Must-Do Day Trips for Families in Slovenia
One of the best things about vacationing in Slovenia is its small size, since almost anything you might want to experience is a short drive (or bus or train ride) from Ljubljana, its largest city and capital. On our visit, we found making Ljubljana our home base the perfect strategy for taking day trips to awesome destinations around the country.
While it’s awesome to not have to rely on a car, it really is the easiest and most convenient way to explore Slovenia. Slovenia has a modern and sophisticated highway network and driving there is generally safe and easy. Note that in order to drive in Slovenia you must have an international driving permit, which we picked up in person at our local AAA office.
Lake Bled
About 40 minutes northwest of Ljubljana you’ll find Slovenia's most beloved tourist destination, Lake Bled. This place is popular for a reason: with its snow-capped alpine peaks, bright cerulean blue water, a 17th-century church on a little island, towering forests, flat-bottomed pletna boats, and ancient clifftop castle, Lake Bled is awash in natural and historical splendors.
Lake Bled is a bit more touristy than other places we visited in Slovenia, but nowhere near the mob scene you’ll find at other European tourist hot-spots during the summer. I hate to keep using the word “fairy tale” to describe places in Slovenia, but Lake Bled truly makes you feel like you stepped into one.
The lake is encircled by a walking path that offers plenty of opportunities to take in all the scenery. You can also hitch a ride on the little seasonal tourist train or on a horse-drawn carriage. To reach Bled Island and its Church of the Assumption of St. Mary, buy tickets for a traditonal pletna boat or rent a row boat at one of the sites around the lake.
There are also numerous places, some free of charge and some paid, where you can take a swim in the lake, which is usually warm enough for swimming by mid-June. The lake’s water really is an incredible sapphire blue, the sight of which in person is stunning. The color is due to the mineral particles from the glacial runoff that created the lake.
Quite a few restaurants, cafes, and ice cream stands are located alongside the lake, so there’s no shortage of places to grab a bite. It’s a touristy area, so dining out at Lake Bled can be a little on the expensive side. We stopped in at the lakeside Mercator market and grabbed drinks, fruit, sandwiches, and snacks and had a picnic on the lawn by the water, saving our money for treats like ice cream and the famous Bled cream cake (Blejska kremšnita), a rich concoction of flaky pastry, custard, and whipped cream which you definitely must try while you’re there.
We took a break and had a slice of cream Bled cake at Café Park, the spot that popularized the cake at Lake Bled. It was really rich, but since we had hiked around 10 miles that day we decided it was worth the calories!
Adventurous families should definitely visit the Straža Bled on a hill overlooking the lake. Here, you board a chair lift to take you up to the top of the hill and descend downhill on a gravity-powered toboggan. It’s a lot of fun for both kids and adults, not as scary as it looks, and of course you get to experience amazing views of the lake and surrounding landscape. Toboggan rides at Straža Bled start at €8 for children 6–14 and €11 for adults; kids under 6 are free. It’s open mid-April through early October.
Vintgar Gorge
Another of Slovenia’s incredible natural wonders, Vintgar Gorge is located close to Lake Bled on the eastern end of Triglav National Park. Vintgar Gorge is a stunning mountain gorge created by the Radovna River. It’s a hike of 1.6 kilometers (a little less than a mile) where you take in stunning vista after stunning vista, with a rushing alpine river and towering limestone cliffs. A walk at Vintgar Gorge is an unforgettable outdoor experience!
At the end of the trail, which is constructed from paved paths, wooden walkways, and numerous little bridges, there’s a kiosk offering snacks and souvenirs. You can relax at one of the picnic tables next to a waterfall and enjoy a coffee and slice of potica or even a Union beer.
The trail at Vintgar Gorge is one-way, so you have the choice of hiking back via one of two routes or booking a shuttle ride with the local Mamut tour company (which includes gorge admission). Both hikes back, the green and red routes, are moderately strenuous but incredibly rewarding. However, they might be a challenge for families with small kids who may want to opt for the shuttle.
Admission to Vintgar Gorge, which is open April through October, weather permitting, is €10 for adults; €7 for students, seniors, and disabled; €3 for children 6–15; and €1 for kids 5 and under. Parking is €10. There are snack bars at the trailhead and at the end of the gorge where you can get coffee, pastries, beer, and other treats. You'll also find a restaurant, Gostilna Vintgar, near the parking area.
Postojna Cave
Postojna Cave, another one of Slovenia’s natural wonders, is an incredible system of karst caverns that has been a tourist attraction since 1818. We've been on a few cave tours in California but Postojna Cave is truly on a different level. It's truly a spectacular experience with a variety of amazing geological formations to experience. You even have to ride into the caverns on a little train that takes you deep into the earth.
Postojna Cave is also home to the rare and mysterious olm or “human fish,” a white salamander-like critter that lives in total darkness in the caves and is purported to be the source of Slovenia’s dragon legends, since in medieval times it was thought they were baby dragons. Fun facts: olms can live up to 100-years and can even go for a decade without eating!
Guided tours of Postojna Cave are offered in Slovenian, English, German, and Italian and each tour group boards the little underground train for a two mile ride into the cave. The train ride is really one of the coolest parts of the experience, whisking you through a series of spectacular rooms on its way to the main part of the cave. From there, you disembark and explore the spectacular caverns on foot, while a knowledgeable guide explains the cave’s natural wonders and history. After a walk of about a mile, you board the train again for your trip back to the entrance.
Along the way you’ll get to meet some olms and you have a chance to mail a postcard from the world’s only post office in a cave. Additional attractions include the vivarium where you can get up close and personal with more olms and other cave dwelling creatures. A visit to Postojna Cave is definitely a unique adventure that you and your family will never forget.
The surrounding park area is fun to explore, and there are numerous restaurants, ice cream stands, and souvenir shops where you can buy T-shirts, coffee mugs, postcards and even stuffy versions of olms and Postojna cave trains! You can also visit a 16th-century mill and farmhouse which offer occasional demonstrations.
Admission to Postojna Cave starts at €29.90 for adults, €23.90 for students 16–25, €17.90 for kids 6–15, and €1 for children 5 and under. You can buy a combo ticket good for admission to both Postojna Cave and nearby Predjama castle, which we highly recommend. Get your tickets and learn more at www.postojnska-jama.eu.
Predjama Castle
A short distance up the road from Postojna Cave is an equally unforgettable sight: Predjama Castle. This imposing medieval fortress is actually built into a cave on the side of a mountain, and it’s considered the largest cave castle in the world. It truly looks like something out of a fairy tale and it’s really a must-visit destination in Slovenia.
In the 15th century Predjama Castle was inhabited by local robber knight and Robin Hood-like folk hero Erazm Predjamski, who defied the Holy Roman Emperor who in turn lay siege to the castle. Unknown to the imperial army was the existence of a secret tunnel that led out to the other side of the mountain, whereby he obtained food and supplies. Erazm would taunt his besiegers by sending them baskets of fresh cherries and other treats that he obtained this way. Poor Erazm met his end when one of his servants betrayed him and showed the imperial army where he used the toilet in the morning, and he was dispatched by a well-aimed cannon ball.
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Admission to the castle, which you can get in a combo ticket with Postojna Cave, includes an audio tour (available in 17 languages!) which allows you to explore the castle at your own pace. Many of the rooms are restored and decorated in medieval or renaissance style and it really gives you a great impression of how things might have looked back in the castle’s heyday. You can even see the entrance to Erasmus’s secret tunnel, which you can explore on a special guided tour. There’s also a cavern under the castle that you can visit from June through August.
There are several souvenir shops selling interesting things, including wooden toy swords and shields that the kid will probably clamor for, both at the castle entrance and in the castle itself. We bought a refrigerator magnet depicting a knight in armor sitting on a toilet with a cannon ball hurtling toward him.
The ticket office building sells cold drinks, coffee, and pastries and is great for a quick snack. Also on the grounds is the Stara Dama Museum, which presents exhibits on hunting and on the nearby Isonzo Front from World War I, where many Slovenian soldiers fought off an invasion by the Italian army. If you're at all interested in history you should pay a visit, since admission is included.
If you want something more substantial than cake and coffee, you can grab a bite at the Gostilna Požar, which serves traditional Slovenian food. Make sure you get a table on the terrace where you can take in an amazing view of the castle while you eat. Try the žlikrofi, little potato filled dumplings similar to ravioli.
Admission tickets to Prejama castle cost €19.90 for adults, €15.50 for students 16–25, €11.50 for kids 6–15, and €1 for children 5 and under. We highly recommend purchasing a combo ticket for admission to both the castle and Postojna Cave and visiting both attractions in one day. They recommend visiting Predjama Castle first and then moving on to Postojna Cave in the afternoon which worked out great for us, but keep in mind you don't want to miss your reservation for Postojna Cave! The drive from the castle to the cave takes approximately 15 minutes but you need to factor in some more time for parking and walking into the park.
