NEW! Europes BEST overlooked Country: 6 Days in SLOVENIA | Ljubljana, Lake Bled, Bovec, Piran

From the moment we landed in Slovenia, I knew I was going to love it. Now firmly ranked in my top countries to visit, if you'll stay with us I hope to show you why this is Europe's most overlooked destination. 12 times smaller than the UK, our six days on the road barely used half a tank of petrol, but still packed the most variety we've experienced in one single trip. We began in Ljubljana, a perfect welcome for river walks, castles and hospitality, before moving on to Lake Bled, a picture perfect view that surprisingly matches the hype. But moving beyond the country's most visited locations, there is so much more. So how about some alternative lakes for the much less travelled? Mountain resorts with some top class relaxation, adrenaline hotspots for some spills and thrills, a wide range of accessible hikes, a perfect stay in the middle of Slovenia's wine country, yet another surprise, a history-making underground train, because why not at this point, and then finishing it all with Piran, a medieval seaside town turned tourist paradise. If you're new here then welcome, we make travel movies from around the world, hoping you might just find your next holiday inspiration. This is Suitcase Monkey, spending one packed but peaceful week in Slovenia. Slovenia sits at the top end of the Adriatic Sea, bordering Austria, Croatia, Hungary and Italy. Our route would be exploring a good chunk of its western half, moving to a different hotel each night, covering as much ground as we could, but without rushing. Since its capital Ljubljana is so central, it makes for the perfect starting point, only half an hour from the airport. Home to less than 300,000 people, its river walk is the obvious highlight, but its many offshoots and compact nature make it perfect for finding on foot. But whilst walking anywhere in the city, it's impossible to miss its most dominant centrepiece, and it was our first stop. Dating back to the 11th century, Ljubljana Castle is worth a visit, as highlighted by my impressive drone shots. Yeah this is just my phone, sorry I don't have a drone. The castle can either be reached by a short but steep 10-minute walk, or a two-minute ride on the funicular. All the castle's exteriors are free to roam, and there is enough here without needing to pay for entry. If you do want more though, or at least you want to justify why you almost had a heart attack walking up here in the first place, the cost for full access ultimately worked for us, despite feeling a little on the pricey side. Narrated through a Nokia 3310, this offers more understanding of what exactly you're walking through, not just walking around the castle itself, but also exhibitions adding context. But the surprising highlight was this 12-minute 4D short film, since it best portrayed what life was actually like here. Of course this means there's the obligatory 3D glasses, which much like a contraceptive, you know they help to make the occasion, but you still feel such a fool for putting them on. After walking down from the castle, we stumbled upon this popular mini diner. I guess technically classed as fast food, it's an affordable way to sample a variety of Slovenian traditional dishes, the highlight being Carniolian sausage. From what it lacked in presentation, it more than made up for with its juicy taste, and the fresh bread, mustard, and horseradish was a perfect pairing. Also on the menu is strukli, rolled dumplings either served sweet or savory, and recet, a hot barley Slovenian stew. All worked well together, but throughout this trip, the Carniolian sausage became the dish I'd reorder the most. For the remainder of the afternoon, we kind of just wandered the streets wherever our eyes would take us. We did though have one last place marked on our map, and I'm so glad that we made time for it. Slovenia has a unique timeline, one I was totally ignorant to, so probably the best value for money we spent today, the National Museum of Contemporary History, shared a whole new perspective. Starting from the beginning of the First World War, it charts Slovenia's transition from its Austro-Hungarian Yugoslavian era, through Italian, Nazi, and communist rule, then finally onto independence in 1991. The whole presentation never outstays its welcome, and if you do have time, I definitely recommend the slightly out of the way journey through Tivoli Park. For accommodation, we were just a 10 minute walk from the city centre, in this quaint Ikea-inspired kitchenette studio. Costing €96 a night, this is on the lower end of what you can expect to pay for a well-rated central stay in Ljubljana. All hotels, attractions, and restaurants shown in this video are directly linked via the description below, or single QR code, and should help anyone planning a similar trip. And so, this would mark the end of our first day in Slovenia, but we still had no idea how much we were only just getting started. Without question, Lake Bled is Slovenia's most iconic panorama, especially if you've ever seen an LG TV screensaver. It isn't exactly known when a church was first built here, but it's around a thousand years, with known renovations to its current form occurring in the late 1600s. Just watching the world go by from various locations was magical, especially on the more remote western side, and this peace and quiet is what I'll remember. The most popular way to reach the island is by taking a pletna. These wooden boats are as linked to Bled as gondolas are to Venice, and will cost around €15 return. Unfortunately, they'd only take passengers once they were full, and after one hour of enjoying this view waiting, they never were. I'll likely be doing a follow-on Slovenia travel tips video, covering more practical details on visiting Bled, Ljubljana and beyond, and I'll link that video guide at the end once it's complete. For our hotel, despite it borrowing furniture from my grandmother, and a hallway from The Shining, we mainly booked it for its balcony views of the lake. Yet another place where we'd increase our island viewing time, but now with coffee in hand. A particular highlight here was next morning over breakfast. A mixture of multi-course local dishes and a cooked a la carte menu, this was one of the best starts to our day all week. But coming back to today, the weather finally turned on us, with rain dancing in and out for the rest of the afternoon. We were visiting in late May, and for a country sprinkled with mountains, its skies are changeable and unpredictable. Walking over to the east side then, the town of Bled itself was pleasant enough, but a lot more unassuming than I'd have imagined, and maybe that's a good thing. After some more impressive drone videography, we just had to make a lakeside stop to the Park Café. The Kremšnita, or Bled Cream Cake, is Slovenia's most celebrated sweet treat. Similar to the meal foie, but with less crisp. Despite being offered almost everywhere in Slovenia, this specific location is the only place that you can still enjoy its original taste. And that's because 70 years ago, it was right here where that recipe was first made famous. Aside from enjoying the food here itself, you are of course also paying for those beautiful vistas over the... Oh. With an ever increasing storm, the staff might have been abandoning ship, but this Englishman would not be separated from his teapot. I can't lie, the peaceful nature of a Kremšnita by Lake Bled wasn't quite going as I'd have hoped. And so, this point marked the end of our time in the country's two most visited regions. But we were now more eager than ever to visit Slovenia's lesser known, but equally impressive, alternative lake. First thing in the morning. Whenever we're going anywhere abroad, getting an eSIM that covers our phone's international data beforehand is always on my things to do list. I've used Aerolo 13 different times over the years, so it's awesome they're sponsoring this portion of the video. And if you use my code SUITCASEM3, you can get $3 off your first eSIM. If you're new to eSIMs, they are effectively a digital SIM card, giving you access to more than 200 countries and regions, and there's a bunch of different data allowance plans for each. This means you can find the best price point for you with no surprise charges. And your standard SIM card still stays in your phone, so any calls and messages to that number won't be interrupted. Aerolo also offers packages for multi-destination trips. So with just one eSIM, you have ready-to-use data in 42 different countries within Europe and 18 different countries around Asia. So download the Aerolo app today with the QR code or link below, and use the code SUITCASEM3 for $3 off your first eSIM. Our next two days would be in and around Triglav National Park, the only national park in the country. Marking the southeastern endpoint for the Alps mountain range, Triglav is a paradise for nature lovers, hikers and mountain towns. We began at Lake Bohin, Slovenia's largest lake and arguably most impressive. Only 30 minutes from Bled, the open space here was a welcome change of pace. Our original plan was to take the nearby cable car to see Mount Triglav, which is Slovenia's highest point over 9000 feet. But taking advice from locals, the live weather cams were showing a build-up of cloud, so we opted instead to check out this 2km hiking trail. Great for family as it perfectly blends nature and storytelling with local fairy tales brought to life through legend, characters and mini activities. But as the skies opened up for us once again, we found more signs of life back on the eastern side where we started. And for the second time in a row now, our lunch became another rain hideaway, but this time a lot more cosy. Only one hour away by car, we next arrived at what turned out to be our second best hotel stay. Sitting on the edge of the Julian Alps and Triglav National Park, this was another balcony room view. But there was even more to like here. For one, the room had underfloor heating, which always makes my toes happy. The dining area featured an open plan kitchen and turned out to be a Michelin bib restaurant. So not only was breakfast yet another culinary treat, but we ended up staying in for dinner and it became one of our best. But it was the bizarrely empty wellness centre that really made me feel at ease. With a chill room directly facing the Julian Alps, the mix and match of traditional sauna, relax, steam room, relax, infrared sauna, relax, a cold bucket shower to make me feel all macho, and then finish with Vogue to, you know, re-address the balance. Just a short drive away, Kranjska Gora is an alpine ski town and since we were out of season, this obviously isn't a must visit, but it was still nice to get acquainted with our new neighbours. Kranjska Gora is though the starting point to one of the most enjoyed roads to drive on in all of Slovenia. The Vesic Pass is the highest elevation mountain road in the entire country and has become popular for scenic drives, the starting point for countless day hikes, and cyclists who enjoy pedalling uphill. Unfortunately, we only found out after breakfast that the entire road was closed for the whole month, and so instead the only option was to take a detour through Italy. Now as a Brit living on an island, I can't begin to tell you how fantastically strange it is to know that you're going to Italy with 8 minutes notice. But here we were, driving in Italy. It felt kind of Italian, it felt kind of Slovenian too. Although driving on Luigi Cadorna very much gave the game away. After only half an hour of driving, much like a hug from a long lost friend, we returned back to Slovenian land. Our new destination was Bovec, a small town that can be walked across in about 10 minutes, but has carved a successful niche for thrill-seeking. Paragliding, whitewater rafting and beyond, despite its soft exterior, this town is the most condensed activity hotspot I've come across. And so whilst Chiaki kept busy here, I took on what's proclaimed to be Europe's largest zipline park. Rising 200 meters above the Ucie valley, 10 different wires took us across 4.5 kilometers of beautiful landscape. I say us because at this exact point, I bumped into some fellow Suitcase Monkey subscribers. Or as they called me, oh look, it's Hello Mr. Bear. And so with some filming from their kind help, we were ready to trust our lives onto a single hook. Back in Bovec after a quick rest stop at our apartment, and no doubt due to our unexpected border crossing, we were absolutely gagging for a pizza. And despite the last few days feeling like four different holidays, tomorrow would bring even more variety, with both canyons and vineyards. The Soča river runs 138 kilometers along much of Slovenia's western border, starting high up in the Julian Alps. Its distinct emerald hue and numerous easy access points make it pretty much unmissable. As we continued moving further south, with Bovec only 30 minutes behind us, the rockier mountains of yesterday were slowly making way for the green hills of upcoming wine country. But before that reward of a cool glass of grapes, Triglav National Park still had one more thing. Our stay for the evening turned into one of the most finest in all of our years of traveling, and I can say that with little hesitation. This six-room adults-only vineyard estate sits in the Berda region, often referred to as Slovenia's Tuscany. With both Slovenian and Italian hilltop towns out in front, we relaxed for the rest of the day, and normally this alone would make for a pleasant enough evening. But it was the dedication and attention to detail that its husband and wife owners added that truly made this a five-star experience. Never before have we been made to feel so welcome and more like guests over paying customers. Everything of course is centered around their homegrown wine selection, and there's an honesty bar you can help yourself to whilst you enjoy your time however you choose to spend it. But it was the evening where it all came together. We settled in with this excellent cheese and wine charcuterie board combo. And let me tell you, as a lover of cheese and wine and breads and cold meats, I mean everything on this table really, coupled with this view and the silence and conversation and our new best friend, it was heaven and at a great point in this holiday to take a breather. Tomorrow would be our final full day in Slovenia before we'd catch our return flight from Ljubljana in two days time. Despite assuming we'd seen everything this country could throw our way, its horizon still had two final surprises in store. Opened in 1872, this is the world's first underground cave railway. With almost four kilometers of track, it acts as the grand entry point for Postojna Cave, a massive network of passages, tunnels and an ancient gift shop. Although its arrival may grab the headlines, it's the 120 meters deep 24 kilometer cave system that makes up the majority of time for any visit. With one tour guide leading a large group of followers, the caves are full of intricate stalactites and stalagmites and it's well worth a visit to learn about its 200 years of man-related history and the thousands of years that preceded it. This is one of the most visited attractions in Slovenia, less than an hour from Ljubljana, so I'd recommend booking in advance to grab a time slot for your arrival. With Slovenia only holding 42 kilometers of coastline, Peran is its most popular. This historic port town is a mixture of medieval, Venetian and Mediterranean and is simply a joy to get lost within its many streets. There are a bunch of tourist attractions to keep yourself busy in Peran but by this stage we were pretty exhausted and just being back in a populated energetic town gave us everything we were looking for. So we ended the evening at this supremely tasty fish restaurant. For a written pdf version of this video do check out the link below or QR code and as mentioned I'll soon be following up with a Slovenia travel tips guide covering more practical info which I'll link here once it's ready. These videos do take a lot of hard work and time so please leave a like, a comment and share with your friends this beautiful country which I hope I did justice. As ever, thanks for watching. Suitcase Monkey