Do not hesitate to contact us. We are an expert team and we are always happy to talk to you.
01694 723600
You matter to us & we promise to provide you with a superb walking & social holiday, tailored specifically to your needs. We provide walking holidays for walkers & as walkers ourselves, we appreciate & understand the requirements of a walking holiday.
The spectacular mountains in the Julian Alps are predominantly limestone, and their jagged form produce stunning vistas wherever you look. Fabulous guided walking for the discerning walker. Glacial lakes, rushing rivers, tremendously deep gorges and alpine meadows with a real splash of wild flower colour are everywhere. And the unique hospitality of the local people – always welcoming – compliments this superb walking destination.
The price shown here excludes flights but includes a sole occupancy supplement
Our holidays are designed uniquely for solos and singles – in some of the most dramatic scenery on offer in the UK and Europe. We also design bespoke holidays for specific groups.
What’s not included
Your hotel
Hotel Tripic is family owned, and a comfortable base for our walking holidays. All rooms are spacious, and are en suite. The hotel is situated in the village of Bohinj Bistrica, five kilometres from Lake Bohinj, Slovenia’s largest lake. The village has a number of bars, supermarkets, a pharmacy and a fitness and swimming centre. It is the centre for rural life in the upper Bohinj valley. The rivers Bistrica and Sava meet here.
Your meals
Tripic has a comprehensive breakfast and dinner menu – plenty of choice and well cooked.
Internet facilities are available in all rooms at the hotel. The Tripic family will make you very welcome. The hotel is quiet, and is the start point for transport to our walks start.
For sole use of a twin room, there is a supplement of £20 per night., but this is included in the price shown on our website.
There is the option of sharing a Duplex suite – two separate twin rooms, with a shared bathroom, without incurring a sole occupancy supplement. Talk to us about this option.
The spectacular mountains in the Julian Alps are predominantly limestone, and their jagged form produce stunning vistas wherever you look. Glacial lakes, rushing rivers, tremendously deep gorges and alpine meadows with a real splash of wild flower colour are everywhere. But the hospitality of the local people – always welcoming – compliment this superb walking destination.
Walking is available from May to October in these mountains, and temperatures can be hot in the valleys in July and August though higher up, cool breezes are a help. We walk in May, June and September – ideal temperatures.
Ljubljana is the capital, and the airport is also near there. Transfers to our hotel are about 45 minutes, but through wonderful scenery – a good way to whet your appetite for the days ahead. Lake Bled is 12 kilometres away.
The Strolling and Exploring option – easier walking around lakes, in gorges, through alpine meadows and along river valleys combine spectacular views with manageable terrain. We visit many local villages- the heart of the agricultural life in Slovenia on our travels.
Where it is possible, we visit sites of real interest like churches and museums along our strolls.
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.
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.
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
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.
Each week we choose walks according to the ability of the group who join.
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..
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.
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….
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
The spectacular mountains in the Julian Alps are predominantly limestone, and their jagged form produce stunning vistas wherever you look. Glacial lakes, rushing rivers, tremendously deep gorges and alpine meadows with a real splash of wild flower colour are everywhere. But the hospitality of the local people – always welcoming – compliment this superb walking destination.
Walking is available from May to October in these mountains, and temperatures can be hot in the valleys in July and August though higher up, cool breezes are a help. We walk in May June and September – ideal temperatures.
Ljubljana is the capital, and the airport is also near there. Transfers to our hotel are about 45 minutes, but through wonderful scenery – a good way to whet your appetite for the days ahead. Lake Bled is 12 kilometres away.
The two young guides we had were awesome. Both were educating us with history and local knowledge of areas, food etc. well organised holiday.
Hi Alan
Thanks for a memorable and fun holiday with fantastic company !
Hope to see you soon on the next one.
Hi Alan
Thanks for a memorable and fun holiday with fantastic company !
Hope to see you soon on the next one.
Hi Alan
Thanks for a memorable and fun holiday with fantastic company !
Hope to see you soon on the next one.
Very professional and responsive to needs of the walkers and weather & in particular our safety & enjoyment
The hotel was excellent. Nice to have a small family run business who would do anything to help. The drying room with locked cages for each room was a bonus