Strolling and Exploring Slovenia’s lakes, gorges and meadows

You purchase your own flights for this holiday.

The price you pay to Secret Hills Walking Holidays is a land only price.

Flights are from London Gatwick – Easyjet – or London Heathrow – British Airways.

This means that clients will arrive at the destination airport at different times and we will arrange the onward transfers to the hotel, and return you to the airport at the end of the holidays.

The Strolling

Strolling  in Slovenia, marvellous alpine walking through limestone country, with stunning vistas of lakes and river valleys.  Slovenia lies south of Austria and Italy and our walking in the Julian Alps is in the north of the country.  We base ourselves near Lake Bohinj, the largest of the Slovenian lakes.  There are picturesque villages, with  farming at the heart of the economy.  There are alpine meadows to amble through, and fast flowing rivers.  There are number of deep gorges – familiar to limestone alpine scenery.  Simply stunning alpine mountain scenery walks take us over stunning ridges, and down beautiful valleys, and there is a variety of scenery for the discerning walker. Five days strolling  during the week’s break, with one day as a rest day.  Strolling is easy paced,  we don’t rush the hills and ridges – talking, looking, learning about Slovenia – tends to slow the pace a little.

After a mini bus journey to the walk start, we walk for about five and a half hours, returning at about 4.30 pm – time for a swim, or simply rest before dinner in the  hotel’s dining room.  Underfoot conditions are good, with some loose stones, and many tree roots on some paths. Green path walking is frequent.  Climbing is steady, with the occasional steep short stretch, not to be rushed, and downhills are … well downhills – always a pull on the old knees.  Distances are  4 – 6 miles a day.  There is always a cooling  breeze so early mornings require a top layer, but after that, it is shorts and tee shirt walking.  We walk in the Julian Alps, Triglav National Park, Karavanke Mountains on the Austrian Border, Poclujka, and the Kranska Gora area, See more details below.

Walking option

Each day there will be a longer walking option for those who wish to have a varied activity programme – you can change daily from Strolling to walking

Your walk leaders

Secret Hills Walking Holidays work with Human Fish, the best Slovenian guiding business.  Two guides are provided for each walk, with back up from Alan Garner.  The guides will structure a balanced programme of strolls to suit the ability of the group.  We also have two walks per day, around the same area, giving the opportunity for a shorter and less demanding walk. Your tour guide,  Alan Garner is responsible for all aspects of your holiday in Slovenia.

Choice of Walks

Each week we choose walks according to the ability of the group who join.

• Vogel ski lift area and walk round east side of Bohinj Lake
• Alpine meadows and Lipanca mountain hut
• Vintgar Gorge circular and Lake Bled
• Circular of Lake Bled, its castle and Tito’s summer palace, Bled church on the island, Bled town
• Mostnice Gorge and Voje Meadows.
• The wonderful villages of the Upper Bohinj Valley
• Sava river meadows, Ribcev Laz and Stara Fuzina villages, church, cheese museum
•  Slap Savica Waterfall

Prevailing weather conditions

Slovenia  has a true alpine climate – 6 months under metres of snow, a spring in May and early June- summer in late June and early July will be warm with a chance of some showers. In mid July to end of August it is hot with regular thunderstorms. September to early October is autum with sunny days and between 18 and 20 degrees..

Exclusions

Although our leaders are well trained  and experienced in dealing  with different capabilities of our walking clients, if they have any concerns about  any clients ability or suitability to undertake safely any walking activity we plan or they feel that participation of an individual may affect the groups safety and cohesion, then they have full permission to exclude that client from an activity.

They will try at all times to provide an alternative suggested activity, though this may involve the client in additional local cost.

We rarely have to enforce this above recommendation, but it is a sensible and necessary protection for the individual client, the group and the leaders.

• Simply stunning Alpine scenery
• Choice of walks daily
• Superb walking in the Julian Alps in the Triglav National Park- its lovely gorges and river valleys
• Enjoy the peace of lovely Lake Bohinj and the bustle of tourist trap -Lake Bled
• Visit by cable car the alpine wonderland of Vogel
• Walk in Alpine meadows and wild flower paradise
• Walk the fabulous Vintgar gorge with its wooden walkway suspended above the roaring river
• Eat lunch in fabulous mountain huts
• Stay in an owner managed three-star hotel with delightful food in a friendly working village
• The hospitality of the Slovenian people
• Terrific local hotel in a friendly, working Slovenian village
• Lovely food both in the hotel and mountain huts for lunch
• Our relaxed social approach
• And its only 2 hours away

On each Slovenia  holiday we have two grades of walking.- moderate and easy.

On the easy walks – we call these strolling and exploring walks -which  may also include some sightseeing of villages. towns, and things of interest generally as well as visiting the wonderful lakes of Bled and Bohinj – we wont walk as fast, have plenty of stops and probably cover 5/7 miles.

There will be hills to ascend/descend but we will take these very steadily – we do not rush our clients. As with the walking grade – underfoot conditions in Slovenia – can be stony – it is limestone country after all – and we take care on these sections. The pace is slower, not snail pace but enough to give you a good stroll, and to allow you to enjoy the wonderful Slovenian countryside.

It’s all about meeting new friends. Each holiday is designed to be a friendly, relaxed and stress-free occasion. Talking is as important as walking on Secret Hills Walking Holidays. We don’t go in for discos, we may use an event that is taking place in the area we are in to boost the weekend’s activities – but it’s good, old fashioned chat that makes our short breaks successful.

“Make new friends that turn into old friends” – that’s our motto.

You might be surprised by what fun you’ll have with people who are older or younger than you during a holiday with us, and that’s exactly the sort of atmosphere we encourage; people find it very rewarding. It doesn’t matter what your reasons for travelling with us are, we’ve had people who are single, divorced or widowed, people who have partners that are unable to travel, and people who can’t holiday with their friends anymore as they’ve all got married themselves. There are people who want to make friends, see sights, and experience something completely new. Whatever your reason, we’ll welcome you with open arms and our friendly hosts will help you to get the most out of your holiday.

Don’t worry if this is the first time you have ventured to join a group holiday – its always a bit daunting – but we will look after you and ensure that you get used to being amongst friends again. Trust us to to get you back into the swing of things.

Oh – by the way – it’s not a dating agency – over the years we have had people meet and fall in love – but that’s just chance. Our aim is that you make like-minded friends – just relax and enjoy.

Just arrive and enjoy.

There are other walking holiday companies that cover Europe but we believe we offer the best value for many reasons….

• We specialise in organising guided walking holidays for single and solos travellers
• We are a small friendly company
• We have a loyal customer base who return again and again (so we must be doing something right) – read our testimonials page on the website
• We offer a lot of flexibility – you can stay extra nights which we are happy to organise for you. We are also very flexible on the walks we provide, adapting to suit walkers and weather conditions
• Our walk leading is second to none. Unlike some other large Walking Companies, we use LOCAL leaders who live in the area and who love their surroundings. They have expert knowledge of everything you need to know to make an area come alive.
• You are safe in our hands – our guides are experts, fully qualified in first aid. Also, because of their local knowledge of the hills, they can respond to any situation that might for example demand cutting short a route. They don’t need to consult maps – they know the hills intimately.
• Our leaders are all easy-going, genuinely sociable people who want to ensure that you have the best time you can with the rest of the group. They make the weekend fun by engaging with all members of a group, and ensuring that everyone feels part of the group experience.
• We give great value for money. Because we recognise that lots of walkers holiday on their own, we have negotiated no single supplement deals with all our hotels to ensure the best possible deal.
• We always use good hotels, selected and constantly reviewed.
• We have smaller groups than some of the larger walking companies because we believe the social experience is much better in a smaller group. People can talk to everyone, especially at dinner where you can all sit at one table in a small group. Our numbers vary from holiday to holiday but an average group size would be 8-12.

You may book and pay online.

Payment is in two parts – you pay a deposit of 25%, payable when reserving your holiday place. You will receive an invoice for the holiday showing the deposit paid, and full amount to pay for the holiday. This acts as your confirmation.

The balance is due 8 weeks prior to the holiday start date. You will be sent a reminder.

About three weeks prior to departure, we will send you holiday joining details, and details of the transfer from the airport to the appointed hotel we have arranged for you.

Once you arrive at your holiday destination

Secret Hills Walking Holidays organise all aspects of your holiday– including guiding, transport to walks start and provide you with an experienced tour guide. You make your own arrangements to get to the airport in the UK, we meet you at the airport you are flying to, and help you with your transfer to the appointed hotel.

It is important to read Secret Hills Walking Holidays Terms and Conditions – click on the tab on our web site – before you complete the booking form.

 Insurance – you need to be fully covered

It is a condition of joining any of our holidays that you must be fully insured against travel, medical and personal accident risks (to include repatriation costs and air ambulance or helicopter rescue services where appropriate).

We will ask you to provide us with the details of your insurance prior to the holidays start date and it is a condition of reserving a place.

If you are a UK citizen and travelling in Europe you should obtain the UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) which is available only online from the UK Government website.

This gives you medical care at a reduced cost, and some cases for free, in many European countries, but should not be considered a substitute for adequate travel insurance