Which Are the Caves Open for Touristic Tours in Slovenia?

There are more than 10,000 caves in Slovenia, and we still discover about 100 new each year. Unfortunately, these beautiful underground worlds are not always open for touristic tours. If you come to Slovenia, visiting the caves is a must-do, and you will not be disappointed.

To have the best experience possible, the most important is to know which caves are open for touristic tours. There are five very touristic caves: Postojna Cave, Škocjan Cave, Kostanjevica Cave, Vilenica Cave, and Križna Jama Cave.

You will also find smaller and less touristic caves if you are not a big fan of crowds. Let’s take a look at the caves, and the timetables and prices for touristic tours.

Postojna Cave

Postojna Cave is the most visited and most touristic Cave in Slovenia. In this Cave, you will find the actual baby dragons talked about in the local legends and a 140 years old railway.

Postojna cave is the only one where you will find such a railway. It will take you entirely underground to discover one of the largest stalagmites, called the Skyscraper. It is about 16-metre-high.

Around 38 million visitors from the whole world visited Postojna Cave, going down the 5-kilometer railway.

The particularity of Postojna Cave is the fact that olms live there, and you can observe them. They are the creatures we often call baby dragons. These translucid pink vertebrates with extraterrestrials looks can live up to 100 years old and more than eight years without any food.

The caves in Slovenia foster more than 150 animal species, and the olm, or Proteus anguinus, is the largest one.

Postojna cave is made for you if you are an animal lover since it is the karst with the most biodiversity. In one of its corridors, you will even find a vivarium. For the first time in the last 200 years, we have been able to watch olms hatch.

Timetable (they can sometimes change, to be certain of the times, be sure to check the official website):

• November to March: 10am, 12am, 3pm
• April: 10am, 11am, 12am, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm
• May: every hour from 9am to 5pm
• June: 11am, 4pm
• July: 10am, 11am, 12am, 2pm, 3pm
• August: 10am, 12am, 3pm
• September: every hour from 9am to 5pm
• October: 10am, 11am, 12am, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm

Prices:

• Adults: 27,90 €
• Students: (16 – 25 years) 22,30 €
• Children from 6 to 15 years: 16,70 €
• Children up to 5 years: 1,00 €

Škocjan Caves

The Škocjan Caves are the second most touristic Caves in Slovenia. They also have the most abundant subterranean canyon in Europe, which is worth the visit.

The canyon is 146-meters-high, 500 steps, and many kilometers to walk through. When visiting this karst, you will cross bridges going over the 26 magnificent underground waterfalls, but also enormous stalagmites and stalactites.

The Škocjan Caves are the only Slovenian monument on UNESCO’s list of natural and cultural world heritage sites.

The area of the Škocjan Caves is known for its archaeological finds and rich natural heritage. It is an absolute must-see for tourists looking to visit stunning karsts and caves.

There are different visits to the Škocjan Caves you can do. Prices are different for each one.

Through the underground canyon:

• From November to February:
  • Adults: 16,00€
  • Seniors and students (under the age of 26): 12,00€
  • Children: 7,50€
• From March to June and September to October:
  • Adults: 18,00€
  • Seniors and students (under the age of 26): 14,00€
  • Children: 9,00€
• From July to August:
  • Adults: 20,00€
  • Seniors and students (under the age of 26): 16,00€
  • Children: 10,00€

Following the Reka River underground:

• Adults: 12,50€
• Seniors and students (under the age of 26): 9,00€
• Children: 6,50€

Along the Škocjan Education Trail: (unguided tours are also possible and free of charge)

• Adults: 6,00€
• Seniors and students (under the age of 26): 5,00€
• Children: 3,50€

Through the underground canyon and then following the Reka River (or the opposite):

• Adults: 24,00€
• Seniors and students (under the age of 26): 18,00€
• Children: 12,50€

Kostanjevica Cave

Next to Kostanjevica, just at the bottom of the Gorjanci Hills, you will find the Kostanjevica Cave. In this Cave, water and tectonic shifts had thousands of years to shape stalactites, stalagmites, and other wonders straight out of a fairytale.

For tourists, three hundred meters of the Cave is open for touristic tours. The most beautiful parts of the caves are being visited every year.

The visits are possible since 1937, when an increase of the water fractured open the Cave, allowing people to enter. The touristic aspect existed since 1971 when lights were added, and a 300 meters path was paved. Now you can walk through the Cave for 2 kilometers.

The visit is suitable for children and seniors, and a guided tour lasts about 40 minutes.

Timetables:

• From April 15th to October 31st on Saturdays, Sundays and during holidays
• From July to August: every day at 10am, 12am, 2pm, 4pm, 6pm

Prices:

• Adults, individuals: 10.00 €
• Adults (groups – over 20 people): 8.00 € per person
• Students (with a verified identity card), secondary school students: 7.00 €
• Students (groups – over 20), secondary school students: 6.00 € per person
• Primary school children, individuals: 5.00 €
• Primary school children (groups – over 20): 4.00 € per person
• Family ticket (2 adults + 2 children): 25.00 € (+ 3,00€ for each extra child)

Vilenica Cave

The fourth Cave you can decide to visit is a bit of a mystery. Its age is unknown, and there are a lot of secrets surrounding it.

When you enter the Cave, you first find the Dance Hall, and every year the Cave hosts the final event of the Vilenica International Literary Festival there.

Inside the Cave, there are many stalactites of various shapes that inspired many artists with those shapes and their different colors. It is the perfect place for people wanting to develop their imagination.

The Vilenica Cave is also open for touristic tours.

Timetable:

• From April 1st to October 31st: every Sunday and Holiday at 3pm
• From November 1st to March 31st: for groups only (+10 people) and with a reservation

Prices:

• Single tickets:
  • Adults: 12,00€
  • Children: 6,00€
• Groups of 20 or more: 
  • Adults: 10,00€ per person
  • Children: 5,00€ per person
• Family tickets:
  • 3 persons (2 adults and 1 child): 28,00€
  • 4 persons (2 adults and 2 children): 30,00€
  • 5 persons or more (2 adults and 3 children or more): 35€

Križna Jama Cave

The Križna Jama cave is one of the most beautiful caves in Slovenia with its emerald-green underground lakes. You can visit it by boat, which makes the tour even more entertaining.

The boat tour is made by professionals and experienced cavers.

In the Križna Jama cave, there is also a lot of history. A cave bear hibernating during the ice age was discovered years ago in the Cave.

You can decide to take different tours depending on your time and wallet. The visit of the water part to Crystal Mountain and the visit with a boat ride on First Lake and Bear Tunel are even a bit alternative and can be a great and unique experience.

Visit with a boat ride on First Lake (1h-1,5h)

• From October to June:
  • Adults: 10,00€
  • Children (3 to 15 years): 7,00€
• From July to September:
  • Adults: 12,00€
  • Children (3 to 15 years): 8,00€

• Announced groups (over 15 people) of adults: 8,00€
• Announced school groups (primary school pupils, secondary school students): 5,00€
• The minimum amount for viewing outside the opening hours: 40,00€

Visit of the water part to Calvary (3,5h-4h)

• From July to September:
  • 50,00€ per person (if there are 4 persons in the group)
  • 60,00€ per person (if there are 3 people in the group)
  • 80,00€ per person (if there are 2 people in the group)
• From October to January:
  • 40,00€ per person (if there are 4 persons in the group)
  • 50,00€ per person (if there are 3 people in the group)
  • 70,00€ per person (if there are 2 people in the group)

Visit of the water part to Crystal Mountain (6,5h-7h): 280,00€ per group (visit only possible from October to March)

Visit with a boat ride on First Lake and Bear Tunel (1,5-2h) for groups of 2 to 12 people with sufficient physical abilities:

• From October to June: 15,00€ per person
• From July to September: 18,00€
• Individual tour for two people: 25,00€ per person

The Less Touristic Caves in Slovenia Giving Tours

If you are not into crowds, but you still want to visit caves and karsts in Slovenia, do not worry. There is an important number of less touristic caves that still give great tours and that are worth seeing.

The Divača Cave can be visited since the 19th century and is an unusual cave that will satisfy your wishes for adventure and wonder. It is close to the Škocjan Caves and is crossed by the same Reka River.

This Cave was visited by many famous people such as Sigmund Freud or the Austro-Hungarian crown prince Rudolph whom the Cave was named after for a while.

You can visit the Divača Cave from May 1st to September 30th every Sunday at 11am, and in July and August, every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 10am.

The Dimnice Cave is close to Slivje and Markovščina. An unusual phenomenon happens all the time in the Cave creating a column of smoke. This is why it is called Dimnice Cave (dim means smoke in Slovene).

You can visit Dimnice Cave every Sunday at 3.30pm.

Experience Slovenia Caves!

Visiting Slovenian Caves is a great experience to discover marvelous landscapes and subterraneous treasures. Although not all 10,000 caves are open to visitors, you can still take a tour of many of them. The most touristic caves are famous for their magnificent underground scenery but do not forget smaller caves around Slovenia where you might discover unique karsts.