North Stars:

Production Consumption

Carbon Footprint

Heritage Value

“This is the kind of travel that digs with dirty fingernails through the glossy pages of a travel brochure to reveal the soul of a place.”

Bikepacking isn’t about speed. With your essentials strapped to two wheels, you move slowly, deliberately. You begin to notice the small things: tomato-red tulips behind fences, the smell of drenched earth surrounding a waterfall, and church steeples towering over postage-stamp towns. Shins speckled with mud, hands chapped and freckled, you pedal down easements tucked between modest homes, cross railroad tracks, and take wrong turns that become worthy detours. This is the kind of travel that digs with dirty fingernails through the glossy pages of a travel brochure to reveal the soul of a place.

My husband, Brian, and I are scuba instructors. For years, we’ve explored together beneath the waves. Still buzzing from our fog-draped wedding on the sand berm above our favorite dive site, we planned out our honeymoon. Beaches didn’t call to us; we wanted a different kind of adventure. We wanted to slow down time enough to appreciate each other and the lifelong commitment we had just signed into stone.

We chose Slovenia’s Green Gourmet Route, a nearly 500-mile trek by bike (and a few trains) across a country the size of New Jersey. Sandwiched between the Adriatic Sea and the Julian Alps, Slovenia is a hub for outdoor adventure sports — from paragliding to whitewater kayaking. More than half of the land is forested, and about 40 percent is protected, prompting the government to lean into the sustainable and green tourism theme with customized cycling tours.

One of six multi-day routes launched in 2020, the Green Gourmet Route is dotted with Michelin-starred restaurants, cheesemakers, wineries, and apiaries, all certified under Slovenia’s Green Scheme sustainable tourism initiative.

It sounded like the perfect adventure. We just weren’t sure our bodies could handle it. After all, we were just casual cyclists. Before leaving, we taught ourselves to fix a flat and clocked in after-work rides to prep our legs. With anticipated daily mileage on the route ranging from 10 to 40 miles, our confidence grew: maybe we really could do this.

Cycling Across Slovenia

On a map, Slovenia resembles a chicken sprinting across Croatia to peck at Hungary’s western edge. It carries Austria on its back and leaves Italy choking on its dust. We planned to pedal up the chicken’s back, around its derrière, through its belly and across its throat. Each night we’d stop in a new town, rest our heads in sobes (homestays) or boutique hotels, and start again the next morning.

From Ljubljana, we cycled along rolling green hills dotted with tiny, picturesque farms, past endless fields of sunny mustard flowers that looked too pretty to be real, and toward the Slovenian Alps. As the snow-crusted mountains rose with each mile, our legs grew stronger. Hours passed, and we didn’t see a soul. Just my husband and I, pedaling through a new land together. My adventure partner forever. 

I basked in the simplicity of each day. We woke up early, plotted our route, and found ourselves in a new town ripe with possibilities by evening. We didn’t plan ahead, and traveling in the off-season in April, we found lodging easily each night. We passed the time with chatter, discussing everything big and small. When our grumbling stomachs called for a lunch break, we feasted on the simple yet wholesome local cuisine. 

Biking for Bites

Slovenia, a rising star in the culinary scene, was named the European Region of Gastronomy in 2021. We weren’t surprised. Foraging, beekeeping, and gardening are a way of life, creating an abundance of fresh and local ingredients. Midway through the trip, we savored a Michelin-star meal at Hiša Franko, Slovenia’s culinary landmark led by chef Ana Roš. We slipped out of our dirty jerseys and shimmied into new thrifted threads bought in town. The meal unfolded over a meticulously crafted hyper-local tasting menu and biodynamic wine pairings. The highlight was the roebuck — a small native deer. The doll-sized portion of meat all but melted in our mouths; the most tender morsel I’ve ever tasted.

Another day, our homestay host, Matjaz — IT worker by day, truffle hunter by passion — invited us along on a foraging trip. He poured us each a shot of homemade schnapps, and with two trained chocolate labs in tow, we picked our way through the forest until the dogs sniffed out a prize. At the end of the day, Matjaz served us Pljukanci, a traditional Istrian hand-rolled pasta, and ice cream, all topped with piles of shaved black truffle.

As decadent as those meals were, our favorites were still the scrappy ones. The picnics cobbled together from breakfast buffet hauls: hunks of bread, slices of salty prosciutto, local Tolmin cheese wrapped in napkins, and apples clunking around in panniers. We’d pull over under a tree, peel off our sweaty socks, and let our feet breathe. Then we’d unwrap our makeshift sandwiches like they were sacred offerings. Indulgence, we learned, takes many forms. Sometimes it’s just leftover ham and a view.

We rode through lightning storms and up hills that never seemed to end. We got grumpy. We got sunburnt. But we also found our rhythm, and with it, a quiet joy. The uphills made us savor the downhills, and the rain brought the most glorious scents. On our last morning, I woke to the sound of pigeon claws clicking on the windowsill. I rolled out of bed and looked over the red-roofed town stretched out below. Another day of mystery lay ahead.

What to know before you go

The government-sponsored Slovenia Green brand makes planning easy. You can hire a guide to ride along with you, or go it alone with a GPS. Either way, the routes are laid out in great detail, including turn-by-turn directions to plug into the Ride with GPS app on their website. Different routes focus on specific interests and require anywhere from three to 16 days to complete, so pick one that suits your passions and schedule. You can customize your route to hit additional points of interest or skip sections entirely. 

Unless you want to disassemble and ship your bike, or purchase one in-country, you can rent all the basic gear you will need — bike, panniers, helmet, and lock — in Ljubljana. Make sure to carry tools and spare tubes in case of gear issues. American-style plugs were almost nonexistent around the country, so bring enough plug adapters to charge everything overnight. Additional gear can easily be bought en route if you are missing something you need. 

The Green Gourmet Route is a mix of road cycling and gravel, so a gravel or trekking bike is best. Traffic is light in the off season, and drivers seem respectful of cyclists, however, you’ll still want to wear bright and reflective clothing, and use front and tail lights for visibility. Weather can change dramatically, so layers and waterproof gear are essential. There are many places to rent bikes, but we found the best price and trustworthy gear at Nomad 2000 in Ljubljana.

 If you’re looking for some recommendations for things to do besides biking, we recommend a day of whitewater kayaking in Kobarid with XPoint (they will transport your bikes downstream while you paddle), visiting the Postojna Cave (home to eyeless newts and the only post office inside a cave), and having a day spa at Terme Olimia. For stays, Zenja in the karst region offers a local’s perspective and fun activities like truffle hunts, and Radovljica’s Art House makes for a charming overnight. There are so many good restaurants along the route, but we especially recommend the homemade gnocchi with lamb ragu at the cozy Hiša Polonka in Kobarid.