We’ve spent quite a bit of time in Slovenia over the last four years that we’ve been living in Italy. A mere month after we moved to Italy, we were off on a road trip to Pula, Croatia, and stopped for the first time to let our feet hit the ground in the mysterious former Yugoslavian republic. That quickly followed with trips to the fairy-tale like Bled, the gorgeous rocky beaches of Piran, and even our visit stay in an igloo. Even though Slovenia is small, just about 7800 square miles or the size of New Jersey’s, we have yet to see it all. So when we found ourselves with a rare free weekend, we hit the road for a road trip to some of the lesser known gems along Slovenia’s Emerald River that haven’t quite hit the tourist radar yet.
Lake Bohinj
Lake Bohinj
Lake Bled is Slovenia’s most famous lake and it is indeed beautiful. But Lake Bohinj is Slovenia’s largest lake and it’s quite, stillness is a real gem. It was our first stop on our road trip along Slovenia’s emerald river and we arrived at the largest town, Ribcev Laz, which is a great jumping off point for visits to Lake Bohinj. A 12 kilometer walking path circumnavigates the lake and can be completed in about 4 – 5 hours. We only walked a small portion, but it was beautiful and peaceful. There are little stone beaches along the lake and the grassy slopes are perfect for enjoying a lakeside picnic.
The walking path around Lake Bohinj
A row boat on Lake Bohinj
Another option is to rent a row boat from one of the little lakeside snack bars and maybe even try your hand a catching a fish. If the row boat seems like a bit too much work under the hot summer sun, there is also the option to take a 2-hour lake cruise on the tourist paddle wheeler boat called the Lucija. It leaves Ribcev Laz at 11am and then about every 2 hours 15 minutes on Saturdays and Sundays from July – August and includes lunch with the round trip ticket.
There are also 15 marked bike trails and bike rentals are available in Ribcev Laz.
Can you spot the paraglider above the St Anton and the Italian Charnel House?
Kobarid
Next we headed on to Kobarid, famous for the WWI Battle of Caporetto; Ernest Hemingway documented the Italian retreat in his novel A Farewell to Arms. Though Kobarid will forever be remembered for the horrors of WWI that took place there, today it is picturesque with the church of St. Anton and the Italian Charnel House, built in memory of the 7000 Italian soldiers that perished here, standing high over Slovenia’s emerald river, the Soča River.
Kobarid is also an adventure center with opportunities for kayaking, river rafting, and paragliding.
Boka Waterfall
Boka Waterfall
The Boka Waterfall is Slovenia’s largest and most powerful waterfall. It free-falls 106 meters from the surrounding Kanin Mountains and then has another 30 meters of incline down to Slovenia’s emerald river below. It is easily accessible, though make sure you wear trail runners or hiking boots, from a path along the road from Žaga to Bovec.
There is a small car park and the path starts from the left side of the bridge. The path gradually curves upward through the forest and ends right at the source of the waterfall. It takes approximately 1 hour 30 minutes one way.
A storm rolls in over Mangart Saddle
Mangart Saddle
Mangart is Slovenia’s fourth highest mountain and an old military road, constructed in just a few short months in 1938 for the Italian military, is Slovenia’s highest road. It climbs up for 11 kilometers to the Mangart Saddle at a staggering 22% grade in places and is barely wide enough to be considered a one-lane road, let alone two. The five tunnels provide the only breathers as I sit with my hands clenched to my seat and brave a few looks out the window to the sheer drop off just a few meters from our tires.
Road loading up to Mangart Saddle
The mountain hut, Kocha na Mangartskem sedlu at 1906 meters, is as far as we can go on our visit because of a recent rock slide. The hut is also where many climbers begin their Mangart ascent from. It offers us refuge as an afternoon storm with pea sized hail and all rolls in and we enjoy steaming cups of fruit tea and apple strudel while we wait out the storm for a bit.
The Mangart Pass lies just a few kilometers from the Italian border at Tarvisio and we completed our loop happily exhausted from a day exploring some of Slovenia’s most beautiful hidden gems.
Know Before You Go
- Bring Euro as the paddle boat, Mangart Pass toll, and snack bars we stopped at only accept cash.
- There is a €5 per call toll for traveling on the Mangart Pass road. The road is open from mid-June until the first snowfall, generally around November.
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Larry says
Slovenia is a very beautiful and interesting little country. I think I could actually live there.
Jennifer Dombrowski says
I could totally see you living in the Slovenian countryside. They get a lot less snow too. 🙂
Anita says
Wow, this is beautiful!
We are considering exploring Slovenia at some point of time, and now, I think that it should be “very soon” :).
Jennifer Dombrowski says
Glad to give you a little travel inspiration!
Victor Tribunsky says
Seems, Slovenia is a comfortable country for the rest, but not for exploring something new and historical, is not it?
Jennifer Dombrowski says
There are definitely historical sites to visit in Slovenia. Ljubljana, the capital, is a great place to start to learn more of the history and explore historical sights like the castle, Dragon Bridge, and churches.
This Way To Paradise says
It looks like an amazing place!
Andrea says
We loved Ljubljana but I was sad we didn’t have time to get to the countryside in Slovenia – this looks magical!
Jennifer Dombrowski says
Oh, that is a shame! Ljubljana is fantastic but there are so many other terrific spots to see in this beautiful little country. I hope you get back for another visit!
YJ @ thefancyvoyager says
Lake Bohinj looks gorgeous! Would love to visit Slovenia one day!
Jennifer Dombrowski says
It was really pretty and we just about had the entire lake to ourselves! In July! Clearly not many tourists know of this hidden gem.
Freya says
It looks like a gorgeous country with stunning nature. I would love to visit one day … so many beautiful places, so little time …
Jennifer Dombrowski says
There is some great hiking to do in Slovenia too. I bet you would really enjoy a trip there, Freya! Let us know if you come. We’re close and would love to finally meet you in person!
Shanna Schultz says
Wow, I kind of knew that there were some great things to see in Slovenia, but it is so much more beautiful than I thought! It is nice that it is a small enough country that you really feel like you can get to know it well.
Jennifer Dombrowski says
Slovenia is a beautiful country and there is so much to do there, especially for nature and adventure lovers. Hope you get to visit soon, Shanna!
Beatrice Hartman says
You can rent rowing boats for getting to the island or just pottering about (motor boats are banned on the lake) from the Castle Baths (Grajsko Kopališče; 578 05 28; Kidričeva cesta 1). Boats for up to four people are also available from the Pension Pletna in Mlino or further west near the entrance to the camping ground for around €11.50 per hour.
Jennifer Dombrowski says
The boat rentals are really affordable for a day of fun on the lake. Thanks for sharing the additional details about renting them, Beatrice!
Jennifer says
I think you'd especially enjoy Slovenia's beaches in the summer time!
Heather says
I cannot wait to live in Europe so we can take trips like this! We’re hoping to do an Italy-Slovenia-Croatia trip, but that might be a wee bit ambition given how many fabulous places are within each country.
Jennifer Dombrowski says
Too funny, because I am wishing we were based in Asia so we had more time to explore there!
Italy and Croatia are both pretty big countries. I’d recommend separate road trips, depending on how long you are going to travel for.
OitheBlog says
Hey there! We are going to Slovenia next month. Your article’s been really useful for us and we are so excited to explore Slovenia! We just wanted to say thanks for all the information. 🙂
Greeting from Istanbul!
Jennifer Dombrowski says
Glad to hear the Slovenia info is useful! It’s an amazingly beautiful country. Don’t miss out on doing a food tour in Ljubljana. It’s an awesome way to learn about the city.
Berko says
Heyyy this post is amazing. Love it. I ll use these informations next month for my trip. Thank you for sharing this information with us