Trip Report: Slovenia
Visited in August 2014
In the summer of 2014, I visited Slovenia on my way to Croatia. More precisely, I flew from Switzerland to the Slovenian capital Ljubljana, spent one night there, and then traveled south the following day. On my way home, I spent another day in Ljubljana.
I don’t have many memories of this visit to Slovenia. I remember a boozy first evening in Ljubljana and how we visited the capital’s castle at the end of our trip. Besides, I remember the cafes on the riverbank and that Slovenia was quite cheap in 2014.
I still have two or three poor-quality photos from this short stay. But somehow I was dissatisfied with this visit. Not that it was too short to even count. I just felt that I hadn’t really done Slovenia justice with these two nights in Ljubljana (I didn’t see any of the rest of the country).
That’s why I went back in 2025. It was a long weekend with a national holiday on Monday, so it was a good chance to take a quick trip to Europe. I flew there on Saturday morning and my flight back was on Monday evening. So, I spent almost 2.5 days in Slovenia this time. Obviously still a very short time, but enough to see some of the country.
When I went to Slovenia in 2014, the country was still something of an insider tip in Europe. A lot has changed since then. You have to remember that in 2014, Tiktok didn’t exist yet, and Instagram wasn’t that old either (I think I only got a profile in 2015). In recent years, however, Slovenia has become an increasingly popular travel destination, thanks in part to social media.
I also noticed how much more expensive the country has become in the meantime. I quickly dug through my email archive and found the hotel booking from 2014. Back then, we paid €70 per night for an Airbnb. The same accommodation now cost more than double that.
In 2025, I found the accommodation quite expensive. In the city center, most hotels cost more than €300 for two nights. And in most cases, this was for a room measuring around 14m². Sometimes even without a window. For comparison, I looked at hotels in my hometown of Basel for the same period. For the same price, in many cases you could get at least a 4-star hotel. And that’s in Switzerland, ladies and gentlemen.
As a consequence, I booked one of these B&B hotels about a 10-minute walk from the center for €80 per night. A simple, clean, no-frills hotel. And the only one, apart from dorms in a hostel, that was available in this price range. I was surprised that the prices for the other hotels in Ljubljana increased that much.
Slovenia is a small, compact country. You can actually see quite a lot in 2.5 days. Ljubljana was on the agenda for Saturday afternoon. Although I had been there before, it had been a while and I didn’t remember every detail. It was a beautiful, sunny day, ideal for strolling around the city.
Ljubljana is a mixture of Central European charm and Mediterranean lightness. A city where pastel-colored facades, cobblestone streets, and Art Nouveau buildings line the river. Above it all towers a medieval castle on a hill, from which you can see red roofs, church towers, and the Alps in the distance.
The river, the Ljubljanica, is probably the most distinctive feature of Ljubljana. The water is emerald green and shapes the cityscape like nothing else except perhaps the castle. Unfortunately, the river is not really clean, otherwise I would not have been surprised to see hundreds or thousands of people bathing in it (as is the case at home in summer). Nevertheless, even with the pollution that is not visible at first glance, the river looks very beautiful.
On that Saturday, the city was also quite lively, as one would expect from a European capital. Both locals and a considerable number of tourists enjoyed the cafes, markets, and general hustle and bustle on the streets. It is certainly not the worst city to spend time in.
Apart from that, Ljubljana is a city whose sights can be seen in only a few hours. The city has just under 300,000 inhabitants and you can explore everything on foot.
Of course, I had to see the castle again. I usually don’t find castles that exciting, but since they are mostly located on hills, they offer a good view of the city and beyond.
Ultimately, on this second visit, Ljubljana was exactly as I remembered it. A cute little capital city with a beautiful city center, some interesting landmarks, and a cool vibe. A city that is well worth seeing.
Is one day in Ljubljana enough? For sightseeing, definitely. Otherwise, it depends on what else you want to do. One option is to stay in Ljubljana and do day trips. Or just stay in the city and relax without having a big itinerary. I ended up spending my third day in Ljubljana. The reason was that the weather on the last day was rather mediocre, so the planned trip into nature was no longer worthwhile that day.
As a result, everything that was planned for days two and three had to be done on the second day. My local friend and I first drove north to Lake Bled and then south to the coastal town of Piran. It was a very long day with many hours in the car, but it was filled with many highlights that Slovenia has to offer.
Lake Bled is probably Slovenia’s most touristy place. The lake is less than 45 minutes from Ljubljana, so it’s possible to visit as a day trip from the capital. Lake Bled is around 6 kilometers long, so you can easily walk around it in 1.5 hours – always with a view of the iconic island church in the middle.
Due to the very tight schedule, it was not possible to walk around the lake. Lake Bled offers some very good vantage points scattered around the lake, but most of them require a (short) hike. There wasn’t enough time for that either, but we had an alternative.
Perched on a rock above the water is Bled Castle, Slovenia’s oldest castle, which offers spectacular panoramic views. At €18, admission is not cheap, but I would say it is worth it if you are short on time and still want a good view.
The interior of the castle is also open to visitors. There is a museum and other attractions, but… once you’ve seen one castle in Europe, you’ve seen them all. Of course, that’s not entirely true, but I think you understand what I mean. If you have a full day in Bled, it might be worth a visit, but for me it was really just about the great view.
Despite its proximity to Ljubljana, I would plan a whole day for Lake Bled. That way, you can walk around the lake and hike to one or two of the viewpoints. If you don’t have that much time, for example only half a day, you can still get a good view from Bled Castle.
From Bled, we continued directly south, passing the outskirts of Ljubljana again. Our destination was the Slovenian seaside. On the way there, however, we made a stop at Predjama Castle, which is literally built into a rock.
We didn’t go inside the castle (I’ve already described what I think of the interiors of castles), but it was great for a quick photo stop. By the way, Postojna Cave, one of the largest caves in the world and also one of Slovenia’s main attractions, is located nearby.
We arrived in Piran in the late afternoon. Piran is a charming little coastal town that looks like a Mediterranean postcard. Narrow, winding streets meander through the old town, past Venetian-style house facades with red tiled roofs.
The central Tartini Square is surrounded by elegant buildings and opens onto the sea. Along the waterfront promenade, you can feel the salty breeze of the Adriatic Sea, while restaurants serve fresh fish, pasta with truffle (after all, this is the truffle region) and local wines.
Piran is quiet, atmospheric, and full of Mediterranean lifestyle, a hidden gem on the Slovenian Riviera. The town could just as well be in Croatia and is only a few kilometers from the border. For me, this town was the highlight of Slovenia.
It was a very long day with many hours in the car, estimated to be five. We arrived back in Ljubljana in the evening. Certainly an extreme program for one day, which I would not necessarily recommend. But like I said, it was due to the weather, and I managed to see many different attractions in Slovenia in one day.
The third day was a gray, cloudy day with no noteworthy activities. It marked the end of my second trip to Slovenia. Fortunately, I saw much more on this trip than I did the first time. So it was definitely worth it.
What conclusion can I draw about Slovenia? Slovenia is a charming country and definitely underrated. After all, the country offers all the positive characteristics of Europe: alpine landscapes, the sea, castles, good food, and beautiful towns and villages.
Of course, Slovenia has more to offer than what I saw. Funnily enough, all the highlights seem to be in the west of the country. I looked for interesting things in the east, but didn’t really find much. Not saying that there is nothing, it just seems that all the advertised attraction are in the west.
In summary, I can say that Slovenia is definitely worth a visit, whether it’s a short trip or a longer vacation. As someone from a country that is also home to the Alpsa country that is also home to part of the Alps, they may not be quite as interesting to me as they are to other tourists. Even though I mentioned earlier that prices are higher than they were in 2014, the country is still a cheaper alternative to Switzerland, with similar landscapes.
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