Hi all.
Am contemplating a trip with the missus to Slovenia this summer, and am looking for good suggestions on where to find ideas for routes, accomodation info etc. All I've been able to unearth so far are guided package deals, which aren't really my bag.
Are there decent maps available of the biking areas (presumably the Julian Alps)?
Anyone been and recommend some good people to speak to when out there?
I've not been for a good few years now, but lake Bled is nice if you're taking the wife, absolutely stunning scenery, good riding out of the door, also boat hire/walking/beach (ish) good restaurants etc. Ljubijana is a nice place, but a bit like any city in europe, worth the climb to the castle though for the views. Hire a car while you're there as you can cover the whole country in a day, including alpine mountain top, inner city, black forest esque woodland and mediteranian type seaside. kranske Gorge is worth a journey if its still open (not for the feint hearted though!)
Union Pivo for the day, and Zlatarog for the evening!
(also, if you get the chance check out metalkorva for great free parties and loads of random rastafarians?) As for biking, no idea, and who to book with? No idea, I just showed up!
I went trekking in slovenia which was fantastic and I loved the country. From what I saw tho without a guide it will be hard to find good mountainbike trails
Cheers for the suggestions. We'll be taking our car with us for maximum flexibility. The kind of riding we'll be looking for will probably be multi-day trip stuff where you spend most of the time in the hills. Would Bled be the best place to head for as an initial base?
stevious we drove to Slovenia last September.
I know Maribor very well.
Mail in profile if you want to fire off a load of questions.
For instance do you know you need vignettes for the Austrian and Slovene motorways?
Cant help cycling wise but I stayed in Ljubiana about 6 years ago. Was a great weekend. At that time was not in the Euro and we were only paying about 50p a pint and £10 for a 3 course meal, although I have heard it is more expensive now
We stayed here http://www.austria-trend.at/Hotel-Ljubljana/en/ when it was called the Domina Grand Media. Was a great hotel for the price. Again that was 6 years ago, cant say what its like now.
Stevious - wild camping is banned in the julian alps and frowned upon elsewhere, the mountain huts that I saw are good but hard to get to by bike I would have thought. Its all very small as well - the julian alps are smaller than the lake district IIRC
peteimpreza - I don't even know what these vignettes *are*.
The trip is very much still in a 'that looks nice from the photos' stage so literally *any* advice is well received!
I have friends in Slovenia. If you want any specific info on going there (they're not bikers so can't help you), I can ask for advice.
Some more pictures for you then.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25846484@N04/sets/72157607416217082/show/
I loved the place and the trekking was fantastic but the whole mountain ethos was very different to what I was used to.
A vignette is a licence to use the m/way. You have to display them on your windscreen. Easily purchased from the service statins on the German Autobahn near the Austrian border. You need one for Austria and one for Slovenia.
In addition you will have to pat tolls for the tunnels in Austria.
It's a long way but 100% motorway from Calais to Maribor or Ljubjana. The French, Belgian and German m/ways are all toll free.
As I say drop me an email.
TJ - photos look great!
PI - Will definitely drop you an email in the not too distant future.
atlaz - will bear that in mind, but I think more biking-specific info would be more useful. Thanks for the offer though.
Been here; http://www.slovenia.info/?_ctg_kraji=2759
And here x2; http://www.slovenia.info/en/kolesarjenje/Cycling-in-Bohinj.htm?kolesarjenje=10&lng=2
Got local map with walks on it, hired a bike and set off with no real plan, just the way the wind blew!!!!
http://www.mtb.si/index.php?id=7&L=1&tx_ttnews [tt_news]=1841&tx_ttnews[backPid]=2&cHash=93df4b4bda
http://www.mtbslovenia.net/an/sloinfo.htm
Biking in these areas is pretty basic and untapped.
Was`nt impressed by Bled.
The French... m/ways are all toll free.
Tolls on the French Autoroutes except for a few short stretches (mostly around major cities).
"Tolls on the French Autoroutes except for a few short stretches (mostly around major cities)."
True, but the road from Calais to the Belgian border is free. That is the only bit of France you will probably travel through.
We did Soca valley last year, plus the MTB park near Prevalje (which I think featured in ST mag.). Just did B+B at both and programmed routes in to GPS.
For the Soca valley, we used the MTB Slowenien guide (in German only, unless they've translated it now), for which the GPS routes are available free on the website (but I needed to edit the waypoint names to make them unique to each route so they'd all go on the GPS simultaneously).
http://www.mtb-slowenien.de (stick it in google translate if need be)
Then the MTB Park @ Prevalje is...
http://www.mtbpark.com (we just stayed there B+B, and Dixi gave us some routes, and also sorted th underground biking for us).
Hopefully going back again this year, most likely to Bovec and Maribor.
Wow, cheers everyone!
Just come back from skiing in Kranska Gora and had a great time- there is a bike park that operates in the summer using the chair lifts- doesnt look massive but was are very tempted to go back as it looks like the scenery will be pretty spectacular in the summer
Our ski guid also suggested there was other bike routes in the nearby valleys as well.
There is some youtube video footage if you search for it to give an idea.