Programme 1

Day 1: LJUBLJANA AIRPORT - BLED - VINTGAR

Arrival at Ljubljana International Airport, transfer to BLED. Checking in to your hotel. Afternoon visit of Bled, its medieval castle, which stands firmly and proudly high on the cliff above the lake. You can try the unique experience of making a boat trip to the island in the middle of the lake where we can visit the wishing bell in the Gothic Church of Mary's Assumption located on the island. Time permitting we will drive to the NATIONAL PARK of TRIGLAV and have a walk through the VINTGAR GORGE, one of the most beautiful and spectacular gorges in our country. Dinner and overnight in the hotel.


Day 2: RADOVLJICA / SKOFJA LOKA - LJUBLJANA - POSTOJNA
After breakfast a morning visit to RADOVLJICA. Visit of the Apiculture Museum with its vast collection of painted frontal boards of beehives from the 18th and 19th century, which are a particularity of Slovene folk art. Instead of Radovljica we can take a short walk through another old town: SKOFJA LOKA. The appearance of its old town core is mainly from the early 16th century, the densely packed houses being partially enclosed by a wall. The town castle, which looks down over Skofja Loka from a grassy hill, houses one of the best ethnographical collections in Slovenia. After lunch we will visit the Slovene political and cultural centre LJUBLJANA. A walk through the old part of the town, which lies between the castle hill and the Ljubljanica river, where we can admire the Baroque and Secessionist period buildings, as well as the works of the great Slovene architect Jože Plecnik. In the afternoon continuation to POSTOJNA and the visit of the world most magnificent subterranean caves with the vastness of its halls and galleries in which trickling drops through the millennia formed a rich stalactite ornamentation of various forms. Check in to your hotel on the Slovene coast. Dinner and overnight.

Day 3: PIRAN - SECOVLJE - HRASTOVLJE - LIPICA

After breakfast the day will be dedicated to discovering the Slovene coastal area. A walk through the old part of PIRAN, and visit to the cathedral with its campanile which reminds us of the period of the long Venetian reign over this part of the country. Next stop will be at the Saltworks Museum in SECOVLJE. After lunch we will make a short stop for a visit to the Church of the Holy Trinity in HRASTOVLJE, built in 12th and 13th century. The church is renowned for its rich interior paintings and frescoes with biblical themes and scenes from medieval times, among which The Dance of Death fresco is the most famous. The last visit this afternoon will be dedicated to the famous Lippizaner horses in LIPICA. According to its more than 400 year old tradition the stables even today raise pure-bred Lippizaners for training and riding. Dinner tonight will be in the medieval castle SOCERB, situated on the top of the hill, from where you can admire a beautiful sunset across the Bay of Trieste. Return to the hotel. Overnight.

Day 4: SKOCJAN - LJUBLJANA AIRPORT

After breakfast we will visit the SKOCJAN CAVES, a world of stalactites and stalagmites, large subterranean halls and the wild river Reka. For its unique beauty it has entered on the list of the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1987. The visit will start in the village of Matavun, then we will descend through an artificial tunnel into the Silent Cave. Immediately after the tunnel appears the wonderfully sintered Paradise, followed by the Great Hall, Dead Lake, Hall of Pans and Big Valley, from where we'll take the route back to the village. After lunch, transfer to the airport for departure.