Slovenian Highlights: A Scenic Journey

After breakfast, depart to the north of the country and visit two beautiful glacial lakes under the peaks of the Julian Alps. Our first stop will be in Bled, Slovenia's most popular tourist resort. Take a ride around the lake and enjoy the photo opportunities of this picturesque Slovenian treasure with its emerald-green lake, picture-postcard church on an islet, and a medieval castle clinging to a rocky 139 m high cliff. Take the 'pletna' boat to the only natural Slovenian island in the middle of the lake and ring the wishing bell in the 15th-century belfry of the church. Continue to the valley of Bohinj with its unspoiled nature, a glacial lake amidst the Julian Alps, with its brooding, eerily calm, and silent body of water. This lake is a nature lovers paradise. Overnight in Ljubljana.

After breakfast, a drive to Styria, known for its health resorts, rolling hills, vineyards, and the Drava River. Today, your first stop will be in the oldest Slovenian town of Ptuj. Numerous archaeological remains prove that the city experienced its first period of prosperity as the Roman town of Poetovio. The present much-admired appearance of the city originates from the Middle Ages when Ptuj experienced its second rise to wealth and prominence. You will explore its beauty on a walking tour through the town and visit the Ptuj Castle, worth the trip mainly for the views of Ptuj and the Drava River. After that, visit an excellent wine cellar and taste wine. Styria is known for its excellent wines. After Ptuj, drive to Maribor, the second largest city in Slovenia, nestled by the Drava River and surrounded by vineyards. Visit the Old Wine House, home to the world's oldest-producing vine, and stroll through the charming old town, where you can see the medieval castle, the Plague Memorial, and the lively Main Square. Drive to Ljubljana.  Overnight.

After breakfast, drive to Postojna and visit the famous karst cave, one of the largest in the world, is among Slovenia's most popular attractions, and its stalagmite and stalactite formations are unequaled anywhere. An electric train will take you into the caves and then enjoy the underground karst world, where nature was the leading architect through the millennia and has formed unique formations. Continue towards Lipica, the famous stud farm that lives for and on its snow-white Lipizzaner horses, which were first bred here for the Spanish Riding School in Vienna in the late 16th century. Drive to Piran, everybody's favourite Slovenian coastal city, very picturesque and sitting at the tip of a narrow peninsula, one of the best preserved historical towns anywhere on the Adriatic. In Piran, you will enjoy some free time for a stroll along the sea or the narrow Istrian streets. In the late afternoon, drive back to Ljubljana.