A few weeks ago we’ve made a decision to do a bike trip around home region to experience travel on two wheels and document some of the most beautiful landscapes in Slovenia. You know what they say – people travel to faraway places to watch, in fascination, the kind of people ignore at home. In the past few years of traveling, we’ve learned this could not be any truer. And call us crazy, but we would have been nuts not to explore these beautiful locations right on our “doorstep”.

If you’re unfamiliar with Obsotelje & Kozjansko area, it’s a cute pre-alpine, hilly and mostly forested region where most of the top quality wines are grown. It’s very charming. We love this region because it’s an easy way to escape the hustle and bustle of larger Slovenian cities as well as touristic places like lake Bled.

PLANNING OUR ITINERARY

We started planning our bike itinerary in one of the most peaceful locations in the area — by the lake Slivnica. There’s a quiet corner with some cute wooden chairs and table where we put out our maps to plan the specifics.

We were recommended a bike trip around Sevnica and Rogaška Slatina and after a little bit of research, and a lot of recommendations, we realized that we wouldn’t have enough time to even scratch the surface. Everything was so cute and we needed to see it all, but that was unrealistic for us on a few-days bike trip. Of course, everywhere we did visit was so good — and we’re already planning to go back and explore more.

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DAY 1

Right, let’s get straight into it. Our departure point was Rogaška Slatina and we were excited to get started. The first stop was Olimje Monastery. As we were passing numerous churches along the way we couldn’t help it but stop at the Church Saint Katarina in Nezbiše (pictured below). It sits so beautifully in the middle of fields and meadows we decided to take our drone out to document this picturesque route.

We arrived at the Monastery Olimje 16 km later which was a pretty relaxed ride, passing many horses and cows.

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We took half an hour rest, sat on one of the benches among the many flowers, and admired the temples which have been standing there for over 1000 years. The monastery Olimje always leaves a big impression on us. There’s also a cute pond, a garden of medicinal herbs, and one for chocolate lovers that is not to be missed — the chocolate factory. Worth coming here just for the chocolate, if you ask us!

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We continued our path towards Kozje where we planned on being by the sunset time. It was a gentle climb to get there but we kept a quick pace — that wasn’t surprising given the excitement. We were rewarded with the most beautiful pink sunset tones and moon rise upon arrival.

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DAY 2

The next day we continued our trip up towards Lisca (948 m). Something I had to mentally prepare as the ascent is steep and quite demanding, to say the least. It was longer and rougher than I expected. My legs were starting to hurt, but once on top, we were rewarded with the views. That was an encouraging feeling. We took some rest, then hiked the area in the late afternoon. It felt good to enjoy the pulse of the Posavje hills and countryside. There are numerous marked hiking trails to explore the hills which are perfect for nature walk enthusiasts, but our legs were a little sore so we ended up doing only a short walk.

We wanted to spend a night out here and have an early start, eager to see the sunrise from up above from Lisca. We can say we won’t forget what it looked like. The views of the Sava river valley and the vast hilly landscape around us were extremely scenic. At first, clouds gave us a real show, then Sava river meander started peaking out and it made for such a beautiful sight. This place has won us over solely with the views — it felt like being on top of the world. We’d love to do that again.

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DAY 3

We’ve had our breakfast at Tončkov dom. Uroš tried Jurkov praženjak and I’ve had the pancakes. They were both delicious. We then took a shower and continued our trip towards Sevnica. Sevnica was truly stunning – what an amazing corner of Slovenia! We honestly didn’t know places like that existed in Slovenia. It’s a picturesque countryside town with vineyards, hills, meadows, and has a special charm. With a castle peering from the top of the hill located by the Sava river you can enjoy the views while listening to the sound of water and birds singing. Or you can head up to the top of the castle to get the best views of the whole Sevnica and more, like the nobles of Sevnica used to. Overall, 10 out of 10 recommend.

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Our favorite thing on this trip was that we got to explore so many hidden, untouched places. There was a particular spot in Sevnica we knew we wanted to come back to the very next day and bring a picnic basket to celebrate our successful trip.

DAY 4

On our final day, we explored Kostanjevica na Krki. We have passed this small town just recently during the lavender season, but haven’t had the time to stop. We wanted to return here to discover every little corner with our bikes. It’s, oh, so beautiful.

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Also known as the Venice of Slovenia, Kostanjevica na Krki is Slovenia’s only town on a river island. Life here is slow and romantic, and the atmosphere is timeless. In summer you can cool off in Krka waters, also called the green river, or take have fun by enjoying one of the pleasures it’s offering — such as boating, SUPing, canoeing, swimming, fishing or simply taking a break from daily worries while lying on its riverbeds. We wanted to rent a kayak and go for a ride on the meandering river. Unfortunately, we were short on time again, but we think it’s such a great idea.

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As said, we decided to wrap up this trip by going back to Sevnica for a sunset picnic date at “our spot”. This was our favorite point of the whole trip. Did we mention they have killer Blue Franconian wine’s selection? To celebrate, we bought a bottle from a local wine shop to drink a glass or two. It was so good, we ended up emptying the whole bottle.

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This bike trip was a vibe, and we’ll definitely be back to explore more. Check it out for yourself here if you want to know more details when planning your trip through Obsotelje & Kozjansko Region.

We know we will come back for more authentic experiences — culinary, castles, wine, and soothing power of thermal waters. There’s just so much to do, see and taste!

Until next time, cheers!

Below are the short descriptions of our biking routes:

BIKE ROUTE 1

Rogaška Slatina — Nezbiše — Olimje — Kozje

Distance: 33km

Elevation: 538m (up), 496m (down)

Time: 2h

BIKE ROUTE 2

Kozje — Lisca

Distance: 34km

Elevation: 1.026m (up), 279m (down)

Time: 3h 45min

BIKE ROUTE 3

Lisca — Sevnica

Distance: 8km

Elevation: 0m (up), 738m (down)

Time: 25m

BIKE ROUTE 4

Sevnica — Kostanjevica na Krki — Sevnica

Distance: 53km

Elevation: 674m (up), 674m (down)

Time: 4h 35min

These four routes seemed like a good call. Roads were quiet, not too demanding apart from ascent to Lisca, and the scenery was stunning all along. There are plentiful bike trails for you to choose and make your own way through this hidden paradise of Slovenia, and you won’t be wrong to choose any of them. It’s waiting for you to explore it!

Disclaimer: The activity is part of the RIDE & BIKE II project, co-financed in the Interreg V-A Slovenia-Croatia program. As always, we’ll never recommend a destination/service that we don’t love ourselves.

Want to save our bike trip guide for later? Click to Pin!

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Has this part of Slovenia been on your must-see destination list?