Traveler Reviews

• Traveler99953 27-May-2022

  OMG...Istranka Tours highlighted this beautiful country. Outstanding tour company (http://www.istrankatours.com), we selected "Lake Bled & Ljubljana Private Tour". Great communication with Ivan, he answered my many questions about the this tour, the options available and what was realistic based on our time in port. Ivan wants to make sure his customers gets every opportunity to see Slovenia, he contacted us to see if we were flexible to add 2 more people to our group because 4 people of the group of 6 cancelled. Marco, our guide and driver Vergo were "outstanding", great English, knowledge of country, surrounding area and willing to work with us based on the mix of people (walking and time for extras ie lunch and free time). Not only is the country beautiful, but the tour received rave reviews from those who part of our group.

• Jbe_b 24-May-2022

  We had a wonderful day visiting Lake Bled, the castle, and then Lljubljana. Marco was a great tour guide and shared his wealth of knowledge with us. I would highly recommend.

• Janice621 15-May-2022

  Everything about Istranka Tours is outstanding. Communication with Ivan was always prompt and courteous. We booked Lake Bled and Ljubljana from Koper for one day. Four of us went to the caves from Trieste and three of us went to Piran from Trieste the following day and he never missed a beat. Our guide Goran for Lake Bled was very knowledgeable and gave us lots of information on our long bus ride back and forth. He also found us a great place for the Slovenian cream cake and another place for sausages. The trip to the caves and castle was fabulous. Even though the weather was rainy, the trip to Piran and the walking tour of Trieste given by Damien was informative and fun. To my surprise, upon my return, Ivan presented me with a bottle of native Slovenian white wine which we all tasted at dinner. I would definitely recommend this company.

• Fairfax_travelers 09-Nov-2019

  We, two couples, used Istranka Tours for a private day tour of Lake Bled and Ljubijana. Lake Bled was beautiful and well worth the 2 hour interesting drive to get there from the port. Our guide, Demian, was exceptional. His english was excellent, he was a great driver and full of useful and meaningful info. Additionally, he had a nice sense of humor. We enjoyed our time with him and were very appreciative of his efforts to make the tour meaningful. He also made sure that we were back to the ship in plenty of time prior to departure. We highly recommend Istranka Tours.

• Boyo168 03-Nov-2019

  We joined a small group shore excursion with Istranka with another 16 people, when you get off the ship you have to pay at the kiosk first. Then we drove over an hour to lake Bled. We have to choose to do one of the three activities due to time restrictions : take the pletna boat to the small island in the middle of the lake, go up to the castle at top of hill or stay by the lake. We chose the boat and it was pretty fun as it was rowed by the oarsman with two oars, the passengers sat on two sides of the boat and have to be careful to maintain the balance of the boat at all times. Lake Bled is serene and beautiful, we just wish we had more time to explore. The next stop is Ljubljana where we had a walking tour and the tour guide pointed out many landmarks and history of the city. Then she pointed out several restaurants for us to try traditional Slovenian food (do try the mushroom soup served in a bread bowl, it’s delicious and loaded with mushrooms) and gave us free time before returning to the bus. Again, we wish we had more time to explore the city. When we arrive at the port we still have about 30 minutes to check out Koper (on your own) before boarding the ship. There is actually not much to see at Koper other than couple churches and a street lined with jewellery and souvenir shops. As our tour guide pointed out, large cruise ship is probably not the best for visiting Slovenia due to the sudden large volume of tourist hitting the sights at the same time but for us we had never heard of Slovenia before this cruise and this shore excursion gave us a glimpse of Slovenia and we will likely come back to visit again as independent travellers some day. As one reviewer pointed out, the excursion would be perfect with the use of headsets.

• Clematiswestsussex 11-Oct-2019

  We joined 6 other passengers on our ship for a day tour to Lake Bled and Ljubljana. Our driver and guide, who was known as Mickey, was fantastic, his knowledge of the places we visited was second to none and he shared this with us in the most informative and interesting way. His English was also brilliant and very clear. As we were only a small group he asked us how much time we would like to spend in each place and he took the time to take us on little detours ensuring we saw as much of each place as possible. I had done this trip before with another company who were good but this one was definitely better. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

• Superwoman888 17-Sep-2019

  Koper was one of the ports of call on our cruise and we were a private group of 8 persons who chose to take an independent tour because we preferred the small group size and because of the relative cost when compared to a ship’s tour. Communication with iStranka was professional and prompt. The iStranka booth was just steps from the port gate, easily located. We paid for the tour and were on our way with our guide, Patricia, 10 minutes ahead of our scheduled start time of 8.30am. Our van was comfortable with air conditioning that worked well. We were however disappointed that the van/guide did not have a portable microphone/ speaker to allow those seated in the back to hear her commentary. It was very frustrating, straining to catch some of Patricia’s words. Patricia was an excellent guide and driver. It was obvious she had a vast knowledge of Slovenia past and present, and shared her opinions freely, which was refreshing. The drive to Lake Bled was a good opportunity to view the changing landscapes of the countryside, Slovenia, without doubt, is indeed a stunning country, so much natural beauty. The traffic flowed well and we were soon in Lake Bled. Here we were given the option of going to the island in the middle of Lake Bled on the pletna (our cost) OR going to the medieval castle on the hill for the view (entry fee our cost ) We were told there was NO time to do both, even though we had not been held up anywhere. The typical itinerary listed in TA for this product gave the impression that both stops were scheduled in the tour, maybe we were mistaken, but be aware. Some of us chose to visit the island with the church on the pletna while the others chose the castle. As soon as everyone had regrouped, we were back on the road to Ljubljana. Again a clear run on the road with no traffic issues or delays. We had an interesting guided tour of the highlights of Ljubljana, and then given spare time (about an hour & 15 minutes) to wander about and get some lunch if we so desired. The city was full of tourists, a good reason for the cafes, souvenir shops and street markets to ply their trade. The fresh fruits from the farmer’s produce market was delicious. We took the steep walking track up to the castle, and back, as an alternative to the funicular, allow 45 minutes in good walking shoes, there and back. We departed Ljubljana at 3.15pm and the return journey was another straight run, with a small detour to a view point thrown in, arriving back at the port at around 4.30pm. Our guide was great at marshalling and setting the pace for the day. We were happy with her services. Koper town was quiet and deserted but we spent some time checking it out anyway. I hesitate to rate this tour excellent because the lack of a microphone did affect the enjoyment of the tour and hindered our hearing and learning more about Slovenia especially during the almost half day spent in the van.

• Travelling8kim 08-Sep-2019

  We booked a shore excursion for Lake Bled and Ljubljana. We were promptly picked up at the port and headed to Lake Bled. After driving partway around, we were given the choice to remain lakeside or to go up to the castle. Half of our group of 8 chose lakeside. They recommend going to the castle instead as there isn’t much to do lakeside unless you took the boat to the island to visit the church. We went up to the castle and had our guide with us the entire time to different artifacts and history of the area. He also willingly took photos of us overlooking the lake. It is beautiful! Just a note, you must enter the castle to have the view of the lake and church below. We then drove to Ljubljana and had a walking tour around the city. Again, he was very informative. He highly recommended an eatery with local sausage and beer. Although there was a line, it didn’t take long to get our food. Ljubljana was easy to walk around and is pedestrian friendly.

• Nms01 19-Jul-2019

  With prompt email exchanges, we booked the excursion to Lake Bled and Ljublijana and were super impressed! Pick up service right outside the ship with a lovely guide. She made the whole experience wonderful! The car was a comfortable Mercedes van. Lots of information was shared on the drive to Bled and enough time was given in both places for us to roam around! Appreciate the Slovenian chocolate as a momento too! Slovenia is a pretty country... we will be back for more :)

• Brucekwg 16-Jul-2019

  I truly appreciated to worse prompt response to my emails and questions when I was looking for a private guide for our group of 9. It was our 1st visit to Slovenia. The kiosk was located where the ship docks. We boarded into the air conditioned yan, then stopped at a local market for snacks and restrooms on our way to Lake Bled. The castle and Lake Bled area or absolutely gorgeous! Or guide was very knowledgeable. He took us to a cafe with a view of Lake Bled, where we ate their signature cream cake it was delicious! Finally, we went to look Liubjana for several hours and walked around the City. There was a festival going on...Over all Istranka tours was very professional and well organized. We enjoyed our day in Slovenia!