Slovenia - Bears, Birds & Caves

Tour Code: SVN03

An 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.

6 days from
£2,195 (Inc flights)
Land only price from
£1,995
book now

Highlights

Summary

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.

Itinerary

Outline Itinerary

Day 1
Fly into Ljubljana or Venice; transfer Notranjska
Day 2/5
Excursions and hide visits from our base in Notranjska
Day 6
Fly to London
cloud_downloadDownload Full Itinerary
What's Included

What's Included?

  • Flights
  • Accommodation:

    A small, comfortable lodge with private facilities.

  • Food:

    All included in the price.

Reviews
Dates & Prices

Dates & Prices

2025

Departures Availability Cost
Thu 12th Jun – Tue 17th Jun FULL £2,195
Flights:
Most Naturetrek tours include flight costs ex-UK. If flights are not included, we indicate that here.
Flights are included in the tour cost
Regional Departures:
On certain tours it is possible to depart from a regional airport (rather than London). If a regional departure is possible, we indicate that here.
Regional Departures are available. Call 01962733051
Land only cost:
The "Land Only" cost is the tour price you will pay if you choose to arrange your own flights/transport.
£1,995
Single Room Supplement:
Single Room Supplement.
£255
Mon 18th Aug – Sat 23rd Aug SPACES £2,195
Book Tour Show Details
Flights:
Most Naturetrek tours include flight costs ex-UK. If flights are not included, we indicate that here.
Flights are included in the tour cost
Regional Departures:
On certain tours it is possible to depart from a regional airport (rather than London). If a regional departure is possible, we indicate that here.
Regional Departures are available. Call 01962733051
Land only cost:
The "Land Only" cost is the tour price you will pay if you choose to arrange your own flights/transport.
£1,995
Single Room Supplement:
Single Room Supplement.
£255
Tour Leader:
Please note that, whilst we assign leaders to particular tours well in advance, we reserve the right to make changes if necessary
Luca Boscain
Luca Boscain.jpg

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.

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Bear Watching Holidays – See Bears in their Wild Habitat


Bears are many people’s favourite mammal. They are immensely strong and have unpredictable temperaments, yet inspire great affection in most of us.


The Naturetrek programme includes a number of specially designed bear-watching holidays which employ local expertise to provide clients with wonderful opportunities to see their favourite mammals.


Naturetrek Bear-watching tours


Most species of bear are retiring in habit and rarely seen during the day. However, a prodigious appetite leads many species to gather seasonally in big numbers, which makes them far easier to watch!


Our bear tour groups are limited in size and accompanied by Naturetrek naturalist leaders, and also usually assisted by resident experts. Although focused on bear-watching, all Naturetrek bear tours offer many opportunities to observe the other wildlife of the area.


We also see bears on other Naturetrek tours such as Sloth Bears on Indian and Sri Lankan tours, and Brown Bears on many European tours.


Where can I see bears?



Is it possible to see bears on other Naturetrek tours?


Yes. While not specifically searching for bears, we regularly have sightings of Sloth Bears on Indian and Sri Lankan tours, and Brown Bears on our Kamchatka cruise and many European tours.




Our specialist recommends...







"In Europe one of the most reliable places to see the European Brown Bear is northern Finland, where it is possible to get very close views from hides. Watching Grizzly Bears catching Salmon in western Canada is undoubtedly one of the greatest of natural history thrills. But for the ultimate bear-watching experience, and my personal favourite, it has to be a trip to the Arctic to see Polar Bears." 

Paul Stanbury - Operations Manager




 


All Bear Watching Tours

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Birding Tours Led by Expert Naturalists


The majority of our wildlife tours focus primarily on birds, allowing us to offer a huge choice of bird holidays. On most of our birdwatching tours we aim to see a wide variety of species, while taking time to enjoy other wildlife as well as cultural highlights and architecture.


Naturetrek Birdwatching Tours


We have one of the largest selections of professionally organised, small group birdwatching holidays around the world and all of our birdwatching tours are accompanied by at least one professional ornithologist leader with detailed knowledge of the area.


The majority of our bird tours have a relaxed, flexible approach which allows more time for photography, detailed wildlife exploration, leisure time and the region’s people, culture, history and architecture, while allowing the group to see a wide range of bird species.

Here is a small selection of our many bird holidays:



Our Bargain Birdwatching Selection


Our Bargain Bird Tours are intensive birdwatching holidays suitable for the serious birder. They are led by expert English-speaking local guides (and not accompanied from the UK by a tour leader). You can expect a higher-paced tour and to spend long hours in the field.


 




Our specialist recommends...






"Try Coto Doñana & Extremadura for an excellent introduction to Europe's wetland and steppe birds. I would recommend our bargain holiday, 'Nepal – A Birdwatching Tour' for those interested in Siberian rarities and Ibisbill, while Costa Rica offers a chance to search for arguably the world's most beautiful bird, the Resplendent Quetzal."

Byron Palacios - Tour Leader




  


 


All Birdwatching Tours

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Mammal Watching Holidays


Many of the world’s mammals are instantly recognisable to us. Animals such as Lions, Tigers, elephants and bears capture our imaginations from an early age. At Naturetrek, we take great pleasure and pride in helping people to fulfil their lifelong dreams of seeing these iconic species in the wild. We also enjoy introducing our clients to some of the world’s more unusual mammals, many of which are just as fascinating.


Naturetrek Mammal Watching Tours


Many of our tours have a primary focus on mammals and we offer the widest choices of mammal-watching holidays across the globe, from the poles to the tropics. Our holidays are guided by at least one professional naturalist tour leader and usually benefit from additional guiding by expert local naturalist guides. We have holidays to see an incredible range of the world’s most sought-after mammals, such as orangutans, lemurs, bats, polar mammals, big cats, and mammals of the African savannah. A significant number of tours also targets some of the planet’s more unusual and elusive species, from pottos and pangolins to slender lorises and obscure cetaceans.


Here’s a selection of our mammal tours:



Bargain mammal selection


We offer a range of action-packed bargain holidays for the dedicated mammal enthusiast, which are exceptional value for money, from Belize to Zambia.




Our specialist recommends...







"Africa is perhaps the greatest continent for mammal-watching. I would recommend 'Botswana’s Desert & Delta (Mammals)' for combining stunning scenery and wildlife. We also offer a tour to Uganda which includes a chance to see Mountain Gorillas. And India, along with Tigers, has a superb variety of mammals. Closer to home, short breaks to Spain in search of Wolves and Iberian Lynx are hard to beat.”

Paul Stanbury - Operations Manager




  


All Mammal Watching Tours

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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.

Enquire
Why Naturetrek?

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!