Travel + Photo | A blog by Nathan Busscher

Earlier in our European adventure, I blogged about one of the worst day tours we ever took and now we had one of the best day tours ever.  It was the Emerald River Adventure tour run by 3glav adventuresin Bled, Slovenia.  This tour had it all.  History, beautiful scenery, hiking at the highest mountain pass in Slovenia, white water rafting on the Soca river, swimming at a secluded waterfall, visiting another waterfall (no swimming at this one but still very impressive), jumping from a ridiculously high bridge into emerald green water, a unique car train ride through a series of long tunnels, and all of this in one day long tour that costs less than 100 euros.

Packing all this stuff into one day wouldn’t work well if it wasn’t run by a good group of guys.  You can tell they really care about their country and about showing tourists what it has to offer.  Unlike many tour operators around the world, I didn’t feel like these guys were just in it for the money.  They didn’t just want to get you in and out while emptying the most they can out of your wallet.  This level of service has made them stand out.  Just look at tripadvisor.  They are rated the #1 thing to do in Bled and the reviews they have are as glowing as mine.  Well done guys!!!

Slovenia doesn’t usually show up on the travelers radar as being an adventure capital.  Switzerland usually holds that title but if you want the best service, the best bang for your buck, the best food, the best culture, look no further than Bled, Slovenia.

It’s also much, much cheaper than Switzerland.  Just take a look at the price difference for a 3 hour cayoning tour.  I know price isn’t everything but it makes a difference for travelers on the budget.  Why pay twice as much in Switzerland for what is the same if not a better experience in Slovenia.

3 hour canyoning tour with 3glav in Slovenia – 55 euros

3 hour canyoning tour (they advertise it as a half day tour but its closer to a 2 hour tour with only 3 waterfalls to abseil down) with “Trekking Team” in Switzerland – 100 euros

Bled, Slovenia has a lot more to offer the adrenaline junkie.  You can go hiking, mountain biking, sky diving, paragliding, rock climbing, and much more.  You can also get very good 3-4 star accommodation for less than 75 euros per night (even in August).

In our 3 month, 23 country european adventure, Slovenia stood out as one of our favorites if not the top place in Europe we’d like to revisit.

Here is a short video of our whitewater rafting trip down the Soca River.  It’s more of us jumping off of rocks, and floating down the river than actually rafting but still a great time just don’t expect class 5 Zambezi river like rapids.