What budget for activities and outings Slovenia?

Don't forget your ID card or your child's ID card when visiting the museums. Discounts are available according to age, professional and social status. The student discount is currently being generalized: don't forget your card. Cultural sites have a pricing policy quite similar to that of France, with the difference that here, free admission is rare. In Ljubljana, opt for the Ljubljana card for 24h at €36, 48h at €44 or 72h at €49. It offers free admission to 19 museums and galleries, Ljubljana Zoo and several other attractions, a free guided tour of the city, unlimited travel on city buses during the card's validity period, access to WiFree Ljubljana (the city's wireless Internet network), a funicular to the castle, a sightseeing boat cruise and a four-hour bicycle rental.

Get around with the Urbana card. The card costs €2, with a flat-rate charge of up to €50.00 to pay for your city bus journeys. The Urbana card can be topped up at points of sale or at green "Urbanomat" automatic machines located at various points in the city, including bus stops. The card can be topped up with cash, credit or debit card.

Visitors to Ljubljana with an Urbana card purchased at one of the Tourist Information Centres can, once the card has been used, return it to the Centre and be reimbursed for the cost of the card, subject to presentation of the payment receipt proving the purchase.

The cost of a city bus journey is €1.30.

It all depends on the activity. The advantage is that there are a lot of them in Slovenia. Winter sports (around €30 for a day pass in an average resort), white water sports (between €50 and €75), caving (between €10 and €20), water sports (diving from €60) and of course a lot of walking trails in forest areas, perfect for mountain biking (€25 per day), jogging or mushroom picking in the autumn.

Food prices are more or less identical to those in France, as are prices for ready-to-wear clothing, household appliances and leisure equipment.

Entrance fees are usually free or at low prices. Consumption rates are obviously higher than during the day, but not out of price either. Count 7 € for a cocktail, 5 € for a pint.

What budget to eat Slovenia?

There are four main types of accommodation in Slovenia. They can be classified by price category. Theokrepcevalnica offers simple, quick meals from 5 €. The gostilna offers traditional dishes, often rustic, with dishes around 10 €. The gostisce, a kind of more upscale inn, serves more elaborate dishes that will cost you an average of a dozen euros. Finally, the restavracija, a real restaurant, will offer more noble and refined dishes with prices sometimes reaching 15/20 € for a main course. However, the budget varies according to the region, the reputation of the establishment and the quality of its cuisine.

Finnish company Wolt (www.wolt.com/en/svn), the equivalent of Uber Eats or Deliveroo in France, set up in 2019 in Slovenia's major cities. Thanks to the online site or via the app, it is possible to have dishes delivered in just under an hour from a hundred partner restaurants. The prepayment is made online, and then the order is delivered to the desired address in an eco-responsible way by a deliveryman on a bicycle. Very practical after an exhausting day!

Coffee will cost between €1 and €2.50, depending on the establishment. It always comes with a free glass of water. You'll have to pay between €1.90 and €2.70 for a pint of local beer, between €3.50 and €7 for a glass of wine, and between €2 and €3 for a Coca-Cola.

What is the budget for accommodation Slovenia?

There are many types of establishments. The cheapest will be the campsite (count about fifteen euros per person for a pitch in high season). A more urban alternative can be the youth hostel where you will be offered a bed in a dormitory for about twenty euros. In rural areas, gostilna often has the advantage of a satisfactory bed & breakfast offer. As far as hotels are concerned, there are three main price ranges. Let us start with the economic hotel, simple, without artifice, often a little out of the city centres (count about sixty euros per night on average). Let's continue with the charming hotel, which often offers better comfort and a better geographical location (count about a hundred euros per night on average). Finally, let's finish with the luxury hotel for which you will have to pay a minimum of €150 in high season but which will offer top-of-the-range facilities and services. Prices vary according to the tourist seasons, which are however very variable on the small Slovenian territory. Discounts are sometimes available for stays of several nights.

Travel budget Slovenia and cost of living

Don't expect to discover a "developing" European country just because it was part of the Eastern bloc. Slovenia is certainly the former Eastern Bloc country to have suffered least from the Communist regime, or at least to have made the best and quickest transition to the capitalist model. Today, it's a prosperous country where the cost of living is almost the same as in Western Europe. So it's not a destination where you'll save money! As far as the average budget per day is concerned, it varies greatly depending on the region you visit and your travel priorities. On a low budget, you can get by for around 50 euros a day, provided you choose shared accommodation, meals on the go, public transport and inexpensive activities. For a more comfortable budget, expect to pay €80 per day on average.

As for tips , you should know that they are not obligatory but customary. You won't look ridiculous if you leave around 5-10% of the bill. The French are often considered stingy because they forget to leave a tip, since in France tipping is included in the bill.

As far as taxes are concerned, Slovenia's value-added tax (DDV, davek na dodano vrednost) is 22%, the "standard" rate, so to speak. Slovenia applies a reduced VAT rate of :

- 9.5% on certain categories of goods and services, including water supplies, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment for disabled people, foodstuffs, books, newspapers, hotel services... ;

- 0% on financial services, insurance operations, betting and lotteries, public radio and television broadcasts, education-related services, health and medical services, cultural services..

Bargaining is virtually non-existent. Here, the Germanic, rather than Balkan, character of the Slovenes prevails: not really in the mores..