3 days in Bled where I have visited Vintgar, Bihinji, Radovlica, ELAN store.
And then drive up to Mojistrana, Kranjska Gora, Vrsic Pass, Soca, Bovec.
From the high peaks to the emerald river.
And then drive again from Mangart to Tarvisio, Kranjska Gora and back to the highway.
As far as I remember this trip is 6 films, color negatives! I have some of them scanned and exposed at Flickr...
Anyway sLOVEnija is amazing! And it's mountains are are mythical!
 
Slovenia did NOT disappoint. We had a fantastic trip, my only complaint was that we didn't have enough time to see everything we wanted to. The only things we probably would of changed were to spend more days in Piran and Bled and less in Ljubljana. 02Pilot was right, we could of spent a week just in Piran - small city but very lively and beautiful. I've only developed two of the rolls of film I shot, but haven't had to time to scan them. Here are a few from the RX1r though. I'm hoping I can scan and develop more tonight, but we returned home and our new puppy is pretty sick so it we will see when that actually happens.

Slovenia is absolutely gorgeous, I would HIGHLY recommend it for anyone considering this part of Europe.

Lake Bohinj, Slovenia
DSC09734-Pano-2.jpg by jkjod, on Flickr

Vintgar Gorge, Slovenia
DSC09589.jpg by jkjod, on Flickr

Vintgar Gorge, Slovenia
DSC09549.jpg by jkjod, on Flickr

Veridic Pass, Slovenia
DSC09399.jpg by jkjod, on Flickr


Lake Bled, Slovenia
DSC09342.jpg by jkjod, on Flickr

Lake Bled, Slovenia
DSC09341.jpg by jkjod, on Flickr

Piran, Slovenia
DSC09138.jpg by jkjod, on Flickr

Piran, Slovenia
DSC09099.jpg by jkjod, on Flickr

Piran, Slovenia
DSC09090.jpg by jkjod, on Flickr

Rastoke, Croatia
DSC08895.jpg by jkjod, on Flickr
 
It's surprisingly expensive, and has changed a LOT since Frances and I were first there in 2001 (we know because we've been back a couple of times since): be wary of older guidebooks, or information from anyone who's not been there in the last few years. Koper/Kopar/Capodistria is a lot more generic than it was, but the Julian Alps are still stunning. Bled is OK but touristy and Ljubljana is OK if you like big cities (clue: I'm not wild about Prague either). DO NOT try to pack in too much or to tick too many boxes: take your time and you'll see lots worth seeing.

Cheers,

R.
 
Thank you Mr. Hicks, we actually got back a few days ago already - these were a few images from the trip, I promised an update when I got back. We were not really enamored with Ljubljana either and if we would of done it over we would of maybe only spent one day there, we wish we could of had more time for Lake Bohinj and Piran...or possible made it to the Eastern side of the country. And yes you are correct, the Julian Alps were amazing - it reminded me sort of Kings Canyon here in the states.
 
Roger Hicks said:
It's surprisingly expensive, and has changed a LOT since Frances and I were first there in 2001
Click to expand...

It has changed a lot since I was first there in the early seventies - and my grandmother claimed it had changed a lot since the 1920s. ;)

There doubtlessly are a few spots that are too touristy for my taste. Personally I prefer to keep away from Bled and Koper in July/August, from the Alps in the skiing season, and from Postojna at any time. But there is enough left - the Julian Alps are magnificent, so is the Karst (off the major centres), and many of the old towns in the (less touristically developed) eastern parts of the country are more romantic and better preserved than anything in the touristy parts of Slovenia and Austria...
 
jkjod said:
Thank you Mr. Hicks, we actually got back a few days ago already - these were a few images from the trip, I promised an update when I got back. We were not really enamored with Ljubljana either and if we would of done it over we would of maybe only spent one day there, we wish we could of had more time for Lake Bohinj and Piran...or possible made it to the Eastern side of the country. And yes you are correct, the Julian Alps were amazing - it reminded me sort of Kings Canyon here in the states.
Click to expand...
Ouch! Sorry: wasn't paying attention to who posted the pics. LOVED 3 (cairns/river); very much liked several others. When are you going back?

Cheers,

R.
 
sevo said:
It has changed a lot since I was first there in the early seventies - and my grandmother claimed it had changed a lot since the 1920s. ;)

There doubtlessly are a few spots that are too touristy for my taste. Personally I prefer to keep away from Bled and Koper in July/August, from the Alps in the skiing season, and from Postojna at any time. But there is enough left - the Julian Alps are magnificent, so is the Karst (off the major centres), and many of the old towns in the (less touristically developed) eastern parts of the country are more romantic and better preserved than anything in the touristy parts of Slovenia and Austria...
Click to expand...
Very true. My real message was "beware of out of date impressions", which of course you (and your grandmother) reinforce.

Cheers,

R.
 
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