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A varied and interesting trip exploring the varied wildlife of Slovenia with an expert guide and staying in a beautiful location amidst stunning scenery. A well planned trip that covered a great deal in a short space of time. We went underground into one of the amazing karst caves, spent time watching bears from wildlife hides, enjoyed the birds and other flora and fauna of this lovely location. Naturetrek have always shown a high level of professionalism, they communicate well with their clients and we always feel well looked after and valued. They are able to answer any questions put to them and I can not recommend them highly enough as a wildlife travel company. During Covid Naturetrek continued to offer zoom travel evenings, bird watching with guides from around the world, as well as day trips when things opened up. They kept up hope in hopeless times.
R.S Hampshire, May 22
Tour Itinerary and Reports
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Slovenia - Bears, Birds & Caves
Tour Code: SVN03An exciting 6-day holiday to Slovenia, focusing on its Brown Bears, birdlife and other natural history highlights and including a visit to the fascinating Križna Jama cave system.
£1,895 (Inc flights)
£1,745
Highlights
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Summary
Slovenia, squeezed between Italy and Croatia, is not a destination that many have visited, and this holiday offers naturalists and lovers of the outdoors some exciting and unusual highlights. For example, who would expect that you can cosy up in small hides in the forests here for spellbinding close encounters with Brown Bears? And who knew that one of the largest lakes, Lake Cerknica, sometimes disappears completely in the summer? In the south-west of the country, an extensive karst cave system abounds with underground rivers and amazing fossils of fearsome predators. And then there are the birds, abounding in the forests and meadows. Our comfortable lodge, nestled in a quiet and remote area, gives us superb opportunities to enjoy these at their best.
- Get up close and personal with Brown Bears in small forest hides
- Comfortable lodge in remote Notranjska area in south of the country
- Impressive supporting cast of other mammals, potentially including Stone Marten, Badger and Golden Jackal
- Birds in the area include most of the European woodpeckers
- Other special birds are Corncrake, Black Stork and Ural Owl
- Visit to “intermittent” Lake Cerknica, which in the summer occasionally dries out completely
- See a second species of Bear – fossils of the extinct Cave Bear in the Križna Jama karst cave system
- Limited to only eight participants
Grading
Grade A. Easy walks only.
Outline Itinerary
What's Included?
- Flights
- Accommodation:
A small, comfortable lodge with private facilities.
- Food:
All included in the price.
Reviews
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It was very well organised with an excellent, informative and enthusiastic guide who had a wide range of knowledge about plants, mammals, reptiles, birds and butterflies. Our small group got on well and there was good adherence to Covid19 safety measures by all at our accommodation. The food was also excellent and as a vegetarian I was well catered for. I was impressed by the way [Naturetrek] kept in touch and updated me constantly in what was a very fluid situation. Despite having to rearrange travel and other trip details the tour went ahead which in the circumstances was a great achievement.
L.R. London, Sept 20 -
Our trip to see the Slovenian bears was wonderful, and having a flexible itinerary was wonderful, because it meant that every minute was used in the best way possible, and this made it enjoyable for us. Having three bear-watching trips was great, because it maximised the chances of seeing bears. I understand that watching wildlife takes patience, time and also luck. I think my daughter and I would have been delighted to have seen just one bear. In the event, we saw lots of bears on each of our three bear-watching trips, including a mother with her very small and wobbly cubs, whom we watched for a good few hours altogether, and they were absolutely adorable and engaging. We were able to see the differences between all the bears, because each one is physically very different to look at, so we learned a lot about bears. So each of our three bear watching trips was a great success. The valleys with meadows and flowers and butterflies and the Karst landscape was wonderfully peaceful and enjoyable and it was fantastic to be able to spend a lot of time wandering in the meadows, taking it slowly and really looking and enjoying the flora and fauna, and to be able to ask our very knowledgeable guide, Luca about everything... We were fascinated by the disappearing lake and disappearing river and cave system - they were incredible and very interesting - my daughter is about to start her geography degree, and she loved this as well, and our Cave Guide was very informative. There is a waiting list of several months to enter the cave, because it is protected, so we really appreciated the fact that Naturetrek had organised this for us.
S.A. Hampshire, June 19
Dates & Prices
2024
Tour Leader: Luca Boscain
Luca is an Italian naturalist from Treviso. He started birding during his childhood and gradually became more and more interested in all aspects of nature, especially butterflies, reptiles and orchids. He spends much of his year exploring the varied habitats of the Adriatic basin, including the wetlands, mountains, islands, forests ... and much more! After graduating with an honours degree in Natural Sciences, Luca later became a nature guide. He has been guiding natural history groups since 2012, including Naturetrek groups in the Dolomites, Sicily and further afield since 2015.
Tour Leader: Luca Boscain
Luca is an Italian naturalist from Treviso. He started birding during his childhood and gradually became more and more interested in all aspects of nature, especially butterflies, reptiles and orchids. He spends much of his year exploring the varied habitats of the Adriatic basin, including the wetlands, mountains, islands, forests ... and much more! After graduating with an honours degree in Natural Sciences, Luca later became a nature guide. He has been guiding natural history groups since 2012, including Naturetrek groups in the Dolomites, Sicily and further afield since 2015.
2025
Prefer to Travel in a Private Group?
For any interested natural history club or society, we can arrange for a private departure of this tour.
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Why Naturetrek?
At Naturetrek we craft expertly-guided group and tailor-made wildlife holidays and cruises to all seven continents. On one of our holidays, you can be assured that our passionate team will enable you to experience and enjoy the best of the world's wildlife and natural spectacles in as comfortable and rewarding a manner as possible, caring as best we can for the environment in the process. We are proud to provide:
- The widest choice of wildlife holidays worldwide
- Tours managed and led by naturalists, for naturalists
- Outstanding value and exceptional customer service
Furthermore, as a Naturetrek client, our office team are always to on hand to help you – so if you have any queries about your holiday, whether before or after you have booked, we will be delighted to answer them on the phone. Please just give our team a call!
