This is a pleasant bike ride and itinerary beginning in the mountains of Slovenia and ending on... Howard Harris, 2018 See more reviews
Excellent trip, lived up to my expectations with the added benefit of virtually continuous... Bruce Royston-Smith, 2017 See more reviews
Challenging but very rewarding trip. Triglav National Park is a truly a hidden gem in Europe with... Oxana L, 2017 See more reviews
Beautiful, varied and spectacular scenery, good company and excellent leaders - what more could... David Livesley, 2017 See more reviews
This was a really great trip. Our guides were fantastic - very supportive and professional during... Lucy Runciman, 2017 See more reviews
Just finished this challenging trek with spectacular scenery in Aug 2017. We had a group of 16... Liz Ling, 2017 See more reviews
Wonderful views, challenging walking, but oh so worth while. Heather Prestwich, 2017 See more reviews
Having been on a fair few Exodus trips this was the best so far and the thing that made the icing... Chris Cairns, 2016 See more reviews
From a fantastic hotel in beautiful lake bled to a challenging hut to hut hike in the Julian alps... Katherine Miller, 2016 See more reviews
Itinerary Include flights Expand all Day 1 Fly to Ljubljana; transfer to lakeside town of Bled Fly to Ljubljana; transfer to lakeside town of Bled. Any items of luggage not needed during the trek may be left here for collection at the end of the weekHotel Astoria or similar Day 2 Warm-up walk in the Karavanke Mountains We enjoy leisurely breakfast before our trek briefing followed by a short transfer to our warm-up walk in the Karavanke Mountains (you only need a small day pack today). Making our way around the outside of Mt Begunjscica - offering magnificent alpine views - we lunch in Roblekov Dom (1635m - Dom means hut or home). A rich variety of mountain trails are possible for our return walk, each varied and selected for the pace of the group and weather conditions on the day. In the evening we will have free time back in Bled to enjoy the town and have a meal by the lake. Hotel Astoria or similar Meals included: Breakfast Day 3 Transfer to Lake Bohinj and the Triglav National Park. Trek overlooking this stunning glacial lake Leaving Bled we drive along the shore of this picturesque lake to neighbouring Lake Bohinj - and the Triglav National Park from where we start our trek. For the next five days we are away from roads and civilization, carrying our lightweight gear and Triglav safety equipment/helmet on our backs. We ascend through the tree line passing to Dom na Komi - offering a stunning bird's eye view of the lake. Leaving our rucksacks at the hut we spend the afternoon exploring one of the most beautiful areas, the Bogatin Saddle, before making our way back to Dom na Komni. Alternatively in stable weather conditions we may begin our trail slightly above Bohinj Lake which takes us through beautiful forest to the peak of Prisivec (1761m). Offering a bird's eye view of Lake Bohinj and the valley below. Leaving the peak we pick up forest trails taking us to the first lake in the Valley of the Seven Lakes - the Black Lake or Crno Jezero, nestled away, this is the perfect introduction to our trail and gives an idea of what's to come. We then head towards Dom na Komni our base for the night (this trail is only possible in stable weather due to its openness).Mountain Hut Meals included: Breakfast Dinner Day 4 Walk through valley of the Seven Triglav Lakes Leaving the hut we walk towards the start of the Seven Triglav Lakes Valley. These lakes are the source of Lake Bohinj and the Sava River, which runs into the Danube at Belgrade. Carved by the Triglav glacier, each lake has a unique feature of its own, be it shape or colour. We follow the route through the centre of the valley, passing five of the lakes, and leave the greenness of Bohinj behind, before reaching Hribarice. At the end of this amazing day we reach Koca na Dolcu, one of the most welcoming huts in the park. Spending the night in a great setting looking up towards Triglav. Mountain Hut Meals included: Breakfast Dinner Day 5 Trek through the heart of the Julian Alps followed by our Triglav summit attempt (weather dependent) We are now in the heart of the Julian Alps with a rugged limestone, moonlike landscape. The Triglav Mountain dominates the skyline and takes on different appearances as we approach. An excellent days walking takes us across high mountain passes and along spectacular ridges as we head for Triglavski Dom (2515m), the highest hut in Slovenia. With our closeness to Triglav and depending on the weather, it may be possible to attempt the summit this morning before heading off to Triglavski Dom. The ascent of Triglav takes us up the East Ridge, over Mali Triglav (little Triglav) towards the summit. The trail follows the ridgeline for most of the way. There are some quite exposed sections where we have to use the harnesses, which are attached to the fixed ropes. The guides will be on hand to offer help and support. This route is not traditional 'via ferrata' as ascents and descents are not steep. Once upon Triglav we have a complete panorama of Slovenia and on clear days into Austria, Italy and even the first of the Croatian islands. Our normal route down takes us over Mali Triglav to Triglavski Dom. This hut is open twelve months of the year and in the winter finds itself surrounded by up to 7 metres of snow. Time and weather allowing, it may be possible to attempt Triglav later if it wasn't possible in the morning Mountain Hut Meals included: Breakfast Dinner Day 6 Follow panoramic mountain trails to the Pokljuka Plateau and Blejska Koca (1630m) From Triglavski Dom we descend to Vodnikov Dom (1817m) a picturesque hut standing 200m above the Velo Polje field and framed by the Tosc cliffs. We may continue further on to Blejska Koca Hut (1630m), with its high mountain meadow under the ridge. Our choice of hut will depend on which day we make our ascent of Triglav. Mountain Hut Meals included: Breakfast Dinner Day 7 Final day trekking towards the peak of Brda (2009m). Transfer back to Bled Our destination today is Brda, a fine viewpoint situated on the far end of a lower ridge across the valley from Triglav. At 2009m we have splendid views back across to where we have trekked, as well as 1000m down into Krma valley, across to Bled and the rich pine forests of Pokljuka. After soaking up the views we head off into the forests and wild alpine meadows below, the ground underfoot becomes softer and greener marking the end of the ruggedness of the previous few days. Weaving our way through the woods of Pokljuka, Slovenia's most dense forest, we arrive at Rodno Polje (1301m) - where the shepherd’s huts produce mountain cheese, marking the end of our trek. After a rest and a beer, we will meet our transport and be transferred back to our hotel in Bled. Astoria Hotel or similar Meals included: Breakfast Day 8 Transfer to Ljubljana; fly to London. Free time to rest and enjoy the lakeside town. Optional activities on the lakes and rivers are easy to arrange locally. Transfer to airport. Meals included: Breakfast
Lakes & Mountains of Slovenia Walk in the heart of the Slovenian Julian Alps Guided Group, Tailormade Adventures Walking & Trekking 8 days Incl. Flights From £1,249 4.5 / 5 from 11 reviews Add to wishlist
Slovenia Most European nationals, and nationals of Australia, New Zealand, USA and Canada do not require a visa for Slovenia.
Hotel & Mountain Huts In Bled, you will spend 3 nights in a comfortable 3 star hotel with en suite facilities. While trekking, you will spend 5 nights in traditional mountain huts. These range in size, but are all manned and catered. Rooms are generally dormitory style (4+) with basic toilet facilities and running water, but no showers.
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Reviewed June 2018 Howard Harris Trip: Slovenia: Julian Alps Traverse An enjoyable tour with beautiful scenery This is a pleasant bike ride and itinerary beginning in the mountains of Slovenia and ending on the Adriatic. It basically follows a paved bike route derived from an old railway line, hence there are no severe grades to climb. However, there are areas where the path is not complete, and there are days when a significant amount of biking is done on non-paved paths. (More than we expected). There are some areas where improvements can be made. The odometers and locks are only supplied on one bike per couple (the male bike). The odometers are very primitive and they have to be restarted each time one stops, so they are relatively useless. GPS guidance would be most helpful. I found the notes and maps difficult to follow, but fortunately for the most part one follows the Alpe Andria Trail, which is very well signed. The bikes are adequate but quite heavy. The panniers supplied with the bikes are excellent. I would recommend visiting Laghi di fusine and taking the 5 km walk around the lakes. A good time to consider doing this, would be on the day that you are in Tarvisio, if you haven't done that on the way down to Tarvisio. I rated this tour as four stars out of five. It certainly has the potential to be a superb five star trip What was the most inspirational moment of your trip? Grado was a surprise. It is quite a charming town, but all the towns we visited were charming. What did you think of your group leader? Miroslav of M tours was very helpful. Do you have any advice for potential travellers? see above If you come from Canada, make sure you get luggage tags – which we did not Is there anything else you would like to add? You don't have to publish this, but the system of getting upgrades is confusing. Almost all the hotels we stayed at had different category rooms, but Exodus do not offer some upgrades on the website and in fact we had a big problem in getting an upgrade in the Hanover Hotel when we booked the trip, where the upgrade to a Junior suite was mentioned as available to headwater clients. When we tried to book it, we were told that it was unavailable despite the fact that I was able to get the booking of a Junior suite on the exact day that we would be there from booking.com. After I booked it on booking.com, after a period of negotiation, we were able to pay the upgrade to Exodus and get the room. As we get older (I am 70 years old), we would like to travel in a bit more luxurious way, and I think that upgrades should be available in every hotel where different rooms are available. In the Agriturismo Casali Scjs, my wife and I were offered a very simple basic room which we did not think was adequate. We noticed that they had three and four bed rooms available and asked if we could use the four bed room which gave us a bit more room as well as a bath instead of shower (which we preferred) and cost us €20 more. I would appreciate your comments. I specifically am looking at doing the nine night trip from Porto, Portugal next time but notice that on many of the hotels, despite the hotel website showing multiple types of rooms available including suites, headwater does not offer them on their website as an option. I also found that the Exodus company in Canada did not seem to know much about the headwater trips and it would be much easier if we were able to deal with headwater directly. I know that Exodus owns headwater, but am confused as to the difference between dealing with Exodus and dealing with headwater. Some of the people in our tour all of whom were from Great Britain, dealt directly with headwater, while others had dealt with Exodus.
Reviewed October 2017 Bruce Royston-Smith Trip: Slovenia: Julian Alps Traverse Julian Alps Excellent trip, lived up to my expectations with the added benefit of virtually continuous sunshine, which made the Triglav ascent day the real highlight of the trip. Fitness levels are important on this trip, and should not be underestimated. Would recommend greater emphasis in the trip notes on the importance of bringing sufficient energy bars,gels,etc, as the quality and nutritional value of the breakfasts in some of the huts is minimal . What was the most inspirational moment of your trip? Summiting Triglav What did you think of your group leader? Katya was great....well-informed and attentive to the needs of the group Do you have any advice for potential travellers? The fitter you are the more you will enjoy the trip ! Bring plenty of food supplements/ trek food to supplement the hut meals. Walking boots need to be in good nick, as they will take a hammering on the trek ! Is there anything else you would like to add? Trip notes were incorrect as there were three nights in hotels and four in huts, and not two and five as per the brochure
Reviewed September 2017 Oxana L Trip: Slovenia: Julian Alps Traverse One of the most beautiful places I have seen Challenging but very rewarding trip. Triglav National Park is a truly a hidden gem in Europe with incredibly beautiful landscapes which justify all the effort required to see them. The itinerary is well thought and level of effort builds up gradually, there are a few steady climbs, several exposed sections, some scramble and some more challenging descents, but don't be put off, if you are reasonably fit, you will absolute make it and the guides make sure that everyone is safe and enjoying themselves. The Triglav ascent itself is optional and more technical rather than physically challenging and requires good head for heights. Mountain huts are simple but that makes the experience even more fun and unforgettable. What was the most inspirational moment of your trip? 1. The day preceding Triglav ascent - you start in the forest, pass some incredibly beautiful lakes and end up in a moonscape with an amazing sunset to finish your day and get ready for Triglav 2. The Triglav day itself - beautiful views along the way + the ascent itself is quite technical and leaves incredible sense of achievement What did you think of your group leader? Katja and David were simply excellent - very attentive to the needs of everyone in the group and very fun as well. Do you have any advice for potential travellers? The trip effectively consists of two parts - one day hike on Sunday returning back to the original hotel and the following 5 days in the mountains - so dont be afraid to take extra stuff, you can leave it all behind before the main part starts Food will be lots of carbs - toasts for breakfast, pasta / polenta + protein for dinner and several sandwiches for lunch Poles marked as optional but they will be quite helpful - there a few more challenging descents, eg scree Take wet wipes - there will be no showers from Tue to Fri afternoon and one of the huts has very little water, just to brush your teeth really Is there anything else you would like to add? Go, you will not regret it
Reviewed September 2017 David Livesley Trip: Slovenia: Julian Alps Traverse Challenging but satisfying trip Beautiful, varied and spectacular scenery, good company and excellent leaders - what more could you want? What was the most inspirational moment of your trip? We had a perfect day to summit Triglav, which was definitely the highlight of the trip, even for those of us who were not used to the exposure. What did you think of your group leader? Katja was excellent - warm, funny and empathetic, she provided great support when necessary. Do you have any advice for potential travellers? If you really didn't feel you could cope with it, you could miss out Triglav, but anyone nervous of heights may want to know that there are a number of other short exposed stretches on the route which are not difficult but are not avoidable. Is there anything else you would like to add? I knew what to expect of mountain huts, but the description of them in the trip notes as 'standard hotel' is rather misleading for anyone who has not been to one before. One of the huts used is fairly basic even for a mountain hut.
Reviewed September 2017 Lucy Runciman Trip: Slovenia: Julian Alps Traverse Great week in amazing country This was a really great trip. Our guides were fantastic - very supportive and professional during the more technical aspects of the walks but also funny and sociable. The walking is quite challenging fitness wise, and also technical and vertigo-inducing at times! The ascent of Triglav is optional though and it would be a great trip even without it. Slovenia is beautiful and the scenery was very varied, from alpine meadows and forest to limestone moonscapes higher up. The mountain huts were basic but clean and most had a good atmosphere. The trip description had not been updated for our trip - we spent 3 nights in a hotel and 4 in the huts, not 2 and 5 as stated in the notes. What was the most inspirational moment of your trip? Looking back over the mountains on the last day and being able to see what we had achieved during the trek.
Reviewed September 2017 Liz Ling Trip: Slovenia: Julian Alps Traverse Julie Alps Traverse Just finished this challenging trek with spectacular scenery in Aug 2017. We had a group of 16 and two guides. We had perfect weather to summit Triglav, which is the highlight of the trek! Tips- the hut breakfasts consist of thick, white heavy bread, butter, jam and honey. You also get mountain tea and scrambled eggs. Coffee or any other beverage is extra and costs 2-3 euros. Breakfast was exactly the same in every hut except the last hut, where there were additional little packets of cheese and a meat (spam like) spread, and apple juice. Bottom line - bring protein bars, nuts, etc to supplement the minimal nutritional quality of the breakfasts because the hiking is strenuous and the days are long. Bring lots of wet wipes for cleaning and ear plugs for sleeping. Two of the huts have only one sink for washing with only a small trickle of cold water. On the second last day, most of the group had gastro-issues all starting within a few hours of each other. The hotel we stayed in at the beginning of the trip and the end was not the hotel mentioned in our trip itinerary. There was a booking error so another hotel was substituted. Unfortunately, it was not up to he standard of a 4 star hotel and did not have any of the amenities mentioned in our trip notes (air conditioning, safety deposit box, pool, lounge, or even a bar). What was the most inspirational moment of your trip? The Triglav area is an amazing place to see. The mountains are spectacular and the trekking is challenging even for seasoned hikers. Reaching the summit will give you a sense of accomplishment and reward you with unbelievable views of the alps. What did you think of your group leader? Katja is such a lovely person with expert trekking experience. She provided detailed information at the end of each day for the next day. She was personable, friendly and professional. Alesh is a crazy, fun guide who loves 'his' mountains. Do you have any advice for potential travellers? You do need to have a good fitness level for this trek. Excellent worn in hiking boots are a must. One person in our group had really bad blisters and suffered for it. The trail is very technical, with loose rocks, scree, and steep drop offs. Hiking poles will save your knees! Bring your own nutritious snacks to supplement the hut breakfasts of bread, jam and scrambled eggs. Pack only what you really need - pack light!
Reviewed July 2017 Heather Prestwich Trip: Slovenia: Julian Alps Traverse Fantastic challenge Wonderful views, challenging walking, but oh so worth while. What was the most inspirational moment of your trip? The views, climbing, it's a beautiful country What did you think of your group leader? Both our group leaders were great and worked well as a team. We had an extra leader on the climb up Triglav which made a big difference for those who needed support with the via Ferrara. They were very encouraging and caring when you needed it. Do you have any advice for potential travellers? Slovenian Alps only go up and down, and steeply, and the paths are rough. It is a punishing walk because not much of it is level or smooth. The hours of walking with your pack are accurate. There are plenty of rests and the pace is good. Is there anything else you would like to add? You need to be fit
Reviewed September 2016 Mark Gilbert Trip: Slovenia: Julian Alps Traverse Mount Triglav Julian Alps Fantastic trip,beautiful scenery and friendly people. What was the most inspirational moment of your trip? Getting to the summit of mount Triglav above the clouds and enjoying the views. What did you think of your group leader? Very friendly and informative and had a great rapor with the Trekkers . Do you have any advice for potential travellers? Make sure you have plenty of wet wipes as no showers in huts.
Reviewed September 2016 Chris Cairns Trip: Slovenia: Julian Alps Traverse A great trip Having been on a fair few Exodus trips this was the best so far and the thing that made the icing on the cake was our guides Bugy and David. They really went above and beyond, not only looking after us but, when my wife and I needed to put in a small "change" to the planned itinerary, they really made it great for us, beyond what we had even asked for, such that the week as a whole was truly awesome! What was the most inspirational moment of your trip? Slovenia is brilliant a real undiscovered gem What did you think of your group leader? Bugy and David were both brilliant, funny, caring, entertaining, knowledgable and friendly, what more could you ask for!! Do you have any advice for potential travellers? Go on this trip. It's hard but well worth it
Reviewed August 2016 Katherine Miller Trip: Slovenia: Julian Alps Traverse Julian Alps traverse From a fantastic hotel in beautiful lake bled to a challenging hut to hut hike in the Julian alps, this was exactly the vacation I was looking for! What was the most inspirational moment of your trip? The via ferrata up and down triglav, it was beautiful, fun and fantastic! What did you think of your group leader? Bugy and Alesh were funny, fun and really informed about all parts of Slovenian culture and history. Do you have any advice for potential travellers? I had a perfect amount of time in bled, but wished I'd been able to spend some time in Ljubljuana as well. So maybe plan for that.
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