Dobro jutro
DOH-broh YOO-troh
Good morning
Greeting someone in the morning
Travel guide
Learn Slovenia before you go
A small green country where the Alps, the Adriatic, the Karst caves and the Pannonian plain meet, with a fairy-tale lake and a charming capital.
CapitalLjubljana
CurrencyEuro (€), since 1 January 2007
Official languageSlovene. Hungarian and Italian are also official in the ethnically mixed areas along those borders
Drives on theRight
Calling code+386
10 phrases to learn
In Slovene. Capital letters show the stressed part. Tap the heart to practise a phrase later.
Dober dan
DOH-ber dahn
Good day, hello
The polite greeting for most of the day, in shops, with strangers and on mountain paths
Dober večer
DOH-behr veh-CHEHR
Good evening
Greeting someone in the evening
Lahko noč
lah-KOH nohch
Good night
Saying goodnight before bed
Nasvidenje
nahs-VEE-deh-nyeh
Goodbye
Leaving a shop, a restaurant or a person
Kako ste?
kah-KOH steh
How are you?
A polite question to someone you do not know well
Hvala, dobro
HVAH-lah, DOH-broh
Fine, thank you
Answering 'How are you?'
Hvala lepa
HVAH-lah LEH-pah
Thank you very much
Thanking someone warmly
Oprostite
oh-prohs-TEE-teh
Excuse me, or I'm sorry
Getting attention or apologising
Govorite angleško?
goh-voh-REE-teh ahn-GLEHSH-koh
Do you speak English?
Before asking for help
At the table
- Before eating, people wish each other 'Dober tek' (enjoy your meal).
- When glasses are raised, people say 'Na zdravje' (to your health).
- If you are invited to someone's home, bring a bottle of good wine, and compliment the cook before you are asked whether you liked the meal.
- Slovenians usually take off their shoes at home and wear slippers. Your hosts may offer you slippers.
- A Slovenian host may keep offering food even after you say no, because it is polite to refuse at first and polite to insist.
- Coffee usually means an espresso, and friends happily sit in a café over one cup for a long time.
Local tips
Emergency numbers: 112 and 113
Call 112 for an ambulance, the fire service or mountain rescue. The police have their own number, 113.
Buy an e-vignette before the motorway
To drive on Slovenian motorways and expressways you need an electronic vignette, registered to your number plate. Buy it for a week, a month or a year, and only from the official DARS website or sales points.
Headlights on, and winter tyres
Drivers must keep their headlights on at all times. From 15 November to 15 March, and whenever there is snow or ice, cars must have winter tyres, or summer tyres with snow chains in the boot.
Tipping is not expected
Most Slovenians do not see tipping as obligatory. People often round the bill up to the next euro, and leave more only for really good service.
Say 'Dober dan' on the trail
In the mountains and in small villages it is polite to greet people you pass with 'Dober dan'. Mountain paths can be steep, and some have via ferrata sections with steel cables, so check the route and weather first.
Bears live in the forests
Brown bears live in wooded areas across Slovenia, even near towns, and hikers occasionally meet bears and wolves in the mountains. Take particular care where bears have been sighted, stay on marked paths and call 112 for mountain rescue.
Plan for quiet Sundays
Bus and train services are sparse on Saturdays and very limited on Sundays, so plan day trips ahead.
Schengen rules apply
Slovenia is in the Schengen area. Visitors who do not need a visa can usually stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period across all Schengen countries together.
Dishes to try
- Potica (potica): A festive rolled cake made from thin, yeasted dough spread with a filling, rolled up and baked in a round mould with a hole in the middle. The best-known filling is ground walnut, but tarragon, poppy seed, raisins and cottage cheese are also popular.
- Carniolan sausage (kranjska klobasa): A lightly smoked sausage of pork with a little bacon, seasoned only with garlic, black pepper and sea salt, and made in pairs joined by a wooden skewer. It is usually served hot with mustard and a piece of bread.
- Idrija žlikrofi (idrijski žlikrofi): Small dumplings of thin dough with a potato filling, made to a recipe from the mid-19th century. They are served as a side dish to meat, or on their own topped with breadcrumbs.
- Prekmurje layer cake (prekmurska gibanica): A tall, rich layered pastry from the north-east, with fillings of poppy seeds, cottage cheese, walnuts, and apples with raisins, one layer above another.
- Buckwheat žganci (ajdovi žganci): Buckwheat flour cooked in salted water and broken up with a fork into small, crumbly lumps. It was once an everyday farmhouse meal, eaten with milk for breakfast, or with lard and crispy pork cracklings, or beside sauerkraut and meat.
- Štruklji (štruklji): Rolled dumplings of thin dough with a sweet or savoury filling, then boiled, steamed or baked. Cottage cheese, tarragon, walnut, apple and poppy seed are favourite fillings, and they are eaten as a main dish, a side dish or a dessert.
- Jota (jota): A thick, warming soup of beans and sauerkraut or sour turnip, with potatoes, garlic and smoked pork or spare ribs. It is especially popular along the border with Italy, around Trieste and Gorizia.
- Browned flour soup (prežganka): A simple, old-fashioned soup made by browning flour in butter or oil, then adding water, caraway seeds and beaten eggs. It is often called Slovenia's national soup.
Cities to see
- Ljubljana (capital): The Triple Bridge and Dragon Bridge, Ljubljana Castle and its funicular, European Green Capital for 2016.
- Maribor: The Old Vine, more than 400 years old, The Lent Festival every June, Skiing and hiking on Pohorje.
- Celje: Upper Celje Castle, The Counts of Celje and their three stars, Roman Celeia.
- Kranj: The Kokra river canyon, France Prešeren, Being close to Ljubljana's airport.
- Koper: The Port of Koper, The Praetorian Palace, Cruise ships.
- Piran: Tartini Square, Venetian-style old town, Salt from the nearby salt pans.