Ljubljana, the Karst and the Slovenian coast
In eight days you take in Slovenia's capital beneath its castle, two famous karst caves and a Venetian town on the Istrian coast. The whole route follows a single corridor from Ljubljana through Postojna and Škocjan down into Istria, so no drive is ever long and you are parked at the campsite before dark. There is not one mountain pass on the way, the Karawanks are bypassed by a tunnel and the caves are open all year round — for a motorhome this is one of the least demanding routes to the Adriatic. Just bear in mind that tours of both the Škocjan Caves and Postojna sell out in high season, so tickets have to be bought ahead.
From Prague the route runs through Austria heading south past Linz and Salzburg, and you enter Slovenia through the Karawanks Tunnel. It is a long day behind the wheel — reckon on roughly seven to eight hours of actual driving plus several breaks at Austrian rest areas. Sort out the Austrian vignette and the Slovenian e-vignette before you set off, so you do not lose time with it on the way. Overnight on the outskirts of Ljubljana.
The centre of Ljubljana is largely free of cars, so leave the motorhome at the campsite and ride into town by bus or by bike. Along the Ljubljanica you can walk from Tromostovje to Plečnik's market hall, which stretches along the embankment as far as the Zmajski most dragon bridge. A funicular runs up to the castle from Krek Square, and from the viewing tower you can see the whole basin and the mountain ridges to the north. You can walk back down through the park.
Part of Postojna Cave is covered aboard an underground train, after which you continue on foot with a guide. Tours run at fixed times and it is cold underground all year round — a jacket is worth packing for the children too. In the afternoon move on to Predjama Castle, wedged in under an overhanging cliff; parking below the castle is limited and longer vehicles only fit in the designated spaces. A combined ticket for the cave and the castle works out cheaper than two separate ones.
The Škocjan Caves are a UNESCO World Heritage site and offer something completely different from Postojna: the underground canyon of the Reka river, crossed by a footbridge high above the floor. You can only go in with a guide and at fixed times, so plan the day around the start of your tour. The site also has an interpretive trail above the gorge — allow an extra hour for it. In the afternoon you can drive over to nearby Lipica, home of the stud farm that gave the Lipizzaner horses their name.
Koper is Slovenia's largest port and at the same time an old Venetian town — Tito Square is lined by the Praetorian Palace and the Cathedral of the Assumption with its bell tower. The lanes of the old core are narrow, so you park on the lots at the edge and walk into the centre. In the afternoon move a short way north to Ankaran, where the coast is quieter and there are good facilities for swimming.
Piran is the most photogenic stop of the whole trip and also the strictest on cars — the historic centre is effectively closed to traffic. The vehicle stays at the Fornače park-and-ride below the town and an electric minibus takes you to Tartini Square for about a euro; a tall vehicle may not fit into the covered garage, so check the height limit. Above the town stands the Church of St George with a view over the rooftops and the bay, and the walls let you walk right around the hill.
South of Portorož lies the Sečovlje Salina Nature Park, where salt is still harvested by hand in the traditional way and where a great many birds nest — binoculars pay off here. After the visit head back inland and spend another night near Ljubljana, so that the final day is not a killer. On the way you can stop for dinner at one of the inns on the Karst.
The last day is a straight run back along the same route through the Karawanks and Austria. Set off early in the morning so that you catch the Austrian motorways while they are still clear and are home by the afternoon. Queues build up at the border by the tunnel mainly on Saturdays, so if you can choose your day of return, avoid Saturday.
Slovenia: vehicles up to 3.5 t use an e-vignette on the motorways. What decides the class is the height above the front axle — up to 1.3 m it is class 2A (weekly €16, monthly €32), above 1.3 m class 2B (weekly €32, monthly €64.10), and most motorhomes fall into 2B. Vehicles over 3.5 t do not use the e-vignette at all: they need a DarsGo on-board unit and pay toll according to the kilometres driven and their emission class. On the way out you also pay for Austria: up to 3.5 t a vignette (ten-day €12.80, two-month €32), over 3.5 t a GO-Box and distance-based toll. On top of that come the section tolls outside the vignette — the Tauern Tunnel on the A10 costs around €15 for a single journey and the Karawanks Tunnel on the A11 is paid separately at the toll booth. Rates change every year, so check them at dars.si and asfinag.at before you travel.
Ljubljana Resort Camping, Ljubljana — by the Sava on the northern edge of the city, an electric hook-up at every pitch, bus into the centre · Postajališče za avtodome Postojnska jama, Postojna — a fully equipped motorhome stopover right by the cave entrance, ideal for the night before an early tour · Adria Ankaran Hotel & Resort, Ankaran — a seaside campsite a short hop from Koper, with a pool and a beach on site · Camp Lucija, Lucija near Portorož — the campsite of the St. Bernardin Resort, with a local bus service into Piran
Slovenia does not permit overnighting outside campsites and official motorhome stopovers (postajališča za avtodome), and in the Škocjan Caves regional park camping is banned explicitly, sleeping in the vehicle included. The network of official stopovers along the coast is dense, though — Marina Portorož has its own motorhome area, for example, and you will find places in Izola and Koper as well. In high season the coastal campsites fill up, so book a pitch ahead for July and August; in April, May and September you can travel without a reservation.
The best place for a full service is Ljubljana Resort Camping — alongside the heated washrooms it has a point for emptying the chemical toilet, so you can empty the vehicle right at the start and again before the drive home. Halfway along the route the equipped motorhome area at Postojnska jama does the same job. On the coast you can top up water at the Adria Ankaran campsite in Ankaran or at Camp Lucija near Portorož. Tap water is drinkable throughout Slovenia, but in the seaside campsites it tends to be harder, so a filter jug will notice the difference.
Adria Compact
The Adria Compact is a nimble low-profile motorhome under seven metres long — the shortest low-profile in the Adria range and exactly the right size for this route: in Ljubljana, in Koper and on the cramped car park below Predjama Castle you will park where a longer vehicle has to back out. It still has a full bathroom and a fixed bed, so two nights in the cave country and two by the sea pass without compromise.
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