New Year in Slovenia: 4 days on snowshoes between lake Bled, Pokljuka and lake Bohinj

The New Year abroad that needs no airport

Five hours by van from Milan and you are in Slovenia, in front of lake Bled with its island and the castle on the cliff. In winter the coaches disappear, snow comes down to the shore and what is left is a quiet place, with steam rising from the thermal baths.

You walk for three days in three different settings: snowshoes on the Pokljuka plateau inside Triglav national park, where the Zajamniki huts stand in a row on the ridge under two metres of snow; the Mostnica gorge carved into the rock above lake Bohinj, the big wild lake the coaches never reach; and on the last morning lake Jasna and the Planica valley, below the largest ski jumps in the world.

Why go with us

• No flights and no checked bags: the van leaves Milan on the morning of 30 December and you are home on the evening of 2 January.
• Two real snowshoe days inside Triglav park, not a stroll around the lake.
• On the evening of the 31st you eat in Bled and walk out to the shore for the fireworks over the water.
• Small group, 12 Guidders max, with guides and a Guiddy Coordinator.

Good to know

Snowshoes and poles are included, and so is breakfast at the farmhouse where we sleep: milk, cheese and cured meats made on site. Slovenia is in the EU and uses the euro, so an identity card is enough. The Vintgar gorge, the one with the walkways you see in every photo of Bled, is closed in winter from December to March: we go to the Pokljuka and Mostnica gorges instead, open all year and just as good. New Year's Eve dinner and the thermal baths are not included.