OCTOBER 2023
The Postojna caves unexpectedly ended up being my favorite activity in Slovenia. I generally love a cave visit, but these were just so grand and impressive. You get to enter by an open air train, which sounds awful and touristic but it added so much fun to our visit. You can easily combine Postojna with the castle of Predjama, so that is what I would recommend!
Where we stayed
We traveled through Slovenia by camper van and stayed the night at Pivka Jama campsite. This is quite a large campsite, with a restaurant, a pool and even their own cave. The campsite didn’t feel too big, as the camping spots are situated in the forest and offer sufficient privacy. We paid € 35 for a pitch for the night and overall were very happy with our stay. The campsite is located about a 15 minutes drive from Predjama and Postojna.
Postonja caves
Tickets for the Postojna Caves are € 28,50 for adults, which I found stellar. There are some combinations available with other activities nearby, but whatever you do it is expensive. Don’t forget to book your tickets a few days in advance because they do sell out. There is sufficient parking options nearby. Because it is priced like a theme park, I expected a theme park. You enter the caves by train and afterwards you receive a guided visit, this is the only way to visit. You also leave the caves by train after the guided tour. You have to be in the park some time in advance and you have to queue up to join the train, so far not very enjoyable. However, once you are in the train it is so much fun! The train rides much faster than I expected and the caves are illuminated beautiful adding some suspense.
The “village” next to the entrance
There are guided tours in several languages, we joined the English tour. The English tour group was by far the biggest tour. We decided to hang at the back, so we had an opportunity to take pictures whenever the tour group started moving again, which worked perfectly. This even gave Hugo the opportunity to take a nap in his carrier. It was very difficult to capture how beautiful the caves were, I hope you can see some of the details and magic in the pictures I took. The Postojna caves have been open to the public since 1872, when the train was installed. Postojna also was a pioneer with electricity as the lights had already been installed in 1884, very impressive!
If you look past all the commerciality, there even is a gift shop under ground, Postojna is such an impressive visit. There will be formations that look like the Tower of Pisa, curtains, diamonds and spaghetti. You only get to explore a small part of the caves, but I found it perfect just as it was. Make sure to bring warm clothing, as it gets very cold in the caves. I also found this activity very kid-friendly, as there is enough to see and do.
Predjama
Predjama castle is situated at a short drive from Postojna. We paid a small parking fee, just to be able to walk upto the castle and take pictures. The castle is partly situated in a rock formation, so it is very picturesque and well worth a stop. I personally wasn’t interested in the interiors, but I heard it is a fun visit. You can buy a combination ticket for Postojna and Predjama castle for € 40,90 per adult.
