Tourist farms in Slovenia

My wife and I drove a rental car through Slovenia, May 20-28, ’05. We traveled from Venice and drove most of the interesting roads in Slovenia, which is full of beauty in all varieties and can be visited at a very reasonable cost.

We contacted the Slovenian Tourist Office (2929 East Commercial Blvd., Ste. 201, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33308; phone 954/491-0112) and they sent us a booklet called “The Countryside, Tourist Farms” which gave information about booking accommodations at Slovenian tourist farms, called kmetij Slovenije.

The tourist farms are rated on a scale of one apple (the equivalent of a one-star rating from AA) to four apples (providing more amenities). We booked four of them, all in the 3- to 4-apple category, and wish to recommend this booking service as an easy way to book these tourist farms and meet local people. The accommodations were very nice and provided excellent food.

All of the places we stayed at were priced between $50 and $75 per night, which included breakfast and dinner. None of them accepted credit cards nor travelers’ checks in euros; we paid with cash in euros.

One caveat — I would stay out of the really touristy areas such as Bled or Postojna (where the caves are located). Two of the tourist farms we stayed at were in these areas. Tourist Farm Hudicevec, strangely enough recommended by Rick Steves, was purely commercial; it seemed they made no effort to meet guests other than to take the money. We found poor rooms there and a very marginal breakfast. Pri Biscu, near Bled, had poor rooms and terrible food, and no one spoke English although it was advertised that they did.

I strongly suggest you limit yourself to patronizing the tourist farms in areas other than the highly advertised tourists traps. You will get to know the farmers and their families as they show you their farms.

Two of the best accommodations we have ever had when using the bed-and-breakfast approach were the following tourist farms. At each, the owners really took an interest in their guests, and English was spoken as advertised.

Tourist Farm Arbajter is located in the mountains, where wild sheep and deer roam. It is operated by the ultrafriendly and competent Konrad Arbajter family, and in the short time we were with them, we felt we had made lasting friends.

At Tourist Farm Seruga, the friendship of the Seruga family abounded, the food was plentiful and tasty and the accommodations were superb.

HENRY PEDERSON
Green Valley, AZ