Having come back from an amazing holiday in Slovenia, we decided to write an article about our trip to help those who are thinking of taking their iSUP’s on holiday with them.
Booking with Easy Jet from Gatwick to Ljubljana in Slovenia. We paid for 2 hold bags at a max of 23kgs. This meant we could take our rolled up iSUP’s with space and weight for all the other extras needed for a good holiday – beach towels, snorkels and masks, sponge bag, etc. We just had to pack our lightweight summer clothes into our hand luggage and we were ready to go.
Don’t forget to pack the travel scales for the careful pack for the return trip!!
The flight to Ljubljana was a quick 2hr hop, however due to the lateness of the flight – landing at 7.30 local time we weren’t able use the local bus service, so booked a taxi pick up, which only cost 30 euros, however if we had landed during the day the bus service is a cheap and easy way of getting to the city centre.
We stayed in a centrally located Eco – Park Hotel which was within walking distance of the town centre and bus station. Time for a recce and beer.
We had seen that you could paddle down the river in the centre of town, so first we found our nearest launch point before finding a beer. We used street view on google maps to give us an idea before we arrived.
Turns out Ljubljana does a fine selection of craft beers, ho hum we’ll have to try them all!!!
Day 1
Time for a wonder, explore and culture lesson. We spent the day walking around the amazing cultural town centre, there is so much history here. With this only being the second time Slovenia has been independent in its entire history, the influences of the different cultures have left the town with an eclectic mix of building styles and designs.
Up at the castle, we took the audio tour, and were amazed with all the history and museum displays to see and hear. The view from the top of the tower wasn’t bad either.
After walking over 11kms it was time for a late lunch. We’d walked past an amazing looking steak place, so it was just a case of re-finding it!!
The restaurant was called SOBARA, and if you like cow, this is the place for you. The food was amazing, the staff attentive and the wine delicious. Jamie ordered the 16oz steak, it looked like half a cow on the plate. It was stunning.
Day 2
LAKE BLED – the whole reason for coming to Slovenia.
Taking the 9:30 bus out of town it was a 45-minute ride to Lake Bled. The paddle boards were safely stored in the bus bag locker for the journey. A short walk down the road from the bus stop and we were on the shores of the beautiful Lake Bled.
Our traveling bears couldn’t wait to go out paddling!
LAKE BLED is a stunning freshwater lake surrounded by beautiful mountains. No motorized vessels are allowed on the lake, so it couldn’t be a better place to go paddle boarding. The castle on the shore and the church on the island in the middle of the lake certainly help to make it an amazingly picturesque place to paddle.
Whether you take a picnic with you, or choose to beach your boards for a coffee, ice-cream or beer, there are plenty of places to find a quite spot and enjoy the beautiful surroundings.
Tradition dictates that if you walk all the way up the steps to the church in the middle of the lake, you can ring the tower bell. Let’s just say the bell was ringing all day, so there can’t be that many steps to negotiate!!
The lake is fresh water and a lovely temperature – even in June when we went. So, a swim in the cool waters with all the fishes, just had to be done.
When it was time to head back, we just paddled back to our launch site, deflated the boards, packed everything back up into our wheelie bags (which we had rolled up and put under the cargo bungies at the back of the board), and walked back to the bus stop. Buses run every hour, so if you’re early, there is a very convenient kiosk that sells ice-cream!!!
Back in Ljubljana there was an international kayak and canoe slalom competition going on between two of the bridges in the town, it was drawing quite a crowd, so we stopped to watch the pro’s do their ‘thing’ until it was time to break off for some dinner.
Strolling along the beautiful streets, we stumbled on a fantastic wine and tapas place Dvorni Bar. The wine menu was 20 pages thick!! Negotiating our way around the wine list, we sampled a number of local wines, including one of their orange wines (made with white wine, in the same way that Rose is made from red wine!!) The tapas selection was comprehensive too, so we had a very enjoyable dinner.
Day 3
Cycle city tour followed by food and wine tour.
Booking on-line with one of the tour operators the day before, we met up with our guide for our 4hr bike tour. There were 2 other couples from Germany, – who spoke very good English – so he had a nice number in the group. It was the hottest day so far at 37 degrees, so staying cool involved cycling either fast to make air con or under the trees for shade!!
We were given heavy city bikes to ride, which I will admit I found hard to get going on, especially when sometimes we were stopping every 5 minutes to hear the next ‘installment’ from our guide!
Once we were out of the city centre and into the suburbs and parks, it was a lot cooler. There were plenty of places to top up on our water bottles, so we stayed sufficiently hydrated. The tour was very good, with lots of local knowledge and tips to explore other areas another time.
After a light lunch we were then booked on a food and wine tour. This was hosted by a really friendly local lass, who guided us around the local restaurants, cafes and wine shops. Giving us a history and knowledge of the regional food and wine. The culmination of the tour ended at the top of their ‘skyscraper’ all 32 floors up!! Cake, beer and a fantastic place to see the sunsetting.
Day 4
Time to explore the local river by Sup.
We trundled our board bags the 100yds to the river entry point, and much to the bewilderment of a group kindergarten kids, we set up our kit on the pontoon, pumped up the boards, stowed our bags and pump onto the backs of our boards and we were ready to play.
Paddling along the river under all the amazing bridges and next to the stunning buildings, was an amazing way to see the town from another perspective – as well as away from the crowds. We were getting plenty of pictures taken off us. SUP’ing is popular there, but most of the people doing it are beginners, we must have looked like we knew what we were doing!!
So, up the river we went, passed the last of the town buildings and out into the countryside. One piece of advice SMOTHER YOURSELF IN MOZI REPELLANT!!!! The horse flies are bastards the further up the river you go!
It was very quiet and peaceful; we were even able to watch a young otter feeding between the tree routes flowing down into the river. A perfect spot to stop and enjoy the landscape with a cold beer.
When the horse flies drove us away from the countryside, we headed back towards town to find a nice area to have our picnic lunch.
Tartan ted is a total beer monster!!
Day 5
Back on the bus to Bled, but this time with the idea to hire bikes and explore the surrounding area.
Bike hire options were very varied, you can hire anything from standard bikes, to mountain bikes, to road bikes and even e-bikes. And it doesn’t cost the earth either. They give you a good map and plenty of tips and ideas of places to explore.
So, off we went. Within 10 minutes we were in the beautiful rolling hills – it was real ‘Heidi’ country!!
Up into the hills we went, winding our way through the beautiful villages and countryside. Some of the hills were a bit cheeky, but the descents were great fun!!
We eventually made it to Vintgar Gorge. A fantastic natural water feature. The river meanders down through the limescale rocks, creating a cooling walk down to the waterfall at the bottom of the valley.
There were plenty of places to securely lock our bikes up, so we could then take a walk along the boardwalk to enjoy the amazing spectacle of how water can create such amazing places.
It was a good walk back up the gorge to retrieve our bikes and then pretty much a downhill ride all the way back to Bled and the bus back to Ljubljana.
After a quick shower we headed back out into town and after a good dinner we returned to the wine and tapas place we had visited a few nights before, now with our increased local knowledge of the local wines, the 20 page wine list made more sense!!
Day 6
So, on the bus to Bled again, this time to scare ourselves silly!!
We booked onto the zip wire experience the day before, so when we arrived at their office, our harness, helmets and water bottles were all ready to go. There had been a cancellation, so we had a nice small group with 2 others plus 4 instructors!!!
Jumping into their minibus, we headed up the first practice zip line, just a 10-minute drive away. After an excellent safety briefing and assistance into our complicated waist and chest harness’s, we were ready to ‘learn the ropes’ on the short practice line.
After we had all run through the practice line, it was time to walk down to the first of 7 zip lines. As we walked to the first platform, the instructors suddenly seemed to be very interesting, anything but turn around and look at the view across the valley!!
Clipped on, hands up on the wire pulley block, the only thing left to do was lift my feet and goooooooooooooooooo!
Wow it was amazing, you don’t feel unsafe at all, zipping across the width of the valley with the river below was just amazing. 3/4hrs of the way across the instructor on the other side signalled to start slowing down – they don’t give you big thick gloves for nothing!! Safely stopping on the platform, you are unclipped from the wire and step down back into the woods. A short walk up the wood lined track and we were off to the next wire. 1 down, 6 to go. Hee heeeee!!
After our initial trepidation, it became the most amazing experience, as we ‘zig-zagged’ our way across the valley, from one zip wire to the next, with a nice walk through the woods too. We discovered that if you ‘cannon ball’ i.e. tuck yourself into a ball you go the fastest. Well that was it, Garmin watches were set (cycling app seemed the best) – not sure why Garmin hadn’t installed a zipwire speed tracker!!!
Top speed 59.7km/hr. Apparently, this was faster than even the instructors had logged!!!!
After being picked back up in their minibus to take us back to Bled, it was time for a well-earned beer and lunch. A quick stroll down to the lake shore, it wasn’t going to be hard to find a place with a good view.
After lunch it was time for a swim in the gorgeous lake and a stroll along the lake shore.
Time was getting on and it was time to get the bus back to get the bus back to Ljubljana to repack all our gear into our board bags.
Turns out the space from the hotel door to the bed was 12’6”, so we could lay the boards out, totally dry them out and roll them tight, tucking the pump inside one of them and flippers into the other. With our 3- piece carbon paddles strapped into the back of the bags; n_ it was just a case of fitting everything back in and weighing it all. Whatever didn’t fit or was too heavy went into our hand luggage bags.
Last night in Ljubljana so we strolled back down into town to savoir the atmosphere, try another one of the local beers and have just one more amazing coffee ice-cream!!
NO, it’s not Welsh, it’s one of their local beers that commemorates the famous dragon bridge in the town. There are dragon’s everywhere!!
Last day – boooooooo
Leaving our kit bags in the hotel secure room, we were able to stroll around the town taking in the scenery that we whizzed by on our bike tour and up into the park. We found a lovely café where we could sit in the shade and enjoy the views of the town, while enjoying a good coffee. Everywhere you go the coffee is amazing, even at the smallest places they have professional coffee machines.
Winding back down we came across the café we had stopped at on the cycle tour, this is in a beautiful part of the park next to a huge lily pond.
As it was Monday morning, and everyone else would be at work, we thought we’d better have one more local beer with a cheeky slice of cake!!
Back at the hotel, we ordered a taxi to the airport. Walking to the bus stop with all our kit in 30 deg’s was too much like hard work!!
Our flight was due to leave at 20:25, but unfortunately due to delays from French air traffic control and thunder storms over Europe , we were delayed for a few hours, resulting in a late drive back from the airport and finally home by 2am Tuesday morning!!
It was a fantastic holiday, we will be back, staying in Bled this time. There is another lake to explore ( Lake Bohinj) which will be accessible from our base in Bled easier than if staying in Ljubljana.
It was easy to get there with several direct flights from Gatwick. Traveling with iSUP’s is easy, just don’t buy too many souvenirs otherwise your luggage will tip the scales!!
The place was amazing, the people very friendly and welcoming, the food was yummy, the beer and wine choices were endless and the coffee ice creams were to die for!!