Slovenia and Dolomites 2025 V2. Fully Booked

Day 1 – 4.  Maribor, Slovenia.

Day one is our pick up from Ljubljana Train Station and 90 minute drive to Maribor to get settled into our hotel.  We will have an afternoon introduction ride, just a 25-30km flat cruise to make sure the bikes are running nice and smooth and the legs are feeling strong and supple ; )

Day two is our Maribor South Loop, clocking in at a nicely doable 60km with 1100m climbing.  The route is made up of one main climb, taking us up to the chair lifts and overlooking Maribor itself.  A nice little ride to whet the appetite, while not cooking the legs before we even get into the swing of things.

Day three has us upping the ante with the Maribor 8.  This is a 90km figure of eight loop, taking in some of the beautiful forests, vineyards and hinterland of Maribor.  We even take a little excursion into Austria on this loop.  The terrain is lumpy, the gradients varied and scenery beautiful as we clock up 1200m of climbing.

Day four – so it’s no secret we like to save the best of a location to last and Maribor is no different.  We duck and weave our may through some of the most picturesque scenery of this part of Slovenia as we take in brand new bike paths, quiet country lanes and sleepy little villages on our 85km loop.  The terrain is lumpy, bumpy, pinchy and fun, giving 1200m climbing on a saw-tooth profile.  What a day out this is going to be.

Day 5 – 7.  Lake Bled, Slovenia.

Day five we transfer to Lake Bled, a definite tourist highlight of Slovenia.  The transfer is about two hours, giving an afternoon of relaxing by the lake, or joining us for a quiet ride up the bike path to stretch the legs.  This bike path is stunning and parts of it are still in development, so it will just be getting better by the time our tour hits town.  So, 40km out and back fun (600m climbing), or lakeside R&R – what a choice.  We will be riding this bike path again – in fact it is our standard route out of town, so no down side to either decision.

Day six sees us taking our climbing up a notch, with a nice double header on the cards.  95km with 2200m climbing, made up of two climbs is a good day out.  The scenery you will be riding through makes this a great day out.  The opening 20km and closing 20km is out and back on the bike path, so most of the climbing is ticked off within the middle 50km.  Think of it as a perfect warm up and warm down.

Day seven has got us on a really fun excursion out – ticking off all sorts of boxes.  We head up into some of the most spectacular forest riding past Lake Bohinj.  It is an out and back little excursion – but one we think is well worth the effort.  On the return journey, we will ditch the bike path for one of the best climbs in the area, taking in 1500m climbing over the 85km ride as we drop back down to Bled to complete the loop.

Day 8 – 10.  Kranjska Gora, Slovenia.

Day eight is transfer day.  Kranjska Gora is actually not far at all from Bled and you may ask why we are spending time with such a short transfer into just another neighbourhood.  Well, hold that thought, this place is poles apart from Bled with it’s intimate cycling friendly feeling.  Pretty much if you don’t have a bicycle with you, you would wish you did!  We will ride the transfer, taking a beautiful back road (with a not so beautiful little surprise pinch in there) and bike paths to get the 40km from Bled to Kranjska Gora.  This afternoon you will soon be charmed by this little town with a huge atmosphere!

Day nine is our big day in Slovenia, well Slovenia and Italy actually.  Two big passes – Vršič (11km) and Pedril (15km) to take us on our loop in and out of Italy for the day.  Staright from the first pedal strokes the views are insane – the grandeur of the surrounding mountains is mind blowing.  Vršič Pass features 24 cobbled hairpin bends on the way up and 25 (not cobbled) hairpin bends on the way down.  As if this climb wasn’t epic enough, the cobbles just lay down an extra wow factor.  The climb up Pedril Pass has wider sweeping roads and stunning valley views – two totally different beasts on one ride.  It’s a fascinating descent through the largely abandoned old mining town of Cave del Pedril, before we link back onto the bike paths to return us into Slovenia. 90km, 2000m, 2 countries! Boom!

Day ten is a bit of a chilled out ride after yesterday’s efforts.  But chilled out does not mean boring.  What sort of mood are the guides in?  Do they send you clockwise or anticlockwise on this triple country ride.  Taking in Slovenia, Austria and Italy in one 50km loop is such an awesome day out.  One way gives you a 1km climbing section of 18%, the other way flips that toil into a reward – could I suggest your lovely guides enjoy gelato to get them in a good mood ; )

Day 11 -14.  Dolomites, Italy.

Day eleven has our longest transfer for this tour, at four hours to Corvara.  We’ll call this a full day off the bikes.  Haha, who are we kidding – you know we can’t help ourselves and will want to sneak out for an afternoon ride into the Dolomites.  Let’s just play this one by ear.

Day twelve has the Sella Ronda literally on the doorstep.  What more do we need in this world?  Toughest choice will be clockwise, anticlockwise, or both.  Today is all about riding through the picture postcard backdrop that is the Dolomites, soaking up the unique atmosphere and loving the life of riding bikes.

Day thirteen is the last day of riding on this Slovenia-Dolomites tour.  We are going to keep this ride as a blank canvas to assess how the group are feeling, how much more is in the tank and review that bucket list of climbs yet to be ticked of peoples lists.  The world really is our oyster here – the Valporola Loop, the Fedaia Loop, the Giau Loop – how many hours have we got?

Day fourteen : (    Unfortunately this is the day we have to drag you all kicking and screaming to Venice Airport for our drop off.  Rather than having a temper-tantrum at the prospect of leaving us, just grab that spot on a 2026 tour to keep that smile beaming.

What’s included in the tour package?

• 13 nights’ Share Twin/Double accommodation at our selected hotels.
• All breakfasts while on tour.
• 4 dinners while on tour (Maribor dinners are included).
• All transport and transfers while on tour.
• Pick up from Ljubljana Train Station.
• Drop off to Marco Polo airport, Venice.
• 3 Kiwi Style guides to look after and entertain you.
• Guided cycle rides.
• Support van on most rides (except where impractical due to bike paths, etc).
• 1 set of Kiwi Style Bike Tours cycle top and bib shorts.

Not included in the tour package:

Airfares, travel insurance (compulsory) and meals unless indicated are not included.

Single room option is unavailable on this tour at this stage.  Pending final group make up a Single Room Supplement may be available – POA.

The Slovenia – Dolomites v2 Tour is limited to a maximum of 14 people.

A deposit of $1000 is required to secure your spot on this tour.