Explorer Genes

(Aug 20) As the outdoor activity window closed and the rain began to descend incessantly on our last two days in Slovenia, we decided to forgo any additional hiking adventures and stick to some village exploration near Kranj where we would fetch our backpack homes and spend our last night.

This is how we ended up in Škofja Loka, still relatively uncrowded even for August, which showcases one of the most walkable and well-preserved medieval town center’s in the country.

For this reason, even despite the rain, it ended up being our favorite destination in Slovenia.

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(Aug. 20) From our mountain cottage near Slap Savica, the weather graciously held out just enough to be able to take two beautiful hikes…one short and quite crowded one to the falls, and another longer and more challenging one to the nearest of the Seven Lakes, which we would have seen on the tail end of our originally planned hut-to-hut adventure.

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(Aug. 19) After our heavily discounted nights at the Ramada in Kranjska Gora thanks to Wyndham points, we had to figure out a plan to make up for two more nights when we would have been using our splurge budget for huts on the trail.

So, in search of reasonably priced accommodation, we found our way to Bohinj Lake where we snagged a last-minute cottage near Savica Waterfall which we considered a “good deal.” This meant it was 90 euros, or $103, during high season in Slovenia.

And no, this did not include breakfast, or dinner, but did offer a considerably stuffy experience, bedding, and hot shower, though, no towel.

It was located near where we had originally planned to end our hut-to-hut and would still allow us to do a couple of the same things we had banked on.

But first, we had to spend about 4 hours, and $24, on a flurry of public transport, including a bus, a train, and another bus to get there….

Before coming to Slovenia, we had heard that the country is culturally fascinating because it sits at a crossroads of several European worlds. A little bit Balkans…a little bit Italian and a lot a bit Austrian, which was most touted in the efficiency and infrastructure of their public transportation system.

That said, we had high expectations.

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August 2026 Budget Update
$2098 ($423 OVER) of $1675;
(Two people: $55/day or $20,075/year)

We are not the least bit surprised to be over budget for August with two weeks of high season slow and two weeks of fast travel in the countries of Bosnia & Herzegovina, Slovenia, Sweden and Norway.

But what surprised us the most was the amount we spent on long distance transportation. Even though our flight from Slovenia to Sweden was free, bus travel continues to be substantially more than ever and Bla Bla cars were impossible to come by.

Below are the breakdowns for the month.
All prices in USD and are rounded. As always, let us know if you have questions! 🙂

ACCOMMODATION: $916
Despite 10 nights being free, our accommodation budget came in almost neck and neck with what we spent in Sarajevo in July staying in one place.

It broke down as follows:
(6) nights Sarajevo ($29/night) two bedroom Airbnb (stayed five weeks in total)
(8) nights Banja Luka, B&H, ($27/night) one bedroom studio (Booking)
(3) nights Kranj, Slovenia, private room in a hostel ($67/night)
(2) nights Kranjska Gora, Ramada by Wyndham, ($41/night) ~85% discount due to transfer points from Chase and Wells Fargo
(1) night Bohinj, private room in a simple mountain hut ($103)
(1) night Skofja Loka, private room in simple pension ($117)
(3) nights Stockholm, Sweden, Hyatt Hotel (FREE) for 5k points/night
(2) nights Stockholm with friends (FREE)
(4) nights Kullavik with friends (FREE)
(1) night Moss, Norway, Riviera Hotel (FREE) or 12k points

TRANSPORTATION: $591
Prices for 2 people
Local Buses:
-Sarajevo $6 (1 ride)
-Banja Luka $5 (2 rides)
-Slovenia $30 (4 rides)

Local Trains:
-Slovenia $66 (7 rides) or approximately $9 each ride

Long Distance Buses:
-Sarajevo to Banja Luka, $65 (5 hours)
-Banja Luka to Jajce, RT, $42 (1.5 hours each way)
-Banja Luka to Zagreb, $73 (3 hours)
-Stockholm to Gothenburg, $88 (6 hours) Note: the cost of bus travel was significantly less in Sweden if you look at cost/hour!

Long Distance Trains:
-Zagreb to Ljubljana, $58 (3.5 hours)
-Gothenburg to Moss, Norway, $81 (3 hours/high speed)

Taxis:
-To watermills from Jajce, B&H, $6 (15 min)
-To Ljubljana Airport from Kranj, $29 (early morning departure, 15 min)

Stockholm public transit:
-$45 (5 rides @ about $4.50 each), which is quite steep

GROCERIES: $382
We’re definitely beginning to realize being in Western Europe or countries some consider “more developed,” are often cheaper than ones which are not because it’s easier to find deals and discounts. Of course, as soon as we start “fast traveling,” our diets also go to sh*t…or more accurately, carbs, so there’s that…🤣

Another thing that kept our grocery budget under control was the incredible hospitality of our friends, plus the six complimentary breakfasts we got from our hotels (where we naturally stuffed ourselves and did a sensible amount of squirreling.)

I did not check the egg index in Slovenia, but in Sweden it came it at $.32/egg compared to $.18 in Bosnia & Herzegovina.

RESTAURANTS: $151
We ate out six meals this month.
These included:
-1 pizza and 1 beer ($21, Kranj)
-1 small salmon to-go salad and 1 pastry ($21, Bled)
-1 gyro and 1 ayran ($9, Kranj)
-1 large doner and 1 large fries ($15, Skofja Loka)
-2 meals from IKEA ($17, Stockholm)
-1 fish and chips, ($24, Varberg, Sweden)
-7 Treats including beers/wine, pastries, ice cream or coffee ($36) Beers averaged $3-5 in Bosnia & Slovenia and then we abruptly stopped treating ourselves in Sweden. 😅

GENERAL: $59
($29) Sightseeing: 2 catacombs, 1 museum, 2 fortresses, and 2 waterfalls
($12) Tello payment for US phone numbers
($8) Toiletries
($4) Lost currency leaving B&H
($3) Toilets
($1) Apple photo storage

Our “OTHER” Buckets
ANNUAL SPLURGE: ($1000/annually)
We spent $39 from our splurge bucket for wedding anniversary mojitos. Yes, two drinks…in Norway. Undoubtedly, the most expensive drinks we’ve ever had. 🤣

MEDICAL: $3000/annually
We spent $42 from our medical bucket, which included medicines.

(Aug 18) After abandoning our original hut-to-hut trek plan, we were overwhelmed with possible choices, dependent upon rain, wind, or sun. This is the amazing thing about Slovenia…there are many choices for every weather type, every fitness type and every budget type. Lol. The last one not so much, as we still ended up spending (almost) as much as we would have at the huts.

So, with little time to research, we quickly consulted Chat GPT to help us develop options and an alternate plan. This is how we found ourselves on the moderate Slemenova Špica trail, with just enough of a sunny window to really appreciate being surrounded by the Julian Alps.

It definitely wasn’t the high altitude trek we were anticipating, but at least we got a taste for the main reason we had come. And we were also a whole lot less exhausted after the fact too. 🤣

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(Aug 17-19) The main reason we had come to Slovenia in the summer was in hopes of the best possible weather scenario for our four day/three night hut-to-hut trek in the Julian Alps. But, with the looming week of quite questionable weather, this plan totally backfired and we had a series of challenging decisions to make in order to give 48-hour notices for the expensive mountain huts we had booked back in March to be refundable.

Had we not had much experience hiking in drizzling weather or were 15 years younger, we may have just gone for it. But, after our 5-day adventure of hell on Peru’s Salkantay Trek in 2022, which led to my six months of being unable to walk, we have fortunately learned our lesson about weather, as well as listening to our bodies.

Thus, we eventually succumbed to adapting to a new plan for our week in Slovenia, which luckily still involved one day of gorgeous hiking, and some other things we wouldn’t have done otherwise. More valuable practice in embracing the unexpected and adapting along the way!!

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(August 16) Lake Bled is THE place most people know in Slovenia.

It dons complimentary screen savers included with TVs and laptops, it prances across “stunning places of the world”calendars, and is slapped on every other travel “influencer”’s Instagram wall as a “must see place before you die.”

It is the essence of a fairytale scene and undeniably picturesque with its church plopped atop an island in the middle of a tranquil blue-green lake. Nearby, an equally charming medieval castle teeters on a cliff overlooking perceived serenity.

Which, in reality is a complete zoo if you choose to visit in the high tourist season of August, a choice we made only because we wanted to be in the country for hut-to-hut trekking season.

In short?! A bit tourist heavy for our tastes when there are so many other gorgeous places to visit in this country.

Still, we’re glad we saw it, and it was well worth a day trip from Kranj….

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(August 15) After checking into our hostel in Slovenia on that Saturday evening following a 12-hour commute, it was time to hit the supermarket to buy dinner and necessities for the following day.

We were quite pleased with ourselves that we’d planned accordingly for the Sunday market closures after our tribulations with this in France and Switzerland.

Unfortunately, we learned quickly that Saint Marija had other ideas…more expensive ideas for us!

Indeed, the nearest supermarket a few blocks away, was closed for her assumption, meaning the markets were closed not one…but now two days…in a row.

This is also known as a budget basher in expensive Slovenia.

Fortunately, Google noted that the Mercator store on the outskirts of Kranj was still open…

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(August 15) The wallet suck of Slovenia started the day we left Bosnia & Herzegovina.

From Banja Luka, there seemed to be plenty of Bla Bla cars heading north toward Zagreb (Croatia) or Ljubljana (Slovenia) so we didn’t think we’d have any trouble getting one.

Wrong!

We sent in a request for five different drivers and some denied us because they were going further to Munich (although for one we offered to pay the full fare because it was still cheaper than buses), and others unfortunately just didn’t respond. Since we have had such luck with this app in France and Spain, this was quite disappointing.

Had we found a Bla Bla driver, we were looking at around $15-25/person rather than a whopping $70/person bus/train combo to get 5.5 hours to Ljubljana. Eek. 😬

Anyways, here’s how the day unfurled…

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After a week of rapid and costly travel through Slovenia (details in upcoming posts), we’re heading to cooler climates and to discover new and old friends up north in Scandinavia for the next month!

We were also eager for full stomach satiation in the airport lounges after a week of grab-and-go groceries and strict budgeteering.

This time our free flight was booked using Avios miles transfer from British Airways to FinnAir (part of the Avios family) in part using the Avios points we’ve been socking away through our Airbnb rentals (2 pts. Per $1) and a 20% Chase UR point transfer bonus.

Yes!! This is how you can get awarded for those Airbnb stays!!

Any traveler can take advantage of the first part of this, and US travelers holding a Chase Sapphire card (see link below), the second.

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