This past summer (July and August 2024), I spent 9 days traveling around Slovenia and here are my travel costs. I had heard that the nature there was beautiful, but I did not expect it to be as beautiful as it was!
Honestly, it was breathtaking!
As with many of my solo trips, this was also a backpacking one. I no longer budget travel as I used to, but I also don’t travel luxury. I find ways to save on things I don’t necessarily love, while splurging on what I do love. It’s all about balance and priorities.
Seeing as I work as I travel, this leads to me traveling slower than others and also sometimes having to spend a bit more on accommodation to make sure I have good wifi and a quiet space to work depending on my current job needs.
For this trip, I knew I’d have to work as I went which meant some of the days would be dedicated to working. I try not to work the whole day, but at least half, usually in the evenings to enjoy the day. Let’s go over all my travel costs for my 9 day trip itinerary around Slovenia. With this you’ll be able to answer the question: “Is Slovenia expensive or cheap?”. If you follow this itinerary then you’ll have an idea of a budget for a similar trip to Slovenia.
Please note that I have converted all the amounts mentioned here from euros to US dollars.
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9 Day Slovenia Itinerary Travel Costs
I have to start this off by saying I visited Slovenia at the end of July and early August. It’s summer in Slovenia at this time so prices at this time may be higher than other times of the year. Keep this in mind as you plan your own trip!
This list goes from the category I spent the most money on to the least. At the end I add up all the costs to give you the full total of my expenses.
Accommodation
During my 9 day trip, I visited 5 Slovenian cities that I would highly recommend!
I arrived in Ljubljana from Budapest where I spent my first night in my 38th country. Since I was only spending one night here to start off my trip, I chose to stay in a female only dorm in Hostel 24. Located right in the center of Ljubljana was Hostel 24 where I spent the night. From here I could walk around the historic center and I didn’t need to pay for transportation because it’s a small city.
Hostel 24, one night in Ljubljana: $40
After a night in the capital, I was off to Bovec. When I say you need to visit Bovec, it is not a drill! The landscape and nature of Bovec completely enamored me. I would have gladly extended my trip just to stay here even longer because two nights was not enough. In Bovec, I chose to stay at another hostel, Soca Rocks Hostel. They offer lots of activities with a 10% discount for staying here.
Soca Rocks Hostel, two nights in Bovec: $56
Next up on the itinerary was Lake Bled. This spot was the main reason why I wanted to visit Slovenia in the first place. The pictures I had seen of Lake Bled captured my attention, as I’m sure they do many people, and I knew I would love it. I spent two nights in Lake Bled, but would have gladly spent more here. I’m sure you’ll want to spend lots of time here as well!
Based on Lake Bled’s popularity I felt that staying in a place by myself would be more costly so I stayed at Bled Hostel. It wasn’t as busy as I had expected so the room was half empty the nights I stayed.
Bled Hostel, two nights in Lake Bled: $105
After days in the mountains and lakes of Slovenia, it was time to head to Slovenia’s coastal beaches. The coastline is small, but beautiful! Something that surprised me though was that many of the beaches weren’t sand, but rock lined instead. Piran is a beautiful beachtown to visit.
I needed a break from hostels and decided to stay in a studio apartment. This was definitely the most expensive stay during my whole trip, but it was nice to have a kitchen and relax.
Dream studio apartment, two nights in Piran: $260
From Piran I headed to Koper, the largest beach city in Slovenia. Of the two I definitely preferred Piran, but in Koper I had amazing tacos which I’ll be mentioning below in the meal section.
Since it was one night and I was leaving early the next day I decided to stay as close to the bus station as possible at Hostel Bellavista. I chose a cheap option which at first I felt a bit uncomfortable since it was a four bed dorm and when I walked in there were two men. Thankfully when I returned later there was a woman in the other bed so I felt more comfortable.
Hostel Bellavista, one night in Koper: $40
My accommodation total came out to $501.
Meals
I ate so good on this trip and I am not upset about the money I spent on food. To get to Slovenia, I traveled by bus from Budapest so the first meal was a stop along the way.
Traveling to Ljubljana, Slovenia
The bus stopped for gas and a bathroom break along the way to Ljubljana. I grabbed some chia pudding which cost $5.
Ljubljana
Once I arrived in Ljubljana I tried burek for the first time. I decided to get two bureks (pizza and meat), but they were huge so they were meals. For both bureks it cost $6.25.
It can’t be summer without gelato which I got almost every day. Two scoops at Dimatteo cost $3.45.
For breakfast the next day I had it on the river at Makalonca. Iced lattes are my go to and I opted for the blacksmiths pancakes (blueberry and cottage cheese) which I would recommend! Because I love fries, I got some to go. The total came out to $18.15.
On the way to Bovec, I got lemon ice cream which had to be paid in cash which was $1.65.
Bovec
My first meal in Bovec was a cottage cheese pizza, tiramisu, and iced tea for $8.25. Instead of eating out every meal, I chose to get some groceries at Mercator and put the hostel kitchen to use. I got enough for breakfast the next couple of days along with some snacks for $9.10.
The other two meals I bought in Bovec were a kebab and lemonade for $9.65 and a smash burger with fries from the Thirsty River Brewing for $12.45.
Lake Bled
To keep my costs low in Lake Bled I only got one meal out which was a poke bowl for $14.40. I chose to get groceries for the following meals which came out to $17.50.
Piran
I love brunch so my first meal in Piran was at Cafinho Piran for eggs benedict and an iced coffee with ice cream for $14.50. Since I was staying in a studio I also went grocery shopping and got yogurt, pasta, pesto, and mozzarella cheese for $12.50.
During my daily outings I got iced coffee at Piran art for $5.10. It was not the greatest coffee and pricey for such a small amount that came in the to go cup. Instead, the gelato I had during my stay was great. I got tiramisu, passion fruit, guava, lavender, and biscotti gelatos which all came out to $10.80.
Koper
In Koper I had some of the best tuna tacos of my life right by the water. I ended up going to the same food truck twice in one day because it was so good! The first time I got the tuna tacos I also got a mango popsicle lemonade for $17.40. The second time I got an octopus roll in addition to the tuna tacos which came out to $29.50. At Mercatour I got lemonade and pretzel sticks for $1.25.
Before leaving Ljubljana and heading back to Budapest, I got another pizza burek for $3 and a macchiato and local dessert at Wonderland for $8.60.
My meal total came out to $208.60.
Transportation
My chosen method of transportation around Slovenia was via bus. I started my journey from Budapest to Ljubljana through FlixBus for $43 one way.
Once in Slovenia I got future bus tickets through Nomago. They prefer tickets to be printed as they mention on the website when you buy. Sometimes the bus station will print them for you for free and other times they charge a small fee.
- Bus from Ljubljana to Bovec $12.95
- Bus Bovec to Ljubljana $12.95
- Bus Ljubljana to Bled $6.10
- Bus Bled to Trieste $25.50
- Bus Trieste to Portoroz $11.98
- Bus Portoroz to Piran $1.35 (local bus so had to be paid in cash)
- Bus Piran to Koper $3 (paid in cash)
- Bus Koper to Ljubljana $9.65 (bought at bus station)
Getting from Bovec to Bled was not as easy as I had originally thought based on the research I had done. It seemed like I could go directly from one to the other, but that wasn’t the case. I had to go from Bovec back to Ljubljana then to Lake Bled.
To get back to Budapest from Ljubljana I used Flixbus for $49.75.
My transportation total came out to $176.23.
Activities
Surprisingly I didn’t do so many paid activities during my trip. Even though the activities weren’t many they did add up to quite a bit of my budget.
In Ljubljana I took the funicular up to the castle which cost $3.50 one way.
In Bovec, I went kayaking for $75.65 which was absolutely breathtaking and I would gladly pay that again just for the views. I also did zip lining for $57 which I wouldn’t do here again just cause the views weren’t as impressive as I had hoped. Had I done it over Canyon Ulca that might have been another story.
In Lake Bled I visited Vintgar Gorge, but this was a comped activity by Get Your Guide so I didn’t pay the $51.80 for the transportation, entrance ticket or beer and pudding.
My activity total came out to $136.15, but would have been $187.95 had the Vintgar Gorge not been free.
Miscellaneous
There was a market when I was walking around Ljubljana. There was a local vendor selling handmade earrings so I bought a pair of avocado and egg for $13.50.
Every place I travel to I always buy a magnet so of course Slovenia wouldn’t be an exception. I got one that says Slovenija and it cost $4.05.
On my last half day back in Ljubljana, I didn’t want to carry my backpack around all day so I found out that the bus station has a luggage storage. I’d be taking the bus back to Budapest from the station so it made sense to leave it here. For the day it cost $6.10 and only could be paid in cash.
Tip: the train station has a free bathroom compared to the bus station where you have to pay a euro or two in coins. The cashier let me know when I went to exchange a bill for coins.
My miscellaneous total came out to $23.65.
Total Expenses
A quick recap of all the categories and the expense totals:
- Accommodation: $501
- Meals: $208.60
- Transportation: $176.23
- Activities: $136.15
- Miscellaneous: $23.65
My full Slovenia travel costs for 9 days came out to $1,045.63 or $116.18 per day.
How do you think I did with this budget? Where could I have saved or do you think it would have come out to be more? Based on the expenses I had, is Slovenia expensive or cheap? Tell me in the comments!
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