Explore Slovenia’s diverse habitats, from ancient forests and alpine meadows to mountain plateaus and coastal wetlands, seeking butterflies and other insects, amphibians, brown bears and birds while staying at a single base within the beautiful countryside.
Discover the extraordinary wildlife of Slovenia on this immersive tour, staying at a traditional farmstay in the heart of the Slovenian countryside. From ancient forests and flower-rich meadows to alpine plateaus, dry karst landscapes, crystal-clear streams, caves and coastal wetlands, Slovenia’s remarkable variety of landscapes offers an exceptional diversity of wildlife.
This tour offers a chance to experience Slovenia’s wildlife at its best, featuring an abundance of colourful butterflies, fascinating beetles, vibrant dragonflies and captivating amphibians, alongside an impressive array of birds, from woodpeckers and red-footed falcons to hoopoes and purple herons. We also hope to witness a spectacular emergence of mayflies and stoneflies and enjoy a memorable evening in a dedicated brown bear hide, with the chance to see these magnificent mammals in the wild. We also visit at a time when Slovenia’s flowers are in full bloom, adding colour to the already spectacular scenery.
With beautiful landscapes, fascinating species and plenty of wildlife encounters to enjoy, this is a wonderful opportunity to discover one of Europe’s most biodiverse destinations. This tour appreciates all aspects of Slovenia’s nature, from the small to the big, while enjoying the comfort and convenience of a single countryside base.
Typical Itinerary
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Day 1:
Depart UK & Transfer to Accommodation
On our first day, we depart for Slovenia and arrive in the capital city, Ljubljana. We’re met by our guide and transferred to our traditional farmstay in the Slovenian countryside. This location has been chosen as it allows access to a variety of habitats across the Dinaric Alps and beyond.
We aim to begin our exploration of Slovenia in the afternoon, heading out on an easy walk to explore the area surrounding our accommodation. We should begin to see some of Slovenia’s beautiful wildflower meadows, in peak bloom at this time of year, and the insects that they attract. We also hope to see red-backed shrike, fieldfare, and visit a favourite roosting site of migratory red-footed falcons, where as many as 50 gather in the same group of trees.
Accommodation: Logar Farmstay, 7-nights
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Day 2:
Explore Slovenia’s Forests
On our first full day in Slovenia, we explore the country’s beautiful ancient forests. As we meander through the trees, we hope to observe species such as various tits, crossbills, treecreepers, and black, grey-headed and Eurasian three-toed woodpeckers. We also spend time observing a variety of beautiful insects, including longhorn beetles, southern white admirals and woodland brown butterflies, while a visit to an underground bunker offers the chance of unique cave invertebrates.
We also stop at a clearing known for its particularly high density of butterflies, as well as being home to the delicate alpine salamander.
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Day 3:
Explore Lake Cerknica
Today's dedicated to exploring one of the country’s most unique habitats: the intermittent Lake Cerknica. This lake dries up entirely depending on the recent climate, making it an exciting unknown. Whether full or dry, it remains an important habitat, and we hope to encounter birds such as rosefinch, corn bunting, woodpeckers, wrynecks, and red-footed falcon, as well as amphibians, including tree frogs and Italian crested newts. There are also some beautiful flower meadows that we can explore.
We also enjoy a walk to nearby streams, with the aim of witnessing the mass emergence of mayflies and stoneflies, one of Slovenia’s most impressive wildlife spectacles.
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Day 4:
Cave Visit, Explore Slovenia’s Streams & Brown Bear Hide
Slovenia’s Dinaric Alps are home to an extraordinary network of caves, rivers and streams, and today we visit Križna jama cave, also known as the Cross Cave. This cave has been left in its natural state, and we have an exciting opportunity to explore it using torches, offering a chance to appreciate this remarkable geological feature.
In the afternoon, we visit a serene gin-clear stream, where a walk along its banks should reveal invertebrates such as Demoiselle damselflies, erebia butterflies, and the elusive purple emperor butterfly. It’s also a great place for amphibians, and we hope to observe the eye-catching yellow-bellied toad.
This evening, we visit a hide dedicated to observing Slovenia’s brown bears. We spend a few hours here, and hope to enjoy memorable views of bears foraging and, with luck, mothers with her cubs.
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Day 5:
Explore Slovenia’s Mountains & Inland Cliffs
Today, we visit another hugely different landscape as we drive to an impressive mountain plateau. This location is home to some pretty, yet hardy, alpine flora, including bear’s ear, orange lily and bloody crane’s-bill, while we also hope to encounter birds such as rock thrush and tree pipit, and some exciting birds of prey are also possible. If the weather is on our side, this area is also alive with butterfly activity, and we hope to find species that we haven’t seen elsewhere such as chequered blue, Rebel’s blue and Queen of Spain, among many others.
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Day 6:
Explore Slovenia’s Dry Karst Landscapes
Today's largely about flower meadows, and we spend time in the beautiful dry karst landscapes that are some of the most biodiverse habitats we visit. Packed full of flowers, insects and invertebrates, we should find fascinating species including owlflies, crepuscular burnet moths, and black-veined white, chalkhill blue and magnificent swallowtail butterflies, among many more.
We also take a walk through the area’s thermophilic forest, a woodland adapted to Slovenia’s warm climate. Here, we hope to encounter birds such as hoopoe and short-toed eagle, as well as plenty of reptiles, with green lizard and western whipsnake among the species we hope to observe.
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Day 7:
Explore Slovenia’s Coast
On our final full day in Slovenia, we head to the coast where we visit a unique salt meadow and particularly biodiverse bird reserve. As we explore these sites, we should get some fantastic birding opportunities with pygmy cormorant, black-winged stilt, sacred ibis and purple heron, just some of the species on offer.
We keep an eye out for the many lizards, snakes and turtles that live here, as well as amphibians such as the mighty marsh frog. It’s also a hotspot for dragonflies, with as many as 38 species darting across the waterways.
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Day 8:
Transfer to Ljubljana & Fly Back to the UK
It’s time to head back to Ljubljana for our flights back to the UK.
Please note: While we hope to see a range of birdlife on this tour, this isn't our focus. We'll certainly search for birds, and stop for any interesting sightings, but please expect to spend much of our time appreciating the insects, reptiles, amphibians and flora. We aim to visit all sites detailed in this itinerary, but the exact daily itinerary is subject to local conditions. Our guide, Paul, will visit the sites in the build-up to the tour to decide on the best order.
