Lake Bled & the Mountains of Slovenia

We journey from London to Paris by Eurostar and continue by TGV to Munich where we check in at our overnight hotel.

We continue our rail journey which follows a stunning route through the Austrian Alps and across the border into Slovenia. We are transferred by coach to our hotel on Lake Bled for our four-night stay.

Enjoy a day at leisure in the peaceful and beautiful resort of Lake Bled. A walk around the lake is highly recommended. At 6 kilometres it can take a couple of hours, but there’s definitely no rush with plenty of places to stop and take in the scenery, or even take a dip in the emerald water. For a small fee you can also take a traditional wooden pletna boat (there are no noisy motorboats on Lake Bled) to visit the Church of Maria, which rises from a tiny islet in the middle of the lake, or you can hire your own rowing boat for a more personal experience.

With its hilltop castle and riverside location, Ljubljana is a wonderful place to visit, so we have set aside a full day for you to enjoy here. Its compact size makes it easy to explore and there are treasures at every turn, including Dragon Bridge, the Franciscan church, the triple bridge, and the funicular railway leading to the castle. Be sure to witness every highlight that this beautiful city has to offer by taking advantage of our included city tour.

Today we venture into the Julian Alps on our included coach excursion. The route takes us into the heart of the mountains of Slovenia’s only national park – Triglav, crossing the highest mountain pass of Vršicˇ and passing through the beautiful Socˇa river valley. We make a stop at the small town of Bovec, which is surrounded by magnificent scenery, before coasting down the Predil mountain pass and crossing the border into Italy, where we spend some time on the shore of the small but spectacular Lake Predil.

We leave our lakeside paradise and take a scenic journey by coach to the Slovenian coastal resort of Portorož (Port of Roses).  During our journey we visit the Karst cave at Postojna, which is one of the largest in the world, with more than five kilometres of breathtaking underground halls and natural tunnels that can be explored on foot, where you will see stalagmite and stalactite formations that are unequalled anywhere. We continue to our hotel in Portorož, our base for the next three nights.

Relax and enjoy a full day in resort.  Situated on the Slovenian coastline, Portorož is the ideal place to relax; you can take a dip in the Adriatic Sea, walk along the beach or take a seat at one of its many cafes and simply watch the world go by.  If you would like to explore further, just a short distance away you will find picturesque Piran, sitting pretty at the tip of a narrow peninsula. Its Old Town – one of the best-preserved historical towns anywhere on the Adriatic – is a gem of Venetian Gothic architecture.

Spend today at leisure in resort or join our optional excursion to Lipica Stud Farm. Lipica, is famous for its white Lipizzaner horses, which were first bred here for the Spanish Riding School in Vienna in the late 16th century and is one of the oldest stud farms in the world.  Our guided tour will take you around the Stud Farm and visit the stables where the white mares take care of their dark foals.

We set off this morning and travel to the Italian city of Turin and check in at our overnight hotel.

We take the morning train to Paris and board Eurostar for our return to London.