4 days in Ljubljana with @baileyturvey

I just spent 4 days exploring my 61st country, Slovenia, and it exceeded all my expectations – the country’s food, people and landscapes blew me away. We based ourselves in the capital of Ljubljana and spent our time exploring the capital, along with the country’s natural hotspots. If a trip to Slovenia has always been on your bucket list, then carry on reading this article, as I’m about to run you through our full itinerary. I know I’m biased, but I think we nailed it if you want to see Slovenia in a short time frame.

Day 1 – travel and my taxi mistake…

Our first day was, of course, a travel day but luckily Ljubljana is only a two-hour flight from London, so this didn’t feel long at all. We flew from Gatwick, landed at 4.30 pm, and as soon as we headed outside the airport, we were hit with the most insane backdrop of the Slovenian mountains and hills.

Right, here’s a warning and top tip for you… Don’t be lazy and get a taxi from the airport to the centre – get the local bus! Our original intention was to get the bus into the city but there was a 35-minute wait for this (really not that long, is it?) so we decided to hop in a taxi outside instead. We asked for a price and the taxi driver just said it was metered, which is usually a good sign – spoiler alert, this was not the case. The drive from the airport to the centre is around 25 minutes and it cost us €76. Especially after seeing how affordable Slovenia is as a tourist, this was extortionate. The bus costs less than €8 per person, so don’t make this mistake if you’re happy taking public transport. Anyway, we made it into the city and checked into our hotel which was the Ibis Styles Ljubljana Centre. The hotel was in the heart of the city, perfect for exploring, so we quickly dropped our bags off and went for a wander.

When I arrive in a city, I always like to just randomly wander around and explore without a set plan, so that’s exactly what we did. We stumbled across a few markets, a volleyball competition, and live street music before heading to Veganika for some food. As two people who don’t eat meat, we researched this in advance as we wanted to try traditional Slovenian food, which typically is meat-based, but Veganika did great alternatives to this. If this isn’t for you, there are plenty of other cosy restaurants nearby. We finished off the evening with another stroll before heading back to the hotel, as we had a big day ahead of us tomorrow.

Day 2 – Soca Valley daytrip

Today, we were up bright and early to go on a daytrip to Soca Valley we booked through First Choice Experiences. It was a 7am start because Soca Valley is one of the more remote places in Slovenia, edging towards the Italian border near the Dolomites. We had to get a minibus, a train and then hop back onto a minibus to get there. But the scenes throughout the Soca Valley were absolutely incredible. The day consisted of driving up to some spectacular nature spots, including waterfalls, lakes and mountain viewpoints. The best part of the day was that there were next to no tourists and the landscapes seemed very much untouched.

After around eight hours in the Soca Valley, we headed back to Ljubljana in perfect time to watch the football! We found the most lively place to watch the game on a pop-up, outdoor cinema screen, right in the centre of the city. I was worried we wouldn’t be able to find a spot, but football seems to be a big thing out in Slovenia, so pretty much every restaurant, café or bar along the river was showing it. By the time the football finished, it was around 10 pm, so we grabbed some market food and a beer for dinner and called it a night. 

Day 3 – Ljubljana sightseeing

Day three was probably our most relaxed day after a pretty busy start to the trip. We decided to keep it local and explore Ljubljana’s sites. Ljubljana is relatively small, so we took our time and stopped for coffee and a few drinks pretty regularly. Some places I’d recommend visiting are Ljubljana Castle on the hilltop, Dragon Bridge and Tivoli Park. We spent the evening going for a run around Tivoli Park before heading for a wood-fired pizza for dinner at Pizzeria Foculus – a super wholesome day. 

Day 4 – Lake Bled

On our final day, we decided to head to the iconic Lake Bled. A top tip is to get the local bus from Ljubljana Bus Station instead of booking a shuttle. Our ticket cost us €5.70 (£4.80 approx.) and it took us one hour, whereas a shuttle bus ticket can cost upwards of €30! We arrived at Lake Bled and got breakfast, as we’d skipped this in Ljubljana to get ahead. We stopped at Art Café, which is just a couple minutes’ walk from the bus station. We spent most of the day just enjoying the lake, walking around, stopping at different viewpoints and swimming spots. I expected Lake Bled to be super touristy, but it surprisingly had a very relaxing and chilled vibe. Lake Bled has always been on my bucket list and it definitely lived up to my expectations – it was stunning. We finished off the day by doing a Toboggan run with a view overlooking the lake. This was so fun, a lot faster than I thought but I’d definitely recommend doing it. It was at Straza Bled and cost €12 (£10 approx.)

Luckily, we had an evening flight, which gave us a full day before we had to set off for the airport. We got a shuttle bus straight to Ljubljana Airport at 6pm – it only took 35 minutes and cost us €18 (£15 approx.). Our flight was at 9pm, so we had a few hours to spare at the airport, which is tiny, so we just spent the time editing photos and grabbing some food. 

Slovenia exceeded all my expectations and has now become one of my favourite countries in Europe. The landscapes were out of this world, and I love visiting a place that’s better in real life than the pictures. If you’re thinking of adding Slovenia to your bucket list, I couldn’t recommend it enough! 

If @baileyturvey’s trip sounds like a bit of you, have a look at our Slovenia holidays and you can find all his picks on our Insiders Hub. 
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