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