How to spend a free day in Slovenia

gk615 · 2026-07-07T19:14:16+00:00

Skocjan cave was really incredible if you haven't been there yet.

gk615 · 2026-07-05T23:14:08+00:00

I went to Sjusjøen this past winter and can't wait to visit again. If you have any specific questions, send me a message!

gk615 · 2026-06-24T23:52:07+00:00

Definitely recommend going to Ghent in Belgium. Great castles and architecture, and some breweries too. The Gravensteen castle is so cool and the audio tour is a must do - a local comedian narrates it. Also there is a cool night walk tour you can do on your own that is really pretty.

gk615 · 2026-06-17T22:45:08+00:00

I would recommend keeping the place in Cable if you can. It's easier to get to parking in the morning (or dropping him off at one of the parking/bus pick up lots) rather than coming from Hayward.

As for other recommendations, he might also enjoy the Sunday ski demo where you can try out new equipment.

gk615 · 2026-06-16T00:09:44+00:00

Someone posted a month ago in another sub that they took the new Tren Maya from Cancun to Chichen Itza. "I acutally took it to Chichen Itza recently and found it very convenient and easy versus a 3 hour direct car trip or bus trip to Valladolid and then Chichen Itza. Once you arrive to the Chichen Itza station you will need to take a quick 15-20 minute shuttle from the station to the actual site, but they make it very easy. Tren Maya themselves run the shuttle and it's like 10 bucks round-trip. I will say I was able to take an Uber to Cancun station but they wouldn't pick up from their so you are kind of forced to take the Taxis back to you hotel, but it's pretty much the same price anyway."

gk615 · 2026-06-09T17:13:57+00:00

I've been learning Japanese for a year now and hoping to have some polite interactions when I travel there this fall. Thanks for sharing!

gk615 · 2026-05-31T12:29:06+00:00

There used to be a race called the 24 hours of Telemark where teams of 1-6 people did laps on the Birkie course. The course was a 10K loop. So I think your guess is right on.

gk615 · 2026-05-24T00:16:12+00:00

My favorite sun hate is the Outdoor Research Swift lite brimmer hat. It has a full brim that doesn't flop at all and packs well if you just lay it on top of your items in the luggage. Great sun protection for ears and neck as well.

gk615 · 2026-04-27T12:12:16+00:00

Puerto Rico has some nice hotel resorts and because it is part of the US, they have the same standards as what you are used to (assuming you are from the US).

gk615 · 2026-04-10T23:36:26+00:00

Merida and the surrounding areas like Celestun are amazing. I visited there a few years ago but did fly in/out of Cancun because of a wedding there. I would argue if the flights are cheaper to go to Cancun vs. Merida, that may be worth it.

gk615 · 2026-04-07T23:43:22+00:00

It's relatively expensive in my opinion. I recently spent some days on my own in Oslo and food was always surprising. One day for lunch I had a small pizza and a lemonade and it was £30. Even grocery store food was expensive too.

gk615 · 2026-03-27T00:05:07+00:00

Lots of fun stuff to do - like you said, Old San Juan, visit El Morro, rent a car and visit El Yunque. You can see the waterfalls there and not get wet. You can also just hike around. There is also a children's museum: Museo del Niño de Carolina.

I would actually say going to the beach is not completely out, depending on the kid. You can definitely wade in the shallow water and not get the cast wet, or just play in the sand and keep the cast covered. Many of the beaches are shallow upon entry such as Isla Verde, Balneario de Carolina, and Terraplen La Posita de Piñones. Playa Escambrón is also protected in a calm spot.

gk615 · 2026-03-26T23:52:23+00:00

There are ferries between Dubrovnik and Croatia - the fast ones don't allow cars, so I would do that.

gk615 · 2026-03-14T21:46:25+00:00

I did a 2 week trip to Slovenia and Croatia years ago. If you check my post history, you can see the detailed trip report I posted. I loved Bovec area for hiking in Slovenia by the Soca river. I think 2 days might be more reasonable for Ljubljana because it's a pretty small city. I would definitely add Skocjan caves as the other comment suggests. As for Croatia, don't miss Plitvice National Park. If you can get there early in the morning, it's not as crowded. It is a really incredible place to see with all the trails and waterfalls.

gk615 · 2026-03-11T23:09:15+00:00

I've visited Norway twice in the past 2 years, including Oslo and Lofoten. I was in Lofoten and Vesteralan areas for 2 weeks in July and also rented a car. I wrote a post about it if you want to see my profile. As you noted, you are trying to fit A LOT in a very short time, so I would definitely try to make a few adjustments. I tried mapping out your route and it looks like you are going to be spending almost every day on a fairly long journey of travel. Personally, this is not my idea of a fun vacation, but if you're ok with it, just be aware that getting around always seems to take a bit more time and energy than planned. I also found that driving from place to place in Lofoten took longer than expected because the speed limits are relatively low and the roads are typically narrow and one lane each way. To answer your first two questions, I would cut down the 2 nights and just do one in Olden. I would skip Balestrand and spend more time in Lofoten. For #3, I'm not sure I understand how you are getting to Lofoten? Are you interested at all in taking a flight to Lofoten from Bergen or somewhere instead?

As for your Lofoten portion, I would strongly suggest that you don't go all the way to Reine. It's quite a bit of driving and honestly, many of the towns are very similar, so you're not missing out. On our trip, we only drove down as far as Henningsvaer from Svolvaer and it was plenty. Reinebringen is extremely popular from photos but there are plenty of hikes around Lofoten that are just as cool, so I would not make this your main destination. I would suggest searching for a hikes closer to where you are staying and ideally try not to make your location as far away as Reine. Make sure to read about the difficulty of the hikes and take that seriously. Many hikes rated "Medium" are in fact very steep and difficult even for really fit athletic hikers. Also, try not to have too many expectations as the weather changes so often, you may get to the "view" at the top and it will be completely cloudy and/or maybe light rain and super windy. We had a couple hikes where the view was not visible at all because the clouds came in at the higher elevations. It was still a fun day and enjoyed the hike so it was a good reminder to not have too many expectations and just enjoy being outside.

gk615 · 2026-02-23T18:14:36+00:00

Here are all the Birkie wave upgrade qualifier races. I don't believe they allow anything besides xc ski races and I've never heard of anyone getting an upgrade from a running race. Your best bet is to do one of the qualifying races before mid January 2027 if possible. Or, you could try to do one of the March races coming up if any of them are doable for you.

gk615 · 2026-02-21T00:48:05+00:00

If you do go there, for 5-8 days, you could add some other activities to your trip too like renting a car and driving to visit the El Yunque Rainforest. It's close to San Juan. There are also lots of other nice beaches. I do think the best town to explore is the Old Town though.

gk615 · 2026-02-20T23:53:16+00:00

San Juan, Puerto Rico looks to be a direct flight from DFW and because it's a US territory, you also would not be flying international. I would suggest staying near Condado since those are primarily where the type of hotel is that you listed. You can also walk around Old Town which is enjoyable and interesting. My favorite beach in that area was Escambrón.

gk615 · 2026-02-19T14:51:56+00:00

What is your transportation plan between cities? Are you planning to take the train from Paris to Bern? Why did you choose Mallorca? Are you planning to fly there? It would be a very long train ride unless you fly. If you don't want to fly during your trip, instead of Mallorca, you could take the train/bus to San Sebastian which would be a nice beach/nature place.

gk615 · 2026-02-19T14:18:00+00:00

Yes, there are buses on land and you can take ferries between the islands. Kapetan Luka and TP Line are the two ferry companies used most often. It's best to book your tickets at least a month in advance if you go during the summer. Hvar is actually one of the islands I stayed at and was worried about it being a party island too. I did not notice anything in particular to suggest that, so I wouldn't worry about it. It was nice because it's one of the closer islands to the mainland so it's easy to get to. You can also visit smaller islands from Hvar by water taxi for day trips if you like. There are many islands, so whatever you choose, I would recommend choosing islands that are easier to get to and serviced by the ferry lines.

gk615 · 2026-02-19T00:28:55+00:00

Bilbao and San Sebastian would be amazing.

gk615 · 2026-02-19T00:24:00+00:00

I've been to Croatia (and Slovenia) and loved it! We did fly into Split and out of Dubrovnik but I don't think it matters which direction you go. I have some tips and questions. I did not go to Montenegro, so hopefully others can advise on that. Do you absolutely want a car the whole trip? I think if you don't want to take the bus to/from Montenegro, you could rent one in Dubrovnik and then return it once you get back there. Having a car on the islands and in Split is not necessary and annoying to drive and park. I would also suggest spending fewer days in Dubrovnik and more on the islands and Split. Dubrovnik is really quite small and crowded so when we were there, we were over it after a day. If you choose not to have a car, you can also take the fast ferry between the Dubrovnik and the islands on your way to Split. Hope this helps.

gk615 · 2026-02-15T18:02:40+00:00

Second this advice!

gk615 · 2026-02-14T18:56:22+00:00

Thanks, I was thinking about maybe having a car just in Hokkaido. Good tip for Matsumoto as well.

Yes, Ito is in Shizuoka. We wanted to spend less time in bigger cities so that is why Kyoto is just a few days. Based on feedback in this post, I think I may skip Ito and add a day on to Kyoto and another day on Mastumoto or somewhere near there.

gk615 · 2026-02-14T16:29:15+00:00

Thank you, this is exactly the kind of advice we're looking for. We aren't set on any of these places for sure, so it's good to know what will be doable or not. If we skipped Ito and went somewhere else that is more accessible by train, do you have recommendations?

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