Slovenia: A Cycling and Trekking Affair

July 2024

Slovenia is an untapped gem: a unique blend of natural beauty, adventure, and culture in a compact space making it easy to explore diverse landscapes. From the Alpine peaks to Mediterranean coast we knew we wanted to visit Slovenia.

We worked with Slo-trips to customize a perfect cycling and hut to hut hike holiday. This option was super nice because they are local cycling enthusiasts and mapped out several options for cycling routes, pending how we felt, and moved our duffles from stop to stop everyday. We didn’t even rent a car because we just used our feet or bikes to cycle from town to town. We also had no idea, Slovenia has the #1 and #2 road cyclist in the world, so it is a big cycling culture.

Overall we cycled 180+ miles and hiked 30 miles. This was an absolutely amazing trip, where Beef and I decided we would totally move to Slovenia. Every day was a new adventure filled with fitness, delicious food, amazing sites, perfect white wines and some of the kindest people in the world (English was fluent everywhere). The whole country is for cyclists.

Ljubljana

Day 1: We hopped off the plane (LAX-CDG-LJU) in Ljubljana and got a ride to our hotel. Our bikes were waiting for us at the lobby. Ljubljana is considered one of the most charming European capitals and we can confirm this is true! We spent the evening walking around town enjoying the views with some ice cream from Fetiche Patisserie. We had a lovely dinner at a local tapas bar called TAbar which was located on the river about a 10 minute walk away from hustle and bustle of the main city center. Here you can expect unique flavours perfectly cooked and presented on the plate in small portions which allows you to taste several dishes. Beef would not recommend for a 50+ mi bike day, but definitely for the taste. After dinner we settled back into the room to start packing for our first big bike day! We stayed at City Hotel Ljubljana which was conveniently located just a few minutes from the city center.

Lake Bled

Day 2: We woke up at 530am to beat the heat (also thinking breakfast was served, but that wasn’t the case, this is very important for later). We cycled from Ljubljana to Lake Bled which was about 55 miles and 4600 ft of elevation change. The route started by going through small villages and suburbs until we reached a beautiful medieval town of Skofja Loka. After a quick stop we hopped back on our bikes to start the tough climb (not an exaggeration). At the top we realized the roads were closed for a motor rally! We hung out for a bit until the first heat was over and the security guards let is squeeze through to finish our route (Slotrips gave us many alt options, which Beef would not do, as it involved redoing a climb or adding 20ish miles). I vividly remember the first glimpse of Lake Bled because it looked straight out of a fairy tale and I was thankful, as Beef was zonking. Once we made it to the Hotel Garni, we cleaned up a bit then headed down to the lake where V got in a nice swim. The hotel was a little charming place maybe half a mile from the lake, location was great but pretty basic besides that. We enjoyed dinner at Old Cellar Bled which had a cutest patio and the best staff. V indulged in a perfect squid ink pasta dish while Beef ate a delicious lamb leg. Definitely would recommend checking this place out!

The funniest part of this day: Beef cramping with 0.25 miles to go. I found him laying down on the sidewalk completely zonked. It wasn’t a zonk, it was a quad cramp where he could not move his leg, it was locked. He was on the ground on the sidewalk, V was really scared for him but after a few minutes we both laughed so hard V started crying. After this ride, V was politicking every day for Beef to get an e-bike.

Kranjska Gora

Day 3: Today we cycled from Lake Bled to Kranjska Gora which was about 26 miles. It was a bit rainy but we packed up our raincoats and headed out. Our first stop was Peričnik Waterfall. Peričnik Waterfall is a waterfall in Vrata Valley in the Julian Alps of Slovenia. The waterfall is formed by the water that flows over a conglomerate cliff in two steep drops.The lower waterfall, Spodnji Slap, is 52 meters high, whereas the upper waterfall, Zgornji Slap, is 16 meters high. The trail goes up behind the waterfall and you can feel the enormous power of the falls from a few meters behind it. It started raining pretty hard at this point so we hung out at the hut at the bottom of the falls until the rain slowed down. Where we chatted with the visiting USAers and locals. Then we hopped back on our wet bikes and cycled 10 miles to Kranjska Gora.

Kranjska Gora was a picturesque little mountain ski town. We loved this town so much because we were completely surrounded by the Julien Alps. We stopped at this cute A-frame type room hotel: Boutique Hotel Skipass. For lunch, we got some woodfire pizza, which took us back to Italy, as we gained energy to explore the town by foot (very walkable and small). We went into a lot of local sports stores looking for new bibs and getting snacks for travels ahead.

We had dinner at Okrepcevalnica Lacni Kekec where we ordered traditional Slovenian food which is just a giant meat plate with potatoes. For dessert we had to try their famous sour cherry liqueur and woof it was strong. After dinner we walked to a nearby pub to watch the Slovenia vs England Euro cup game, energy level was high in this pub. Finally, at halftime, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for the start of our hut to hut hiking adventure.

Hiking in the Julien Alps

Day 4: We left our bikes at the hotel and set off on foot. We hiked up towards Vršič Pass which is Slovenia’s highest and most popular mountain pass, and it’s no surprise; at each hairpin (there are 50 of them!), the views change and evolve to showcase another angle of this pretty-as-pie slice of the country. We then reached the Russian chapel. It was built in remembrance of the Russian prisoners who built the road over the Vrsic mountain pass during World War One. As we walked the Russian road we made a detour to climb a peak called Visoki-mavrinc. At the top we were left with a jaw dropping viewpoint to feel the dramatic yet warm embrace of the mountains , this is where we met a German couple who was doing a similar itenary to us by foot! We continued up towards our first hut, Erjavceva koca hut, which was just below Vršič Pass. We had our own room in the hut with shared bathroom accommodations. We played board games’, enjoyed some Slovenian IPAs and watched the sun set over the mountains.

Day 5: We left our hut after breakfast and hiked up to Slemenova Špica to check out the views. Epic. We took in the views (and smells of goat/sheep poo as they are everywhere!) for a bit them headed back down. We stopped for lunch at the very top of Vršič Pass where V had the BEST truffle pasta for 11 euros. Nothing beats truffle pasta with the Julien alps as the backdrop. After lunch we continued on hiking through the beautiful Garden of Eden until we reached our destination which was Kekčeva domačija homestead. This small homestead was truly a once in a lifetime experience in a hidden dead end valley. V went for a trail run while Beef sampled the local beer with the owner. The homestead is owned by a local couple who also owns a winery in eastern Slovenia. They cooked us a amazing dinner that paired with their wine and we sat there in the middle of the valley overlooking the mountains then headed off to bed. A true alpine paradise!

Bovec and Soca River

Day 6: We had a delicious homemade breakfast at the homestead then off we went. Beef, as always took us on a detour to look at the datcha houses and see if we could see ourselves living there.

Today we immersed into the hike along wild rapids, small cascades, through narrow rocky gorges, surprising canyons and pools of the Alpe Adria Trail, following the emerald green Soca river. We crossed several suspension footbridges and found inviting hidden spots to relax, dip our feet into turquoise water. The beauty and the magic of the landscape made it easy to understand why Soca is one of the most beautiful rivers in the world. We hiked about 8 miles to Camp Jelinic where we stopped for beer and cheese plate. Slo trips dropped off some mountain e-bikes to finish the remaining 10 miles to Bovec. V realized she’s scared of mountain bikes while Beef thrived on the challenge. We stopped at a waterhole for a quick dip. The water was the bluest water I’ve ever seen, but COLD AF. After that we made it to a town called Bovec (the views = wow).

Bovec is a Slovenian outdoor adventure epicentre. We stayed at a lovely inn called Hotel Mangart. We explored Bovec for a few hours. We stopped at Bovec brewery where we samples some seriously good sour beers then headed to a lovely pizza spot for dinner.

Goriska Brda

Day 7: From Bovec, we were shuttled about 10 miles up to Kolovrat ridge and hopped back on our gravel bikes (V missed hers). The ridge rose above the Soca valley and separates Slovenia from Italy, where the clear natural environment of the Alps leads the way to the Adriatic. We descended 44 miles down the lonely winding road swapping between Slovenia and Italy. Until finally, we ended in the rolling wine hills of Goriska Brda. As we got closer to Goriska Brda we could see endless wineries and farms. This day got HOT and we suffered up the last climb into Smartno. We stayed in a little B&B above a wine shop called Hotel Marica. For dinner, we took a taxi to a nearby town and had some delicious seafood overlooking the wineries at Gostišče pri Marjotu. The servers thought it was so weird that V ordered more pasta after the main meal was served. Apparently pasta is a starter only here in Slovenia.

Karst Plateau

Day 8: Today we cycled from Goriska Brda to Karst Plateau. We had a long day of 56 miles of cycling ahead of us so Beef ‘opted’ to swap his gravel bike with an E-bike. Slo-trips made that happen for us. We biked along Vipava valley before tackling an ascent to the Karst Plateau. The road took us through the Italian town of Gorica and its Slovenian neighbor Nova Gorica, where we learned about the consequences of the border change after WW2. Followed by the happy side of life in the prettiest and left-out corners of Slovenia’s Julian Prealps. Passing hillside villages with people driving down the road in big semis celebrating their 40th bday by handing us donuts as we tried to squeeze by, historic towns, vineyards, and olive groves in the countryside, we loved how the time here still goes slow and away from the black screen.

Once we made it to Karst, we’ll stopped at a fortified village of Stanjel to savor the excellent local coffee and dessert in a castle as they set up for a wedding. After lunch we headed to our final destination which was Lipica with its famous Lipizzaner stud farm where we saw the gracefully grazing white horses. From here we waited for our ride to take is back to Ljubljana, from the MVP of the trip Dragan (the driver of our bags and bikes) where we spent a night at the Intercontinental Ljubljana (Beef always wanted to stay in one after John Wick). In Ljubljana we had a perfect last dinner at Spanjza Restaurant where we drank lots of wine in a cute courtyard and V laughed until she cried retelling the story of Beefs leg cramps day 1.

Summary of our route:

June 30: Day 2: Ljubljana to Lake Bled (from Alps to Adriatic itinerary)
July 1: Day 3: Lake Bled to Kranjska Gora (Alps to Adriatic)
July 2: Day 1: Hike the Alpe-Adria Trail to Vrsic Pass (from Alpe-Adria Trail Adventure itinerary)
July 3: Day 2: Hike in the Garden of Eden (Alpe-Adria Trail Adventure)
July 4: Day 3: Walk & bike in the Soca valley (Alpe-Adria Trail Adventure)
July 5: Day 5: Kobarid to Goriska Brda (Alps to Adriatic, with a slightly longer morning transfer from Bovec)
July 6: Day 6: Goriska Brda to the Karst Plateau (Alps to Adriatic)

Strava Route Links