Self guided tour: From the Julian Alps to Istria
Our self-guided walking holidays are ideal for friends, couples, individuals or for a family looking for an independent trekking tour. Our prepared hiking vacations also help you to experience history, culture, great scenery and of course local cuisine.
Our tours have been carefully selected and designed to appeal to all tastes, levels of fitness and age groups from the leisure walker to the most experienced hiker. When designing the routes we have selected choice trails to ensure you will have the best possible views of the beautiful scenery in our region. The accommodation we offer is always hand-picked to ensure not only do you have somewhere comfortable to sleep at night but also somewhere to relax and unwind after your days walking. We can cater for all tastes and budgets offering modern hotels as well as traditional-style accommodation with great character. We also offer tailor-made tours and customised programmes to suit the needs of our clients.
About the tour
The starting point of this bike tour is Bled, the Pearl of Slovenia. The image of Bled with the castle, the lake and the island in the middle of the lake with its church is known worldwide. The route leads through idyllic, medieval towns and their picturesque landscapes with a stopover in Ljubljana, Slovenia’s capital, which has in recent years become one of the most popular city destinations in Europe. Continue to the Notranjska region, where we recommended a visit the world-famous Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle. Entering the Karst area, you will cycle on quiet, easy and scenic paved roads through vineyards and ancient villages, where you can taste the famous Teran red wine and Karst ham. After the Lipica stud farm with its famous Lipizaner white horses and Škocjan caves with Europe’s largest underground canyon, you will reach the Slovenian part of the Istrian peninsula. In picturesque Piran you will finally relax your muscles after an unforgettable journey.
Details
Destination: Slovenia
Duration: 8 days
Season: May-October
Departure time: Daily arrivals are possible from April 15 to October 15 in 2019.
Difficulty level: light moderate
Included:
- 7 nights in bedrooms with a shower/bathroom/tourist tax
- 7 nights with breakfast (It is also possible to organise lunch/dinner at several locations on every destination)
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welcome meeting with representative of local agency
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road book: a detailed description of routes (one per booking / available in English and German language) -
map with the marked trail routes
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laguage transfer from hotel to hotel -
service hotline in case of problems or questions
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GPS tracks available upon request -
free unguarded car parking in Bled at the hotel of your arrival (depending on the hotel), or at the close public parking facility
Not included:
- airfare to and from the trip
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transfer to/from airport/train or bus station (more info on: Travel info)
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back transfer from Piran to starting point in Bled -
bike rental
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personal expenses -
tips and gratuities
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insurance -
optional activity costs
Contact us for more information or to book
Itinerary
Highlights:
- Bled with the castle, the lake and the island
- The mountain scenery of the Julian Alps and Karavanke
- Škofja Loka with the best preserved medieval town center in Slovenia
- Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia
- Postojna Cave, the most visited karst cave in Europe
- Predjama with the Predjama castle
- The karst landscape with the vineyards and villages
- Lipica stud farm, home of the Lipizzaners
- Škocjan with the Škocjan caves and the Unesco protected area of the river Reka
- The Val Rosandra railway track
- The Parenzana railway track
- The picturesque Mediterranean town of Piran
Day 1: Arrival in Bled
Individual arrival to the starting hotel in Bled.
Day 2: Bled - Škofja Loka (about 63 km)
The first stage leads through the Old Towns of Gorenjska-Upper Carniola. From Bled you cycle along the river Sava to the old town of Radovljica, where you can visit the unique beekeeping museum. You will cycle through Begunje, the hometown of Slavko Avsenik and Polka music, Tržič with its shoe making tradition and Kranj, the capital of the Gorenjska region. The stage ends in Škofja Loka with the best preserved medieval town center in Slovenia. With a transfer, you can avoid the ascent and shorten the stage by about 20km (not included in the price).
Route detail: ca. 63 km, + 725 m / – 810m.
Day 3: Škofja Loka - Ljubljana
Škofja Loka leaves you fascinated with its story and many legends, but there is another highlight on this tour waiting for you… Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia and one of the most prefered tourist destination in Europe. To reach it, you will cycle over the Devils bridge to Sora field, where you will cross the river Sora and continue to Zbilje lake. The Sava river will accompany you mostly on your way to the capital. The finish is at Zmajski most – Dragon Bridge in English – which is one of the symbols of Ljubljana.
Route detail: ca. 39 km, + 320 m / – 390m.
Day 4: Ljubljana - Postojna
On this day, you will first drive through Tivoli Park and by the Ljubljana zoo, two very popular places for the citizens of Ljubljana. But the best comes later, the magical disappearing lake of Cerknica and the Rakov Škocjan gorge, Slovenia’s oldest landscape park with amazing natural bridges and other landscape formations. It’s a perfect place for a picnic in nature. With a transfer you can abbreviate the stage by about 20km (not included in the price).
Route detail: ca. 61 km, + 700 m / – 410m.
Day 5: Postojna - Kodreti (about 48 km)
On this day, you can visit the Postojna caves, the most extensive cave system in Slovenia with stalagmites, stalactites and the famous “human fish”. After that you will meet another attraction, the Predjama Castle, a unique castle with its unique position below a 123-metre cliff. The story tells about a robber knight named Erasmus, who kept a whole army at bay by utilizing the caves underneath the castle to sneak out for supplies. After a spectacular descent to Vipava Valley, one of the most famous wine regions in Slovenia, you will finish your day in a family guesthouse, where you can enjoy your dinner with of typical Karst cuisine.
Day 6: Kodreti - Divača / Škocjan (about 50 km)
The first stop during this day’s stage is Štanjel, an idyllic karst settlement built mostly from stone, on the top of the hill. Through picturesque karst villages, vineyards with numerous wine cellars, which invite you for a stop and a tasting of first-class teran wines and karst ham, you will drive to the Lipica stud farm, home of beautiful white Lipizzaner horses, famous worldwide. If you have time, you can also visit the “War Museum” set in a Venetian tower.
Day 7: Divača / Škocjan - Izola - Piran (about 50 km, to Piran about 61 km)
On this day, you can visit the Škocjan Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage site and a protected area. The Karst Plain accompanies you on the way to the Adriatic Sea, you will follow the route of the old railway lines of Val Rosandra and Parenzana. For your last part, you’ll cycle along the coastal road on a new cycling path, enjoying great vistas of Slovenia’s lovely coast. The tour ends in the gorgeous little Venetian town of Piran, where you can watch the sunset from the church bell tower or swim in the blue Adriatic Sea.
Day 8: Departure
Individual departure or possibility of extending your stay in Istria.
Contact us for more information or to book
Arrival at your destination
Slovenia is easily accessible as it is well-connected with the European network of motorways, railway lines and airports.
- By car:
Slovenia is easily accessible and offers a good network of roads. Across the Tauern-motorway (A10) to Villach, than forward on the motorway (A11) direction Slovenia, passing the “Karawanken-Tunnel” on the motorway (E61) direction Ljubljana- exit Bled. For the motorway (E61) you need the Vignette (road user charge), otherwise you can take the first exit Hrušica on the main street 452 and go through Jesenice forward to Bled. Distances from European capitals to Bled: Amsterdam: 1,200km, Venice: 260km, Munich: 420km, Vienna: 440km. - By bus & train:
Bus: Slovenia is connected with the following bus companies: Euro, Touring and Flixbus. The majority have a stopover in Bled or Lesce.
Train: several international trains arrive in Slovenia on a daily basis. The closest station is in Bled Jezero. The train Station Lesce-Bled (ca. 4 km away from Bled) is directly on the international Munich – Ljubljana railway connection. Find the time table on www.slo-zeleznice.si / www.oebb.at / www.deutschebahn.de / www.trenitalia.com.
From the bus or train station you can take a taxi, the local bus (pay directly to the driver) or contact us to organise private transportation (see table for prices). - By aeroplane:
Several airlines offer flights to Slovenia. The airports are Ljubljana-Brnik (ca. 35 km away from Bled), Klagenfurt (ca. 80 km) or Ronchi dei Legionari Trieste (ca. 170 km). Upon request we can organize a transfer.
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