As someone who wants to explore most of Europe, there were a few places that I never really thought about going to. That is until recently when researching our most recent adventure; a trip to Slovenia and Croatia. If you are interested in exploring new wines, small towns with strong historical significance all while avoiding crowds these are two great countries to visit. Offering entertainment for culinary, history, and adventure lovers alike, these countries are slowly creeping up to my top 20 countries to visit.
Reasons to Visit:
For Wine and Food Lovers:
We will be discussing the amazing wine country of Croatia and Slovenia in a future post, for now here is a brief overview. Croatian wine roads are a fantastic way to tour the county across Istria and the Dalmatia coast, the birthplace of Zinfandel, and beyond. Not to mention, if you cross the tourist/guest barrier you will be soon acquainted with the spectacular culinary aspects of Croatia.
Slovenia has the oldest vine in the world, called Old Vine, which is the heart and soul of Slovenian wine culture. It is roughly 400 years old and still produces grapes; if you want to learn about how wine is produced in Slovenia, its history or anything in-between the Old Vine in Maridor is the place to go.
For the History Lover:
With a wide variety of castles, museums, and churches Slovenia provides any history lover with a unique perspective from the baroque era to the present. In the mood to explore even deeper? Slovenia also offers a number of caves, including one of the most famous caves in the world, the Postojna Cave. This cave is known for having the only twin track railway and is approximately 140 years old.
Croatia also offers a wide variety of museums and castles to view on picturesque landscapes. A great place to explore is Fort Lovrijenac. This 11th century fort was built by the people of the republic of Dubrovnik in order to frustrate the Venetians who were planning on building their own fort in the same location.
For the Adventure Lover:
In Slovenia, you will find beautiful landscapes, amazing waterfalls, caves, and mountains to explore. There are adrenaline parks, rock and ice climbing spots for both beginners and advancing climbers, as well as biking trails, water sports and more.
Want to explore where some of the scenes from Game of Thrones were filmed? In Croatia there are two places where the characters leap from the pages; Split and Dubrovnik. Croatia also has the Dinaric Alps hugging most of the coast providing dramatic waterfalls, underground caverns and craggy peaks to climb or explore on bikes or a swim.
To Summarize
Regardless of what type of traveler you are, Croatia and Slovenia offers a wide array of adventures for you. Want to learn more? Check out our free itinerary below:
