The Sava, Slovenia's longest river

A river born twice

The odd thing about the Sava is that it has two births. The Sava Dolinka surfaces in the Zelenci nature reserve, a pocket of springs near Kranjska Gora. The Sava Bohinjka pours out of Savica Falls and reaches Lake Bohinj as the Savica stream. The tourist board explains that the two branches meet at Radovljica, and from that point it’s simply the Sava.

Seeing both sources on the same trip is a nice way to give a tour of the Julian Alps a thread to follow.

From the Ljubljana basin to Posavje

From Radovljica the Sava swings into the Ljubljana basin, and by the time it reaches Posavje it’s completely calm, running between forested hills. This is the stretch foreign visitors know least and the one I like best. Along it lie Radeče, Sevnica and Krško, and on a rock 60 metres up, where the Brestanica stream joins, Rajhenburg Castle, built between 1131 and 1147.

The river leaves Slovenia at Brežice, after the Krka has flowed into it. Right by that meeting of two long rivers is Terme Čatež, the region’s big spa.

Can you raft the Sava?

You can, and in a very particular way. At Radeče, where the Sava gorge opens out and the river slows into the reservoir of the Vrhovo power station, a tourist timber raft sets off from the TRC Savus jetty. The raftsmen greet you with bread and salt, following an old Slavic custom, serve a raftsman’s stew with Blaufränkisch wine and cheerfully baptise the newcomers. The season runs from April to October and you need to book.

The tourist board talks of 500 years of rafting tradition on the Sava. It’s the sort of experience I’d do precisely because it wasn’t designed for international tourists.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Brežice before prices climb.

Fishing and white water

In the upper course there’s white water for rafting. Lower down, the river belongs to anglers. The stretch between Radeče and Sevnica is, according to the tourist board, the longest and most beautiful fishing route in Europe, and the same source says the power-station reservoirs hold some of the best sport-fishing routes on the continent.

The Sava in two stops

If you’re coming from the Alps, start at Zelenci and Savica and follow the river down to Radovljica. If you’re driving towards Croatia on the motorway, give Posavje a full day for Radeče, Rajhenburg and Brežice. Of all Slovenia’s rivers, the Sava is the one that best sums up the country from end to end.

If you would rather have a local show you round, book a guided tour in Sava River and choose by the reviews.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Brežice before prices climb.