Day trips from Ljubljana
 

We're in the very early stages of researching a six week autumn trip. The loose plan is to begin and end in Ljubljana, spending the bulk of our time in Italy. In an effort to prevent too much moving around, we're considering allocating a week in Ljubljana with the hope it will make a good base for day trips. I see that Lake Bled is about 45 minutes from Ljubljana, so seems easy enough, but curious what other day trips might make sense. We will be traveling by public transport.

Our intent is to just get a taste of Slovenia, with the hope that we can return for deeper exploration another time.

From Ljubljana we will head into Austria and then Italy. The initial itinerary looks something like this, with exact stops still to be determined.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/bfJJJ2wj29PZ5Usz8

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

A couple of ideas to consider:

1.The first daytrip that came to mind is the Italy-Austria-Slovenia tri-point at Peč Mountain. From Villach you'll be less than an hour. Incredible hiking.
2. Consider skipping Udine and staying in Trieste. The latter is more charming; and depending on when you are traveling you might be there for Barcolana. While in the area, definitely wander nearby Muggia and Trieste's Rilke Trail (for the views).

Let me know if Option 2 becomes reality and I will unearth the name of two outstanding restaurants for you.

We went to Slovenia, Austria and Italy last September, but with a car. Spent three nights each in Bled and Ljubljana, and a couple other nights at mountain towns. We enjoyed Slovenia, but the only day trip we took from Ljubljana was to Skocjan Caves and Predjama castle. With a car, that was an easy day, but on transit I don' t know if both are feasible. Probably the other cave whose name escapes me could be combined with Predjama, but it sounded to Disney-esque to us. Vintgar gorge has a bus from the Bled station. I think it would be a long day from Ljubljana. The town of Kamnik was quite nice and I think that is reachable from the capital. We also went to Skofja Loca which was small and had a castle, but we liked Kamnik better. Missed Kranj. We wanted to go to Velika Plenina which also might be a possible day trip, but the cable car was not running due to damage and we didn't want to risk driving on dirt roads in a rental car after heavy rains. One more town we went to was Radovljica (close to Bled), but it was a quick visit since it was pretty rainy and I don't remember much.

Our favorite parts of Slovenia were in the mountains and those areas are really hard to reach using public transport (it seems to me). Would you consider renting a car for a day or two? We really liked Tolmin Gorge, Soca Gorge and Kozjak waterfall, although you could not do all those in a day from Ljubljana, even with a car. We stayed in Bovec. You might look into whether you can reach Lake Bohinj in a day if you don't want to have a car, it was quite beautiful and when clear has a view of Mt Trigalev.

Also, opening hours of things change in Slovenia after mid-September. We were there before the 15th (when things changed, for example, regarding access to Vrsic Pass), so I can't comment on status of things later in the fall.

Day trips from Ljubljana: Lake Bled, Lake Bohinj, the Vintgar Gorge, the Skocjan Caves...

The Rough Guide to Slovenia is excellent.

Thanks for the suggestions so far, I'll take a look at all of them. Good idea about Trieste fourfortravel, we'd not settled on Udine, just used it as a point of reference on the itinerary. Sounds like Villach might be a contender for a few nights, especially if good hiking is on offer.

Some thoughts:

Did you check the timtables of the buses between Belluno and Canazei?
May be a bit tricky in late automn (Dolomitibus).

IMO the gems of Val Venosta begin just West of Meran:
Ultental, Martelltal, Schnalstal (with the highest situated hotel (metres above sea level) of the Alps
But it seems to me that you already passed through this area

There is a lot to see and to do in the Soca (Isonzo) Valley. But as said above, it's too far away from Ljubljana for day trips.
https://www.slovenia.info/en/places-...ns/soca-valley
May be you stop there 1 day or 2 on the way back, as you intend to make the detour via Gorizia - Aidussina anyway.

I find the small coastal towns like Pirano or Muggia and the hinterland (for example Aquileia) charming and interesting too.

neckervd -

We've not yet found bus schedules that far out, which is a recurring theme for us when traveling in Austria and Italy. We've looked at the routing on Google maps to get an idea of distance, but it only shows current possibilities, as some passes are closed for winter.

But, it's early days, and we can tweak as much as necessary, it's just our starting point.

Vinschgau/Val Venosta was our goal last winter, but we couldn't find accommodation. We could certainly take another look, as different time of year.

This trip seems to be getting longer already:)

Ah-ha! Found a few websites with suggestions as well.

https://www.travlinmad.com/blog/10-day-trips-from-ljubljana
https://www.mywanderlust.pl/day-trips-from-ljubljana-slovenia/

I reread your initial post and, honestly, y'all may want to think about doing this trip by car. You'll have so much more freedom to explore and not be tied to public transportation.

I also thought about suggesting Piran (and Koper--easy enough) as outings from Trieste, too. Charming places; and the Adriatic in autumn is glorious.

Mel, I think your plan should depend on whether your focus in Slovenia is more sightseeing or more hiking. Ljubljana is a transport hub and a lovely small city, with a lot to enjoy (check the Ljubljana card for ideas on what to see) and it's also a great city to just walk around and enjoy a wine or whatever. There are lots of places for day trips, such as Skofja Loka, Kamnik, Skocjan caves, etc, etc. However, it's not a great base for hiking and it's too far from the Soca valley, Triglav National Park or Lokarska Dolina to enjoy hiking there.

Bled, I would say, is the most visited place in Slovenia. Yes, it's charming and the lake, castle, Vintgar gorge, etc are beautiful - but it can be very busy, especially in the summer season which may not impact you as much. If looking for a lake, I prefer Jezero Bohinj, staying at one of the villages near the lake, as it's more natural (there are enough eating places but not many). Jezero Bohinj is also a better location for hiking (check their website at bohinj.si). Ribcev Laz is about 2hours by bus from Ljubljana and about 40min from Bled. Radovljica is close to Bled but much quieter. It has a small old town surrounded by low key suburbs, great cake (!) and transport links. A friend and I once used it as a base for a few days.

The Soca valley is great for hiking. Transport runs along the valley between Tolmin and Bovec, with limited services to Kranjska Gora, but is almost non-existent beyond that (we found it fine for our needs). We stayed in Bovec and had no problem filling our days with hiking. Bovec has a reputation for being a sports focused place and it is this, but it's also pretty low key, at least in June when we were there. From Bovec, you can take a bus to Kranjska Gora, which is a very scenic journey if you are a passenger. Or you can take a bus to Most na Soci and then a train to Nova Gorica (also scenic, although perhaps not compared with Switzerland), and onwards to Italy.

There are heaps of other places to visit in Slovenia. For a small country, there's a lot to see but for that, I recommend borrowing a guidebook from your local library or research online. If there is somewhere that is of particular interest, let me know as I might have been there.

Major bus companies are Nomago and Arriva. I believe that ap-ljubljana.si is the website for all buses to/from Ljubljana. There are also trains, with a more limited network.

Over the border, I've stayed in Cividale a couple of times and really like it there. Udine is a very pleasant and prosperous town but Trieste might be more interesting. I've spent longer in Udine than Trieste but that's my perspective. If spending time in Friuli Venezia Giulia, check out the FVG tourism website and consider buying the tourism card if it suits what you want to see and do. The quickest journey from Ljubljana to Trieste would be bus (about 1.5hrs).

It sounds like a wonderful itinerary! For Slovenia, you might find two stops of 4 nights each might suit you better than solely in Ljubljana. If you are both arriving and flying home from Ljubljana, you could work that to your advantage as well.

Have fun!

Thank you dreamon, your post is very helpful. We were just discussing that very thing, if we want to concentrate on hiking or just day trips from a city. Looks like we have a lot of research to do.

Top choice would be Kranj. A beautiful medieval town, with a huge canyon near the town with great hiking opportunities. Great walking town, lots of restaurants and cafes. Real cozy atmosphere. We drove from Ljubljana but it is an easy 35 min trip by both bus/rail. Another overlooked gem if you have any interest in WW II history is the sub camp of Mauthausen concentration camp located at the Loibl Pass. It’s only accessible by car (40 min). Although it has a dark history it is set in a beautiful mountain pass directly on the border with Austria with great views of the alps. Not a lot remains of the camp but there are several remnants of the camp with many English posted descriptive signs. The inmates of the camp were labored to build a tunnel for the Germans thru the mountains connecting Slovenia/Austria. There is also a small museum depicting the conditions of the camp. A somber site in a beautiful location.

Thanks Mike!

No worries, Mel. Keep in mind that the Vrsic pass road is closed to buses once the risk of snow and ice appear. I don’t know the closure dates but they might be online. Otherwise there is the train to Villach if heading to Austria. Private transport from Kranjska Gora across the border in the direction of Tarvisio should also be possible (buses once over the border area, I believe).

Ljubljana is a great base. Since you are using public transport, you should check out Lake Bohinj. It is close to Lake Bled but a bit more quiet and wild.

Another easy day trip is Postojna Cave or Predjama Castle. You can get there pretty easily by bus or train from the main station. If you want something closer, Skofja Loka is a super cute medieval town just a short ride away.

Thank you, I really appreciate all the great suggestions.

Mel, thanks for starting this thread. My wife and I have booked a seven-day walking trip from the foothills of the Julian Alps to Lake Bled in May, with a few days in Ljubljana before and after our walk. Over the next few weeks we will also be looking at day trips from the capital, and will post here if we find anything in addition to what has been suggested here.

we stayed a week in Ljublijana without a car an dmanage dday trips to many of the places already shown. Because I wanted to learn more about the city and its art nouveau buildings I went to the information centre and asked about tours. They gave me the name of an architect student who did a fab walk for us.

I appreciate all the suggestions. We're now leaning towards splitting our week (or eight nights) between Ljublijana and possibly Lake Bled as suggested by dreamon, but nothing firm yet. Have also decided to scratch Canazei (Italy) as too difficult with public transport (definitely tricky as suspected by neckervd, even in season) and stay in Trieste instead of Udine as suggested by fourfortravel.

Merano looks beautiful and worthy of a full week. Alleghe still on the wish list, but trying to sort out transport. Villach looks like hiking nirvana, so it's definitely on the wish list for about five nights.

Current itinerary looks like this, but I'm still researching Belluno, and small towns in the Dolomites, so subject to change. It's a work in progress.

neckervd - any thoughts on Vigo di Fassa, Selva di Cadore, Pleve di Cadore, or Cavalese?

I should probably start a new thread, just thought I'd throw it out there.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/DQPTuL7FNyvG8DhBA

Before looking for new places in the Dolomites, I would rather check the Soca (Isonzo) Valley in detail (posts 5 and 10 above).
Pieve di Cadore etc. is easy to reach by bus from Udine - Tolmezzo or by train from Conegliano.
Canazei is easy to reach from Trento via Cavalese - Vigo di Fassa (Trentino Trasporti llne 101); only the access from Belluno is a bit more tricky
There are tons of buses between Bolzano/Bozen and Vigo di Fassa

Thanks neckervd, I'll take a closer look.

Good luck with your planning, Mel. Actually I would have thought lake Bohinj would be more up your alley than lake Bled, but they're only about 40min apart (assuming no travel jams in Bled) so you could do either. Both have local hikes. Be aware that one of the hikes from Bled to overlook the lake involves a ladder (but is otherwise okay and even the ladder is fine). I agree that Soca valley is lovely.

To get a feel for places to visit in Slovenia, it might be worth looking at the Juliana Trail (270km I think). This trail doesn't necessarily always provide the best of Slovenia's hiking but they've linked existing hikes and forest roads into a circuit around the west of the country and is useful for seeing what's around. Outdoor Active is a really useful hiking website and app.

I looked briefly in the Cadore cluster of towns for my own holiday and thought that transport to the towns was fine but not beyond that (such as closer to trail heads) so not sure whether I'll make it there (I won't have a huge amount of time in this area). Maybe this deserves some more research.

Actually I would have thought lake Bohinj would be more up your alley than lake Bled, but they're only about 40min apart (assuming no travel jams in Bled) so you could do either.

And it very well may be, I've barely scratched the surface with my research. I will be sure to look into it, especially as we don't care for crowds.

I'm still floundering a bit on towns in the Dolomites - we've been twice before and I'm looking into out of the way places in new to us areas, but sometimes I make things harder than they need to be, lol.

I'm off to research the Soca valley.

Ljubljana is a perfect base for day trips! Lake Bled is very easy to reach by bus, usually taking between 45 minutes to an hour.​Since you are using public transport, I highly recommend visiting Postojna Cave (Postojnska jama), which is breathtaking. You should also consider Ptuj, the oldest town in Slovenia—it has a beautiful castle and history.​For nature lovers, Kranjska Gora and the world-famous Planica Nordic Centre are must-sees. Lastly, Lipica is a fantastic destination where you can see the famous Lipizzaner horses. Slovenia is small and well-connected, so you will definitely enjoy these spots!

Thank you marijanik9114 - the planning is currently stalled while we watch airfares, but I appreciate your input.

Lipica and Ptuj are not doable for a day trip unless one fancies being on a train for 5+ hours round trip. Not a valuable slot of precious vacation hours. Slovenia is compact-agreed. But don’t waste your time when you could be enjoying the beautiful scenery to be had in and around Ljubljana

Well, honestly, Ljubljana is so small that it only takes 3 hours for a person to walk around it. I don't know what he will enjoy so much in Ljubljana and what a beautiful landscape. The only public transportation to Ptuj and Lipica is by train, there are also buses.

Okay, just booked flights, so the planning is back on!

3 hours? I enjoyed 3 hours in beautiful Tivoli Park…a great green space right in the city. 2 hours plus in taking the funicular up the castle and exploring the castle and the surroundings. Outdoor daily market selling incredible fruits, vegetables and home made foods another hour. Walking the bridges and exploring then beautiful city 3 hours plus not including 1 hour for coffee and a homemade pastry and then an hour for lunch in one of the many restaurants
along the river.. Ljubljana is an easy 3 days. Wow! Some people just don’t get it. Reminds me of the folks who bus ride into the Louvre rush to the Mona Lisa take a photo and a selfie and then go to Paris McDonalds for lunch

Like mike1728, I think planning for 3 hours in delightful Llubljana would be a disservice to any visitor. In addition to the things Mike1728 mentions, the city has architecture that can easily merit a few hours to admire and it has a charming museum, not to mention that a boat ride is a pleasant way to spend an hour or two. Of course, it all depends on what one wants to see and experience....

This reminds me of when I asked the Australian husband of a friend how long to spend in Tasmania...his answer, two days. Ah, not happening. We made two 2-week trips and still wished we had more time.

There is also the fabulous Open Kirchen in Ljubljana on Fridays (weather dependent) but it only runs until end of October.

https://www.odprtakuhna.si/en/

It really depends on what type of person someone is. If you’re not spending 3 hours in one place, realistically one day is more than enough for Ljubljana.Honestly, I don’t know what someone would visit for 3 days in Ljubljana. I also don’t understand what a person would do for hours walking around the bridges or the market.

Perhaps the difference is whether you are sightseeing or simply enjoying being in a place. Also, for me, Ljubljana and Slovenia are so different from my home country and I love that difference. I have spent a few weeks there (over multiple holidays) and would very happily return, checking out the museums and galleries, the streets and their architecture, the parks, riverside, markets, cafes, bars, shops, etc, etc. Yes, it's a small city (mine has a population of about 6million) but I like that. Having a large student population, it's a vibrant and relaxing place, and very walkable. It has good transport to other places as well. I could, however, see how someone who just wanted to get a taste of the city could do so in a couple of days.

Interestingly, there is another Australian who posts on a different forum who often says that 2 to 3 hours is plenty to see everything he wants to see in Ljubljana - which just goes to prove that we're all different, which is a very good thing!

Okay, after more prodding from neckervd on my Italian bus thread, we've re-grouped and are now considering adding time to Slovenia so we can better see some of the many great suggestions above, including the Soca Valley and Triglavski Naroda Park.

We've come up with the following loop in Slovenia, planning to see what we can before heading to Villach and then continuing into Italy. We'll have to make some cuts to our Dolomites itinerary, and still need to do a lot of research regarding bus schedules, but it seems a shame not to take advantage of being in Slovenia, even though that wasn't our original plan.

We're considering four nights in Ljubljana, three nights at Lake Bled, and then ? nights on the following loop: https://maps.app.goo.gl/G9yuULmsYyHWZecT6

My questions - how to divide our time? Add more to Lake Bled and see the first part of the loop from there? Then perhaps head to Bovec for 3-4 nights and see the rest of the loop from there? I realize this is hard to answer without knowing bus schedules, but I'm just trying to determine how many nights we need to steal from our Italian itinerary.

We know we can't see it all, but we're looking for a nice taste of the country. Something tells me it won't be our only visit.

As ever, how long you spend depends on what you want to do in each place so I would research that before deciding (apologies if that's obvious but not sure what you want to do). I think I would say that Mostnice Gorge and Soca Trail would be my favourite hikes in that area but there are many others and we've only done a small number. Lakes Bled and Bohinj are about 40min apart by bus. I've read that some prefer Kobarid to Bovec but we'd return to Bovec I think.

A few logistical points - the train goes from Bohinj Bistrica to Most na Soci, with tunnels for a fair bit of it, and is more direct than bus (I believe that some of the roads in that area are suitable for cars but not buses due to poor road surfaces). Also, when we visited Bovec, there were no buses to Pod Log Mangartom (maybe they run in July and August but I'm not sure). We did consider hiking there but we had heavy rain and parts of the path sounded a bit dodgy for me (check Outdoor Active). I suspect there are also no buses via the Predil pass (but I've never looked). If Vrsic pass is closed (it's only open seasonally to buses when no snow or ice) then you may need to backtrack to Bled to catch a train or bus, or head to Nova Gorica by bus or train. When we visited, there were no buses between Kranjska Gora and Tarvisio but it's not far by taxi to get over the border and pick up an Italian bus.

I'm not certain I've understood your map correctly so if there are other places which you plan to visit that I've missed, just let me know. Do you plan day trips from Ljubljana? Enjoy yourselves!

Thanks dreamon, very helpful. We'll probably do a few day trips from Ljubljana, but plan to cut back there and allot more time for the loop I posted. We're just not sure how big the area is and how much time to allocate. I obviously need to do more research, but thinking maybe four nights Ljubljana, 3-4 in Bled and possibly four in Bovec or elsewhere, with day trips from both.

I think I failed to mention that this is part of a 6.5 week trip, we're just extending the time in Slovenia, at the beginning of the trip, Sept 16 on.

PS - I hope you're able to take your upcoming trip.

Thanks, Mel. I think your plan of 4/4/4 would be fantastic. Some would do it faster, a few who prefer slower travel slower but I think it could work very well. It's a small country so distances are not huge but you can judge travel times using transport timetables and hiking times from the hiking websites and books. Transport is good but not like you're used to in Switzerland.

Make sure to try prekmurska gibanica, a delicious layered cake and my favourite.

One thing I love about Slovenia is that their national heroes are a poet and an architect, not a politician, militarist or religious leader.

Mmmmm...cake. Now you're speaking my language.

Mel, I'm going through our old Slovenian Trip journal. We were @Vintnar for its 120th anniversary. My notes for there include:
'Vintgar Gorge open 8-7. Cost 4 euros. Take the 9am or 10am buses from Bled ('blayd') to the village Zasip (hamlet=Muze) then climb to chapel inc. path thru forest to gorge entrance. Hom summit. Waterfall Sum 16m tall'.

Bohinj ('baw-heen')=great on full moon nights; Triglav (tree-glahv-- ie three heads)
Book Recco: 'The Julian Alps of Slovenia' by Justi Carey and Roy Clarke.
Good luck to you folks!
I am done. the Slovenians