Radlje ob Dravi, a summer stop on the Drava

A town with a gold green label

SURS gives Radlje 3,012 residents and its municipality 6,229 on 1 January 2026. Arrivals in 2025 came to 2,947. Like Slovenj Gradec, it has gold status in the Slovenia Green scheme, which for a place this size says a lot about the work put in. It’s the eastern end of Koroška, already on the way to Maribor.

What’s special about Radlje’s pool?

The Radlje water park has what the tourist board calls Slovenia’s biological pool, where natural organisms look after the cleanliness and quality of the water. Hostelling International Slovenia goes further and calls it the first natural swimming pool in the country. Beside it are an adventure park and the Glamping Green Resort, which the tourist board says features among the world’s seven fairy-tale tourist destinations.

Paddling and rafting the Drava

The river is Radlje’s second big draw. Alpaka Adventures, a company started by two brothers from Radlje, rents paddleboards for trips down the Drava. For something more traditional, tourist rafts set off from Gortina, in the neighbouring municipality of Muta, and from Javnik in Podvelka, with music and Koroška food on board. On the way down, the raftsmen tell you about their trade and their way of life, according to Hostelling International Slovenia. The tourist board recalls that timber rafting was one of the valley’s most important economic activities, and the same hostel network adds that for a long time rafts were the only way to move cargo on the river.

Hostelling International Slovenia also notes that over 150 bird species and some 40 kinds of fish live along the Drava, and that with luck you might spot a beaver on the banks.

If you are staying the night, see the best hotel deals in Radlje ob Dravi for your dates: the well-placed rooms go fast.

On foot and by bike

Hostelling International Slovenia suggests forest trails to the ruins of the castles of Radlje, Dravograd, Vuzenica and Muta, and summits such as Košenjak, Pernice, Bricnik and Sveti Jernej. In winter the Kope ski area on Pohorje is within reach, with its mountain lodges in the municipality of Mislinja. And the Drava cycle route runs through the valley, with a 145 km Slovenian section that keeps mostly to quiet local roads, according to koroska.si. The full route links the river’s source at Toblach in Italy with its confluence with the Mura near Legrad in Croatia, and it’s waymarked with red signs bearing its logo. Kope offers skiing in winter, and hiking and mountain biking in summer.

An afternoon and a night in Radlje

I’d stop here in summer, especially if cycling the Drava from Dravograd. An afternoon at the pool and a night’s glamping are enough to get to know it.

So you do not lose the morning at the ticket office, browse tickets and tours in Radlje ob Dravi on GetYourGuide.

If you are staying the night, see the best hotel deals in Radlje ob Dravi for your dates: the well-placed rooms go fast.