Glamping in Slovenia: Big Berry Camp and 5 Great Day Trips

Exploring Lake Bled, Postojna Cave and the picturesque region of Bela Krajina. Read about my glamping experience in at Big Berry camp in Slovenia.

“Glamping? Never heard of it!” I was thinking when my Slovenian friend Andreja invited me to experience a new glamping campsite in the southeast of Slovenia. She was going to spend one week on the bank of the Kolpa river, one of the cleanest rivers in Slovenia, and there was one more spot left in her mobile home. Why not, right?

It wasn’t my first time in Slovenia – I had previously visited Soča Valley and tried Slovenia’s longest Zipline. Yet, I was really thrilled to come back to Slovenia and also to reunite with Andreja. We haven’t seen each other since our trip to India in winter.

The camp was remote and we were ready to make use of its peaceful atmosphere. Our original plan was to split our time between relaxing and sunbathing at the river, and working.

Unfortunatelly for us, the weather turned to be rather cold and rainy. Well – we had good time anyway. There was couple of spontaneous trips to amazing plasec across the country, including picturesque Lake Bled (the most beautiful place in Slovenia I visited so far).

TIP: Every girl wants to look pretty while glamping, right? If you are not sure what to pack, read a fellow blogger’s Packing guide for Europe.

600 KILOMETES TRAIN TRIP

The Big Berry camp is situated at the bank of river Kolpa in Primostek in southeast Slovenia. Kolpa forms the border between Slovenia and Croatia. Taking a look outside a window of our mobile home, you could in fact see Croatia. Don’t forget your passport when you go swimming:)

Getting to Big Berry was little bit of a challenge – I decided to do the 600-kilometer trip from Czech Republic by train. I crossed Austria from north to south with some pretty awesome views. But yep – it was 9 crazy hours on the train!

When you travel to Big Berry, I recommend flying to Ljubljana or Zagreb and then transferring from there. Use Skypicker – my favorite tool – to find the cheapest flight.

GLAMPING: HOW TO CAMP IN STYLE

Glamping, a portmanteau of glamour and camping, stands for a new and fancy style of camping. In fact, it is all about staying close to nature, but maintaining high standards of technology and comfort at the same time.

My stay at Big Berry Lifestyle Camp was my very first glamping experience. I spent there 7 days – before it was even officially open to the public. Many facilities, such as some of the mobile homes, were still under construction during our stay.

OUR MOBILE HOME AT BIG BERRY

There is total of 7 houses at Big Berry (yes, they are all standing by now!) . Me and Andreja got something similar to a honeymoon suite – a 34-square-meter mobile home for two people:)  We were the very first guests to stay in this mobile house.

Once you get in, it feels rather like a comfortable hotel room. A luxurious one. The Big Berry houses are equipped with designer furniture. Our house featured a bedroom, bathroom, living room, fully equipped kitchen and a terrace.

Some days after we left, an outdoor Jacuzzi was installed. Too bad we didn’t get to try it out! The pictures looked more than appealing:-)

The breakfast was just perfect: homemade meals (including fresh cow milk) is delivered to the house each morning, so we didn’t have to worry about that. There is no restaurant at the campsite, so for lunch or dinner, one has to go to the surrounding villages. Slovenian food is amazing!

It’s not cheap camping – the house costs 200 Euros per night. Needless to say, you get what you pay for. If you appreciate design and comfort, this is place is just perfect (and as I follow their news, it’s getting better every week with more facilities).

DAY TRIPS FROM BIG BERRY

The region of Bela Krajina offers a couple of interesting options for day trips. Two main cities to explore are Metlika and Crnomelj. Slovenia itself is quite small and compact, so even if you are in the south, none of the main attractions is really too far away.

These are my favorite places that you can visit in one day:

Lake Bled

Being one of the most famous places in Slovenia, Lake Bled has an island in the middle and is surrounded by the Julian Alps, making it one of the symbols of Slovenia. It’s as pretty as all the postcards – or even a bit more.

A great way to experience the lake by boat. So much fun! One can paddle around and see the island from all angles. Another cool spot is the medieval castle towering above the lake. This is where the best panoramic pictures of Lake Bled are taken from.

Make sure to find time for coffee and cake – trying the traditional Bled cream cake is a must. I tried it at Zima sweetshop. Yummy! By the way, a fellow blogger also published this post about things to do around Lake Bled. By the way, Lake Bled in winter is an amazing experience, too!

TIP: When heading to/from Bled, make a stop at the little but pretty town of Radovljica. Restaurant Lectar serves local specialties – including amazing pumpkin soup served in the real pumpkin (!).

Postojna Cave

This is the most visited cave in Europe, yet it still feels mysterious. Postojna cave is a stunning underground labyrinth of 24 kilometers of passages, galleries and chambers.

When visiting, one gets to jump on the electric train that goes deeper into the bizarre underworld.  Then the tour of a land of amazingly shaped rock formations continues on foot. The visit takes an hour and half and there is a lot to see.

During the visit, we also got to see the creepy inhabitants of the cave known as “human fish”. This species could easily be Gollum’s sister.  Totally the last thing I would appreciate finding finding in my bath tub 🙂

Pogaca Cooking Workshop

You will get to eat Pogaca a lot in the Bela Krajina region. It’s a kind of rounded bread with a special square net pattern. Before being eaten, Pogaca is broken in bite-size squares. It’s perfect for eating with the hands.

Making pogaca is not all that difficult – if you want to give it a try, you can join a pogaca cooking workshop.  It takes 90 minutes and it’s organized in a little cute handicraft shop in Ceromejl.

TIP: There is lot of cute little items on display:  embroidery, lavender, honey and so on. It’s a perfect place to get some small gifts from Slovenia.

More info here: Medeni butik BIBI

Craft Brewery

Believe it or not, the largest craft brewery in Slovenia is only about 20 minutes’ drive from BIG BERRY camp. This is too near to resist… Getting thirsty, huh?

Vizir is run by young and energetic couple and they are always happy to show people around the brewery. During the visit, one gets to try various craft beers that are the result of six years of experimenting with and perfecting brews. All the ingredients are natural.

TIP:  Many beers at Vizir are named after their horses. Make sure you taste Naughty Franco – this beer with 10 volumes was named after the horse that went crazy:)

More info here: Brewery Vizir

The Wine Cellar 

You simply cannot visit Bela Krajina without having a glass of wine. It is actually one of three main wine regions of Slovenia.

If you are interested in taking a stroll in the local wine cellar, the guys from Malnarič-Nampel winery do an excellent job presenting the wine. Make sure to try Belokrajec (or White Carniolan) – a special wine produced in the region.

More info here: Malnarič-Nampel winery

DID YOU TRY GLAMPING? WOULD YOU BE UP FOR CAMPING IN LUXURY?

Camping always was about adventure and sleeping in nature. How about adding some convenience and luxury to it?

PS: If you are a foodie, you must visit the capital of Slovenia, too. A fellow blogger recommends the best places where to eat in Ljubjana.

Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed the article, please share! :0

Edited by Nick Kembel.

Photo credit: Group picture from lake bled is by The World Pursuit.

This post was created in partnership with BIG BERRY camp. It was cool to try our glamping. I hope to back one day and see Big Berry with sunshine. Thanks to Andreja from Adventurous Journeys for a great company.

Check out my posts about Central Europe:

• Soča Valley Travel Guide
• Learning to fly: Zipline in Bovec, Slovenia
• Bled in Slovenia Does that sound good?
• Summer in Tirol: 5 Things to do in the Kitzbühel Alps

Do you plan to explore Slovenia’s capital? Then this post about where to stay in Ljubjana is quite useful. If you are planning to visit more of the Balkans, check out the Balkan travel guide by fellow blogger who knows much about this region.

Veronika Tomanova

Blogger at Veronika's Adventure

Veronika Tomanova is the founder of award-winning solo female travel blog Veronika’s Adventure, featuring travel tips, guides and stories from around the world. She is from Czech Republic and has been to 30+ countries.