Walking in Slovenia

Whitney   -  Traveled, May 2025

I had done one trip previously – Amalfi coast hiking, fall 2023 – with EXPLORE. I was so impressed I asked my excellent guide, Pete, what else he would recommend knowing my abilities and interests. He immediately recommended the Slovenia trip, and it actually was on my list of places to visit. He had apparently set the trip up about seven years ago and was very familiar with it. I have been in 50 countries to date - some several times- and Slovenia is now in my top five and I am already planning my return for next May. We had a lovely small group, being the first of these hikes of the season, hailing from Canada, Spain, Australia, and the UK. The accommodation, staff, management, and food at Art Hotel Kristal were A+ – and I especially loved and took advantage of the options of the sauna and cold plunge, Ayurvedic massages with the wonderful Bhatri, chocolate tasting with the owner, Alenka, and a fantastic wine tasting with her son, Jan. I went home with a lovely assortment of chocolates and also a wonderful bottle of wine that I will try to hold onto for a few years until it is optimal to drink. The hikes were not difficult at all, but I found that I did feel like I got a good amount of exercise by the end of the day. I spent my free day doing a mountain bike ride. The whole area around Lake Bohinj is stunning and there are so many activities that one can partake in, as well as really yummy local restaurants close by the hotel. I loved that the hotel offered a pre-fixe three course menu for hotel guests for only €25 on the nights that were not included with the hike. An incredible bargain given the quality of the food, as with almost all of the food we had in Slovenia, it was locally sourced and delicious. I am not typically a meat eater, but I had the venison twice – locally sourced, and wild – and it was by far the best I have ever had. I would definitely stay at this hotel when I return to the area. I would strongly encourage others to spend some time in Ljubljana – either before or after the trip. A beautiful city a two hour bus ride awaythat is just the right size and full of so much to offer. Next time I am going to see a lot more of this country – it is half the size of Switzerland, but the variety of the terrain and ecosystems is quite impressive. Also, to be noted is that English is widely spoken and children start in grade 3, learning this second language. The Slovenians couldn’t have been nicer and more helpful everywhere I went. What can I say?? Get yourself to Slovenia before it is overrun: safe, clean, and green – a beautiful country of farmers, foragers, wine makers, and beekeepers. Also note that they have some fantastic fly fishing there as well as mountain and road biking – very cycling friendly. After all, it is the country of Pogacar.

Source: Tour operator   Submitted: 05/22/2025

Dom   -  Traveled, October 2024

The walking was excellent and the tour leader rearranged the schedule to better fit the weather forecast. Good decision(s) as that meant we got up to the high ground when the weather was best and did only a short walk when it was tipping it down! If you're going on this holiday take an umbrella! It's rarely windy but there's potential for rain everyday so with minimal wind an umbrella comes in useful when it rains! Trip came with 3 provided evening meals. All soup, choice 2 main courses (3 if count vegetarian option) plus dessert. So not great if you're picky about what kind food you like and veggies we're offered mushroom risotto twice...

Source: Tour operator   Submitted: 10/17/2024

Samantha   -  Traveled, October 2024

A great holiday in a beautiful place I’d never been to before. There were some challenges with the weather as heavy rain fell on several days, but careful management of the itinerary by Grega our leader meant that we did all the planned walks, albeit some were in waterproofs. The accommodation was not my favourite as our room had visible dust and cobwebs, some with resident spiders, but overall this was a great holiday. As ever the group of travellers is important and part of the experience, a great group. If you haven’t been to Slovenia get it on your wish list, you won’t regret it.

Source: Tour operator   Submitted: 10/12/2024

Margot   -  Traveled, October 2024

Great hikes, beautiful scenery, lovely hotel. Grega and Clara were outstanding guides, providing a lot of interesting historical, cultural, and geographical information as we walked. Lake Bohinj and the surrounding area are an excellent place to spend a week, and the Slovenian people are very friendly and welcoming.

Source: Tour operator   Submitted: 10/15/2024

Jenny   -  Traveled, October 2024

Very comfortable hotel with excellent food, especially breakfast buffet. Knowledgeable and personable guide who was able to adapt the itinerary depending on weather conditions. Great walking trails with varied features eg forest, lakeside, waterfalls and well planned breaks for a coffee, cake etc. Efficient travel arrangements. Locality beautiful with some shops and good restaurants for free evenings. Very enjoyable trip.

Source: Tour operator   Submitted: 10/15/2024

Anonymous   -  Traveled, October 2024

Very good tour. Walking was excellent. Couple of very wet days but that's just Slovenia. Guide was very good and shuffled the itinerary slightly to make the best of the weather. Hotel was great and food in hotel was just what needed. We were quite a large group (15) with some quick walkers and quite hard to keep together. Perhaps more could have been done to make sure stragglers were not left behind at times.

Source: Tour operator   Submitted: 10/15/2024

Anonymous   -  Traveled, May 2024

Varied walks from a well located base. Either walking from the door or from a few stops from our base on the local bus. Flight timings and rest day option enable 7 days walking. Hotel Kristina was excellent - single room much better than expected from info provided - and included food was the best, while it was good to have opportunity to eat out some nights. As ever, having a knowledgeable/ experienced leader made the trip - thank you Eduardo.

Source: Tour operator   Submitted: 06/10/2024

Anonymous   -  Traveled, May 2024

Kristal hotel is family run, with friendly attentive staff, good comfortable facilities and great food. It’s location is within walking distance to Bohinj Lake and it has views of Mt Triglav and other closer mountains. Getting around by public bus is easy and cheap so one can go to other places on the free day. Our guide was very good, informative and flexible with the itinerary so as to maximise our enjoyment of the walks according to the weather conditions. I felt he was a safe and highly competent mountain leader and included us in decision making regarding the itinerary. The Bohinj Valley is very scenic and the wild flower meadows were exceptionally beautiful at the end of May despite the rather unseasonably cool weather. I really liked the area and would recommend this trip to friends.

Source: Tour operator   Submitted: 06/06/2024

Tanya   -  Traveled, May 2024

I really enjoyed the trip. the hotel and tour guide were excellent, Slovenia is beautiful and the scenery and wildflowers were fantastic. The only negative I have is that the tour started late in the evening at the airport, and we had to wait for a late flight to arrive which meant we got to our hotel after midnight. It would be much better if the trip started earlier in the day.

Source: Tour operator   Submitted: 06/08/2024

Kathleen  -  Traveled, June 2024

Grego was a wonderful guide. He was experienced and very professional. He was attentive and caring.

Source: Tour operator   Submitted: 06/13/2024