Slovenia Bikepacking

Length

Trip Style

6 nights, 6 days riding

Bikepacking Trip

Start Point

Hostels, mountain huts

Lesce, Slovenia (near Lake Bled)

Accomodation

End Point

Gravel

Distance

Lesce, Slovenia (near Lake Bled)

Terrain

Dates

2 daily route choices.
280 -400km

21st - 27th June

Challenge

Price

From £895

Over 7 days, we’ll be bikepacking through some of this gorgeous country’s most iconic spots on a specially curated mixed terrain route.  We’ll be riding around the infamous Lake Bled to the turquoise waters of the River Soca, via the country’s highest mountain pass -Vršič Pass, and into the shadows of the distinctive limestone karst peaks of the Julian Alps around Lake Bohinj.

Most days will have two ride length options to choose from with a SITW guide out on each.  You’ll be free to ride however you choose - in a group, with one of our guides, or at your own pace. However you ride, we’ll all be back together in the evenings for group dinners lakeside sunsets and sprinkle of Sisters in the Wild magic.  It’s gonna to be a blast.

Highlights

Two route options everyday means it’s great for a range of riders

Swim in Lake Bled and Lake Bohinj

Option for whitewater rafting

Ride Slovenia’s most famous mountain pass

Dorm rooms on some nights keeps prices accessible

Room upgrades available for more privacy

View Dates & Book

2025 Dates

21st - 27th June
(TRIP FULL)

Pricing Info (beds)

£895 for a spot on a dorm room basis. Book now with a £300 deposit. Full balance due 60 days before the trip.

Click on your preferred trip date to be directed to our secure booking partner WeTravel who will process and manage your booking. We recommend paying with bank details to avoid card processing fees.

Optional Add Ons

Upgrades to twin and single rooms are available on most nights for £30 - 40 per night. Select these at booking.

Bikepacking bags (£20) and Hammerhead Karoo navigation devices (£10) can be hired from us, and added at booking. Don’t fancy carrying your luggage? Luggage transfer can be added for £50.

Minimum trip number

TRIP MINIMUM NOW MET - TRIP WILL RUN!

Please note, this trip has a minimum number of 8 to run. Your deposit is fully refundable up to this point. We will confirm as soon as this number has been met, please do not book your travel until then.

Cancellation policy

You can secure your spot by paying a £300 deposit which is refundable up to the point that we confirm the trip minimum numbers have been met. Once the trip is confirmed, the deposit is not refundable. The remaining balance is due 60 days before the trip.  If you cancel between 60 days and 28 days, you’ll get 50% back.  Cancellation within 28 days is non-refundable, but you can transfer your booking to another person should you find one.  View the full booking terms and conditions here

Itinerary

Meeting Point: Lesce, near Lake Bled
End Point: Same.

Carrying the basics we need for the week on our bikes, we’ll be hopping between hostels and traditional mountain huts on and off the gorgeous Juliana Bike Trail, a highlight of the Slovenia MTB Route.  We’ve sprinkled in our own detours and options that keep the trip accessible to a range of gravel riding abilities, and take in some of our favourite spots in the area. Expect to spend about half of your time on gravel and half on quiet scenic roads and cyle-ways that twist and turn through the landscape.

What’s included?

Not included

Accommodation & Food

Accommodation

We'll be moving between accommodation throughout the trip, and will return back to our starting hostel on the last day.

Our accommodation is on a shared/dorm room basis, in simple hostels and mountain huts that we’ve chosen for their locations and accesibility. Some nights you may be sharing with just one other, whilst others it may be up to 8. Room upgrades are available on most nights - add at booking.

Food

Breakfast is included everyday, as are half of our dinners. On the other nights, we’ll either book a table at a local place we love, or share some recommendations.

Breakfast can be quite a simple but filling continental affair, with muesli, yoghurt, fruit, and bread. Eggs are available on a couple of days, but if you’re carving protein you may wish to supplement. For lunch, bakeries are king with hot local burek and pastries, though most days we’ll also have access to supermarkets to pick up supplies for a packed lunch.

We choose places for dinner that are able to cater to vegan and gluten free, though serious celiac and other allergies may be more of a challenge. Please email us before booking if you have serious allergies.

Gluten free and vegan produce is quite readily available in the supermarkets we pass on most days.

With a shorter and longer option most days, we’ve rated this trip an overall 2/5 (shorter routes using public transport shuttle options) to 4/5 (longer routes). This is a mixed terrain route that overall is about 50% off-road on the longer route option, with a little more tarmac overall on the shorter route options. There’s one big 70km day for everyone.

About the riding

Challenge Level

Terrain

Expect everything from super smooth tarmac roads, separated cycleways, smooth gravel tracks, and some steeper/more technical riding on the longer routes. The riding on the shorter routes is generally relatively smooth, and we fully embrace walking any parts of the route that feel a little out of your comfort zone! Expect some more challenging terrain on the longer routes, with some days having longer gravel climbs and chunkier descents that require a good level of off-road handling skill.

Climbing

Climbing presents the biggest challenge on this trip! We minimise this on the short routes, with options to skip climbs in favour of valley rides or scenic train journeys. However there are a couple of unavoidable significant climbs on D2 (450m) and D3 (1200m). These will be a challenge for some riders, but the sense of achievement is incredible! There is a potential option to skip this D3 climb with public transport.

Our long routes come with more elevation, with an average of 1500m on most days. The climbs are a mix of tarmac and gravel.

See our daily itinerary for daily statistics.

Daily Distances

Average daily distances are between 40 -50km for the shorter route, and around 70km for our longer route. There is one big day for everyone (D3) when we push over iconic Vrscic Pass.

There is an option to ride just 15km on D5, and enjoy a restful afternoon by Lake Bohinj!

Remoteness & Weather

Whilst the scenery is stunning and you’ll often be alone on the road or trails, this route has well spaced opportunities to hit a cafe or bar on most days, and most of the route is accessible by vehicles. Slovenia is mountainous, and thunderstorms can roll in quickly and present a hazard, especially on mountain passes. It’s therefore important to pack for all weathers. Our guide team will monitor the weather and make itinerary adjustments as needed. Our long route on D4 is more exposed and remote, with an exposed high pass, which we only recommend for experienced riders in stable weather.

Support style

Our SITW Bikepacking trips aim to strike the perfect balance of freedom and support. Riders are free to ride the routes at their own pace or with the guide and group. Regardless, our team will be out on the routes to support and cheerlead.

Guiding

There will be two ride options on most days (5 out of 7) and a SITW guide will ride each of the route options, moving back and forth amongst the group. Our guides are qualified first aiders and experienced mechanics and can help troubleshoot issues on the trail. Riders should be equipped with their own navigation and not rely on following a guide for directions. Each participant will be provided with a specially curated collection of routes and route briefings via Komoot, to enable self supported navigation.

Support

In addition to the bike based guides, this trip has a support vehicle to assist the group in case of issues (mechanicals, injury etc). This should not be viewed as a shuttle option, however, our team know the public transport options in the area well, and can advise when it’s possible to skip sections. The team SITW team will likely switch between bikes and vehicle.

Bikes & bike hire

Bike hire is not included as standard in this trip, and riders are welcome to bring their own bike or hire locally. There’ll be space to rebuild the bikes at our starting hostel, and we can arrange storage of bike boxes whilst on the trip.

Recommended bike

A gravel bike with minimum 38mm tyres, and a good amount of grip, or a hardtail MTB are both good choices for this trip. If you are newer to off-road riding, a hardtail can be good for building confidence on the off-road sections, though may feel slower on the tarmac sections. Experienced riders who will ride the long routes may welcome thicker tyres for the rougher descent on D4.

Bike hire

Life Adventures have a range of Hardtail MTB and Gravel Bikes available to rent, and are within walking distance of our start/end hostel.

https://www.lifeadventures.si/trips/rent-a-bike/

Book directly with them, and collect on day 1.

Travelling with your bike

Check your airlines bike carriage policy for weight and size restrictions.  Some airlines will allow them as part of their checked in baggage allowance (e.g. British Airways), but most require a bike to be added as a specific piece of Sports Luggage (easyjet, ryanair, wizzair, Jet2 etc), but often you get a higher weight allowance.  This usually costs in the region of £40 - £60.

Your bike box/bag can be stored whilst on the trip.

What spares and tools to bring

  • 2 x spare tubes and patches

  • Small pump

  • Tubeless plugs/spare sealant if running tubeless tyres

  • Multitool with what you need for your bike e.g. allen keys

  • Spare set of brake pads (specific for your bike)

We also recommend bringing a few spares that are specific to your bike. We don’t expect you to know how to fit these! But having them to hand can mean our team or local bike shop is better able to get you back on the road.

  • Chain quick link

  • Spare derailleur hanger

  • Extra brake pads just in case!

FAQs

Reviews

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