Postojna Cave is Slovenia’s most popular tourist attraction, and Predjama Castle the most famous and unique castle in the country. One is a natural wonder and the other is a man-made feat of medieval engineering that will leave you wondering how it’s even possible. The Queen of All Caves, and the largest cave castle in the world are definitely worth a visit as a day trip. They are both located within the Park Postojnska Jama, so it’s very easy to combine them on the same day.
Postojna Cave
Postojna Cave is the best-known cave in the world. It’s also the most-visited tourist attraction in Slovenia and one of the world’s largest karst monuments. The Postojna Cave is about an hour drive away from Bled, so you can easily make a day trip to Postojna and see the caves. A fantastic web of tunnels, passages, galleries and halls, the astonishing diversity of Karst features as well as easy access are certainly the main reasons for such popularity of the cave and a large number of visitors, which has already reached 34 million. With 5 km of tunnels open to tourists, there’s a lot to see. You travel on a little train for approximately 10 minutes before disembarking and walking round the caves accompanied by a guide. The train ride is breath taking, the natural beauty, highlighted by perfectly placed lights remains with you a long time after your leave the caves. Walking around and being able to look, close up is wonderful. Make sure you bring warm clothes in the hot summer, it is very chilly and damp. And make sure you keep your arms in during the train ride, it is stunning how close you sometimes are to the walls. In the caves is also a concert hall, which due to its outstanding natural acoustics is often used for classical concerts and has room for an audience of up to 10,000. The caves date back 2 million years so the vast caverns, stalactites and stalagmites are just stunning to see. In all the visit takes a little more than an hour.
Timetable of visits:
January, February, March, November, December: 10:00, 12:00, 15:00
April, October: 10:00, 12:00, 14:00, 16:00
May, June, September: 9:00, 10.00, 11.00, 12.00, 13.00, 14.00, 15,00, 16,00, 17,00
July, August: 9:00, 10.00, 11.00, 12.00, 13.00, 14.00, 15,00, 16,00, 17,00, 18.00
The entrance fee is €25,80 for adults, €1 EUR for children up to 5 years, €15,50 for children up to 15 years and €20,60 for students.
If you are planning on visiting both the castle and the caves then you can purchase a joint ticket and save a couple of euros per person:
Postojna Caves + Predjama Castle: €38,50 for adults, €2 EUR for children up to 5 years, €19,10 for children up to 15 years and €25,50 for students.
Postojna Cave, also known as the Queen of the underground world, is not just one cave but rather a system of 12 different caves, forming one of the most visited attractions in Europe. (photo: Iztok Medja / slovenia.info)
The cave was discovered hundreds of years ago, but was only open to the public around 200 years ago. (photo: Iztok Medja / slovenia.info)
Water dissolving limestone created stunning forms of stalagmites and stalactites, from which one stood out and became a symbol of Postojnska Cave. It is an impressive 5-meter-tall, crisp white stalagmite called The Brilliant with an ornament-rich column standing next to it. (photo: Nea Culpa d.o.o. / slovenia.info)
The caves are awesome, so beautiful, and you can take plenty of photos. The lighting is very good, and shows off the fantastic stalagmites and formations really well. (photo: Iztok Medja / slovenia.info)
While you explore the cave, you will come across all sorts of extraordinary natural formations. (photo: Iztok Medja / slovenia.info)
Stalactites grow downwards by water dripping from the ceiling through the deposit of calcite, which builds up to create these shapes. Stalagmites are those that grow upwards, building from the drips above, and columns form when a stalactite and a stalagmite join together. (photo: Iztok Medja / slovenia.info)
There really are endless shapes and colors that you can encounter here. It’s a real wonder. (photo: Miha Krivic / slovenia.info)
Postojna Cave has just celebrated 200 years since its discovery, so installations have been improved. (photo: Iztok Medja / slovenia.info)
The accessible area is almost 6km long, 4 km of which are done by electric train, and the remaining 2 km on foot through purpose built walkways. (photo: Iztok Medja / slovenia.info)
With more than 38 million visitors in the past 200 years and a cave train ride, Postojna Cave is truly a must see. (photo: Iztok Medja / slovenia.info)
Wear a warm jacket and possibly a beanie as it’s about 10 degrees Celsius in the caves, then step aboard the cave train and descend 4 km into a subterreranean wonderland. (photo: Nea Culpa d.o.o. / slovenia.info)
This is the first and only underground train of its kind in the world. (photo: Iztok Medja / slovenia.info)
Postojna Cave is a breathtaking 24 km long limestone cave that has been carved by the Pivka River over a period of 3 million years. (photo: Iztok Medja / slovenia.info)
It’s a fun ride, but if you are tall, watch out for the lower sections of the tunnels! (photo: Iztok Medja / slovenia.info)
Postojna Cave is open all year round, but the number of daily tours for the cave will vary according to the season. (photo: Iztok Medja / slovenia.info)
A top tip would be to arrive for the first tour of the day at 9am. (photo: Iztok Medja / slovenia.info)
The cave tour takes 90 minutes. Make sure you wear comfortable footwear and warm clothes, as the temperature in the cave is around 10 degrees Celsius all year round. (photo: Iztok Medja / slovenia.info)
The vivarium section has a few extra minibeasts that are worth seeing. (photo: Iztok Medja / slovenia.info)
The annual live Nativity in Postojna Cave is an experience unlike any other in Slovenia. It will give you goose bumps even if you are not at all religious. (photo: Valter Leban / slovenia.info)
Postojna Cave is located in the town of Postojna, only 46 km from Ljubljana and 102 km from Bled and it’s very easy to get to. (photo: Miha Krivic / slovenia.info)
Read more about the Postojna Cave: Review of the Postojna Cave
Predjama Castle
On the same day trip to Postojna and continuing the cave theme, you can also visit Predjama Castle (the Predjama Castle is only about 15 minutes drive away from the Postojna Cave). The Predjama Castle is a beautiful renaissance castle built in the mouth of a cave, first mentioned in writing in 1202. The castle itself is well run. The entrance fee includes a highly informative audio guide in many languages with 29 points of interest throughout the castle detailing it’s history over the past 800 years. The castle is really full of history and almost every part is talked about. We won’t spoil it, only to say that someone does come to a rather unfortunate end. There are several steep steps and narrow areas so not suitable for very young children or people with walking difficulties.
Timetable of visits:
January, February, March, November, December: 10:00 – 16:00
April, October: 10:00 – 17:00
May, June, September: 9:00 – 18:00
July, August: 9:00 – 19:00
The entrance fee is €13,80 for adults, €1 EUR for children up to 5 years, €8,30 for children up to 15 years and €11 for students.
If you are planning on visiting both the castle and the caves then you can purchase a joint ticket and save a couple of euros per person:
Postojna Caves + Predjama Castle: €35,70 for adults, €2 EUR for children up to 5 years, €21,40 for children up to 15 years and €28,60 for students.
Predjama Castle is a Renaissance castle built into the mouth of a cave. (photo: Miha Krivic / slovenia.info)
The castle is 800 years old and is perched in the middle of a 123 meter cliff.. (photo: Miha Krivic / slovenia.info)
Behind and underneath the castle, is a network of secret tunnels that allowed owners of the castle to hide in the event of an attack. (photo: Nea Culpa d.o.o. / slovenia.info)
The castle is a true delight for all who love the legends of knights and is a true symbiosis between nature and man best work. (photo: Alan Kosmac / slovenia.info)
Predjama Castle matches the image of the ultimate fairytale castle in a fairytale setting. (photo: Alan Kosmac / slovenia.info)
Built in an impossible place, the castle is perched up in the middle of a vertical 123-metre high cliff face, jutting out of a cave. (photo: Iztok Medja / slovenia.info)
The only preserved cave castle in the world, Predjama Castle also holds the Guinness World Record for being the largest cave castle in the world. (photo: Valter Leban / slovenia.info)
On arrival you will be given a free audio guide, which will help you with learning and understanding the history of the castle. (photo: Valter Leban / slovenia.info)
Built in the 15th century, the castle was the hideaway of the rebellious knight Erasmus, the Slovenian Robin Hood. Inside you will learn the story behind this legendary Slovenian knight and how he was eventually betrayed by one of his soldiers. (photo: Valter Leban / slovenia.info)
Read more about the Predjama Castle: Review of the Predjama Castle
Location:
Postojna Cave Address: Jamska cesta 28, 6230 Postojna, Slovenia
Postojna Cave Latitude and Longitude Coordinates: 45.78127, 14.20571
Postojna Cave GPS coordinates: 45° 46′ 52.5900” N 14° 12′ 20.5704” E
Predjama Castle Address: Predjama 1, 6230 Postojna, Slovenia
Predjama Castle Latitude and Longitude Coordinates: 45.81576, 14.12688
Predjama Castle GPS coordinates: 45° 48′ 56.7540” N 14° 7′ 36.7716” E
Traditional region: Littoral–Inner Carniola (Slovene: Primorska-Notranjska)
Municipality: Postojna
Directions from Apartments Fine Stay to Postojna Caves (drive 105 km, 58 minutes)
Directions from Postojna Cave to Predjama Castle (drive 11 km, 14 minutes)
Directions from Apartments Fine Stay Bled to Postojna Caves (drive 102 km, 56 minutes)
Directions from Postojna Cave to Predjama Castle (drive 11 km, 14 minutes)
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Probably the best tourist attraction in Slovenia. From the moment you board the train to enter the cave, you are amazed at the massive stalagmites and stalactites that abound in the cave. Have never seen anything like Postojna Caves and I would have loved to take everyone I know. If you are planning on visiting both the castle and the caves then i would recommend going to the castle first and purchasing a joint ticket as there are no queues here.