12-05-2025
Beauty, Wine and Forest Bathing Await You With a Visit to Slovenia
Amelia Edelman recalls her trip to Slovenia, and shares what travelers can expect!
On my most recent trip, I texted my friends photos. In one shot, glasses of golden wine sparkled against a backdrop of rolling vineyard hills. 'Tuscany?!' was one guess as to my whereabouts. In another photo, the Alps loomed outside our elegant wooden ski lodge. 'Austria?' was the next guess.'Nope,' I responded. 'Slovenia!'
I'd gotten a taste of the country 20 years earlier on a backpacking trip and jumped at the chance to return. Located in the heart of Europe and roughly the size of New Jersey, Slovenia is a country of many identities, and wellness travel is quickly becoming one of its top draws. Its mineral-rich thermal baths have been revered since Roman times, and its spa hotels combine tradition and innovation.
I started in Ljubljana, Slovenia's charming capital. The Ljubljanica River snakes through the city, flanked by cafés and shops. From there, I trekked up cobblestones to visit the historic Ljubljana Castle and, best of all, its hilltop bar.
Venturing into the Julian Alps and Kamnik-Savinja Alps, my group visited Hiša Raduha, a cozy, family-run hotel that opened in 1875. Today, three generations warmly welcome guests to the glamping-style accommodations.
After that, our days were filled with a rotating cast of nature-first locales. At the sweeping vineyards of Zlati Grič, we met winemaker Sašo Topolšek and learned about his process. At Hotel Balnea in the famous spa town of Dolenjske Toplice, I swam through an indoor-outdoor pool portal that felt like something out of a dream.
The quiet reflection in forests was juxtaposed with chatty meals where the food shined. The array was astonishing, from farm-fresh tomato bruschetta with oyster mayo at Jaz by Ana Roš to sturgeon with dashi and fried eel at Restaurant Spargus.
It was a trip of delicious extremes. One minute I was sweating in an underground Finnish sauna, and the next I was in an outdoor cold plunge beneath the mountain peaks. I came to reacquaint myself with the country I'd been briefly smitten with and found an ever-changing sense of place. I'm not waiting another 20 years to come back.
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