Motorhome travel: Discover Slovenia

Words by Helen Werin 

Photos by Robin Weaver

Bled, in particular, was always going to have a lot to live up to. The tourist bumph heralds it as the symbol of Slovenia’s beauty and the jewel of the country’s tourism. We’d booked a pitch for Roly, our motorhome, at Camping Bled at the western end of the lake. First impressions? Lake Bled really is that incredible azure shade. It’s even better from the prow of the Anja, one of the traditional Pletna boats, the likes of which have been taking visitors to the island for centuries.

We spot the imposing villa where Tito, the former president of Yugoslavia, used to holiday; it’s now a hotel. It only takes five minutes to walk around the island, but what an impact Lake Bled is making on us. That night, Sophie and Robin scramble up Ojstrica in the dark to see the lights of Bled twinkling on the water whilst I walk the lakeside path.

It’s over 40°C when we walk the two miles to the eleventh century Bled Castle, plodding up lots of shallow steps as it’s set on a 130m (426ft) high cliff above the lake. We make a beeline for the museum of this circular fortress – partly rebuilt following earthquakes in the early sixteenth and late seventeenth century – as it’s blissfully cool inside. It’s also fascinating, with beautiful gold applique among ancient artefacts from archaeological digs. Venturing into the heat again, we look over the lake to densely wooded hills and the craggy crests of the Julian Alps beyond. S

Our cable car up Mount Vogel, in the Triglav National Park, takes only just over four minutes, but it’s such a thrill to glide above the southwestern side of Lake Bohinj. It’s especially spine-tingling to step out at the top onto a metal grid over 1,535m (5,036ft) above sea level with panoramic views of Komna and the Triglav mountains. On a clearer day, we’d be able to see all the way to the Kamnik and Savinja Alps. 

Our intention is to follow some of the walks on top of Vogel, but we can see ominous-looking clouds rolling our way – and the cable car does not operate in storms. Back on the lake shore, some young German tent campers offer us refuge under their awning from the torrential rain and thunder. They extol about their hiking and fishing trips in the Soca Valley where we’re headed next. Sophie spots signs for the famous Savica Fall, so we drive 3km (1¾ miles) further on through dense woods. 

As the rain eases, we climb up lots of steps through pine woods above the Savica gorge to a wooden lookout. The 78m (256ft) high fall is mightily impressive; it bursts out of the cliff, fed by underground channels leading from the Seven Triglav Lakes Valley. What grabs our attention even more is the mist rising and swirling above the trees giving an exotic, rainforest-like effect.

Walking through the Vintgar Gorge, a couple of miles from Bled, is yet another memorable moment. The 250m (820ft) deep gorge carves its way through the Hom and Boršt hills. Its vertical sides are already dripping as we wend along boardwalks and over wooden bridges above the raging Radovna with waterfalls, pools and rapids. Water pelts us from every direction as another downpour begins. 

Slovenia’s famously ‘green’ capital, Ljubljana, is about a 75-minute bus journey from Bled. Our impressions are of a compact city, its centre buzzing with street life and entertainers and with a very friendly, relaxing atmosphere. Shopkeepers smile and say ‘hello’ without trying to draw us in. Cafés spill out on to traffic-free thoroughfares and alongside the Ljubljanica river, on which tour boats glide under the many bridges. I

Our climb up to Ljubljana Castle, perched on a 375m (1,230ft) high hill, is via steep steps (though there is an alternative easy, winding path). It’s a real ‘mish-mash’ of a building, a lot of it having been rebuilt following the sixteenth century earthquake. Our explorations take us via the open-air market (Tržnica na Prostem) and into Pogacarjev trg, where stalls are heaped with honey, cheeses, strawberries and other berries.

That night is chilly but, as we leave next day for the Soca Valley, Bled is warming up quickly with people swimming and sunbathing on the beach area by the site. We’ve been recommended to drive via the famously spectacular Vrsic Pass through the Julian Alps, but somehow miss the turning after stopping for lunch at Kranjska Gora, surrounded by ski runs and lifts. To our surprise, we end up in Italy. Our detour to Kobarid is stunning, with views over lovely Lago del Predil at Tarvisio (Italy) and leading us up steep hairpin bends through the towering mountains.

At Kamp Koren the owner, Lydia, enthuses about all the scenic walks from the site and activities available locally: paragliding, parachuting, rafting, guided mountain walks, canoeing and canyoning. We follow the River Soca towards the Kozjak Fall (Slap Kozjak). It’s supposed to be a 20-minute walk, but takes us far longer. We relish strolling through the woods trailing the gorgeous river as it rushes through the canyon down first one cascade and then another. We spend ages on the wobbly wooden footbridge spanning the ravine, totally in agreement with the Soca’s claim to also being Europe’s most beautiful river.