Five days in Slovenia, from Alpine lakes to Karst caves

Where to stay, Bled and Ljubljana

I split the nights. For the first two mountain days I’d stay in Bled, about fifty kilometres out of the capital, with Vintgar and Bohinj close by. For the Karst I’d go back to Ljubljana, from where Postojna is about 54 km and Divača, the gateway to Škocjan, about 78 km by road, figures I’ve worked out with OpenStreetMap data. If you’d rather not change hotels, five nights in the capital works too, though the Alpine days get longer. Some ideas on areas are in where to stay in Ljubljana.

Days 1 to 3, Ljubljana, Bled and Bohinj

I’d start the Bled day at Vintgar Gorge, open only from April to October, with 1.6 km of boardwalks above the River Radovna on a 5.7 km circuit. Its website asks for a digital pass with a time slot, so I wouldn’t turn up without one. In the afternoon, the island by pletna and the castle. Next day, Bohinj, Slovenia’s largest natural lake according to the Tourist Board, with the Church of St John the Baptist on the shore and Savica Falls, 78 metres in two streams. The Vogel cable car’s website said it would stay closed for maintenance until 1 December 2026, so check it’s running before you count on it. The whole valley is covered in Bohinj.

Days 4 and 5, Postojna and Škocjan

People often treat Postojna and Škocjan as either-or, and I don’t see it that way. Postojna is a cave of formations you tour by train, with an hour-and-a-half guided visit and tickets only from its official site, and next door Predjama is the castle set into a 123-metre cliff. Škocjan works on another scale. UNESCO inscribed it in 1986 to protect a canyon the Reka cut underground, in places as tall as a forty-storey building. Its prices weren’t on any page I consulted, so look them up on the park’s own site. There’s more in the Škocjan Caves.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Bled on Expedia and filter by area before price.

The last day, Lipica or the coast

From Divača the Lipica stud farm is about 10 km away. Founded in 1580, it’s the cradle of the Lipizzaner, keeps more than 300 horses and opens from 9am to 5pm with guided tours, tickets from €25. If you’re more of a seaside person, I’d swap Lipica for Piran, about 49 km from Divača, and carry on to Trieste from there or head back to the capital.

If you have a sixth day

With six or seven days I’d add the Soča Valley and the Vršič Pass, which to me is the most beautiful road in the country, plus a night on the coast. That’s the trip in Slovenia in a week. And if you only have three, the essentials fit into Slovenia in 3 days.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Bled on Booking.com and filter by area before price.