Overview
- Pace: moderate with good chances for long canters
- Riding ability: confident intermediate to experienced riders
- Weight limit: 105 kilograms / 231 pounds (subject to availability of horses, occasionally heavier riders by arrangement)
- Tack: English saddles
- Meeting point: Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport (LJU)
Itinerary
Day 1: Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport (LJU) - Bled - Radovljica - Vrba - Bled
Pick up at Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport (LJU) and transfer to your hotel in Bled (31 kilometers). After your first Slovenian lunch, you will go around Lake Bled and enjoy the fairy-tale atmosphere with the traditional coachmen known as fijakers. Fijakers or cabs are open carriages with a long tradition in Bled. Not anyone can become a driver of such carriage as the profession is handed down from generation to generation.
There will be a short drive to the stables and introduction to the horses. You will be introduced to your horse and go for your first three-hour ride to the magnificent medieval old town of Radovljica, the town with the largest number of sunny days in the Gorenjska region. You will stop in the village of Vrba and take a picture in front of Prešeren House where the Slovene poet, France Prešeren, was born in 1800. The house is a good example of an Upper Carniolan farmhouse. Since 1939, it has housed a small museum collection with furnishings from the poet's time.
In Radovljica, you will enjoy a typical Slovenian dinner in a traditional family restaurant and visit a gingerbread museum. Lectarstvo is an old and renowned traditional handicraft of Slovenia. The decorated pastry is made from honey dough and shaped either with a wooden or a tin mold or by hand. During the late Middle Ages, lect was popular with the social elite. The oldest preserved wooden mold, made for a customer who was a nobleman, dates to the 16th century.
The craft is one of the oldest practices in cities and on squares, while in the countryside lect workshops appeared in the 19th century when lect-making saw its heyday. In those times, these products were highly regarded as meaningful tokens of love. Today, honey-bread products are precious souvenirs from the country. After that, you will ride back to Bled and stay overnight.
Day 2: Bled
After breakfast, you will have an opportunity to visit the oldest castle in Slovenia, first mentioned in a 1011 donation deed as castellum Veldes - Bled Castle. Perched atop a steep cliff rising 130 meters above the glacial Lake Bled is a symbol of Bled and Slovenia. Castle terraces offer spectacular views of the lake and the island, down the Dežela area with Lesce and Radovljica and over to the mountain ranges of the Karavanke and the Julian Alps.
After a traditional cake (cream cake), you will go to Lifetime Experience's stable and take a three-hour horse ride to Završnica where you will have lunch in one of the best restaurants in the area. You will have the opportunity to try a local delicacy (frog legs). You will refresh your horses in the small lake and you might meet the kings of Slovenian forests - the brown bears. Then, you will ride back to the stable and enjoy the rest of the day in the most intact nature of Bled in the first touristically arranged gorge in Slovenia - the Vintgar Gorge.
The 1.6-kilometer-long Vintgar Gorge carves its way through the vertical rocks of the Hom and Bort hills and is graced by the Radovna with its waterfalls, pools, and rapids. The educational trail leads you over wooden bridges and Žumr's galleries and ends with a bridge overlooking the mighty 13-meters-high Šum waterfall. For dinner, Lifetime Experience recommends a delicious trout from Radovna River. After that, overnight in Bled.
Day 3: Bled - Bohinj
You will wake up again in one of the most beautiful towns in Europe, which is situated on the stunning Lake Bled at the edge of the Julian Alps. This Alpine lake with the only island in Slovenia has been a world-renowned paradise for centuries, impressing visitors with its natural beauty, wealth of legend, and special powers to restore well-being. After breakfast, you will visit the church on the only island in Slovenia with a traditional Pletna boat. Traditional wooden boats - Pletnas - have been taking visitors to the island in the middle of the lake for centuries.
These boats are operated by standing rowers known as Pletnars. After landing, guests climb 99 stone steps to reach the Assumption of Mary Church. On this island, which is the subject of legendary tales, listen to the church bell and ring it yourself. Legend has it that this will make your wishes come true. Then, you will leave your hotel and have a short drive to Bohinj. You will have another beautiful three-hour ride. After lunch, you will have the opportunity to visit the magnificent Savica Falls (1.5 to two-hour walk). Overnight in Bohinj.
Day 4: Bohinj - Pokljuka
Today, you will saddle up the horses and ride to Pokljuka - the high karst plateau on the eastern edge of Triglav National Park. It lies at an elevation of around 1,200 and 1,500 meters. You will be amazed by its forests and mountain pastures (Javornik, Lipanca, Uskovnica, Zajamniki, etc.) It is the highlight of this trip. You will enjoy the clean and fresh air and energetic points all day long. Overnight in Triglav National Park.
Day 5: Pokljuka - Bohinj - Lipica
After an early rise and a light breakfast, ride back to Bohinj. While exploring this beautiful wilderness area, you may have a close encounter with some wild deer, rabbits, or with a lot of luck, you can spot a king of the forests - a brown bear. Drive to Lipica and visit a very unique cave with a boat. Overnight in Lipica.
Day 6: Lipica
You will spend all day in the famous Lipica. Today, you will visit the stud farm and find out what brought international fame to the Lipizzaners! Let the white stallions charm you with their elegant movements, noble character, and effortless ease as they present the most demanding figures of classical dressage. The presentations of the Lipica Classical Riding School last for 45 minutes and the last number is the attractive school above the ground. You will discover Lipica and the karst while riding the real Lipizzaners. It is a unique experience that you will never forget. After that, stay overnight.
Day 7: Lipica - Postojna Cave - Predjama Castle - Ljubljana
After a delicious breakfast, you will explore the amazing karst area - Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle. Drive to the capital where you will have a pleasant walk in the most charming city in Europe. There will be a farewell dinner and you will stay overnight in Ljubljana.
Day 8: Ljubljana
After breakfast, you will have a free day for exploring Ljubljana. You can visit the castle, market, or just walk in the charming old town by the river till the time you will have to say goodbye. After that, you will be transferred to Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport (LJU).
Notes
This itinerary is flexible. Changes may occur due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances.
Horses
Lifetime Experience has different types of horses available including warmblood, Lipizzaners, Icelandic horses, Anglo Arabian, and Arabian. The most famous horse in Slovenia is the Lipizzaner - one of the oldest cultural horse breeds in the world. The name of the breed is derived from Lipica, its point of origin in the Slovenian Karst.
