Predjama Castle built into the cliffside

Day Trip to Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle from Ljubljana

Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle in Slovenia are the perfect day trip from Ljubljana. See a gorgeous cave and a castle in a cave at Predjama. Everything you need to know to visit this wonderful European destination in Slovenia.Day trip to one of Slovenia's top destinations, Predjama Castle and Postojna Caves. The caves are one of the best caves in Europe while the castle is unique in being built into a cave and having secret passageways.

Postojna Caves are arguably the best day trip when visiting Ljubljana. Easily reachable by a 45-minute drive, the cave and nearby Predjama Castle offer up a full day of activities.

Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle is the rare day trip that is both a reasonable distance from a capital city and gives you the feeling that you’ve truly seen something special. It’s one of the best caves in Slovenia. I spent the entire time in the cave oohing and ahhing over the unreal scenery that makes up this underground wonderland.

Planning Your Trip to Postojna lAST mINUTE?

Planning your trip to Postojna? Below are some of the best tours and places to stay.

Best Tours of Postojna
  1. Ljubljana: Postojna Cave & Predjama Castle Tickets and Tour (Most popular option!)
  2. Ljubljana: Lake Bled & Postojna Cave Day Trip (See all the top sites in one day)
  3. From Trieste: Postojna Cave & Predjama Castle
Top Hotels near pOSTOJNA
  1. Postojna Cave Hotel Jama (Located at the caves!)
  2. Tourist Farm Hudicevec (has a sauna!)
  3. Apartma Grze (Full apartment)

Looking to visit Postojna independently? Check out rental car rates for Slovenia here!

The fact that one of the most unique cave castles in the World can be found 9 km down the road at Prejama is just the cherry on top of the cake. Predjama Castle is built into a cliff and has hidden passages in the cliffside that make it seem like it’s out of a fairytale.

Given that Slovenia is famous for its caves and a castle in a cave sounds unmissable, I knew it had to be part of my Slovenia itinerary.

Predjama castle is a unique castle in a cave that you can find on a day trip from Ljubljana.
Predjama Castle

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How to Get to Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle

Postojna Cave

By Car It’s a short drive on the A1 highway from Ljubljana, Bled, Piran, Trieste in Italy, and Rijeka in Croatia. There is a huge parking lot at Postojna Caves to park in.

By Train From the train station, it is a 10-minute walk to Postojna Caves. There is a train from Ljubljana to Postojna. Check out the train schedule here. 

By Tour Starting from either Ljubljana or Bled, you can take this tour of both Postojna Caves and Predjama Castle.

If you only have time for a whirlwind trip through Slovenia, try this tour leaving from Ljubljana that will allow you to see not only the caves and castle but also Lake Bled.

A great option for cruise-ship passengers is this tour that leaves from the Cruise Passenger Terminal in Trieste, Italy.

Getting to Predjama Castle from Postojna Cave

If you are traveling by public transit, there is a free shuttle to the castle from Postojna Caves in the high season (July and August). Otherwise, you will have to get a taxi for the 20-minute ride.

When to Visit Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle

You can tour Postojna Caves and Predjama Castle year round. Be aware that in the offseason tours are reduced and not everything is open. Most notably, Predjama Castle caves are closed in the winter due to a bat colony that resides there. Check it out times here:  Postojna Cave Timetable and Predjama Castle

If you only take one fact from this entire article make it this one: Check tour times and show up on time. Seriously, you can’t explore Postojna Cave on your own and need to be part of a tour. You don’t need to book in advance, just show up.

Postojna Cave is full of stalagmites and stalacites, like this one. It's one of the best day trips from Ljubljana and can be combined with a visit to the nearby Predjama Castle.
Postojna Cave, Slovenia

What to Wear in Postojna Cave

The cave is damp and chilly so wear pants and bring a light jacket. You may also want to bring gloves if you get cold easily. The temperature inside Postojna Cave is a cool 10C.

Where to Eat at Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle

There are a couple of restaurants at Postojna Cave that offer up typical tourist fare like hamburgers and french fries. I ate at Magdalena Food and Fun and really enjoyed the french fries and donuts I had there. It also has a really cute interior.

There is also a couple of restaurants that have more traditional Slovenian food on the menu located on the river and at the cave entrance.

If you want to eat with a view of Predjama Castle, Gostilna Pozar has a simple menu for grabbing lunch.

Where to Sleep near Postojna Cave

If you want to stay in the area, there is a hotel right at the caves. Postojna Cave Hotel Jama is right at the caves and offers up gorgeous rooms at a reasonable price.

Looking for something more rural and you might enjoy Tourist Farm Hudicevec. It’s 10 km from Postojna and has a mountain view, sauna, and restaurant on-site. It’s a great budget option.

If you’re the type that likes to stay in apartments while abroad (like me!) Apartma Grze is a 15-minute walk from the caves and is a modern and budget-friendly place to stay.

Visiting Postojna Cave

Postojna Cave Train

The tour of Postojna Caves starts off with a train ride.  Yup, that’s right, your one and only chance to ride a train through a cave. The journey is 3.7 km long and is only about 10 minutes of your time. It takes you through a dance hall with huge glass chandeliers. I was amazed at some of the stuff that we just sped by on the train. I couldn’t believe that it wasn’t even the best of what the cave had to offer.

The train ride that you take to do part of the tour at Postojna Cave near Predjama Castle in Slovenia. This cave is one of the best in Slovenia and Europe and is a must visit if you are in Ljubljana
The cave train at Postojna Cave, Slovenia

After stepping off the train you start the 1-hour tour that takes place on foot. Everything is well lit with clearly marked paths. You’re going to want to take a lot of photos of everything but keep in mind that you aren’t allowed to bring a tripod. With huge caverns and tons of stalagmites and stalactites, the caves are stunning to walk through.

Stalagmites and Stalactites Postojna Cave, one of the best show caves in Europe. This is an easy day trip from Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia.
Plenty of cave formations in Postojna Cave, Slovenia

Postojna Cave Tour

On the tour route, you will pass by the oldest dated stalagmite called the Skyscraper. It’s 16 m high and about 150,000 years old. Apparently, in parts of the cave that are not on the tourist route, there are even older stalagmites that are half a million years old.

Stalactites on the ceiling of Postojna Cave in Slovenia. This is easily one of the best day trips from Ljubljana.
Stalactites drip from the cave ceiling in Postojna

Near the end of the walking tour, you will also have a chance to see the white stalagmite known as Brilliant. It’s on quite a few postcards and is a symbol of the caves.

Brilliant, a famous white stalagmite in Postojna Cave, Slovenia. This show cave combined with Predjama Castle make for the perfect day trip in Slovenia.
Brilliant, a famous white stalagmite in Postojna Cave

Postojna’s Underground Post Office

You end the walking tour at a gift shop and post office. This is your chance to mail something from underground. After a brief stop there, back on the train to return to the entrance. At the end of the tour, you will also get a chance to see a glimpse of the river that runs through the cave and see Postojna’s cave-dwelling olm. The olm (AKA baby dragons) is unique for being the only vertebrate that lives only in caves in Europe. It’s a really unique, almost salamander looking creature.

Visit the Vivarium

After spending time in the cave, there are a couple other things to do at Postojna. The Vivarium shows off the old research facilities used to study the caves and cave life. There is also an exhibition section that shows off some of the cave animals that can be found in Postojna Cave. I found this pretty interesting as normally you would not get a chance to see these animals and definitely didn’t see any on the tour.

Baby Dragons- The Olm

The olm is known by locals as “baby dragons.”  They got this nickname because of Slovenia’s legends of dragons. Ljubljana even has a dragon bridge. These guys occasionally show up after floods that wash them outside of the cave. Because of their gills and body shape, locals thought that they were the babies of dragons. It’s all logical considering in the lore, dragons live in mountains or caves.

Legends aside, olms also go by their scientific name of Proteus. They are completely blind and are thought to live to 100 years of age.  It was a really big deal and exciting event when baby olms were hatched at Postojna in the research facilities there. You can check out photos and video of olms here.

Plenty of Stalagmites can be seen at Postojna Cave in Slovenia
Stalagmites in Postojna Cave

Expo Cave Karst to Learn about Caves

The Expo Cave Karst is a huge exhibit on caves and karst. You can learn about how caves are formed and learn about karst. There is also a section on the development of the cave as a tourist destination and about early visitors. It’s interesting to see some of the earlier modes of transportation and think about how different it would be to visit the caves with lanterns instead of the lighting that is currently installed.

In the early years of the cave operating as a tourist cave, it was a tradition to sign the stalagmites found in the cave. Thankfully this no longer happens (I hope!) but you cannot remove the charcoal from the cave. You can see some of the old signatures from tourists.

Signatures on Postojna Cave Walls. It used to be very acceptable and an honor to visit and sign the cave.
It used to be acceptable, and quite an honour, to sign the caves at Postojna

Visiting Predjama Castle

After finishing up at the caves, you can head to nearby Predjama Castle. This mountain castle is just a short 9 km drive down the road. Predjama Castle is a Renaissance castle built into the side of a cliff. It’s the largest cave castle in the world and it’s been there for 800 years. There are secret tunnels behind the castle and you can explore the cave that is under the castle at some points of the year. It isn’t always accessible because there is a colony of bats that live in the cave.

There are no dragons here, but the cave does have its own interesting folklore. In the 15th century, the knight Erazem Lueger was the lord of the castle. Erazem was also known to be a robber baron. He became something of a Slovenian Robin Hood character. He was in conflict with the Habsburgs and apparently was known to give to the poor. The secret passageway used by Erazem to get food supplies from local villages while Predjama was under siege was never located.

Predjama Castle is a unique castle as it is built into the cliffside and has caves in it. This castle in a cave is a must visit in Slovenia. There is folklore that goes along with it, including a version of Slovenian Robin Hood.
Castle in a cave, Predjama Castle in Slovenia

Perfect Day Trip from Ljubljana

Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle make for the perfect day trip from Ljubljana. You can easily visit alone using a car or public transit, or join tours to visit. It’s located close to the capital so you spend most of your day seeing the sights rather than sitting in a car looking at the road. It was definitely one of the highlights of my time in Slovenia.

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Take a day trip from Ljubljana to visit two must-visit destinations in Slovenia, Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle. Includes how to get there, what to see, and where to eat when you visit this top destination.

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19 Comments

  1. These caves are unreal, as you’ve mentioned. Stunning photos too – it looks like such a unique place to visit.

  2. Caves, dragons and castles! Sounds and looks like an incredible day trip. I love how the castle is built directly into the cave. Such a great defense mechanism. And I love the colorful history. I hope to get to Slovenia one of these days. When I do, I’m definitely heading to Postojna. Thanks for sharing!

    1. The castle being built into the cave is so smart! I loved the history behind it. I hope you get a chance to visit Slovenia, there is so much to do there and it is so beautiful.

  3. That does sound like an amazing day trip. I love castles and the cave looks stunning. it’s nice that you can get there easily by public transportation.

  4. The Cave train ride sounds awesome! I want to ride a train through a cave and then a dance hall with old school chandeliers. Postojna would totally be my cup of tea for a visit from Ljubljana.

    1. The train ride was a really nice start to the cave. I couldn’t believe we were just rushing by such a large area but there were even better formations and sights to see after the train. The dance hall puts on concerts sometimes and I think that would be something cool to experience.

  5. I love the idea of taking the train through the cave! My boyfriend has been there as well and really liked it. Great post!

    1. Ya, it’s a nice tour through the cave! I had a really hard time choosing which cave to visit in Slovenia because I was also considering Skocjan, but the train swayed me to choosing Postojna.

  6. Postojna Cave looks truly interesting but I loved the pic of the charming Predjama Castle. Thanks for the big tip about the risk of closures during offseason as it can help us to avoid disappointments.

  7. Postojna Cave looks like such an interesting place. I can’t believe how old it is and how there’s a post office in there! So random! haha

    1. It was such an important tourist destination I guess the draw of a post office made sense for everyone wanting to send postcards! I sent a postcard from here so I could get the unique postmark of an olm 🙂

  8. I can’t believe I missed this place when volunteering in Slovenia! I spent a good chunk of time in a country, traveling around, visiting hidden gems and corners but didn’t know anything about this cave! It looks absolutely magical! I want to return!

    1. Oh gosh, I can’t believe you missed the caves, now you have an excuse to return 🙂 There are so many hidden-gems in Slovenia, it seems not quite on the main tourist trail, that I would love to return and spend more time there.

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