Published on Jul, 2023
I’d highly recommend this day trip to Postojna and Predjama Castle – it’s an easy way to see the spectacular caves, and a fascinating castle, with a short stop in beautiful Ljubljana thrown in for good measure.
Roundabout organised a hotel pick-up for us and our fellow travellers (6 people in total, plus our tour guide Patrick), and by 9am we were on the highway to Slovenia. Patrick kept us entertained throughout the drive, telling us all about Croatia, Slovenia, and Yugoslavia. The 9-seater mini van was comfortable and air conditioned.
When we arrived in Ljubljana, Patrick gave us a tour of some of the main sights – the triple bridge, dragon bridge, market square, etc – before giving us an hour to explore on our own. Such a beautiful city. We must return one day!
From Ljubljana it was a short trip to the Postojna caves. Patrick had aimed to get us there in time for a 2pm tour. (We all had to buy our own cave tour tickets – they’re not included in the Roundabout tour price.) I must admit, while the caves themselves are spectacular, the tour put on by the cave operator (nothing to do with Patrick or Roundabout) was utter rubbish. Huge herds of tourists, shepherded through at lightning speed, with brusque, disinterested young female tour guides, who marched ahead and didn’t wait for the full group to catch up before describing the points of interest. At least half our group was left to basically trudge through the cave at our own speed, with no guide, until we finally caught up with the group at the end. Pathetic.
When we booked our tickets at the Postojna ticket office, the lady warned us the caves would be cold (“less than 10 degrees”) and looked worried when we said we hadn’t brought any jackets or coats (for context, Croatia was in a heatwave that week, 35–40C every day). Two of our group rented wool coats at the entrance (€5 each) but to be honest, I’ve experienced colder walks on my way to work in Liverpool, so your mileage may vary. If you tend to feel the cold, come prepared.
It’s only a 5 minute drive from the Postojna caves to Predjama Castle. On the way, Patrick explained some of the history of the castle, and its “Robin Hood” owner, Erasmus of Lueg. When we got there, again, we bought our own tickets to the castle, which included a fancy little mobile dictaphone which you’d scan on entry to each room, to hear a description of what’s there. The castle was utterly fascinating. Patrick gave us about 90 minutes to finish the tour, which was _just_ about enough, and took photos for us all.
With the castle visit complete, all that remained was the drive back to Zagreb. Again, Patrick kept us chatting and entertained throughout the long drive. I was particularly impressed to see him including the two ladies in the back seats of the minivan, whose English wasn’t great, so they didn’t feel left out. Very thoughtful, and much better than other tourgides we’ve had in Croatia.
Accessibility note: the minivan is not wheelchair accessible, and from what we could tell, neither are the caves or the castle.
