Slovenia and Croatia Food Journey

(Option: Customized Itineraries)
Slovenia/Croatia - 8 nights
Available year round 

Enjoy a night out in the capital as you eat where the locals do during a comprehensive ‘foodie’ walk of Ljubljana. Savour five courses of regional specialties paired with award-winning wines in beautiful Goriska Brda. Check out a 1000 year-old castle and taste traditional cakes by gorgeous Lake Bled. Sniff around for truffles in the forests of Croatia with specially trained dogs. Roll out fresh pastas and create dishes with herbs, locally-sourced foods and olive oils and top it all off with some terrific wines that you’ve never tasted before.

Slovenia is often dubbed ‘Europe In Miniature’ for its small but diverse offerings such as ancient historic castles, tiny Venetian-esque seaside towns, rolling hills covered in vineyards, shimmering glacial lakes and majestic alps. There’s a certain air of authenticity here that sometimes goes missing from such larger European destinations. The country’s culinary delights and wines reflect this too. And when it comes to food, Slovenia is fresh, seasonal, delicious and production is on a small-scale.  

Slovenia has been re-discovering its cuisine, while absorbing trends and innovations from Europe and around the world. Here you can find winemaking regions dating back to Roman times where now young wine makers experiment with new techniques on indigenous varietals with amazing results.

The country offers very traditional, simple dishes with innovative twists like honey or tarragon cakes, white polenta topped with wild boar goulash, beefsteak cooked with prosciutto and local ruby red Teran wine or their version of an omelette lovingly made with fresh herbs and wild asparagus.

Take time to come sit down and talk with Slovenian wine makers, chefs and local producers in their cellars, farms and kitchens and taste a multitude of homemade creations. 

ITINERARY 

Day One 

 
LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA

 
Transfer on your own to your hotel in Ljubljana, located in the old town of Slovenia’s charming little capital. (Transfers can be arranged upon request)

Food tells stories and food is made by people. Explore the charming old town core of Ljubljana, Slovenia’s capital, and at the same time get introduced to its varied culinary delights. This special foodie walking tour by a life-long local will let you stop and taste at independent, locally owned and non-touristy eateries of Ljubljana downtown and converse with owners, baristas and chefs about what makes them do what they do. From lip-smacking comfort food to high-end hidden gems, Ljubljana has it all, and it’s yours to discover.   

Day Two

 
LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA 

The morning is at your leisure to explore Slovenia’s capital.

You will spend the afternoon and early evening cooking at the region’s top restaurant with a young chef, part of the JRE association in Europe (exceptional restaurants with specially trained young chefs).

Cook yourself a 4 course dinner, try additional tastings of other traditional Prekmurje dishes of the region and sample 4 local wines.

Overnight in Ljubljana.

Day Three 

ISTRIA, CROATIA

Depart Ljubljana and drive down to Piran where you will enjoy a wonderful tour of this fascinating place. Piran is a small 19th century village in Slovenia Istria and home to the famous violinist and composer Giuseppe Tartini. It is considered one of the most beautiful medieval towns on the Adriatic coast. With its Venetian architecture, narrow winding streets and rich history, Piran is a must-see! 

Lunch and tour at an organic olive farm with all local and bio-products including olives, oil, olive salts, cheese and even bio certified wines. Lunch is outside with view to nearby salt flats where they still collect salt from the Adriatic Sea.  

Then cross over into Croatia to the Istrian peninsula, well known for medieval hill-towns, wine, truffles and other gastronomic delights. Check-in to a lovely local accommodation in a small town and then discover the world of goat cheesemaking with Croatia’s finest goat cheese farm tucked away in bucolic countryside. 
A very special dinner at the farm with a selection of cheeses (both soft, semi-hard and aged cheeses) to sample with freshly baked breed. 

Alongside all the cheeses will be different local specialities such as home cooked stews and soups, grilled fish, salad, in-season vegetables and typical Istrian sausages known as kobasice.  

DAY FOUR 

ISTRIA, CROATIA

You will visit the charming hill-town of Groznjan this morning. Once nearly abandoned, this town has now been transformed into an artists' colony. It’s now bustling with artist galleries, handmade jewelry shops and gourmet food shops. It’s also a good place to find some fresh hot Fritule which are Istria’s delicious version of a doughnut.

Head to the Istrian forests with a family that has a truffle cottage and a group of dogs to sniff out and dig up truffles. Hopefully we will find some truffles but regardless there will be a special truffle-themed lunch in the countryside cottage with fresh truffles on pasta, plus the family’s delicious olive oil and wines. Then browse the iconic hill town of Motovun which offers glorious views of nearby vineyards, forests and tiny hill towns. 

Late afternoon visit to Rovinj, Istria’s most charming seaside town that proudly displays its Venetian influences. Time to explore art shops and galleries and a labyrinth of cobblestone streets.

Dinner on your own in Rovinj. 

DAY FIVE 

ISTRIA, CROATIA

Morning visit to the historic port town of Pula on the coast. The city has Roman temples dating back to 2nd century BC and the largest colosseum outside of Italy. 

Then it’s off to Pula’s local green market to source all the ingredients for today’s cooking class. What we will make: Žgvacet, a traditional Istrian goulash made with beef, chicken, tomatoes and wine and we will also make traditional Istrian fresh pastas such as fuži.

While cranking out pasta and waiting for the goulash to cook, enjoy unlimited Istrian wines such as the crisp white Malvasia and the local red Teran plus a special dessert wine at the end of our dinner. 

In between all the hard work enjoy a walk through an olive grove and try local sheep and goat cheeses along with several varieties of olive oils and delicious air-dried prosciutto (known here as prsut).

Enjoy!

 

DAY SIX 

BRDA, SLOVENIA

Today you will travel back to Slovenia and into the Vipava Valley where strong burja winds can blow up to 175 km/hr, adding an additional challenge to wine making here. Learn the history of wine making in this valley and the nitty-gritty of the wine business as we hang out with an expert winemaker and try his line of Pinto Noir and Pinot Gris. 

Afternoon we hop over the border into Italy, where the region is known as Collio. We will tour a BIO dairy farm and sample freshly made ricotta and mozzarellas plus their specialty called caciotta flavored with different wild herbs.

Head off to the vineyards, orchards and winding country roads of Goriska Brda, Slovenia’s premiere culinary and wine region. Arrival at a family home (a converted 13th century chateau) of local sparking wine makers, the best in Brda. Then indulge in a five-course ‘slow-food’ dinner paired with wines at a winery which continually ranks on the list of 100 best wineries in the world by Wine and Spirits Magazine. Our hosts serve each dish with one of their wines. The variety of culinary traditions (Slovene, Friulian, Habsburg) have intertwined on this strip of land, giving Brda cuisine its special touch. This is a great place for an introduction into orange wines (longer maceration or white wine varietals made in red styles) and to learn about ancient wine making methods using clay amphorae. 

Overnight at a lovely accommodation in Goriska Brda.  

DAY SEVEN 

BRDA, SLOVENIA

After enjoying breakfast, tour the wine maker’s 700 year old cellar (the oldest in this region) and learn about the traditional method of sparkling wine (where secondary fermentation takes place in bottles) and tastings of 4 different sparkling wines.

Take a stroll through the oldest olive tree plantation (Brda is the northern most point in Europe where olive trees grow.) and then up to a viewpoint tower to take in picturesque panoramas of Brda. 

Next we go to a small family-run winery in Friuli, located in a small valley near the border of Slovenia. The winery features excellent white, red and rosé wines.

Afterwards, we visit the First World War museum where Italian and Austrian/German forces duked it out 100 years ago and where Hemingway worked as an ambulance driver leading to his most famous work, A Farewell to Arms.

This evening enjoy a comfort food dinner in a local pub.

DAY EIGHT 

LAKE BLED, SLOVENIA

Depart Brda and arrival to beautiful Lake Bled where your rustic, charming pension is just a five minute walk to the lake.

Today you will learn the importance of beekeeping in Slovenia and get an insider’s knowledge on the history, secrets and science with a local beekeeper followed by a tasting of various Slovenian honeys and honey brandy.   

Enjoy a special home made lunch at a farmhouse with a local who makes her own bread, traditional cakes, herbal liqueurs and beer and serves them up with local cheeses and a variety of dried meats. 

Leisure time to sit back and enjoy the natural beauty of Bled or take an optional visit to scenic Vintgar Gorge where we’ll do an easy 90 minute walk in nature alongside one of Slovenia’s beautiful emerald rivers.

Our farewell 3-course dinner with wines will be held at Bled Castle which provides amazing panoramas and views of the lake and surrounding mountains. 

DAY NINE

Departure after breakfast. Transfer on your own to Ljubljana Airport or Ljubljana Train Station. We hope you enjoyed your Slovenia and Croatian food journey!

(Transfers upon request can be provided to Ljubljana Airport or Ljubljana Train Station for an additional cost).

*The content or order of the itinerary may change depending on dates, availability of services or activities, local festivals/holidays, weather constraints, etc.

*Menus are samples and may vary according to the season

GROUP SIZE

A minimum of 4 participants is required to run this tour and the tour is limited to a maximum of 7 participants.

(The number of participants refers to how many persons are required to run the tour, not to how many persons you must have in your party. Please inquire.)

HOW TO ARRIVE

Closest Airports/Train Stations:

Airport: Ljubljana - 22 miles/30 minutes to first accommodation

Train Station: Ljubljana - 35 miles/45 minutes to first accommodation

*Transfers available upon request. Transfers can also be arranged from Zagreb, Trieste, Venice or Vienna   

BOOKING INFORMATION

For further inquiries or to register, click here.

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CANCELLATION POLICY

Please contact us for cancellation policy information. Travel insurance is highly recommended.

CLIENT REMARKS

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