Hi Tony,
I would really like to say how much we enjoyed our adventure holiday in Slovenia. It was everything we wanted so thank you for all your efforts, it is hard to imagine a better holiday. We wanted it to be an active family holiday and it was just that! It’s hard to imagine a holiday with more in it and the itinerary worked really well plus the activities were fantastic. Perfect for our kids, they had a ball!
To run through some of the highlights of our trip for your benefit:-
Bovec was awesome and Camp Toni was great – small enough not to feel too overwhelmed but busy and the facilities were good and our tent and equipment were fantastic – much better than anything we have slept in previously! The cooker and kitchen equipment worked well and we used it a lot and one gas canister was enough for our stay. The lamps also worked really well and as discussed the sleeping bags were great; however, we recommend other users to keep the ventilation flaps open for added air circulation especially on hot days. Also helpful was the mat outside the tent which worked well.
The Back to Nature camp you showed us would be awesome and we already have friends who are interested in coming along with us as a combined group next year.
The activity instructors were good and Gregor was excellent – he engaged with the kids well and was a great judge of what we could and couldn’t do as individuals and collectively as a family. The kids really warmed to him and they enjoyed all the activities and the instructors juggled their diary to fit us in when we wanted providing flexibility during our holiday. Our activities are summed up as follows
Rafting – awesome, we did it twice and enjoyed it both times. Gregor let us control it the second time;
Kayaking – great, it would have been really good to have more sessions to become relatively competent. Gregor took us on a different parts of the river second time round and Emily went solo!
Canyoning – awesome, the kids and Jeanette got a bit cold but we thoroughly enjoyed it. Gregor took me on some fairly extreme parts that he doesn’t normally do with clients!
Caving – one of the kids favourites, Rolly, our instructor was excellent and both caves were good, the first better than the second.
Mountain biking – we didn’t mountain bike as a family in Bovec but I did take a bike up on the last morning and tried out the bike park but it certainly wasn’t for beginners and was fairly extreme!
Hotel Kanin was great and Jeanette and the kids loved the pool and appreciated the relative luxury. Jeanette and Emily had a massage and it was great to be able to use it during the heat of the day.
We tried various restaurants in town, Letni Vrt was our favourite and the Black Sheep was also good, and we played boules there a couple of times.
Climbing Mangart was a highlight for me, say no more… Robbie was a good guide and the whole day was enjoyable. Bohinj and the lake were very different from Bovec, more civilised and a great contrast and the lake was beautiful. Our accommodation at Studor 13 was good and the owners, Andy and Tina were very accommodating – we would definitely use them again because the position was good and it was very comfortable. Andy also took some photos of us which were great and he kindly sent them on to us. We used the Aquapark in Bohinj Bistrica a lot and the kids really enjoyed it and they were desperate to go every day and the set up was excellent. We also rented a canoe and hired bikes while in Bohinj and both experiences were great plus the water was a lot warmer than the Soca!
The moutain huts were excellent and provided quite a contrast from Studor 13 and the tent. We drove up to Blato and then walked up to Koca Planini pri Jezeru. The site was stunning and there were plenty of small shepherd huts and a lake which made it extremely photogenic. We then walked up to the hut Bregarjevo Zavetisce na Planini Visevnik which was even more beautiful. It was very small, sleeping only 6-8 but we had a great evening there with the ladies who were running it and two other guests. We then walked up to the peak and looked down over Bohinj.
The return over the Vrsic Pass and staying Bovec for two nights at the end was a great way to end the holiday. It completed the loop and it was nice to return to the tent to reinforce the experiences that we had there. In terms of an itinerary we wouldn’t change it; although when we come back we would almost certainly do different things. Many thanks for your help, this really was a holiday to remember!
Hope to see you again next year.
Kind regards, Andy Crighton / Sept 2011
