Slovenia? Where is Slovenia? Ranked 5th in Lonely Planet’s Top 10 Countries to visit in 2022, Slovenia is definitely one of Europe’s most underrated holiday with kids destination.
On the map Slovenia is to the right of Italy, just below Austria and right above Croatia. We love Slovenia as it is not as touristy as other European countries, making it a value for money destination. It has so much to offer families and as first-time visitors we felt completely safe the entire time.
Slovenia is a relatively easy country to explore. We based ourselves in its capital Ljubljana (try pronouncing it correctly!) and did daytrips from there to explore the surrounding smaller towns.
Here is Letsgobeartravel’s Slovenia holiday with kids: Best places to go…
Visit lake Bled
When people say Slovenia looks like something out of a children’s fairy tale, they must be talking about lake Bled. Just 40 minutes’ drive from Ljubljana, lake Bled is Slovenia’s most famous tourist destination.
Take your family on a boat ride across the lake and visit Slovenia’s most photographed church.
Our favourite activity in lake Bled was hiking up the Ojstrica viewpoint. It was a challenging 1 hour return hike. We call it challenging mainly because of the slippery uphill path with loose rocks and gravel. Views from the top though is certainly worth the effort!
After the hike to treat yourself with the famous lake bled cream cake at Vila Bled Hotel. Best photos of lake Bled are mostly taken from this hotel’s grounds.
If you still have time you can also visit Bled castle. During the warmer months kids will love swimming in the lake and riding the toboggan.
Admire lake Bohinj and go up Vogel ski resort
A short drive from Bled, is lake Bohinj – the largest lake in Slovenia. The best way to appreciate lake Bohinj is from above! Our boys loved the 4 minutes cable car journey up (970 metres) to the Vogel ski resort. There is a restaurant up here to enjoy the amazing views.
We visited in mid-April and snow was still in abundance.
Go deep down Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle
Postojna cave is our boys’ favourite place to visit in Slovenia. Postojna cave takes our vote as the most impressive cave in Europe. Behind the relatively unassuming entrance is an underground network of 12 caves! It is also the only cave in the world that features an electric train! Now you can see why our boys’ loved it so much.
The accessible cave area is about 6 km long, 4 km of which accessed by hopping on the train. The remaining 2 km is accessible on foot through a combination of walkways and steps. To visit the cave, you need to join a 1.5 hours guided tour. Postojna is huuuge, even that 1.5 hours tour flies quickly.
Predjama castle is only 15 minutes way from Postojna. This crazy looking cave castle was built on a 123-metre-high cliff. Predjama was home to the legendary “Slovenian Robin Hood” knight Erazem. For years Predjama was considered to be impregnable. Only after many years later, that knight Erazem was killed after an enemy’s cannon ball attacked the castle’s only one weak spot when he was inside: THE TOILET! Our son is convinced Erazem was doing a 💩 and tried to reenact what happened during our visit 🙄.
When visiting pre-book your tickets online as both places are very popular places to visit. Buying combination tickets for Postojna cave and Predjama castle is good value for money.
Soak up the sun in Piran
This small city along the Adriatic coast is like a mini version of Venice. The heartbeat of the city, Tartini square is where you can sit back, grab a long lunch and people watch.
Walk along the seaside promenade, get lost in the narrow streets, see the pastel coloured buildings and climb up the St George bell tower’s 146 steps for picture perfect 360 degrees view over Piran. Warning: the bells chime loudly every 15 minutes.
Relax in Ljubljana
Ljubljana is compact, laid back and easy to explore. All the major sights are within a short walk to each other. We highly recommend families to use Ljubljana as base when visiting Slovenia.
Booking.com– Walk around Ljubljana
Ljubljana is well known for its bridges. There are 17 in total! The most famous being the Triple bridge.
Our kids’ loved the Dragon bridge and watching buskers perform on the Cobblers bridge.
Hang out at Preseren square, grab a cake and admire Church of the Annunciation (that pink church everyone seems to take photos of).
– Eat Kranjska Klobasa (carniolan sausage) and other local food
This is the famous traditional Slovenian sausage. Texture wise, carniolan sausage is similar to Polish sausage.
We had one of the most memorable meals at Klobasarna, a famous take away joint in the old town.
We really enjoyed Slovenian food and restaurants such as Gostilna Sokol.
– Hit the markets
The open-air market is open daily. Here you can buy the freshest fruits and vegetables, as well as home made cheeses and cured meats. The indoor section mainly sells meats, fish and bread.
Once making your purchase double check the weight of your produce at the cute public control scale.
In the mornings there are a selection of cafes open along the river. We enjoyed our daily breakfast here.
– Ljubljana Castle
Built around 900 years ago, this medieval castle standing tall above the city. Take the 70 meter funicular ride from the old town to explore the castle and see the beautiful views of the city. It’s free to roam around the castle grounds.
For other places we have visited, checkout our website’s travel Destinations section. We buy our travel essentials online via Ebay
