5 Reasons why a trip to Slovenia in the fall is a great idea
5 Reasons why a trip to Slovenia in the fall is a great idea
Since two years, Tina from Mijn Slovenië and I are trying to set a date for arranging a trip to Slovenia for me. For some reason it never really worked out and my agenda was always full way ahead. When I received an email from her at the beginning of 2018, I realized it was about time to block some space in my agenda right away for a trip to Slovenia. After scheduling some calls and Skype meetings, we agreed that October would be a great time for me to travel to Slovenia. By then I could also enjoy the fall colors and experience low season travel. In this blog I’ll tell you 5 reasons why a trip to Slovenia in the fall is a great idea.
Slovenia received plenty of media attention over the past couple of years. Many travellers have added it to their so calld bucketlist. It’s obvious that it’s not without good reason, however some regions in the country are suffering from over tourism, such as the beautiful yet super crowded Lake Bled. Luckily there are plenty of unknown spots in Slovenia which I’ll tell you more about later and many of those hardly receive any visitors in the fall. For this reason I made a trip to Slovenia in October, to experience first hand how a destination overrun by tourism in summer can be experienced in peace and quiet outside of high season.
1. Fall colors
Let’s be honest here, beautiful landscapes only get more beautiful when the leaves are coloring, right? At least, I think they do. Even though it can be a little difficult to predict when exactly the leaves are coloring, my trip to Slovenia turned out to be at the right moment to experience this. The fall coloring had just started and down in the valley there was little of it to be seen, but up in the mountains the fall colors were setting in. Especially in the region around Bohinj and Brda where colors started to appear all around me. With the low sun shining at the end of the afternoon, this definitely was one of the highlights of my trip to Slovenia.
2. It’s much more quiet
When going on a trip to Slovenia in the fall, you will hardly run into other tourists. From my apartment in Zgornje Gorje I made a really cool hike to the Bohinj Lake and other than a few Slovenians I didn’t see anyone else. Same for the hiking trails around Brda, where I hiked a small section of the Alpe Adria Trail. In the famous Soča Valley it was a bit more crowded, however still not too much and I could take pictures of the emerald green river without any issues or having to push other people away.
3. It’s cooler making the hiking much more fun
The main reason for my trip to Slovenia was hiking. Upon arrival I hiked a trail near Radovljica where I climbed up to a small church on the mountain. I also hiked a section of the Alpe Adra Trail which I hiked before in Austria earlier this summer. I have been told that summer in Slovenia can be extremely warm and that temperatures can reach up to 30 degrees, much too warm for hiking if you ask me. Unless you go way up into the mountains, where it will be cooler. You can for example climb some peaks in the Julian Alps, where you can also find Triglav, the highest mountain in Slovenia. Anyone who is considering a trip to Slovenia for hiking purposes should definitely try to go in the fall.
4. There’s more volume in the waterfalls and rivers
Due to the above mentioned heat in the summer a lot of water evaporates, causing the water level in rivers and waterfalls to drop. Especially those in and around Soča Valley, one of the main attractions in Slovenia. This may cause disappointment because this is of course not what the pictures on Instagram make you believe it looks like. In the spring snow from the mountains is melting and in the fall, the rivers and waterfalls fill up with water again because it’s cooler and there’s more rainfall, making the rivers and waterfalls a lot more pleasant to see.
5. It’s cheaper
Just like with many other destinations, Slovenia is much more affordable outside the high season. Think of your plane ticket, accommodation and possibly a rental car. From September onwards Slovenia is much more quiet and you can make a beautiful trip for relatively less money. A trip to Slovenia is generally cheaper than most destinations in Europe anyway, especially than other Alp countries such as Austria and Switzerland. Accommodation and food are very reasonably priced in Slovenia, making it an amazing budget destination as well.
These are my reasons to definitely consider a trip to Slovenia in the fall. Hopefully this has inspired you to consider traveling to Slovenia in low season. In case it has not, make sure to also check out the pictures below. After seeing them I’m quite sure you’ll want to go to Slovenia in the fall. You will find all you need in this small yet charming country: stunning nature, a very trendy capital, various hiking trails and plenty of other cool outdoor activities.
Have you been to Slovenia? Or would you like to go? Let me know in the comments!
[I was invited on this trip by Mijn Slovenië. All opinions above are of course entirely my own.]
Want to read more? You may also enjoy the following posts:
– Hiking and fall colors in the Moselle region in Germany
– Hiking the Alpe Adria Trail – from Kaiser-Franz-Josefs Höhe to Heiligenblut
– Wildlife watching in Hoge Veluwe National Park
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