Postojna Cave, by train into the heart of the Karst

The cave and its train

The cave has 19.5 km of passages, the longest of the country’s show caves according to the Slovenian government, and the Tourist Board says no show cave in Europe gets more visitors. Before 1818 only about 300 m could be seen. That year Luka Čeč discovered the inner passages, and today the park counts more than 39 million visitors over two centuries.

In 1872 the world’s first railway inside a cave opened here, and since 1964 it has run on a double track, the only one of its kind, according to the park. The train covers about 3.7 km, through an artificial tunnel, the Gothic Hall and the Ballroom with its Murano glass chandeliers, and drops visitors at the Great Mountain.

What you see on the tour

On foot, the path climbs the Great Mountain, also called Calvary, crosses the Russian Bridge and enters the Beautiful Caves, with the Spaghetti, White and Red halls, up to the Brilliant passage. The Brilliant is a brilliant-white stalagmite five metres tall, the cave’s emblem, and it shines because the dripping water lays a thin coat of flowstone over it.

At the end there is an aquarium of olms, the largest cave-dwelling animal, which legend took for baby dragons. Then comes the Concert Hall, where the park points to the only underground post office in the world, and from there the train returns to the surface. The Tourist Board also notes that in May 2016 olm eggs were seen hatching here for the first time.

Tour times and tickets in 2026

The cave opens every day of the year, holidays and bad weather included, but always on timed tours. In October 2026 tours left at 10am, 11am, 12pm, 2pm, 3pm and 4pm; in November and December at 10am, 12pm and 3pm; in summer, every hour or half hour. Boarding starts 15 minutes ahead, so allow half an hour’s margin.

Tickets are sold on the official website, which warns of unofficial resellers, for a set date and time. The cave alone cost €34.90 for an adult, €58.90 with Predjama Castle and €84.50 for the whole-park package. The other attractions in a package can be visited within the following 30 days. From 24 October to 1 November 2026 there were family tickets, two adults and up to two children under 15 for €69.80, and between 25 and 30 December the cave hosts the Living Nativity.

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Practical tips

It is 10°C inside all year, so bring a warm jacket and comfortable shoes with a good grip, even in the middle of summer. Tours are guided in Slovenian, Italian, English or German, and there are audio guides in 19 languages. The park says the route suits families with young children and visitors with reduced mobility.

The park offers more than the cave. The Vivarium, in a side passage, shows the cave animals, over 150 species according to the park, that you barely see on the tour. The Expo Cave Karst exhibition uses models and projections to explain how the Karst formed and how Postojna became a show cave. For more than the classic route, there are guided adventure tours of the Pivka and Black caves.

To round off the day, Predjama Castle is about 9 km away, and the park suggests leaving the cave for the afternoon. To compare with other caves, see caves in Slovenia and the Škocjan Caves, a wilder experience altogether, carved by a river through a deep gorge.

Getting to Postojna

By car, take the A1 motorway from Ljubljana, Koper or Trieste to exit 41 for Postojna, 2 km from the park. By train you arrive at Postojna station, about 25 minutes’ walk away, and a local bus links the railway station, the bus station and the cave. From the capital, the timetables are in Ljubljana to Postojna.

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