Ljubljana to Postojna Cave: all 13 day trips compared

Postojna sits southwest of Ljubljana in the karst country of Inner Carniola, close enough that every one of these thirteen trips is a day trip: you leave in the morning and sleep in Ljubljana again. Which is why the choice here is not about getting there at all. It is about what the operator packs into the hours between the pickup and the drop-off — and the listings pack them very differently.

The core of the day is fixed, and it is the same on all thirteen. You reach the cave, and you do not walk in. An underground train carries you inside, through tunnel and chamber, before the walking part of the visit even begins — the listings call it an electric train, a special train and a fun underground train, and it is the single thing that makes Postojna unlike any other cave you have queued for. Then come the formations the cave is known for, the stalactites and stalagmites, and the blind salamander the listings call the human fish or the cave dragon. Afterwards, almost every trip drives on to Predjama Castle, a Renaissance fortress built into the mouth of a cave in a cliff, with restored rooms, a dungeon and a tunnel behind it. One listing puts the cliff at 123 metres. Another tells the legend of the knight Erazem. The two sights pair so naturally that the search term Postojna Cave & Predjama Castle has become a single phrase.

So the first real decision is length, and there are two answers. Six trips run five to six hours: the cave, the train, the castle, back to Ljubljana. Seven trips run ten to eleven and a half, because they add a second region — five of them Lake Bled in the Julian Alps, two of them Piran on the Adriatic. That is not a slightly longer version of the same day. It is a different day, in which the cave is one stop out of three.

The second decision is the tickets, and it is the one that catches people out. A fare that looks cheap may not include entry to the cave at all. Four of these listings state entry to Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle in the inclusions. Three more state a discount on those tickets through the operator’s agency — ten per cent on one, thirteen on another. The remaining six list transport, a driver-guide and a pickup, and nothing about entry. All three arrangements are legitimate and all three appear on well-rated trips; you simply need to know which one you are buying, and the tickets page sets out each fare line by line.

Six numbers decide most bookings — fare, length, what the fare covers, rating, review count and what an hour of the day costs — and all six are in the table below. What a table cannot show is the shape of each kind of day, so here it is first.

The short day: six trips, five to six hours, cave and castle only. $131 is our top pick and the most reviewed listing on this site by a long way: six hours, transport from designated pickup points inside Ljubljana, an English-speaking driver-guide, entrance to both the cave and Predjama Castle, an audio guide at the castle and a skip-the-line service, at 4.8 across 2,655 reviews. $122 is the five-and-a-half-hour version with the same arrangement — comfortable transport, an English-speaking guide and the entrance fee for both sights in the fare — at 4.8 across 166 reviews, and its listing is the one that names the electric train through the karst system. $74 is the small-vehicle day for up to eight people with a licensed driver-guide, skip-the-line, air-conditioned transport and a ten per cent discount on the two tickets rather than the tickets themselves; 413 reviews at 4.9. $83 runs six hours with a driver-guide, a multilingual audio guide and WiFi on board, 202 reviews at 4.7. $78 is the shortest day here at five hours, a minivan of no more than eight with an English-speaking guide and central Ljubljana pickup, 32 reviews at 4.9. And $57 is the lowest fare on the site: six hours, a minivan of eight, a driver and a central meeting point, 37 reviews at 4.9.

The long day with Lake Bled: five trips, ten to eleven and a half hours. $194 is the fullest of them and the highest fare here: eleven and a half hours taking in Postojna Cave, Predjama Castle, the lake, Bled Castle on its cliff and a slice of the traditional Bled cream cake, with entry to all three included and an optional boat on the lake; 852 reviews at 4.8. $132 is ten hours in a small group with a pletna boat out to Bled island and Bled Castle, and its listing is the one that names the special train into the cave and the human fish; 271 reviews at 4.9. $137 is eleven hours with a licensed guide, a guided walk at Bled, transfers to viewpoints around the lake, cream cake and coffee for those visiting the castle, and a thirteen per cent ticket discount through the agency — the highest rating on the site at 5.0 across 135 reviews. $166 is the eleven-and-a-half-hour group version with hotel pickup, at 4.7 across 226 reviews, and $103 is the eleven-hour day with an English-speaking driver and a central meeting point, 15 reviews at 4.8.

The long day with the coast: two trips, ten hours to Piran. $113 takes a group of no more than eight to the cave, to Predjama — which its listing calls the largest cave castle in the world — and on to Piran, with a scenic stop at the city walls above the Adriatic and a ticket discount through the operator; 392 reviews at 4.9. $160 is the same triangle in a modern air-conditioned van with the entry tickets stated outright in the fare: the Postojna ticket covering the train ride and the guided cave visit, the Predjama ticket with its audio guide, and a walking tour of Piran at the end; 43 reviews at 4.7.

If you want the cave and the castle done properly in one morning, book $131. It is our top pick and the most tested listing on this site: six hours, entrance to Postojna Cave and to Predjama Castle both inside the fare, skip-the-line service, an audio guide at the castle, an English-speaking driver-guide and pickup and drop-off at designated points inside Ljubljana. 2,655 reviews at 4.8. Nothing else here carries a record that deep.

If the fare matters most, book $57. Six hours, a minivan capped at eight, a driver and a central pickup point, at 4.9 across 37 reviews. Its listing describes the electric train into the cave and the cliff-built castle, and it does not list the entry tickets — budget for those on top and it is still the least you can pay here. $78 is the same idea in five hours with an English-speaking guide, and $74 adds a licensed driver-guide, skip-the-line and a ten per cent ticket discount for 413 reviews at 4.9.

If you want everything in the fare, book $122 or $160. The first is five and a half hours with transport, an English-speaking guide and the entrance fee for both sights stated in the inclusions. The second is a ten-hour day where the listing spells the tickets out: the Postojna entry covering the train ride and guided cave tour, the Predjama entry with an audio guide, and Piran on the way home.

If you have one day for Slovenia, book $132. Ten hours covering Lake Bled, a pletna boat to the island, Bled Castle, Predjama and the cave with its train, in a small group with an English-speaking guide, rated 4.9 across 271 reviews. For the version with every entry ticket included, $194 runs eleven and a half hours and adds Bled Castle and the cream cake; for the highest-rated day on the site, $137 holds 5.0 across 135 reviews. The Lake Bled page compares the five of them.

If you would rather have the sea than the lake, book $113. Ten hours, no more than eight passengers, the cave and Predjama in the morning and the Venetian streets of Piran and Tartini Square in the afternoon, with a stop at the city walls for the view over the Adriatic. 392 reviews at 4.9.