Slovenia family activity holiday
| country: | Slovenia |
| departures: | 2010: 12 Aug |
| price: | From £795 - £1095 per adult (11 days) including flights from the UK, depending on number of activities chosen. Children (under 14) from £715 - £995. This trip can also be booked without flights. Recommended minimum age 8 years |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
read 6 travellers reviews
the amazing things you'll be doing
Based around the small town of Tolmin and the turquioise blue River Soca, this holiday provides an ideal mix of activity, relaxation and culture. Superb activities, unbelievable scenery, good food and the warmest of welcomes await you in this truly remarkable corner of Europe.
Tolmin combines an old quarter with a functional new town and provides all the services you will need including car hire, currency exchange, shops, bars, restaurants and a daily market.
Accommodation: In the centre of Kobarid sits Hotel Hvala a family friendly hotel with a warm atmosphere. The hotel has 32 rooms including family rooms and rooms with balconies. There is a sauna and café, bar area.
Hotel Hvala is renowned for its excellent fish restaurant with 30-year-long tradition, where simple seafood and freshwater fish dishes are no longer simple, but rather a work of art, such as: trout roll in fennel sauce, crawfish with polenta, shellfish Dalmatian style, salt-covered bass, haddock, turbot with baked potatoes, forest berries, etc. Mediterranean culinary specialties served with a wide selection of excellent wines make a meal you will remember for a long time.
Tolmin combines an old quarter with a functional new town and provides all the services you will need including car hire, currency exchange, shops, bars, restaurants and a daily market.
Accommodation: In the centre of Kobarid sits Hotel Hvala a family friendly hotel with a warm atmosphere. The hotel has 32 rooms including family rooms and rooms with balconies. There is a sauna and café, bar area.
Hotel Hvala is renowned for its excellent fish restaurant with 30-year-long tradition, where simple seafood and freshwater fish dishes are no longer simple, but rather a work of art, such as: trout roll in fennel sauce, crawfish with polenta, shellfish Dalmatian style, salt-covered bass, haddock, turbot with baked potatoes, forest berries, etc. Mediterranean culinary specialties served with a wide selection of excellent wines make a meal you will remember for a long time.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Arrival and night canoeing. We transfer from Ljubljana Airport to our hotel where we host an introductory dinner. As darkness begins to descend we take to a gentle stretch of the River Soca in inflatable canoes to view the spectacular Slovenian night sky - the perfect introduction. |
| Day 2: | Exploration trek. Our trek (approx 6 miles) into the stunning pastures of the Polog Valley is the perfect opportunity to get to know the other families on the holiday. We will visit a World War 1 bunker, cross the river on a gondola bridge and we throw in plenty of fun and games to keep even the most reluctant child hiker happy. Picnic included. |
| Day 3: | Canyoning. An exhilarating canyoning excursion starts with an uphill walk through the silent and secluded Trebusa Canyon. Our descent commences with some slides down gentle rapids and small water funnels before encountering some much tougher obstacles downstream. Best of all is a rope assisted descent of a 27 metre waterfall. |
| Day 4: | Kayaking tuition and skills development. Once you have mastered the essential skills you can control your descent and determine your own pace. We start with basic tuition before attempting a Grade I & II stretch of river... ideal for beginners. Picnic included. |
| Day 5: | Free day. |
| Day 6: | Kobarid treasure hunt and rock climbing. The small town of Kobarid is 12 kilometres up the valley from Tomlin. It's a pretty place with two or three excellent restaurants, an award winning and remarkably moving World War One museum and the stunning Napolean Bridge which straddles one of the river Soca's most dramatic stretches. We've created a treasure hunt which is designed to explore everything Kobarid has to offer. We haven't included lunch because Kobarid's restaurants are excellent (try the fish at Kotlar). If our full stomachs allow, we will try some rock climbing on an artificial wall before heading back to the hotel. |
| Day 7: | Tubing. Just a half day activity today but with good reason. Tubing is just silly. You sit on a large rubber ring with a paddle and try to negotiate your way downstream. It's just about impossible but it's a laugh a minute and a huge favourite. We'll have a free afternoon before enjoying an evening barbecue. |
| Day 8: | Free day. Our second free day but again our hotel has an outing planned this time to the Croatian island of Krk. It will be an extremely long day but the Croatian coastline is not to be missed (payable locally). |
| Day 9: | White water rafting. The River Soca provides an exhilerating contrast of white water rapids and stunning mountain scenery which you can admire during the calmer stretches. We'll include some fun and games as we race downstream as well as some river survival skills and a riverside picnic lunch. |
| Day 10: | Mini-rafting. Every year our client questionnaires confirm that this is a fitting conclusion to an excellent activity holiday. Mini-rafts are simply inflatable kayaks which give you much greater control than the larger white water rafts. You can paddle from shore to shore, negotiate rapids and even sit back and admire the towering peaks of the stunning Julian Alps. A riverside picnic lunch is included. A farewell dinner will be served tonight before our last night quiz. We hope you've been paying attention because some local knowledge will be a great advantage. There will be prizes for the clever ones. |
| Day 11: | Depart or extend your stay. We return to Ljubljana Airport for the return flight home. |
travellers' tales
The Soca river is both fantastically beautiful and great fun; canyoning was a genuinely awesome experience. Kobarid is a lovely little town to spend some time in: as the Soca is fast and cold, you can nip up the road on your days off to the Nadiza which is a lovely place to swim. (more)
how this holiday makes a difference
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The area of The Soca Valley is a superb example of local people working together to ensure that the local environment, which is the lifeblood of their economy, is protected against the influx of mass tourism. The River Soca is so clean that you can simply drink from its clear waters without fear. Building is strictly controlled and there is only one hotel in the town of Tolmin, which by definition regulates the amount of tourism which the area sustains annually.
In Slovenia we actively encourage the development of the training of local guides who receive their diplomas from the University of Ljubljana. Our presence allows these guides to develop their international language skills through constant interaction with our groups. Tolmin itself lies on the edge of the Triglav National Park and taking clients there on one activity day we educate them in how tourism can impact on the ecology of the region if not managed carefully. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |