When it comes to itinerary around Slovenia, eastern part is often neglected by the tourists. On the other hand, lack of tourist crowds gives an amazing opportunity to those rare travelers to connect with locals and discover amazing nature all by themselves.
What To Do in the Eastern Slovenia in 5 Days?
Five days was just enough to catch a glimpse of eastern Slovenia, but if you have time a week in the east would be even better. However, we covered quite a few interesting sights in our 5-day trip around eastern Slovenia. This is what we did:
DAY 1: Underground Kayaking in the Mežica Tourist Mine
In the morning we drove from Ljubljana to Mežica, a small town in the far north of Slovenia known for its mine. The Mežica lead and zinc mine closed in 1994. Since 1997 tourist mine and museum has been opened to visitors. We took an underground kayaking tour, that included underground train ride, walking in the mine and kayaking. After the 4 hour adventure we went to Maribor but before we made a quick stop in Pohorje where they have built a wooden path through the forest, but 20 meters above the ground. Walking among the upper part of trees was an amazing experience. For dinner try one of the amazing restaurants in Maribor.
DAY 2: Maribor and Špičnik
In the morning we did some sightseeing in Maribor. We decided to grab a bite in a gipsy restaurant Romani Kafenava. After the lunch we went on a trip to a little village Špičnik known for the famous heart shaped road in the middle of the vineyards. The scenery was amazing and totally worth the visit. When we arrived back to Maribor we went on a tour with a traditional timber raft along the river Drava. It is always amazing to observe a town from the water and even more amazing doing it from a traditional vessel. We spent the night in Maribor.
DAY 3: Ptuj, Žalec, Celje and Rimske Toplice
The next day we visited a few smaller cities each special in its own way. Our first stop was Ptuj, the oldest city in Slovenia. We climbed to the castle and had a delicious Slovenian meal in the restaurant Amadeus. After that we went on a beer in Žalec, where they have an interesting attraction – beer fountain. And the last stop on our way to the final destination was Celje, an interesting town with a medieval castle you can visit. Our final destination for the day was a thermal spa Rimske Toplice where we spent the night. There is quite a few thermal spas in eastern Slovenia so make sure to spend at least one night in one of them.
DAY 4: Sevnica, Kostavnjevica na Krki and Tourist Farm
After check-out we continued our trip toward Sevnica mostly known as a home town of the first lady of America, Melanija Trump. The first lady put Sevnica on the world map but it was an amazing little town long before that. In Sevnica you can visit a Sevnica Castle and archaeological site Ajdovski gradec, a villages from the 5th and 6th century AD. The second sight we visited was Kostanjevica na Krki, one of the smallest towns in Slovenia, with unique city center in the middle of an island on the Krka River. After strolling through the streets of Kostanjevica na Krki, we went to a tourist farm where we spent the night. We choose to stay on Tourist Farm pri Martinovih, because they have a great food, friendly staff, farm animals and saunas, but you can choose any other tourist farm in eastern Slovenia.
DAY 5: Otočec and Novo mesto
Before returning to Ljubljana we decided to visit two more towns. The first one was Otočec, famous for its castle on the island on Krka River. The second one was Novo mesto, the biggest town in the south-eastern part of Slovenia. In Novo mesto we did some sightseeing and had lunch. After the trip we returned to Ljubljana determined to return in the future.