Seniors on the go in Slovenia!: SLOVENE COAST

Izola and Portoroz

I wanted to compare the Slovenian coast to the Croatian coast so we drove to the Primorska Region which is greatly influenced by Italy and is only one hour from Ljubljana. There had been border problems with Italy starting after World War 2. It took 7 years and 4 treaties after World War 2 to finally decide whether the Slovene coast should belong to Italy or Slovenia. Signs are in Slovenian and Italian and Italian is also spoken but this region now belongs to Slovenia.

Arriving at the coast, the picturesque countryside changes again and is dotted with vineyards and olive groves stretching down to the Adriatic Sea. I found the drive down to the Slovenian coast much more beautiful than the Istrian coast in Croatia. I wonder why Slovenians prefer Croatian beaches.

There are many small resorts - hotels on the beaches such as Ankaran, Zusterna, Simonovov Zaliv, Strunjan, Fiesa, etc., but the largest and most popular resorts are Portoroz and Bernardin. The Venetian town Piran is only 3 kilometres from Portoroz. There are three beaches in Portoroz. We looked at the first two but they were too crowded so Joze suggested we go to the 5star Grand Hotel Bernardin which has two separate sections – one for hotel guests and one for the general public. We had to pay 30 Euros for 2 chairs and an umbrella but it was well worth it. Once again, the “beach” was not sandy but cement and rocky. You had to enter the water using stairs leading from the pier as you see in the photos below. There was also a bar with snacks and drinks. The other two beaches are more easily accessible to the water because you can just walk in from the beach. They also have grass and shady areas.