Join the 2020 Fulbright Insight Trip to Slovenia!

Known as ‘Europe in Miniature’, tiny Slovenia is the only country in the world with the name love in it: sLOVEnia. That’s exactly the emotion you will feel when visiting the green paradise with a huge heart and a wealth of diversity.
Explore the magnificent Julian Alps proudly rising to the sky with fellow Fulbright alumni, as well as the radiating coastline oozes Mediterranean charm in the South-West, thermal healing waters pouring from the natural springs in the East and charming baroque city of Ljubljana as the centrally located capital. Add the top-class wine cellars in the Tuscany-style Goriška Brda and the World’s oldest vine-tree in Maribor, combining it with a superb gastronomy with Mediteranean, Alpine and Panonian influence – can you think of any better place to be in the next June?

About the trip

Total cost: $2,490 (shared room); single rooms available for an additional $575

Dates: June 6-16, 2020

Travel partner: pasSPORT europe

Contact: travel@fulbright.org

Registration

Submit your non-refundable deposit and registration packet to the Fulbright Association by March 15, 2020:

This trip is now full and registration is no longer available.

Final payments are due on Wednesday, April 15

Itinerary

1

Saturday, June 6

DAY 1: ARRIVAL LJUBLJANA
  • Arrive to Ljubljana airport.  Pick up the participants at LJU airport. Accommodation at a LJU hotel.
  • 8:00 PM Welcome dinner- a Slovenian evening with folklore show (dancing, music, local food).
  • Overnight in Ljubljana hotel.

2

Sunday, June 7

DAY 2: LJUBLJANA
  • Breakfast at the hotel
  • City tour around the Old Town, Castle, city market, Plečnik's masterpieces etc.
Ljubljana is the green capital of a green country. The image of the town by a river with picturesque bridges and a marketplace was designed by the famous architect Jože Plečnik. The town of a thousand events is surrounded by parks and natural protected areas. 
  • Ljubljanica lunch river cruise - a beautiful experience for the group to include drinks, food, and music in a fascinating different angle of the city-view
  • Possible afternoon reception with the US Embassy (TBA)
  • Overnight in Ljubljana hotel

3

Monday, June 8

DAY 3:  BLED
  • Breakfast at the hotel
  • Check out and morning transfer to Bled.
With immense natural beauty, Bled, together with its surroundings, ranks among the most beautiful alpine resorts, and number one tourist attraction in Slovenia. The beauty of the mountains reflected on the lake, picturesque island with St. Mary church and middle-ages castle, the serenity and the fresh air arouse pleasant feelings in visitors throughout the year.
  • Visit Bled Island by a Pletna boat and visit the church of St. Mary.  Walk around Bled castle
  • Continue to Bohinj lake
Lake Bohinj is located in a glacial valley and it comprises almost 100 million cubic metres of water – according to an old Bohinj joke: no more than a bucket if it is large enough. The steeply descending lake basin is relatively smoothly shaped and has no shallow areas. In summer, the temperature of the water rises to 22 °C; in winter, the lake freezes sometimes. Water level rises 2 – 3 metres after heavy rainfall.
  • Climb the Vogel mountain by the cable car. Amazing views of Triglav (Slovenia's highest mountain)
  • Tasty mountain lunch at 1500 metres above sea level!
  • Return to Radovljica and visit the unique bee musem.
Since opening in 1959, this museum has specialized in maintaining the heritage of Slovenian beekeeping by keeping records, collecting, storing, documenting, representing and popularizing this tradition. Its quarters are in the Baroque Mansion House in the old part of the town.
  • Check in and accommodation in Bled

4

Tuesday, June 9

DAY 4: JULIAN ALPS
  • Breakfast at the hotel
  • Drive to Mojstrana and visit of the Peričnik Waterfall
  • Discover the secrets of the Slovenian mountaineering in the Alpine museum.
A rich collection of items with diverse historical stories, fascinating photographic and archive material, and a comprehensive choice of booklets give the visitor an opportunity to grasp the popularity and importance of mountaineering in Slovenia, past and present. The permanent exhibition is based on the concept of a museum story, which we experience as if we were climbing a mountain. The permanent and other exhibitions contribute to education and culture within tourism and the mountain atmosphere.
  • Lunch at a traditional Alpine restaurant in Kranjska Gora area
  • Drive over the Vršič mountain pass (1.611 metres) and visit the Russian Chapel in memoriam of the 100 Russian soldiers died under a snow avalanche
  • Walk to the emerald Soča river spring in the Trenta valley
One of the most beautiful rivers in Europe, the Soča is an important natural treasure in the Triglav National Park. It is famous for its deep emerald color and brisk rapids in the upstream area. 137 km in length, the Soča is an Alpine river with a mysterious karst source in Trenta, at the foot of the majestic Julian Alps.
  • Arrive to Bovec and hotel check-in
  • Evening on your own and overnight at a Bovec hotel

5

Wednesday, June 10

DAY 5: SOČA VALLEY
  • Breakfast at the hotel
  • Drive to Kobarid to visit the World War 1 museum
The Museum is dedicated to the events of the First World War on the Isonzo Front. It presents two and a half years of warfare in the Upper Soča Valley, and devotes particular attention to the twelfth Soča battle, known as the Battle of Kobarid. The Museum features numerous interesting exhibits, a relief model of the Soča River Basin, an extensive photographic archive, a model cave and a documentary film presenting one of the largest mountain battles ever fought.
  • Earn your lunch by walking the mysterious path to the Kozjak waterfall…
  • Lunch in a local restaurant
  • Take a deep thought of the human history at the Kobarid Charnel house
Italian Charnel House is located above Kobarid. It was built on Gradic Hill near the Church of Saint Anton. It was opened by Benito Mussolini. The Charnel House was built in the memory to the fallen Italian soldiers in the First World War. There were transmitted posthumous remains of 7014 unknown and known soldiers from the surrounding military graveyards. The soldiers fell in the neighborhood of Tolmin, Kobarid and Rombon.
  • Return to Bovec and enjoy the walks along the Soča river or (optional) continue the WW1 discovery by visiting the Kluže Fortress
  • Overnight at a Bovec hotel

6

Thursday, June 11

DAY 6:  GORIŠKA BRDA
  • Breakfast at the hotel
  • Drive towards Gorica with short stops in Tolmin and Most na Soči to discover the traditional towns and see the biggest stone bridge in Slovenia
  • Enter the Slovenian little Tuscany – Goriška Brda
Brda is mostly cultivated with vineyards and orchards. A nature explorer will discover many interesting things about geological, climatic and botanical features in this unspoiled nature. The hilly Brda landscape is speckled with villages, some clustered like birds’ nests, some elongated and dispersed, with houses spread along the ridges, but all of them surrounded by the greenery of vineyards and orchards with roads, track and paths winding among them.
  • Take a wine tour in one of the local wine cellars and taste the variety and quality of some of the finest wines produced in this region
  • Lunch at a local restaurant
  • Afternoon discovery of the Brda villages with Medana, Gonjače, Šmartno etc.
  • Drive to Nova Gorica and walk in the city that lies on the Slovenian and Italian side of the border
  • Check-in & overnight at a Nova Gorica hotel
  • Dinner at a local restaurant

7

Friday, June 12

DAY 7:  LIPICA & PIRAN
  • Breakfast at the hotel
  • Walk the cobbled streets of the picturesque Karst village Štanjel
  • Visit the Lipizzaner horses’ origin – Lipica horse stud farm.
Lipica is the oldest European stud farm continuously breeding one of the oldest cultural horse breeds. As such it has a remarkable significance as a cultural, historical and natural heritage for Slovenia and Europe. The history of Lipica is closely intertwined with the Habsburgs and the time when horse was considered an ideal and was at the time a crucial strategic advantage. The Lipica story begins in the 16th century when the abandoned summer residence became the court stud farm.
  • Lunch at a local restaurant
  • Drive to Koper and walk the streets of the biggest Adriatic port-city
  • Dive into the maze of the stony streets of the Venetian town of Piran
Lonely Planet says: One of the loveliest towns anywhere along the Adriatic coast, picturesque Piran (Pirano in Italian) sits prettily at the tip of a narrow peninsula. Its Old Town – one of the best-preserved historical towns anywhere in the Mediterranean – is a gem of Venetian Gothic architecture, but it can be a mob scene at the height of summer. In quieter times, it’s hard not to fall instantly in love with the atmospheric winding alleyways, the sunsets and the seafood restaurants.
  • Check-in & overnight in Piran

8

Saturday, June 13

DAY 8:  SLOVENIAN COAST
  • Breakfast at the hotel
  • Visit Soline Nature park in Sečovlje
On the Slovenian coast, where the River Dragonja flows out into the Adriatic Sea, the Piran salt pans were formed more than 700 years ago. These are the only salt pans still in operation in this part of the Adriatic, and they maintain the traditional process of making salt by hand. Here, using the traditional method of salt harvesting typical of the Mediterranean, the salt makers obtain sea salt as they have always done.
  • Fish lunch in a local restaurant
  • Free afternoon for individual walks in Piran, shopping or/and optional SPA center visit
  • Overnight in Piran

9

Sunday, June 14

DAY 9:   POSTOJNA CAVE & PREDJAMA CASTLE
  • Breakfast at the hotel
  • Drive to Postojna
  • Visit the most visited touristic cave in Europe – Postojna cave
Welcome to the world's most captivating cave with magnificent cave formations and diverse fauna. Take an unforgettable ride on Postojna Cave's underground train and experience a fascinating subterranean paradise shaped by tiny droplets over millions of years .Take a ride on the underground train and enjoy a 3.7-km-long journey on the world's only double-track cave railway. The wonderful Murano-glass chandeliers hanging from the ceiling of Postojna Cave's Dance Hall make for a fairytale atmosphere.
  • Lunch at the local restaurant in front of the cave
  • Visit the Predjama castle
A mere few kilometres from Postojna Cave, the Karst world offers an unforgettable experience in the fairytale world of knights. The impregnable medieval marvel has been perched in the middle of a 123-metre-high cliff for more than 800 years. Behind the largest cave castle in the world, there is a network of secret tunnels, from where the knight Erazem of Predjama would set out on his plundering expeditions. The Cave under Predjama Castle is the home of a colony of bats.
  • Drive to Dolenjska region
  • Soak the greenery and beauty of the Otočec and take a photo of the mediaeval castle on the mini-island on the river Krka
  • Dinner
  • Check-in & overnight in Otočec

10

Monday, June 15

DAY 10:  SPA IN DOLENJSKE
  • Breakfast at the hotel
  • Drive to Šmarješke Toplice & enjoy a day in the Thermal SPA center
Terme Šmarješke Toplice is situated in a natural setting rich in forests and meadows. We take great pride in a distinguishing feature of ours, an old outdoor pool made entirely out of wood. The beauty of nature and the salubrity of the climate are further enhanced by the healing effects of the local thermal spring, whose water has a temperature of 32°C and a high content of carbon dioxide, magnesium, calcium and potassium. What is today an advanced center for rehabilitation and treatment of cardiovascular diseases, locomotor system injuries, central and peripheral nervous system diseases, and rehabilitation of sports injuries, accompanied by well-appointed high-class hotel accommodation facilities, state-of-the-art medical wellness services and a wide array of sporting and relaxation activities, has a long and rich history. Lunch along the way.
  • Return to Ljubljana
  • Farewell dinner in Ljubljana
  • Check-in & overnight in Ljubljana

11

Tuesday, June 16

DAY 11: FAREWELL
  • Breakfast at the hotel
  • Transfer tour participants to LJU airport

What's Included

  • Breakfasts, lunches, and dinners as specified in itinerary above during the course of the trip; and
  • Transportation by private, air-conditioned van, as well as group transfers as appropriate; and
  • English speaking guide(s)/interpreter(s) to accompany participants through the whole trip period; and
  • All activities, sightseeing, and entry fees listed in the itinerary; and
  • Full telephone support from English speaking staff in Passport Europe’s local office; and
  • Comprehensive tailor-made info-pack; and
  • All taxes and service charges; and
  • Any fees payable to agencies, speakers, or others in furtherance of the Purpose of the program and the tour.

What's Not Included

  • Flights to and from Ljubljana airport.
  • Expenses of a purely personal nature (including cab fares, laundry, souvenirs, room service, and other personal items).
  • Charges, passport application fees.
  • Transportation of luggage in excess of weight allowance.
  • International medical and travel insurance (we strongly advise that each participant arrange for their own travel and health).
  • Food and beverage other than that specified in itinerary above.
  • Medical expenses.
  • Costs associated with trip interruption or modification due to weather, travel conditions, political/civil disputes, medical emergencies or other causes beyond our control.

Please read all the information in our registration packet for terms on cancellations, refunds, and other policies.

Membership requirements: Please also note that you must be a current member of the Fulbright Association in order to join the tour. If you are not a member, you can click here to join, or if you are a lapsed member, please click here to renew your annual membership. Not a Fulbright alumn? No problem! The Fulbright Association welcomes all supporters of the mission of the Fulbright Program to join as Friends of Fulbright. Tour registrants may also bring one non-member guest. Please indicate who your guest is in your registration materials.

If you have any questions, please give us a call at (202) 775-0725 or e-mail us at travel@fulbright.org.