A week in Slovenia, from Ljubljana to the Adriatic over the Julian Alps

Days 1-3, the capital and both lakes

Day one is the capital on foot, since the centre is closed to traffic. Next day I’d head up to Bled, 50 km away according to the Tourist Board, and stay two nights. One day goes on the lake, the island and Vintgar Gorge, open April to October with a booked time slot. The other goes on Bohinj, the glacial lake inside Triglav National Park, with Savica Falls and the Church of St John the Baptist. I compare the two lakes in Bohinj.

Day 4, over the Vršič Pass

Day four is what makes the car worth it. Bled to Kranjska Gora is 40 km by the Tourist Board’s reckoning, and from there the road climbs to Vršič at 1,611 metres, the highest road pass in the eastern Julian Alps. On the way up you pass Lake Jasna and then the little timber chapel that Russian prisoners of war raised in 1917 for comrades killed while building the road. The descent through Trenta brings you into the Soča Valley, and Kranjska Gora to Bovec is 45 km. I haven’t found an official winter closure date, so I’d drive it between June and September and check first in the Vršič Pass.

Day 5, the Soča Valley in full

Two nights in Bovec give you one full day on the river. With more than 60 guided outfits in the valley, according to the Tourist Board, so this is the day for rafting or kayaking if you fancy it. If you’d rather walk, the Great Soča Gorge, the 15-metre Kozjak waterfall in its rock amphitheatre, the Kobarid Museum on the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo and the Tolmin Gorges fill the day comfortably. The whole valley is laid out in the Soča Valley.

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

Days 6 and 7, the Karst and Piran

Day six has the most driving. Tolmin to Štanjel is about 65 km, and the medieval stone village with its castle is one of the loveliest in the country to my eye; from there it’s about 29 km to the Škocjan Caves, World Heritage since 1986. I’d sleep on the coast, about 49 km from Divača. The last day is Piran, with Tartini Square, St George’s Cathedral and salt pans dating from 804. From there, Trieste is about 36 km and Ljubljana about 122.

Car and e-vignette costs

A weekly DARS e-vignette for a car is €16, and twice that for a taller van or people carrier in class 2B. You buy it from the official shop and it’s linked to the registration. If your dates fall between 15 November and 15 March you’ll also need winter equipment, though I wouldn’t do this route in those months. Lights, alcohol limits and fines are covered in driving in Slovenia. With more time, the trip stretches out in Slovenia in 10 days and Slovenia in two weeks.

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