Visiting the Škocjan caves

As soon as we had picked up the rental car in Koper, we hit the road towards the famous Škocjan caves, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The road is really beautiful between the coast and the Karst region, with changing landscapes, between mountain and forest. We arrived at around 11am at the cave car park and, surprise… we had never seen so many people in Slovenia yet! The site staff are there to guide you to a space, it’s very well organised. We then queued for about fifteen minutes to collect our tickets.

Visiting the caves

You can easily spend the day at the Škocjan caves! Indeed, two main routes are offered:

• Through the underground canyon: this is a guided tour (offered every hour from 10am to 5pm in summer) which costs 16€ for students and 20€ for adults. The tour lasts about 2h, over three kilometres inside the caves. It is between 12 and 13 degrees in the cave, but personally, we had stayed in shorts because of the heat outside, and we weren’t cold at all
• From the Reka river to the underground world: this is a self-guided visit (but only offered between 10am and 3pm in summer) which on its own costs 9€ for students and 12.50€ for adults. The visit lasts about 1h30, over 1.5 kilometres in the canyon.

There is a combined ticket including both routes which costs only 18€ for students (if we work it out right, the second walk therefore only comes to 2€…) and 24€ for adults. We went for this option, which allowed us to see all of the caves.

The Škocjan caves in pictures

Through the underground canyon

Photos are normally forbidden in the cave to preserve the place but… here are a few taken with a phone (without flash). The place is spectacular, so no photo can really do justice to the scale of these caves. The thread of light you can make out in the last photo, bottom right, is nothing other than the path along the cliff face that we took.

From the river to the underground world

It is certainly one of the loveliest surprises of our road trip in Slovenia. The canyon is so gigantic that you feel tiny in it.

Along the educational trail

While waiting for our guided tour to start, we went to the educational trail, which starts from the caves’ restaurant. Only 250 metres away, there is a belvedere with a stunning view over the canyon.

After a quick lunch in the caves’ restaurant (which we don’t recommend at all), we set off on the educational trail which goes through the hamlet of Škocjan and then goes back down into the canyon. Don’t miss the view from the church of Škocjan, over the whole green Karst valley.

Our favourite spots in the Karst

• Ice cream shop at the Škocjan caves: very well located after a climb and the exit from the lift, this little ice cream shop offers six different flavours (1.50€ a scoop) and cool flavoured waters (1€ a glass).
• Gostilna Skok: a very good spot in the Karst region, after visiting the caves (15 minutes by car). The terrace under the vines is very pleasant. On the menu, local produce such as Karst cured ham (41€ for two for a plate of ham, two mains and a dessert).

What we thought of the Škocjan caves

Visiting the Škocjan caves is one of our best memories of our trip to Slovenia! We had never visited such impressive caves. You quickly understand the reason for UNESCO’s patronage when you see them. This natural site lets you discover both the underground world and also the canyon, the river and the surrounding hamlets: a very complete visit!
We can only advise you to set aside half a day or even a whole day for the Škocjan caves. A geological wonder in Slovenia!

Planning a trip to Slovenia? Read our article about Ljubljana and our article about Piran and the Slovenian coast!