EXPLORING SLOVENIA
An easy going destination with something for everyone.
We loved our trip to Slovenia – a Central European country known for its mountains, ski resorts, and lakes with plenty of places to eat, sleep and visit.
HOW TO GET THERE
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia with easy flights from London, Warsaw, some German destinations, Austria and Dubai. The Flydubai flight takes around five hours and the timings are sensible. You leave mid-morning and return on the evening flight. Gold and silver card owners can access the Emirates lounge when taking a Flydubai flight from Terminal 3.
Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport is cosy and beautiful – and you get to see the mountains in front of you while waiting for your luggage. You won’t find any long walks or queues either.
WHERE TO STAY
We recommend staying within easy walking distance of the Old Town, about 30 minutes easy taxi ride from the airport. For our visit, we chose the InterContinental hotel in Ljubljana (pronounced Lubiyana) as it’s an easy 10-minute walk to the Old Town.
The InterContinental features spacious, modern rooms with lovely views and fantastic bathrooms with Byredo products. We loved the high thread count linen, too.
Location wise, it’s an easy seven-minute walk to some lovely museums, the Tivoli park, and a very cool department store – Maxi Market. It’s a bit like Selfridges food Hall in London and check out its basement for food and drinks to bring home with you when you leave.
The hotel has an excellent spa with a pool, sauna, steam room, and Jacuzzi as well as a well-equipped gym. These facilities are brilliantly located on an upper floor of the hotel and thanks to the floor-to-ceiling windows, you can enjoy views of the city while working out. Even if you’re only in Slovenia for a few days, it’s lovely to start your day, or early evening with a session in the spa.
As for food, the hotel breakfasts are excellent here. Expert fresh, high quality, often-local produce that covers pretty much everything you’d expect at breakfast time. We loved our breakfast here. Service is super efficient and super friendly, plus there are inside and outside terrace areas.
If you’re doing some tours outside of Ljubljana (and we recommend you do), then the InterContinental is a great place to be picked up and dropped off, as all of the Old Town is pedestrianised. There are little shuttle carts (if you need them) to get around the Old Town ¬– super useful for those who cannot walk too much. Best of all, this shuttle service is totally free, but a little tip goes a long way.
WHAT TO SEE
Despite our trip just been four nights long, we managed to see so much of Slovenia, but that was mainly due to the tour company we used. Slovenia Explorer pretty much did everything for us ¬– it was so easy.
Also, we highly recommend a good walking tour of Ljubljana, especially if you’re interested in the history and architecture of the Old Town. This tour is about two hours long and it’s best to do it in the morning as early as possible, especially if you’re going during this summer, as it won’t be too hot. Your guides will be very happy to answer any questions you may have along the way.
We loved our guide Nina. who took us to the Alpine Village and makes lakes, about an hour and a half drive from Ljubljana.
We highly recommend a good walking tour of Ljubljana, especially if you’re interested in the history and architecture of the Old Town.
AWAY FROM THE CAPITAL
What to see outside Ljubljana depends on your interests, how much time you have, and how active you are feeling – Slovenia is definitely a country for active people!
We enjoyed a day trip to Lake Bohinj and the Alpine villages, Lake Bled Castle for lunch and a walk ending with a gorgeous trail through the Vintgar Gorge. The Gorge itself is an easy, super scenic, 45-minute walk through waterfalls and forest. We also did a much longer trip to Piran, the coastal part of Slovenia, after a visit to the Skocjan Caves. The cave visit is quite long. You walk for around two kilometres inside the cave system with many steps along the way and it’s dark at times. Not recommended unless you’re quite fit, but very dramatic nonetheless.
