Timing

We traveled from 25th of April until 2nd of May. I would describe this time of the year as off-season and less crowded. What you should have in mind is that you risk unpredictable weather. However, if you’re lucky, you could enjoy the raw nature at peace.

Day 1. The Capitals : Sofia – Zagreb – Ljubljana “The Loved Onе”

Our flight to Zagreb was less than two hours. Firstly, upon arriving we went directly to take our rented car. The company we used was “Nova Rent a car”.

The price of the car was around 160 euros for 7 days. In addition, we paid a fee for a second driver and a border crossing fee. 

Honestly, we were very happy with the car we received since it was absolutely new (we had a car category upgrade).

The second thing we did was to set off for Ljubljana and the third- we had to buy a vignette. We bought it just after passing the border to Slovenia. Our vignette was for one week at the price of 16 euros. Simple and easy. Let’s goo!

From the first minutes you enter Slovenia you can sense the order in the country.  As a Bulgarian this could feel somewhat alien…The roads are perfect, the road signs are reasonable. It was splendid so to speak. My perception of an Austrian or a German type of order comes as no surprise. Throughout its history Slovenia had been at a crossroads between Slavic, Germanic and Romance languages and cultures. This small country had been part of the Roman empire, The Habsburg empire, later Austro-Hungarian empire and in 1918 participated in the creation of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. With so many influences Slovenia reminds me in a way of Bulgaria.

I have to admit that Slovenia is the very first overly organized country where I felt at home. 

I could also call it, “the Switzerland of the Balkans” as said from Geography Now.

After one and a half hours we reached our goal – Ljubljana . We slept in this tiny apartment also available on Airbnb. We were overall satisfied since it had a great location. The parking we used was at the train station, maybe 15 min from where we slept. 

Something to consider is that finding a nice place to sleep for a good price in Slovenia was harder than in Croatia. We were not sure about the reason. It could be that we planned late, or that Slovenia is not so touristy or we went off-season, or everything combined. A good idea is to reserve earlier. And yes, I am Captain Obvious but this rule applies strongly to Slovenia.

We’ve spent only a couple of hours (the evening and the morning) in Ljubljana but I can say that the capital was a gem. We were mostly in the old town which is certainly not big and therefore easy to walk around. It almost felt as if we were in a small town, not in the biggest city of Slovenia. We started by taking a walk along the river Ljubljanica. We explored the paved streets where a new surprise awaits around every corner!

Afterwards we went to The Ljubljana Castle. Climbing the hill to reach it, was very beautiful. The whole area around the castle is a park. When we walked, the air was fresh and cold, even more so because it was after rain. We didn’t enter the castle but walked around it. There is a great view of the city from outside the fort.

In fact in 2016 the city of Ljubljana was named Europe’s Green Capital. I think this was a well deserved title.

And after walking comes the best part.

• For the foodies this place GOSTILNA VIDA was totally worth it. The dinner made us truly happy. The owner of the place is Dutch, they have a very friendly Slovenian and Iranian staff, and the menu is a mixture of Asian food and some magic from the lady that was cooking in an open kitchen. There were many people asking for a table that night so a reservation could be a good idea. Definitely check out their brunch menu.

• For your breakfast we can also recommend this beautiful bakery Brot Pekarna where we had our breakfast on the next day.

The next morning we woke up early and had a walk through the old town. It is always a good idea to observe how a city is waking up. All the shops are opening, people are starting work. A must see is the Ljubljana’s Central Market: There is such an abundance of colors and food. We did some shopping for fruits and vegetables. Those markets are my weakness so I can’t recommend it more.

Afterwards we headed to our next destination- the Lake Bled. The lake is very picturesque, surrounded by mountains and forests. It is actually a natural glacial and tectonic lake. With its strikingly blue waters, the lake is a popular swimming spot in the summer. It is possible to swim from the shore to the small island in the middle.

We made a circle walk around the lake using the Bled castle as a starting point and the village as a finishing point.  As the entrance was a little overpriced for us, we didn’t enter the castle. We were afraid of missing some great views but to be honest afterwards we had many chances to see the entire beauty of the lake. Just after the castle there is a trail with gorgeous viewpoints (marked on google maps). 

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The whole circle took us around 4-5 hours so my advice is to eat before starting and have some food and water with you. On your way there are just a few places to buy food outside the village. This surely makes the experience better but quite challenging if you are hungry.

At the end of ⅓ of our walk we decided to take a boat for one hour and go see the 17 th century building – The Church of Mary the Queen on the tiny island. 

 If it wasn’t for Simeon who was steering the rowboat we would have reached the island for no less than an eternity since I failed miserably in my attempts. Moral – it is harder than it looks. Nevertheless it is worth going on the island in order to get a different perspective and enter into the church. 

When we reached the village of Bled we sat to eat some nice food here: Restavracija Central Bled  

The City of Bovec

It was now time for the mountains and Bovec. Simo wanted to drive through Vršič Pass because he read it had breathtaking views. I am certain this is true knowing the nature in Slovenia but it is a good idea to call and verify if it is open. We called the numbers written here. They said that the pass is open but it is important to have winter gear. In the end we decided not to take that risk. (Here you can find very useful information on Vršič Pass) 

This meant we had another border to pass and say “Hello” to Italy. Since this was the only option left to reach our destination. The good thing was that Italy has a system of only route-based tolls. The itinerary we used wasn’t part of the category of paid roads. So no need to worry about fees.

We wondered why no one said reaching Bovec through Italy is so beautiful? We drove stunned from the beauty around us. The Julian Alps are definitely something.  THE ALPS WERE ALPING.

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And here we were in the beautiful city of Bovec. There we slept in this lovely apartment.  

Bovec is a charming little town close to the border with Italy. It attracts outdoor lovers with its proximity to Triglav national park, Soca valley and breathtaking waterfalls. 

Walking in the town you can see many agencies proposing rafting, kayaking, canoeing, canyoning and many more. Our main goal was to hike in the marvelous landscape of Slovenia.

We knew that at this time of the year it is better to choose hiking trails with low elevation gain since if we go higher it would still be winter. This off course would require winter equipment and a lot more preparation. 

For our dinners in Bovec we decided to cook the food we bought from Ljubljana’s food market. Since there were perfect conditions in our AirBnb this was a good idea. If you still would like to go out and explore, keep reading. I am mentioning some cool places below.

We woke up indecently early in the morning. I would blame it on the time difference but this gave us the chance to have a morning walk in the beautiful city of Bovec.

Slovenia at the end of April is the bluest blue and the greenest green. This was most visible throughout our trekking from the Great Soca Gorge to the Small Soca Gorge. There are no words to describe this place so we will use photographs instead.

For our hiking we used the map published in the following article. There are instructions on how to integrate it in your google maps. There is also a location where you can leave your car. The bus is not working at this time of the year so you should have a car.

It is pretty straightforward – you should simply follow the river but still choose the trail closer to the river when you have two options. The whole walk and the 1398 photos included took us around 3h30min.

There is a special charm to walk this trail in April because there are almost no other tourists and as a consequence the landscape looks unspoiled. In addition, only spring can give us such colors. I am also very curious to see the place in the summer. This would make swimming in the turquoise waters of Soca possible.

After our hike we wanted to sit outside and enjoy the sunny weather. This is how we happened to find The Fellowship of the Slovenian cuisine, Craft beer and Good coffee aka Bovška kuhn’ca, The Thirsty river and Kavarna 1920

We bought our lunch from the sweet owners of Bovška kuhn’ca and they suggested that we sit in Thirsty river or Kavarna 1920 since they only sell the food in their wooden kitchen. We needed no further invitation.

In the afternoon we still had some strength left so we went to see two waterfalls: Slap Virje and Boka Waterfall. 

We only had a glimpse of Boca waterfall from very far. To get a full experience one should go much closer. As we were tired, we decided to continue to Slap Virje, which is very easily accessible.

We left our car in the paid parking ( the only parking we didn’t pay for during our stay in Slovenia since the online system wasn’t working there). After just 5 minutes walking in the woods we saw the waterfall. It was gorgeous. Spoiler alert – this won’t be the last time I describe a waterfall. In summertime people can swim inside which must be a blast.

Brace yourself, there are lots of hours to drive. 

However Day 4 is a summary of the best places we visited on our trip.

We left the mountains of Bovec around 9 o’clock in the morning. In the car on our way I saw that we could stop and see the Kozjak Waterfall and say goodbye to Soca. This was a good decision. When you stop the car at the parking lot you continue down until you reach a beautiful wooden bridge. When you are crossing the bridge you will get a stunning view on the Soca river. 

After a 15 minutes walk you reach a random small hut in the middle of nature where they charge you to see the waterfall. You should pay and see the place with your own eyes.

After the waterfall we continued towards Predjama Castle. We had to travel around 1h and 30 minutes. The castle is a great spot and you have very nice places to sit down to eat and drink something. We really wished to spend more time there but we had tickets for the Skocjan Caves with entrance at 14h. We had to be there 15 minutes earlier. If our tickets were for 15h we would’ve had time to sit and eat something. However we didn’t want to take that risk since 15:00H is the last hour of entrance in the cave.

Explaining just to signal you that maybe it is good to be careful with the timing if you decide to do this itinerary or simplify your life by skipping something.

 I am not that much into caves but the Skocjan Caves are something different. This UNESCO world heritage treasure is an incredible journey into the underground world.

Simeon has this special connection with The Lord of the Rings and since the moment he read this cave is like the Mines of Moria it was decided we are going there. I am grateful for that because this place was honestly stunning and I went there without having any expectations. It was like nothing I have seen in my life.

The photos are forbidden inside. You just have to accept that even if you take photos the result won’t be even close to what you experience inside. So my advice is simply to enjoy. Keep in mind that the walk continues around 1 hour. There are many stairs and you should be in good shape. It is not very convenient for small children. 

In addition, the price is good and there are not so many tourists. You can buy tickets from here https://www.park-skocjanske-jame.si/en/ where you choose day and hour.

 I am not going to describe what I saw because you are going to see it yourself, I hope. I’ll just say that there is a surprise waiting outside. Please do not take the elevator after the cave but options 2 or 3. You won’t regret it. You will see the river responsible for the creation of The Skocjan Caves in its glory.    

A worthy ending of our Slovenian adventure, it was time to experience Croatia.

Motovun is the gem of Istria, Croatia. As described in a review from The New York Times – it looks like Tuscany 50 years ago.

It is surrounded by forests and vineyards. This small medieval town has a rich history dating back to the 14th century and you can see it everywhere you look. 

This is a place where a person can nurture his eyes, rest and enjoy delicious food and wines far from the tourism hotspots. There is one ingredient you will encounter the most here – the truffles.

We arrived 1 or 2 hours before sunset. We parked our car here, as advised from our landlord. Motovun is mostly a pedestrian town with some significant denivelation so it took us some time and sweаt to find our place.

 We settled down here : 

I totally recommend this spot. It had the most gorgeous balcony you could ask for. 

Afterwards we had a walk and chose this restaurant for dinner: Restoran Pod napun https://maps.app.goo.gl/ahdvFJJWoKeqx1GP9  – the food was okay, the wine – great, but the view…

We often ask ourselves – if we lived here would we still enjoy this view the way we do right now. My answer is – maybe we won’t notice it so vividly, but we won’t be able to live away from it for too long.

In the morning on the next day we had a blast with this amazing fog covering the whole area around the village. As it was slowly disappearing in the rays of the sunshine we walked through the narrow streets. In the daytime Motovun fills up with more tourists who come to see the village for a couple of hours or people riding their bikes or motors up the hill of Moovun.

We drank coffee at Cafe Bar Mure in the company of the friendly giant Veli Joze. Which turned out to be the main character of a book written in 1908 by Vladimir Nazor. The story takes place in the town of Motovun and is well known in Croatia. 

In addition, you definitely shouldn’t miss Mondo Konoba. Little restaurant with some pretty special food.

We decided to see Poreč. This is a seaside town on the Adriatic coast of the Istrian Peninsula. It is always a good idea to get closer to the sea. Despite that, Poreč appeared to me too chaotic and filled with too many tourists. I instantly felt nostalgic for the gorgeous small town of Motovun.

This day in which our main objective was to rest and enjoy our time finished with a lovely dinner once again in the company of great views and some cats at Bistro Bar Montona Gallery.

Before leaving the gorgeous Motovun don’t forget to buy some truffle paste, truffle oil, truffle cheese or you get the idea.

We stopped by to buy some truffle products from Miro Tartufi https://miro-tartufi.com/en/ . You can buy their products from Motovun but we went to the location on google maps which was outside the village. There was their house from where they usually organize truffle hunting. Nevertheless they invited us to taste their products and buy the ones we loved the most

In order to get from Motovun to Plitvice Lakes you will need at least 4 hours (for the driving and the lunch break). This day we managed to buy our tickets at 15:45h and entered the park in the last hour.

We decided to split our visit to the Plitvice Lakes into two days:

• The first day we entered the park at 16h from Entrance 1 – Rastovaca and saw half of the park. I would recommend the late hours because in the end there were really few people and we could enjoy the place at peace. 

• The second day we entered at 9h using Entrance 2 – Hladovina. I should admit it was very crowded. Nevertheless it was fun and interesting to observe the variety of tourists and nationalities that were in the park with us. There were some funny situations. We witnessed some memorable photo sessions. In addition, a man dropped his phone in the lake and decided to jump and take it. It turned out to be a very bad idea.

On one hand the Plitvice Lakes is a very beautiful park, well organized and a must see. On the other hand it is over publicized. Tourists from all over the world come to see it. So in some cases I felt as if we were all standing in front of Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting of Mona Lisa and not in front of a waterfall. In addition there is not much variety of food and coffee choices in the park. 

We slept in Rakovica. There was a lot of choice for places to stay. Most of the villages close to the lakes are very touristy. We didn’t get a very good impression from the place we stayed so I will not recommend it. Nevertheless, I am grateful it was well built since there was an earthquake around 5:50h in the morning. We jumped out from our bed as if it was on fire. 

Having been woken up this early I had the time to do some scrolling. It turns out that earthquakes are not rare in the Republic of Croatia. The earthquake we experienced was with magnitude 4.4 with epicenter 4 km from Rakovica. Lucky tourists, aren’t we?

After our second day walk in the Plitvice Lakes we headed to our last stop of the trip – Zagreb. Our Booking reservation was here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/KkoRhtdRHMy567fc7 

After arriving around 16h, Simo turned back the car.  We got some rest and then had a walk around the city. 

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Some cool places that you can check in Zagreb are:

• Museum of Broken Relationships
• Funicular Railway
• Lotrščak Tower – Ascending the wooden stairs of Lotrščak Tower you will see some art exhibits on the down floors. The top of the tower is a vantage point where you get a beautiful panoramic 360 – degree view of the city. The tower itself is pretty interesting. It was built in the 13th century as a city defense. As a tradition for the last 100 years a cannon has been fired from the tower every day at noon.

We ended our walk here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/fSxoJMaFrKSyJ9eeA 

The food was so balkan-licious. Pivnica Medvedgrad Ilica – what a worthy ending to our trip.