The first day got us to a campsite next to the river Sava called Camp Smedlik.
The descents in the woods were completely washed out from the rains that had come down in the summertime this year making it a tough first hike a bike experience for my girlfriend. But we managed to get down the mountains safely and head back on the road to get to our first campsite only to discover that the bridge over which we wanted to cross the river Sora had been destroyed by the waters of the rains. So we took a detour via the next village to get there pretty exhausted from first day. Welcome to slovenia.
**Day 2**
46.3km; 490m elevation; 14.4km/h
Having proven ourselves that everything is working and we actually can ride the off-road paths with our setups on day one we got to lake bled following the bike paths and mostly on paved roads to save some energy and get there within a day.
We then stayed at the campsite next to the lake for two nights to enjoy the good weather, take a swim in lake bled and rest a bit.
**Day 3**
30km; 437m elevation; 13.4km/h
On day 3 we again followed the route and decided bot to go wildcamping but to ride for another 5km to get to a small campsite near Mojstrana.
**Day 4**
36.5km; 939m elevation; 9.6km/h
Day 4 was the day we encountered our only real climb on the trip. Mountain Vršič was the target for the day and gave us a very scenic place to camp for the night.
**Day 5**
37.9km; 155m elevation; 17.5km/h
Descending day.
After staying at Vršič for the night we met the Soča river and its beautiful valley and followed it to Bovec. Here we stayed for two nights to gibe our legs a rest and take a one day whitewater kayaking course.
**Day 6**
37.3km; 341m elevation; 11.8km/h
Day 6 was all about following the river Soča and enjoying the nature around it. Arriving at kamp Silber were we treated ourselves with a „wooden tent“ and reald beds for two nights.
**Day 7**
54.4km; 580m elevation; 13.5km/h
The weather forecast predicted rain for most of the day. So we put on our rain jackets and rode off expecting to need our rain gear that day. But lucky for us it stayed dry and after crossing the border to italy to drink a coffee on italian soil we arrived at kamp park Lijak back in slovenia. We enjoyed a very nice dinner at the restaurant on the campsite and decided to ride to italy the next day to spend a day at the „Golfo di Trieste“.
**Day 8**
30.4km; 520m elevation; 11.5km/h
The way to italy led us over the mountain range Renče. After a rocky descent we arrived at the camping village Mare Pineta were we again stayed for two nights to spend a day at the coast.
**Day 9**
45.5km; 740m elevation
To get back on the route we again crossed the mountain range in the south of slovenia and had to master the unexpectedly hardest climb of the tour to get to Kamp Tura. 160m of elevation within 3km after eating a big plate of ćevapčići was a real task. But the campsite was very cute we would have liked to spend another night there.
**Day 10**
38.9km; 795m elevation; 10.7km/h
The second to last day of riding was another big one. A stretched gravel assent followed by a very nice endless feeling gravel descent brought us the campsite ner the caves of pivka jama were we spend two nights to again recover before the last day of riding.
**Day 11**
67.7km; 779m elevation; 13.1km/h
The last day of our tour was also the greatest distance we had to travel within a day. It took us through the woods of the Notranjski Regijski national park and had the most beautiful gravel roads to ascend and descend all the way to the rural surroundings of ljubljana. From here on it was plain sailing into town arriving at our Airbnb bevor heading home the next day
​
So we did it. We rode our variant of the Slovenian west loop and had e very great time. We expected it to be wet and cold but had over 20 degrees Celsius most of the days and plenty of sun for being there in October. I can’t imagine doing some climbing and some paths on a gravel bike with skinny tires though. Its very steep and very rocky in some areas so having wide tires and low gears was a great decision.
Slovenia is a beautiful country with cute campsites and kind people.
Parmick on
Trip looks amazing and is on my list. Your daily distance seems a touch low for riding all day. Was that because of the terrain and elevation gain or just what you wanted to ride ever day as part of your planned route and having time to explore?
2 Comments
Our take on the Slovenian [West Loop initially found on bikepacking.com.](https://bikepacking.com/routes/bikepacking-slovenia/)
We decided to followed the [Soča variant planned by Tristan Bogaard and Belén Castelló](https://www.komoot.de/collection/1347997/bikepacking-auf-dem-slovenia-west-loop-soca-variante) but changed it again a little to our preference. We mostly stayed on campsites and took a short trip to the Italien coast.
**Day 1**
35.2km; 680m elevation; 10.2km/h
The first day got us to a campsite next to the river Sava called Camp Smedlik.
The descents in the woods were completely washed out from the rains that had come down in the summertime this year making it a tough first hike a bike experience for my girlfriend. But we managed to get down the mountains safely and head back on the road to get to our first campsite only to discover that the bridge over which we wanted to cross the river Sora had been destroyed by the waters of the rains. So we took a detour via the next village to get there pretty exhausted from first day. Welcome to slovenia.
**Day 2**
46.3km; 490m elevation; 14.4km/h
Having proven ourselves that everything is working and we actually can ride the off-road paths with our setups on day one we got to lake bled following the bike paths and mostly on paved roads to save some energy and get there within a day.
We then stayed at the campsite next to the lake for two nights to enjoy the good weather, take a swim in lake bled and rest a bit.
**Day 3**
30km; 437m elevation; 13.4km/h
On day 3 we again followed the route and decided bot to go wildcamping but to ride for another 5km to get to a small campsite near Mojstrana.
**Day 4**
36.5km; 939m elevation; 9.6km/h
Day 4 was the day we encountered our only real climb on the trip. Mountain Vršič was the target for the day and gave us a very scenic place to camp for the night.
**Day 5**
37.9km; 155m elevation; 17.5km/h
Descending day.
After staying at Vršič for the night we met the Soča river and its beautiful valley and followed it to Bovec. Here we stayed for two nights to gibe our legs a rest and take a one day whitewater kayaking course.
**Day 6**
37.3km; 341m elevation; 11.8km/h
Day 6 was all about following the river Soča and enjoying the nature around it. Arriving at kamp Silber were we treated ourselves with a „wooden tent“ and reald beds for two nights.
**Day 7**
54.4km; 580m elevation; 13.5km/h
The weather forecast predicted rain for most of the day. So we put on our rain jackets and rode off expecting to need our rain gear that day. But lucky for us it stayed dry and after crossing the border to italy to drink a coffee on italian soil we arrived at kamp park Lijak back in slovenia. We enjoyed a very nice dinner at the restaurant on the campsite and decided to ride to italy the next day to spend a day at the „Golfo di Trieste“.
**Day 8**
30.4km; 520m elevation; 11.5km/h
The way to italy led us over the mountain range Renče. After a rocky descent we arrived at the camping village Mare Pineta were we again stayed for two nights to spend a day at the coast.
**Day 9**
45.5km; 740m elevation
To get back on the route we again crossed the mountain range in the south of slovenia and had to master the unexpectedly hardest climb of the tour to get to Kamp Tura. 160m of elevation within 3km after eating a big plate of ćevapčići was a real task. But the campsite was very cute we would have liked to spend another night there.
**Day 10**
38.9km; 795m elevation; 10.7km/h
The second to last day of riding was another big one. A stretched gravel assent followed by a very nice endless feeling gravel descent brought us the campsite ner the caves of pivka jama were we spend two nights to again recover before the last day of riding.
**Day 11**
67.7km; 779m elevation; 13.1km/h
The last day of our tour was also the greatest distance we had to travel within a day. It took us through the woods of the Notranjski Regijski national park and had the most beautiful gravel roads to ascend and descend all the way to the rural surroundings of ljubljana. From here on it was plain sailing into town arriving at our Airbnb bevor heading home the next day
​
So we did it. We rode our variant of the Slovenian west loop and had e very great time. We expected it to be wet and cold but had over 20 degrees Celsius most of the days and plenty of sun for being there in October. I can’t imagine doing some climbing and some paths on a gravel bike with skinny tires though. Its very steep and very rocky in some areas so having wide tires and low gears was a great decision.
Slovenia is a beautiful country with cute campsites and kind people.
Trip looks amazing and is on my list. Your daily distance seems a touch low for riding all day. Was that because of the terrain and elevation gain or just what you wanted to ride ever day as part of your planned route and having time to explore?