If you have decided to go to Slovenia, to see and live all that we talk about on this site and much more, let us congratulate you: you won't regret of making that decision. So that everything runs great there are some formalities you must be aware of and some other information that might be handy. On this section of our site you can find all those informations.
[How to get to Slovenia]
[Border Formalities]
[Climate]
[Accommodation and Transportation]
[Urgent Medical Assistance]
[Services and Shops]
[Money]
[Phoning]
[Languages]
[Driving in Slovenia]
[Holidays]
[Other Useful Informations]
How to get to Slovenia
There are flights to Slovenia from almost all big cities of Europe, like Barcelona, Paris, London, Frankfurt and many others. You can find the full list on the Adria Airways website (in Slovene and English - the page will open in a new window). Probably your destination will be the Ljubljana airport (Brnik), but it can also be the Maribor airport or the Portoroz airport.
You can also reach Slovenia by train, bus or car. There are connections by bus from many cities in Austria, Croatia and Italy and by train, besides these three countries, also Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Holand and Hungary. During the summer you also have the alternative of travelling by catamaran from Venice to Izola, a small city in the Slovenian coast. If you prefer to go with your own ship, you can do it. You just have to moor in Piran's harbour, Koper or Izola for border formalities, and it is also necessary to show the documents of the ship. As we said before, going by car is also a possibility. For infomation about driving in Slovenia, click here.
Border Formalitites
Despite already being a member of the European Union, Slovenia doesn't belong to the Schegen area yet, which means that, even if you enter the country from a Schengen country you will be asked to show your valid passport. A visa is only necessary if you want to be inside the country for more than 90 days. In case the traveller is a minor (under 18) that is not accompanied by the parents or the tutor, he/she must have, besides the passport, a document that proves the permission of the caretaker. The citizens of certain countries don't need to have a passport in order to enter Slovenia, only a valid identification document, but he/she can only stay in Slovenia for a maximum of 30 days (to know if you are a citizen of one of these countries, get in touch with official entities, like embassies or consulates).
If you intend to enter Slovenia with animals, remember to have the certificate of vaccination against rabis (emitted with a minimum of 30 days ago and a maximum of 6 months) and the certificate of health emitted with a minimum of 10 days ago.
The quantity and variety of "temporary imports (that is, the items that a physical person can bring into Slovenia) is limited by law. Click here to see the list of the items that can enter the country but must be orally declared in the border, according to the Slovenian Tourist Board. Besides these items, tourists can bring other objects intended for personal use (but need to declare them in writing) and up to 500.000 tolars. All the items declared when entering the country must also leave the country, except for trailers, yachts, sailboats or other boats, which can remain in an authorized place.
Although we have taken these pieces of information from a 100% trust-worthy source, we advise you to confirm them with the oficial sources before you leave, it's just because being border formalities such an important and delicate matter, a small mistake or wrong interpretation can cause a huge inconvenient.
Clima
Before you leave it's better to learn about the weather. In Slovenia the average temperature can reach negative degrees during Winter while during Summer it's about 21ºC. To know with more precision, how the weather will be during your stay in Slovenia, go to CNN.com Weather - in English only (this page will open in a new window).
Accommodation and Transportation
To find accomodation in Slovenia, the best thing to do is go to a tourist office, where they'll search the hotels and make the reservation through the computers. But if you prefer to take care of it in advance, you can do it through your travels agency or comfortably through the Internet. If you'd like to see official annually updated list of hotels and prices in Slovenia, go to Hotel rates, which is available in English, French, German and Italian (this page will open in a new browser window).
To get around in Slovenia you can use trains, buses, taxis or you can also rent a car (for information about driving in Slovenia, click here). Rent-a-car agencies can be found in the main touristic points.
Urgent Medical Assistance
If you need urgent medical care during your stay in Slovenia, you have the right to receive it no matter the country you are from. However, the assistance you be free of charge (if you submit the appropriate forms) in case you are a citizen of Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg or Romania. If you are from Great Britain you'll just need to show your passport, while citizens from Bulgaria, Czech Republic and Poland must submit their passports and a document proving that they have insurance in their country.
Due to the great importance of urgent medical assistance we recommend once again that you check these informations with an official source before you leave.
Services and shops
If you need antibiotics or any other medication, you'll find what you need in any pharmacy. Pharmacies (which in Slovenia are called "Lekarna" and are identified with the international symbol) are usually opened from monday to friday from 9h00 to 11h30 and from 14h00 to 17h00. If yu need a pharmacy at another time, find the nearest one, which, if it's not opened, will have a paper at the door with the name and address of the pharmacies openend after hours.
As far as other services are concerned, you'll find post offices (which in Slovenia are called "Posta") opened from 8h00 to 18h00 during workdays and from 8h00 to 12h00 on saturdays, but the main offices are opened on evenings and sundays. Shops are opened from monday to friday from 8h00 to 19h00 and on saturdays from 8h00 to 13h00. As for the banks, they're opened from monday to friday from 8h30 to 12h30 and from 14h00 to 17h00 and on saturdays from 8h30 to 11h00/12h00.
Money
The Slovenian currency is the Tolar, whose real time exchange rates can be found in the Bank of Slovenia (a página será aberta numa nova janela). There are 1, 2, 5 and 10 tolars coins (there is also a 0,5 tolars coin, but it's very rare) and 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000, 5000 and 10000 tolars banknotes, which you can see here. Most of the banks don't charge comission for changing money (and if they do, it won't be more than 3%). There are also exchange offices and the possibility to change money in places like hotels or travel agencies, for example. Credit cards such as American Express, Diners, Master Card - Eurocard and Visa are widely accepted, as well as Travellers Checks, and there are ATMs that take, at least, Visa Eletron and Maestro.
Phoning
To call home from Slovenia you must dial 00 followed by your country's international access code, city code (or operator's code, in case you are calling for a mobile phone) and finally the number you want to call. To call from public telephones Telekom Slovenije cards are recommended. If you want to take your mobile with you to Slovenia, don't forget to make sure your Roaming service is active.
Languages
In Slovenia the official language is Slovene (although in places where Hungarian or Italian minorities live Hungarian or Italian can also be considered official languages), but almost everybody is able to speak in a foreign language, which is most likely to be English, but it's also frequent to find Slovenes who speak German or Italian. In the Language part you'll find some information about the Slovenian language, as well as some useful vocabulary.
Driving in Slovenia
- You can only drive in Slovenia if you own a driver's license from your home country and an international driver's license, both valid. Todos os cidadãos de países que não tenham um acordo com a Eslovénia deverão comprar um "green card", seguro automóvel internacional, em qualquer posto de fronteira.
- Slovenes drive in the right side of the road, 0,5g/l is the maximum permitted blood alcohol concentration and all drivers and passengers must wear seat belts. All vehicles must have their lights on even during daytime.
- Speed limits for automobiles are: 50km/h in urban areas, 90km/h in regional roads,100km/h in main highways and 130 in expressways. - Slovenian roads are in good conditions and are safe. Alongside them you'll find gasoline stations opened 24 hours a day, restaurants and places to spend the night
- In case your vehincle needs assistance you should call 987 (AMZS's - Automobile Association of Slovenia - number) or, if you're in a motorway, call from one of the emergency phones which are available every 2km; if you need an ambulance or the fire brigade call 112 and to call the police dial 113.
Holidays
In Slovenia there are twelve fixed holidays:
January 1st and 2nd - New Year's
February 8th - Preseren Day, Slovenian Cultural Day
April 27th - Day of Uprising against the Occupation
May 1st and 2nd - Dia do Trabalho
June 25th - Slovenia Day
August 15th - Feast of the Assumption
October 31th - Reformation Day
November 1st - All Saints' Day
December 25th - Christmas
December 26th - Independence Day
There are also three mobile holidays: Easter Sunday and Monday and Pentecost.
Other useful informations
- Electricity in Slovenia is 230V/50Hz. If you want to take any electrical equipment operating on a different voltage be sure to take a voltage adapter.
- The television standard is PAL B, G .
- Slovenian water is safe and drinkable.
