Biking tours in Europe are a popular way to slowly see and inhale the sights. While France and Italy are the most popular for biking,Slovenia is a hidden gem for biking enthusiasts. This small country is full of natural beauty with rolling hills, the Julian Alps, the Adriatic coastline and limestone caves.
Biking Trails ands Tours in Slovenia
Around the Julian Alps
You can take a 232 kilometres cycle trip around the Julian Alps from Kranjska Gora via Bled, Bohinj, Tolmin, Kobarid, Bovec and Vršic back to Kranjska Gora. This cycle ride, can be completed either in five separate stages or on five separate days. The ascent of the highest Slovene mountain pass at 1611 metres high is at Vršic.
For those less adventurous and active, Kranjska Gora offers many other shorter easier bicycling trails such as a fifteen kilometres asphalt bicycle trail between Ratece and Gozd Martuljek. And for the adrenalin hungry, there is Elan Bike Park with jumps, tables, seesaws and other obstacles for freeriding.
Along the Adriatic Sea
The Health and Friendship Trail is a twenty-seven kilometres bike trail joining the neighboring countries of Italy, Slovenia and Croatia. The trail runs on a former narrow gauge railroad line between Trieste and Porec. The terrain from the sea coast to the rim of Slovenia’s karst region offers panoramic viewpoints and reaches heights up to 1,000 metres above sea levels.
Through the KaravanskeMountains
Mountain biking is often up and down slopes and through valleys but at the Mountain Bike Park, the trail is underground and through the mountain. With a guide and lights, you can explore the abandoned mine shafts under Mount Peca.
In the Škofja Loka Area
The Loka Bicycle Trail runs along valleys, over ridges and across meadows. The terrain is diverse with vary degrees of steepness across dirt roads, forest trails and rural asphalt roads. The entire trail is 300 kilometres divided into 12 sections.
Biking Guidelines
Bicycle trips and tours in Slovenia encounter fewer limitations and restrictions than in most European countries. Biking is not allowed on expressways, highways and certain marked sections of main roads. Otherwise, the simultaneous traffic of bikes and cars is allowed. Biking Trails and Maps can be found in all major tourist information centres.
The Best Time to Ride
The mild coastal climate makes bicycling possible in all seasons, even in the winter months. The best time to bike the Alpine area is mid summer when the coast and plains are not too hot. While in the northeastern continental part of Slovenia, the best time to bike is from April to October.
