Day Trip from Ljubljana - Postojna Caves
Updated: Apr 15, 2022
The Postojna Caves are one of Slovenia’s most popular attractions. They’re located in the town of Postojna - about 55km from Ljubljana. This is a perfect half day trip from Ljubljana. If you head out early morning, you could get back in time for lunch.
What’s in this post?
How to get to Postojna & back
The bus company Arriva runs buses between Ljubljana and Postojna throughout the day. If you book your ticket online, you’ll still need to head to the ticket office at the bus station and get a paper ticket. The bus station is directly in front of the train station. Tickets cost 6 Euro each way. You can either buy them at the Ljubljana bus station or head to the Arriva website to book them online. Use ‘Ljubljana AP’ (Avtobusna Postaja) as your starting point & ‘Postojnska Jama’ as your destination.
Here’s where I ran into a bit of trouble. The stop ‘Postojnska Jama’ is the entrance to the caves - about a 15 minute walk from the main Postojna bus station. All buses stop at the main station - a few also stop at the cave entrance. When booking my tickets at the counter, I asked for tickets to the cave entrance (Postojnska Jama). So when the bus stopped at the main bus stop in Postojna, I assumed it would continue on to the caves. It was about 10 minutes later that I realised we were back on the highway heading further away from Ljubljana and almost in Trieste, Italy!!!
The bus was fairly empty and the driver spoke no English. Thankfully, one of the other passengers spoke English and told me she was getting off at the next stop and would help me get a cab back. So there we were, in the middle of a small village, trying to find a cab. I eventually got one and took a 40 Euro drive back to the caves. #shithappens
When I reached the bus stop for my journey back, I saw a small sign which mentioned that the ‘Postojnska Jama’ stop was not in use due to construction. Make sure you ask where you need to get off and don’t make the same mistake I made.
You could also get here by train but it’s a much longer walk from the train station to the caves.
When To Visit
As with most sites that get crowded, the earlier you visit the better. The only way to see the caves is with a guided tour so book as early a slot as you can. It really gets crowded later. Tickets cost between 26 & 43 Euros depending on what parts of Postojna you’d like to visit. Buy tickets directly from the official site. Apart from the caves, you can also visit Predjama Castle.
The Tour
The caves are an amazing work of nature, having been carved by the Pika river over millions of years. Although over 24kms long, the area you visit is just about 6km, of which the first 4km are by electric train. The guides are very helpful and will give you a crash course on stalactites and stalagmites. There’s plenty of time to take pictures and be impressed by the formations before getting on the train and heading back out.
What To Wear
The temperature in the caves is a standard 10 degrees Celsius throughout the year, so carry a jacket along. If you forget one, you can hire a cloak for around 4 Euros.
The Olms
The caves are also home to a creature called the Olm. In contrast to most amphibians, it is entirely aquatic; it eats, sleeps, and breeds underwater. It is also called the "human fish" by locals because of its fleshy skin colour.
The Olm is most notable for its adaptation to a life of complete darkness in its underground habitat. It’s eyes are undeveloped, leaving it blind, while its other senses, particularly those of smell and hearing, are acutely developed. Not something I was looking forward to in the middle of an underground cave but thankfully, they were in tanks. When buying your tickets to the caves, make sure you buy the tickets to the Vivarium as well so you can see the Olms up close!
What To Eat
Slovenian Cream Cake - Definitely try this while you’re in Slovenia, either at one of the cafes at the Postojna Caves or at Lake Bled. Each cake, served in a perfect square, contains a puff pastry that’s been folded seven times, egg custard, a lightly sweetened layer of whipped cream, another layer of puff pastry, and a dusting of powdered sugar.
All photos are shot on the iPhone 11 Pro Max
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