SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT Lorena Knapp just returned from a self-guided biking adventure in Slovenia. This is her report. Story and photos by Lorena Knapp
Slovenia proudly markets itself as the only country in the world with love in its name, and their tourism board has fully embraced the branding. You’ll see “I feel SLOVEnia” stickers and signs throughout the country. After two weeks biking around Slovenia, I’m a believer.
I like leaving Alaska in April to skip the shoulder season where it’s harder to do outdoor activities amidst the usual slush and spring breakup. For years, I’d heard good things about Slovenia, and this spring, everything finally aligned to make the trip happen.
I chose the Best of Slovenia tour from Helia Travel, a company specializing in biking and active tours in Slovenia. My route would go from Lake Bled to Piran and cover 225 miles over nine day— traveling from the Julian Alps to the small section of Slovenia coast along the Adriatic Sea.
On the self-guided tour, you can start any day during the season (April-October). Helia handles all the hotel reservations, bike rental, provides maps and route, and airport transfers. Helia also offers guided bike and walking tours. Their staff was very helpful during trip planning and suggested an extra night in the middle of the tour in Ljubljana (Slovenia’s capital city). I’m glad I took them up on that as it would have felt rushed without the extra time. I also arranged for an extra night both at the beginning and end of the tour to ease in and out of the trip and help with the jet lag.
Helia provided access to their personal guidebook on an app that included GPS directions, points of interest, and suggestions for places to eat along the route each day. It also included an elevation profile and the locations for bike repair stations (thankfully I never needed one).
After 22 hours of travel (Anchorage–Seattle–Amsterdam–Ljubljana), I arrived midday at Ljubljana’s small airport, conveniently located between the city and Lake Bled. A bus ride to Lake Bled was straightforward, inexpensive, and gave me a first glimpse at Slovenia culture as I traveled with the locals.
A full day and a half in Lake Bled felt like enough time to explore the highlights: hiking around the lake as well as taking a pletna boat out the the picturesque island in the middle of the lake.
The first morning of biking I met up with Helia employees who gave me my rental bike, pannier, helmet and a general orientation. They told me if all went well, I wouldn’t see them again on the trip. Then, I was taken on a 30 minute taxi ride to the top of a nearby mountain pass- these are the Alps, after all. Helia understands that an unfamiliar bike, a new country, and 2,500 feet of climbing on day one can be overwhelming, so they include a taxi ride to the top of the first mountain pass. The next day I managed the two hour climb without help (though lots of stops!). Helia moved my luggage each day and would also have arranged a transfer by taxi had I wanted or needed a break from biking.
It was still early in the season, so though the roads were dry and clear, the first day I biked next to snow and the ski resorts were having their last few days of corn snow. The trees were just starting to leaf out. As I made my way toward the sea the snow was gone and spring was in full bloom. Except for one day of pouring rain the weather in April was perfect for biking- warm but not hot and only occasional rain showers.
The three and four star hotels were usually between 20-30 miles apart which meant about three hours of pedaling but I’d often take 5-6 hours each day with the stops for sightseeing and lunch. I also developed a three-cappuccino-a-day habit and indulged in periodic gelatos. My favorite was the “forest fruits” (maybe lingonberry?).
The accommodations were hand-picked by Helia and my favorites were the small guest houses where the owner welcomed you personally. One even provided a boot dryer for my soaked shoes. Another had a small vineyard with wine tasting one evening, where I was able to sample orange wine—a Slovenian specialty made from white grapes that keep their skins during fermentation, giving the wine a distinctive hue.
Most tourist sights in Slovenia have English language placards, and nearly speaks some English. Restaurant staff would often switch seamlessly from Slovenia to English to German and Italian with ease as they moved between tables. Slovenians are warm and welcoming with a great sense of humor. More than once, when someone learned I was traveling from Alaska, they’d grin and say “oh, just down the street.”
Breakfast was provided at the hotel each morning and was the typical European spread: cold cuts, cheeses, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, a variety of bread and rolls, scrambled and hard boiled eggs, yogurt and granola plus plenty of coffee and juice. Since I was traveling near the Easter holiday I was able to try potica, a Slovenia rolled cake with cinnamon and walnuts.
Helia suggested an upgraded hotel in Ljubljana’s city center (for an extra charge) and it was well worth it. The central location allowed me to pop back to my room between activities. I love walking tours and I took advantage of two free tours: one of the historic old city and another of the castle. Much of Ljubljana wasn’t bombed during World War II, so its architecture remains intact. The old town is compact, easy to navigate, yet packed with history and charm.
Slovenia is home to over 14,000 caves, and I visited two of the largest on my trip. Postojna Cave features enormous chambers filled with stalactites and stalagmites, while Škocjan Cave (UNESCO-listed) has an underground river flowing through it. Both were absolutely worth the visit.
Another highlight was the Predjama Castle, built into the side of a cliff with a secret entrance that allowed withstanding a siege for over 100 days. It’s said the castle’s residents flaunted their access to supplies by raining cherry pits down on the besiegers.
The real joy of a bike tour is the freedom to stop wherever the road takes you—whether it’s a picnicking next to a roadside stream, chatting with locals at the grocery store, or pausing in a field bursting with spring flowers. You cover enough ground to see a lot, but slow enough to truly absorb the landscape and culture. And with all the calories burned each day, I had no guilt about sampling every local delicacy I could. Plus, since I was traveling solo, I often made friends or had spontaneous conversations along the way—experiences that may not have happened if I’d been in a group.
Much of the biking was along small side roads. Cars would occasionally pass, but they were very bike-friendly and always gave me plenty of space. Although I didn’t see many other bike tourists early in the trip, by the end I saw lots of others biking during their Easter holiday.
The last part of the trip had a distinctly Mediterranean feel, as I descended from rolling hills to the sea through olive groves and vineyards. The final day included a visit to the Piran Salt Pans, which have been producing salt for over 1,200 years.
A cold plunge in the Adriatic my final day was a great way to celebrate the completion of a fantastic trip before the journey home (Ljubliana-Paris-Seattle-Anchorage- 21 hours).
With or without love in the name, Slovenia won my heart.
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