ITINERARY

DAY ONE: May 24

Pick up in Venice (either hotel or airport).  Drive towards Ljubljana. Arrive to your hotel in Ljubljana. Walk around and explore the shops in this picturesque town. Shops, food, wine, hilltop castle, museums, etc.  A wonderful city and beautiful place to start the trip. 

DAY TWO: May 25

After breakfast depart from LJ and drive towards Bovec.  You will have a stopover at Lake Bled for a few photo ops. From there you will head up and over the dramatic Vrsic pass en route to Bovec nestled in the Julian Alps.  Before getting into Bovec you will take a short hike to see the source of the Soca River.  The electric blue river literally comes straight out of a small cave.  From here you will go walk around some WWI bunkers before checking into your hotel in Bovec.  Settle in your hotel and explore town a bit before taking a short 30 min drive to have dinner at Hisa Franko – home to the #1 rated chef in the world.  Dinner reservation is set for 8pm.

DAY THREE: May 26

Take a nice hike along the Soca River trail.  You will pass through some of the most beautiful sections of the river, cross a few hanging bridges, and see a couple narrow gorges carved out by the water.  After lunch trade in your hiking shoes for a raft and paddle down a Class III stretch of the Soca river.  Afterwards you can take a tour of the WWI museum.  Settle back into Bovec for a shower and dinner.

DAY FOUR: May 27

After breakfast make the short drive to wine region of Slovenia.  Here you will take a short walking tour around the outside of an old stone village/castle in Stanjel.  Afterwards you will head to the wine cellar for wine tasting and lunch.  Your accommodation is close by and I just want to say that this is one of my favorite places to stay out of all my travels.  I don’t want to spoil anything so that’s all I will say.  Check in and relax.  Dinner will be a multicourse meal with wine pairing.  All food and wine is from the surrounding farms and the chef is world class.

DAY FIVE: May 28

You will want an early start as this is an action packed day.  You will have a beautiful drive all along the coast. Along the way you will stop and visit a seaside pirate fortress/castle that is very cool.  Once in Plitvice there are some amazing lakes and trails to explore here.  Spend a 2-4hrs walking around enjoying the scenery.  There are options to take a boat tour, bus tour to the upper lakes, and of course the best way which is on foot.  This park gets very crowded at times for good reason.  Its possible to have a nice relaxed lunch first and explore the park in the afternoon/evening.  Stay at a nice B&B nearby.

DAY SIX: May 29

After a relaxed breakfast you will drive around 2hrs to reach Krka National Park.  You can stop here for a walk to see the waterfalls or just keep driving another hour to reach Split.  Spend the evening walking around exploring this picturesque Croatian city. 

Options – You can choose to skip Krka national park to spend more time in Split however you will get to spend a lot of time in Hvar which have a similar feel.

DAY SEVEN: May 30

Once on the island there are many options.   I recommend staying 2 nights on Hvar to really get to see everything.  There is a winery on the island where the wine is stored under the sea in clay amphoras on a sunken ship wreck.  The sea provides the perfect temperature to store the wine.  I also recommend a boat tour to see the blue and green caves ($150) as well as a boat trip over to Hell Islands for a nice lunch or dinner on the sea front.

DAY EIGHT: May 31

Option to spend a full day in Hvar.  Activity options listed in D7.

DAY NINE: June 1

Today will be a big travel day but you will be rewarded with a hotel next to the water in the cute little town of Opatija.  You will have time to relax seaside in the afternoon and there is a great restaurant nearby that comes highly recommended.

DAY TEN: June 2

After breakfast you will head towards Venice.  Stop along the way at the world-famous Postojna Cave.  The southern area of Slovenia is known as a karstic region and home to many caves. The cave tour is part tram and part walking.  You will also visit the nearby Predjama castle which was built into the mouth of a cave.  Afterwards you will continue toward Venice.

PRICING & DETAILS

DATES
May 24th - June 2

PRICING

Shared room for couples: $2,995 per person (based on 6 people). $2,895 per person (based on 7 people).

Single room: $3,295 per person.

A deposit of $600 is required to hold your spot. Balances will be due by February 24th.

Please refer to the FAQs on our website for our cancellation & refund policy.

COST INCLUDES

  • Transportation (9 passenger van, fuel, tolls, ferry rides to/from Hvar)

  • Driver & Guide

  • Hotels - boutique hotels and B&B’s

  • All breakfasts

  • 1 dinner at Hisa Franko (Alcohol is not included)

  • Accommodation & food allowance for the driver/guide.

COST DOES NOT INCLUDE

  • Flight

  • Lunches & Dinners (The Hisa Franko dinner is included in the cost)

  • Alcohol

  • Extra activities/excursions

  • Travel insurance

  • Tips

Please note that travel insurance is strongly recommended. Although we hope you never need it, we've seen enough to know that it can be a lifesaver in the event of a medical emergency, flight delays that cause you to miss the start of the trip, lost baggage or cancellation on your part (broke your leg two weeks before departure? Insurance could cover the entire cost of your trip!).  


Gabe Steger
gabe@roguexpeditions.com