The Lakes & Julian Alps

The thing I liked most was the variety in the walks with something different but interesting every day. I would recommend spending more time in the Srednja Vas to Stara Fuzina area on day 3 then cut short the walk as suggested as a possibility as the part that is missed can be covered on day 4. I am very pleased that I chose the Mostnica Gorge on day 4, this was a lovely walk and left plenty of time to spend at the lake in the afternoon.

This is the second holiday with Inntravel and everything was once again thoroughly enjoyable. Great choice of walks.

We loved the trip and strongly recommend it. Slovenia is a beautiful country and not yet overrun with tourists. Ljubljana is a very pretty small city. The Julian Alps are stunning. The lakes are gorgeous and the countryside is beautiful. And our walks were great.

Overall it was a fantastic holiday, with amazing scenery and excellent food and walks. We were lucky with good weather for all the walking days.

Very good drink/meal stop in Zasip, Gostilna Kurej, down hill from Shrine. Traditional local pear dessert available - Prga Struklji.

Really enjoyed the farmhouse cafe in Mlino, near Bled. Run by three generations of ladies in the same family. Saw the black kitchen in the farm house. We stopped for a drink while passing through and then returned for a drinks and their own “farm house platter“ of cured meats and cheeses on the second evening.

We arranged our own transport from Trieste airport, and extended our trip by one night before and after staying in/near Gorizia. We took the train from Nova Goricia to Jesenice, which offered some great views of the valleys and mountains.

Villa Bled was a great experience. The Angel [in Ljubljana] was excellent. Food and wine in Slovenia was a highlight. Walking was okay as well!

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combined our walk The Lakes & Julian Alps with our Ljubljana City add-on

Definitely allow two days to explore Ljubljana.

Avoid mid Summer especially Bled which was gridlocked apparently.

This was our first time visiting Slovenia and we found the country stunningly beautiful, and the people warm, friendly and helpful.

We enjoyed our hike tremendously. While we expected days 1 and 2 to be challenging, we were quite surprised to find that day 3 was actually the most challenging day for us. That was partly due to the fact that we were caught in a thunder storm and were delayed as we had to take shelter from lightning and only reached our next destination (Bohinj) just before dark. The asphalt roads and stony/rocky  paths to Srednja Vas was also tough and slow going. We found the last portion of the route from Ribno through Selo to Bled not very inspiring or scenic, made worse by it being a very hot, energy-sapping day. Having said that, it did not take away from our overall experience. Lake Bled was a sight for sore eyes and our spirits soared at its sight.

We found the walking notes detailed and very helpful. 

With regard to accomodation - Hotel Allegro, Hotel Miklic and Vila Bled were superb and the staff fantastic. All our transfers by Taxi Jager were seamless and our driver, Milan Stare, was always punctual, friendly and his service was excellent. 

We would recommend the trip and will certainly be travelling with you again!

I very much enjoyed this trip - Slovenia is beautiful. The walking was not difficult and the route notes very detailed and helpful. I particularly liked swimming in the lakes. Hotel Kotnik and Preseren were fine and quite comfortable, although service was occasionally rather lacking. However, Hotel Jezero was less satisfactory. There I had extremely limited mobile coverage in my room and the wifi hardly worked, and the reception were brusque and helpful about that, implying it was my problem. None of the hotels had kettles in the rooms which we understand is usual for Slovenia.

A tip for others is that the on the walk up to the Mostnica Gorge from Bohinj , not to expect to get free water refills. In both restaurants it said the tap water was not drinkable and you have to buy bottled water for a refill. Also the restaurant of Voje just before the waterfall was astonishingly expensive - but since there were no prices up, we had just assumed it would be the same as other places - and the food was not good. It felt like quite a con! 

Ljubljana is well worth a visit. We had a late flight back on the last day so spent it wandering round the city which was lovely.

The Julien Alps were breathtaking and the walks around Kranjska Gora utterly memorable. They were really well signed, good tracks and the reward of some great mountain huts. We got a real sense of the pride and enjoyment that the Slovenes take in their natural environment. Despite the awful Hotel Jezero, swimming in Lake Bohinj was a real highlight. The water was so clear and clean and the sense of people just enjoying life and the pleasures of their area was very strong. We had a memorable meal on a damp night in a pension in Stara Fuzina. With some enterprise they have an outdoor, but covered, eating area from where you look down onto the lake. So atmospheric with the low cloud and rising mist. We ate at a little bar in the sun overlooking the lake on our second night here and equally wonderful. Lake Bled touristy, but a day in Ljubljana well worth it. Best ice cream ever at Vigo there... try the mango and cardamon frozen yogurt.

It was really nice that most other walkers were Slovenians who also enjoyed their countryside, so that one did not feel like an invader. 

Slovenia is a beautiful country and it was good to have the three different areas to explore. The beauty of Lake Bled makes up for the crowds and if you do the gorge walk early in the morning, it's busy but tolerable and definitely worth seeing. Our favourite walk was up Mount Vogel from the top of the cable car in Lake Bohinj. Narrow paths with steep drops in places but the views are spectacular. [This was not an Inntravel route.] Lots of good, reasonably priced places to eat - except for at Lake Bohinj. We asked at the tourist office and caught the bus to Bohinja Bostrica where we had a good meal. A great holiday!

Overall, this was an absolutely superb holiday and we are already planning to return to Slovenia. Vila Bled was a particular highlight because the quality of accommodation was so high and our children loved swimming in, and rowing across, the lake. Ljubljana really impressed us as a city and we would recommend the ‘time machine‘ tour of the castle to any visitors - adults or children.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers enjoyed our Ljubljana City add-on following our Lakes & Julian Alps self-guided walking holiday.

We thoroughly enjoyed this holiday, with a variety of beautiful scenery and walking. We especially enjoyed the walks from Lake Bohinj and would recommend using the boat service up and down the lake. Vila Bled was a memorable finale, a wonderfully relaxing hotel and setting. The private lido was a treat and breakfast and evening meals on the terrace overlooking the lake were bliss. Lake Bled is ridiculously picturesque. Hotel Miklic was very pleasant with super staff. We also had very good meals at Restaurant-Hotel Lipa in Kranjska Gora and Restaurant Sova, Lake Bled. Also do look out for the historic farmhouse cafe Dornk in Mlino, not far from Vila Bled; home made cordials, cider, beers etc and an incredibly friendly owner. Be prepared for some spectacular thunderstorms!

Great holiday - good to add extra day in each location to partake in other activities as well as walking. Walking was hard due to 34 degree heat needed to get out early in the morning and then chill in afternoons. Villa Bled was the highlight and wish we had ate more in hotel than overpriced and overhyped Sova restaurant. Look out for refreshment on walk to Bled - can recommend the cider and farmers plate together with wonderful hospitality at Izletniska Kmetija

After a very frustrating day of missed transfers and cancelled flights to Slovenia we eventually got to our hotel in Kranjska Gora. The staff at Hotel Miklic were absolutely great, and they made us feel very welcome. We did a lovely short walk to a beautiful pool and then the river walk to a mountain hut which was great. It was so hot that we missed out the Russian Chapel as the climb up to it is quite long and steep. We had an exceptional evening meal at the Skipass Restaurant. The transfer walk to Hotel Jezero was disappointing. The initial downhill stretch is nearly all gravel road with little view and became very hot and tedious. Once we got to the valley floor the meadows were lovely but with tarmac roads underfoot most of the way, we were glad to get to our destination. The room we were given at the Jezero was right on the main road with a concert happening that evening right across the road under our window, which was anticipated to run in to the small hours (the staff said 10:30 but this was certainly not the view of the taxi driver!) We decided not to stay, not even unpacking, and Inntravel was fantastic in arranging for us to transfer to Vila Bled at Lake Bled 2 days earlier than planned, at a price but worth every penny! The staff at Vila Bled were wonderful and we had a fantastic four days chilling and hiking the Vintgar Gorge (bus but worth it), walking round the lake, and swimming/rowing to the island for the best ice cream in Slovenia. So all in all a great holiday despite a few hiccups along the way.

We loved the hikes in Kranska Gora. The scenery was pristine, it was very quiet with little other foot traffic, and the paths took you to varied and beautiful backgrounds. We highly recommend upgrading to Hotel Miklic for a superb customer service experience! Overall the trip exceeded our expectations. The mountain huts are a must stop, make sure to carry cash so you can enjoy a beer or a homemade dessert during your walk. The locals were friendly and everyone spoke english at a high level and were helpful. We loved our holiday and can't wait to travel with in Inntravel again! 

This was a lovely holiday with spectacular views. We especially enjoyed the walking around Kranjska Gora, and the opportunities for lake swimming at Bohinj and Bled. Bled was very busy; the other locations were much quieter and also less expensive for food and drink. For dinner in Kranjska Gora, we really liked the Martinu - Slovenian specialities, lots of choice, friendly service and great ambience. At Lake Bohinj, the restaurant 300 yards up the road that is mentioned in the notes was excellent. At Bled, for the recommended restaurant option in the notes, we could not get through by phone so we emailed them to try and make a reservation, but the reply said it was fully booked. We walked past this restaurant on our last morning in Bled and the menu did look very nice. So I suggest if you think you want to eat there, maybe call in on your way into Bled on the transfer day, as the route goes past the restaurant, and see if you do better making a booking in person.

Our first time in Slovenia. We found it to be a very beautiful and welcoming country with friendly people, good scenery and hearty food! We struck a nice balance between walking and sightseeing. Only downside was doing it all in 30+ degree July heat, beyond anyone's control. The Ski Pass restaurant in Kranjska Gora was well worth a visit for its fixed price menu, good wines and friendly professional service, but surprisingly underpopulated. Ljubljana city break well worth adding on: Angel Hotel excellent with all day availability of a room with drinks and fruit to retreat to from heat. Vida Gostilna restaurant just up street from hotel had good food plus young & very friendly service.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers enjoyed our Ljubljana City add-on following our Lakes and Julian Alps self-guided walking holiday.

We couldn't decide if we liked Option A or Option B on the first two days! Both were just wonderful. The slippery steep part you warned us about on Option A did give us some challenge and we were glad not to have to go back that way. As previously mentioned, the day three descent was the most challenging of the walk. Having a good map along with your notes allowed us to adjust our route a bit because of the heat. Thank you for providing both!

Our walking holiday with Inntravel in Slovenia has far exceeded all expectations. It is a walker's paradise, an absolute gem of a country offering wonderful mountain scenery and alpine valleys. The walking was strenuous in parts but worth all the effort. We chose to upgrade on hotels and were not disappointed. All excellent for different reasons but their locations absolutely stunning.

The holiday was well organised and accommodation was excellent in terms of location, quality and local knowledge. Walking notes were comprehensive and routes were well marked in Slovenia.

A superb holiday. Excellent hotels. The walking was tougher than expected due only to the extreme hot weather (30 degrees compared with the seasonal average of 20 degrees for June. Slovenia exceeded our expectations. The people were welcoming, friendly and helpful. We started the holiday with a day in Ljubljana. The city has a very relaxed feel about it. The old town has wonderful Art Noveau and Gothic buildings. We arrived on 7th, the first day of the free summer music festival, performed in Congress Square and featuring classical ballet, rock concerts and dance.

We loved Kranjska Gora. Our best meal was at the Milka Restaurant, a 15 minute walk from the hotel and overlooking Lake Jasna, though you may need to book in advance.

The walk to Lake Bohinj was the least spectacular of all, save for experiencing a huge thunderstorm as we reached Srednja Vas, where hailstones almost the size of golfballs fell from the sky. Our favourite walk on the holiday was the one to Mostnica Gorge, mainly due to the walk back through the Voje Valley. It also passes through the most scenic part of the path around Lake Bohinj, which enable you to take the opportunity to do the trip to Slap Savica by boat rather than the lake side path.

The Lake Bled resort is just as pretty but a lot busier. We ate twice at the restaurant Pension Mlino, a 5 minute walk down the road from Vila Bled. It has a great menu and superb friendly service for a decent price.

Been home for two days and missing Slovenia already.

The Julian Alps walk was wonderful, the scenery is breathtaking and the wildflowers in June were abundant and beautiful. Slovenia is so clean and the people are very friendly. 

The Austrian Alps walks were also delightful. So much beauty around the lakes. Snow capped mountains, cows and gorgeous clear lakes with beautiful greenery everywhere was just gorgeous.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combined our Lakes & Julian Alps week with the short break Austria's Lake District

Lovely country, lovely people, exceeded expectations.

The walking, wildflowers, beautiful mountain views and meadows, very comfortable accommodation and excellent food and service. It's a lovely region to visit. 

Once again Inntravel put together an excellent package for our walking holiday in Slovenia, as well as the extra nights in Ljubljana. Hard to single out any highlights as all very enjoyable in a very beautiful country.

We found Slovenia particularly beautiful and especially the wildflower meadows of the Alpine area. The walk up the Vintgar Gorge was also impressive. The cable car at Lake Bohinj was a waste of time and money, with very limited views from the top. It was possibly a good place to start another walk. The Slovenians we met were always helpful, polite and tolerant of our lack of language skills. Slovenia also has, from our point of view, an impressive network of segregated cycle paths, even in Ljubljana.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers booked our Ljubljana City add-on after The Lakes & Julian Alps walk

May-June is a perfect time for this itinerary since the wildflowers were at their peak and the mountains are still snow-covered - but you didn't need to walk through snow. 

We really enjoyed our lunch at the mountain restaurant, Koca v Krnici - on the 2nd listed walk our of Kranjska Gora; we highly recommend their Jota (bean, pickled turnip and sausage soup-stew) and apple Strudle.

Lake Bled is impossibly beautiful!  And it is well worth paying a little more to stay at Villa Bled - an unforgettable experience; perhaps the nicest hotel we have ever stayed in.  It served as Marshal Tito's country residence when president of Yugoslavia, has wonderful views, terrific food/service, terrace dining, an interesting Soviet-style mural in its conference room, and they provide free rowing boat for excursions to the island-with-the-church in the centre of the lake.

We had a 2-day extension to see Ljubljana - the Slovenian Capital and thoroughly recommend this.  It is a beautiful city, many interesting buildings and nice river-side walks, lots of relaxed dining and an incredible number of green spaces for extra hiking.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: David and Elizabeth did two holidays, our Across the Istrian Peninsula walk followed by the Lakes & Julian Alps walking holiday.

Slovenia is stunning.  The scenery is the equal of anywhere, the people welcoming, language not a problem, the food and wine of high quality and prices reasonable.  We had an extra day at Bled and doing it again would also take an extra day at Bohinj as in both places you need at least a day to play tourist.  For instance the cable car to Vogel and a trip on Lake Bled are essential.  We also loved our stay in Ljubljana, a city with a beautiful feel to it and great restaurants.  We had wonderful weather in the first half of June (almost too hot at times) with the odd afternoon thunderstorm of no consequence.  Ate well twice at the Lipa Restaurant in Kranjska Gora and good meals at Spica (near Vila Preseren) and the Park Hotel (for the kremna rezina).

Glad we did the Istrian walk before Slovenia as it would have been a let down the other way around.  The walking was pleasant and enjoyable rather than spectacular, and we had 3 days of rain which can't but influence the experience.  The wine tasting on day 3 was one of the best we have done and we didn't need lunch afterwards.  Wonderful meal at Konobo Mondo in Motovun with knowledgable and friendly service.

As usual with Inntravel all the arrangements were just as described.  We will be back for more.

Highlight was the first walk from Kranjska Gora on a beautiful day in the mountains. We were very glad we had added an extra night at each hotel to give us opportunity to get to know the areas better and rest our legs! This was our first Inntravel holiday and when we moved to our second hotel we were dropped by our taxi driver at the end of a dead end road high on a mountain - we felt strangely abandoned but relied on your directions and the map and happily found our next hotel without getting lost. Definitely booking again for next year we enjoyed it so much.

The highlight was to see the sun when the walks were over and we got to Ljubljana!  It was 4 degrees C with snow every where when we arrived in Kranjska Gora, but it did warm up a bit although it remained dull and sometime wet.  But we had a lovely time and the walks and scenery were spectacular.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers enjoyed our Lakes and Julian Alps walking holiday followed by our Ljubljana City add-on.

The holiday exceeded our expectations...using the worry-free walking notes and maps together with the reliable taxi transfers and baggage service, provided us with a stress free walking holiday allowing us to enjoy the stunning countryside. With alpine snow-covered peaks, forests, high meadows dotted with chalets and farms, deep gorges with fast flowing green waters, friendly people, litter-free countryside, fantastic Slovenian food, wines and beers!!...what more could you want! Walking at its best!!

Tips:

As we arrived fairly late in the evening at our first hotel, at this time of year many restaurants are either closed or close early! It was difficult to find somewhere to eat....take some snacks for the first night maybe. Apartment House Rozle has cooking facilities which we hadn't appreciated that we could have used. Don't worry too much about cash, cards are used everywhere including the high mountain huts.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: Mr Robertson did both our Lakes & Julian Alps holiday with an add-on in Ljubljana, then our Piedmont's Hills & Vineyards followed by a stay in Turin.

The beauty of the walk in Slovenia. The friendliness  and helpfulness of the hoteliers with special mention of Apartment Rozle. 

Enjoyed the Piedmont area of Italy. Take care if there has been rain - the heavy clay soils of the vineyards stick to footwear and slopes up or down become very slippery. Walking along country roads to get to destinations is not so bad in those conditions!

Slovenia was a revelation to us: scenic, unspoilt , tranquil, wonderful walking. Reminded us of Switzerland but much cheaper! It was October so the trails were quiet, although it did mean that most of the cafes/restaurants en route were closed.

The Mostnica gorge I feel is one not to miss particularly with the locals out with families on Sunday! It was never overcrowded and the delightful cafe / restaurant at the top looking down across the meadow.
Generally I found Bohinj so much more beautiful than Bled.
Certainly the Sova restaurant was the eating highlight of the trip.

Good walk but we found it a bit easy and added extra one from maps. Hotels are very well described by Inntravel. 

We loved your restaurant suggestions. We ate at Taverna Otto in Dubrovnik, Knoba Mondo in Motovun, Najade and Bellevista in Lovran, Pri Martinu in Kranjska Gora, and enjoyed all of them. In Trogir, we had a nice meal at Restaurant Calebotta (Gradska 23), and in Ljubljana, Restavracija Spajza (Gornji Trg 28). We would recommend both of these also.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combined our walks Across the Istrian Peninsula (Croatia) and The Lakes & Julian Alps (Slovenia) with add-ons in Trogir and Ljubljana