Slovenia Summer holiday

piptypibe

Hi all,
Looking at options for our summer holiday. Slovenia appeals.
Question: You can't appear to fly direct from Ireland? Is that correct? So depending on where you go: Pula in Croatia or Salzburg?
Which area would any recommend? Lake bled area or coastal area as in Portoroz? Is Ljubljana is a day trip possibility for either place?
Many thanks in advance for your advice!

VG31

Salzburg to Ljubljana is a an over 4 hour train journey (there are only winter flights to Salzburg).
Pula to Ljubljana is a 4.5 hr train journey. Venice takes about the same time. That's excluding airport to city buses/trains as well.

I'd strongly recommend getting a connecting my flight as it will be quicker and far less hassle. You can fly to Ljubljana from Dublin with Lufthansa, Air France and KLM (via FRA/MUC, CDG and AMS respectively).

Trieste might also be an option. Flights there seem to be a bit cheaper. Lufthansa fly there.

coylemj

piptypibe wrote: »

Lake bled area or coastal area as in Portoroz? Is Ljubljana is a day trip possibility for either place?

It is from Bled, by bus. Can't say about the coastal place. Trains in Slovenia were to be avoided when I was there in 2002 as they hadn't seen much investment over the years so word in the travel guides was that they were slow and unreliable but there was a good bus network and Bled to Ljubljana was easy and worth doing, I did it twice.

Bled is very nice but younger people would find it a bit dull with very little nightlife.

whiskeyman

You'd only really need 2 days in Bled max.
Many just day trip it, but I liked to stay there and relax better.
I'd spend a few days in Ljubljana then. Really cool place and wish I had more time to explore.
Great cafes / everyone eating out etc...

Todd Gack

GoOpti is a handy and reliable shared taxi service that connects Ljubljana to airports in neighbouring countries, €25 to Venice for example. Price varies on how many are booked and what your time window is.

Both Bled and Ljubljana are well worth a visit, Bled is small and can be done in a day but there are hikes in the surrounding area if that's your kinda thing to stretch it out. The viewpoint of the lake is stunning, poorly signposted but worth it.

Living Off The Splash

You could consider a ferry from Venice to Piran. We stayed in Hotel Lucija in Portoroz and liked it a lot. Piran was lovely to visit as well.

mark_jmc

I spent a day in Slovenia- lake bled & Ljubljana, really nice country- worth a visit

meeeeh

We usually fly through London. It's worth checking Easyjet and Wizzair. Sometimes it's next to impossible to make it to Ljubljana in a day with low budget airlines. Going back should be relatively easy from Ljubljana. Depending where you go Trieste or Pula should be the handiest. Holiday traffic and border would make Trieste preferable choice. Venice is best airport if you don't want to do a bog hop. Goopti is probably best transport service. Train from Salzburg is relatively straightforward, train from Italy takes forever​.

If you want sun/sea holiday fly to Croatia​ and stay there. Slovenian coast is not worth the hassle you have getting there.

Bled is lovely but not much to do for more than a day if you don't fancy more active holiday. Bohinj lake next door is absolutely lovely. Ljubljana is great but small. I think Slovenia can be great but my preference would be to hire a car and travel around.

Soca river is stunning and area is also interesting because of WW1 front. Wine region in the East/NE is very picturesque, Karst region and it's caves are worth visiting and of course Alps offer some stunning beauty. It's a great place for active holiday but maybe less for lazy type holiday.

gaillimh

Hi. Sorry to hijack the thread. But if you had 7-8 days to spend in the area (Slovenia and/or Croatia) and wanted to fit in Ljubljana for maybe two nights (or 3 if that would be better) - is there anywhere you would recommend spending the rest of the time purely for R&R.
Two adults and an 8 month old baby travelling in September so looking to chill out and relax for rest of time after Ljubljana.
Thanks

meeeeh

Ljubljana is small and compact and unless you plan a trip to Postojna Cave or Bled two nights would be probably enough. Slovenia is more attractive for active style holidays but there are some spas that might be nice considering your child is very young. Two examples but there are oodles of them and I don't overly know which are the best:

https://www.terme-catez.si/en/catez
https://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g1057702-d2230658-i133704609-Terme_Olimia-Podcetrtek_Styria_Region.html

If you want the sea Istra coast is fairly rocky but there are some lovely towns dotted around. Piran in Slovenia but personally I would cross the border and stay somewhere in Rovinj or possibly somewhere around Pula (I was there almost 30 years ago in dying days of Jugoslavija and wasn't impressed but I think it's nicer now). If you want sandy beaches then Rab island is lovely. There is very little shade and sun might be still too aggressive for a baby.

Whatever you decide I think you will need a car. Public transport is okay-ish but a bit of a pain if you want to hop around.