After a year, my family and I returned to the land of crystal clear water, rivers and waterfalls, limestone rocks, blooming meadows, honey and bears, cable cars and some of the friendliest campsites. You must have already guessed that we are in Slovenia again. This time we went to the emerald river Sochi and chose from several interesting options the campsite of the same name, located on its banks. Over the ages, the Soča River has created impressive pools full of shapely fish in its rocky bed, and right outside the gates of the camp, an extraordinary experience of discovering unique natural wealth begins.
The valley campsite resembles a large, gently rolling meadow filled with groves of mature mixed trees, providing a sense of pleasant shade and privacy. On one side of the valley rises the majestic rocky hill of Bavški Grintavec (2347m above sea level). On the other side, the giant Svinjiak, Černi Vrh and a few other forested hills look down on you, which look like pilgrims from prehistoric times.
Soča has a reputation as a place for adrenaline enthusiasts of all kinds. Lovers of rafting, canyoning and paragliding will enjoy themselves. Nevertheless, even families with children can enjoy a few nice days here, especially if they enjoy sometimes climbing peaks together, getting to know the river or perhaps war history.
How did we like the camp and what is the best thing about it? Watch the video:
About camp
Kamp Soča will provide you with everything essential in a first-class two-star standard, from a modern chip barrier. You choose your camp site yourself. You simply walk around the entire campsite and make your temporary home for a few days in an empty space you like. This time we chose a place based more on the car of the neighbors - on one side a young family with a VW Transporter, which we always wanted, but we never came across any nice used one, and on the other side a nice family with the car of my youth - a Land Rover Defender :) To he cut it short, every place here is really beautiful and always has some advantages, so in the end you will decide according to whether there is a Defík and an apple tree.
The three key words for Kamp Soča are "nature", "comfort" and "space". Even with the fully occupied capacity of the campsite, you still have the feeling of a huge space around you. Although the limited capacity means that early booking is necessary in the high season, there is plenty of everything even in the height of summer, you don't have to stand in lines anywhere and no one is pushing anywhere. The camp is usually open from the beginning of April to the end of October.
The Soča Ice River has secured access to the water so that small children do not run here without adult supervision. The river encourages us big people to toughen up, and children mostly to water fun in the shallows. At sunset, photographers with SLR cameras are lurking among the rocks for the most beautiful nature shots - and this is exactly the moment when I dived under the surface every day on the other side of the river with several other hardy people from the USA, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Germany. Every day a little different party, but always great fun. We just collectively neglected the meditations and breathing exercises recommended by Wim Hof, the proto-hardener of all hardeners. You will like it very much in a quiet campsite, it has its natural and natural charm and thinks about all generations. Only in the river valley is it usually a few degrees cooler, so keep that in mind when packing.
Although Kamp Soča is not exactly small in capacity, it is quiet and ecological. You feel comfortable, relaxed and there is a homely, kind atmosphere.
Camp equipment
Entry is smartly secured via magnetic chips, just enter the unique reservation number from the confirmation email the first time you enter. Camping sites are freely available after check-in, depending on which site you like. There is a perfect approach to the camp even with a large trailer, you only have to pay attention at the exit at the "STOP - GIVE PRIORITY IN DRIVING" sign, which is placed just for the "take off" sign for road users. The roads in the camp have an excellent surface and quality. Children pass through the camp all the time on a bike, so watch out for that too. Better look around twice, give way to everyone and ride in fives, like all other civilized campers.
There are lockable electrical sockets throughout the campsite, you can get the key at the reception. Just be careful, take a cable of 30-50 meters of cable, so that you are sure of the connection. And surprisingly, this time you will need a classic 230V socket, like the one we use at home. Since every camp is set up a little differently, I preferred to buy all possible adapters and connections, but some campers were surprised by this and sockets are hard to find here on the weekend.
There are wells with water about every 50 meters. We use large plastic Outwell canisters that are easy to pack and don't get in the way, yet each can hold 15L of water. Three is usually enough for us for the whole day.
There is a nice shop near the reception of the campsite, where they sell souvenirs and maps as well as local honey. We bought it right away and can recommend it, it will go everywhere with us this holiday season. And lest I forget, you can have morning pastries, coffee, an afternoon aperitif or a cold Laško beer next to the reception on the terrace.
When it rains or you want to chat with people from several tents, there are wooden covered pergolas in the shape of houses with a table and benches built in several places. We also, like most of the other guests, borrowed the iron fire pits which are freely available. You can buy a bag of perfectly dry wood at the reception for a few euros. And either pack an ax for the trip or ask a neighbor with a Land Rover Defender, where a quality ax is part of the car's basic equipment. You'll make him happy and create a reason to share travel plans with each other over a chilled Guinness.
Camping grounds
There are two large sanitary buildings, in each of them there is an abundance of showers, sinks and toilets. The buildings are designed by skilled architects, inside you feel like you are in a modern farmhouse. Everything is perfectly clean, nothing is ever missing, like in the best hotels. Veronika and I discovered that here we prefer to go to the camping showers than ours in the caravan, and not at all because of laziness with water, but simply because they are beautiful, it is always clean, dry, spacious, with natural and artificial light and we feel good there
Otherwise, there are also other places available at the sanitary buildings for refilling clean water and then for washing dishes. When I met almost exclusively dads from all over Europe while washing the dishes there, I realized that the division of labor at home wouldn't be so bad after all. But it is possible that as campers we are a stupid sample, where mosses on the couch are simply not very common.
Everything is sorted at the campsite (from cans to biological waste), so try to think of a system of bags or buckets for sorted waste in advance. We bagged it so much, we didn't sort it perfectly, but we managed to sort most of it. It is a nice contribution to the planet and a role model for children.
Activities for children
Kids love it here. The campsite resembles a large meadow or garden with various draws and forest groves, so it is not boring. The surrounding hills are beautiful. In the camp there is a lot of natural space to play and maybe even ride a bike. In addition, the children here have a really nice playground made of tasteful wooden elements. There is always a group of smaller children who are swinging on the swings or running on the climbing frames, they can make friends. In addition, there are groups of children playing at the ping-pong table. The Soča river is of course great for children of all sizes, but only when accompanied by their parents. Small children build castles out of sand, and big ones jump into a pool of water in wetsuits.
In addition to swimwear and towels, be sure to pack proper sturdy shoes for Sochi children. Most of the trips we went on here required some dexterity, and in many places we moved on rocky or gravel paths over a steep cliff for several tens of meters. We ourselves also wanted to go to Mangart (the beautiful third highest peak in Slovenia accessible from a saddle above 2 thousand meters, which can be reached by car).
Since we had read about the (real) risk of falling rocks, and the next day during a storm we were meandering down the local road between fallen pieces of rock in several places, we abandoned this original proposal. We will also come back with ferrata equipment when the children are older and have helmets and basic training.
The most beautiful trips and tips in the area
From the house of Dr. Klement Juga at the cottage Planinsky dom near Krnskih Jezerih
A very nice trip with an elevation gain of several hundred meters. We basically walked up the hill for almost 2 hours along the serpentines, at a fairly brisk pace. Our reward was not only a magical larger lake, but also a small lake, which no one from the valley would ever look at. Above all, Planinský dům makes probably the best apple strudel in the world, second only to grandmothers'. They use burka dough, homemade cottage cheese and, of course, apples. The result is delicious and is a strong motivation for our future return.
Waterfall Kozjak
Not far from the town of Kobarit is the Lazar camp and a small parking lot next to it. It is not far from the Napoleonic Bridge, which was a strategic location in previous wars, including the First World War, and was demolished and rebuilt.
From there, a shorter trip leads to one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Slovenia – Velký Kozjak. The waterfall is partly in a cave and including the whole path is worth seeing. The entrance fee is a few EUR per person, and the nice girls will also provide you with maps for other trips in the area.
Šunikov vodni gaj (or according to our children - ham water grove)
We recommend starting on foot from the campsite, you will pass the second very nice Klin campsite to the turnoff to Šunikov water grove. It is a series of waterfalls. Similar to Kozjak, there is a very pleasant atmosphere full of ozone even on a hot summer day. And an abundance of places where you can, like us, stop for a snack, wade in the water or take family photos.
Velika Korita
Directly from the camp, you go across the rope bridge and then just a few meters up against the Sochi river. You will reach places where you will literally run out of words. The emerald-colored river has carved out large, deep beds over the ages, and the views are literally a feast for the eyes.
Cable car to Kanin
If you like cable car trips, take a 40-minute cable car trip to Mount Kanin and at the top you can take a round trip of varying difficulty.
Culinary tips
Here we really liked:
Most of all, we liked watermelons and other fruits and vegetables from the local Mercator in the center of Bovce on our trips. We also bought watermelons as souvenirs for family and friends, because for some reason they never sell them here or we don't know about them. In second place was the local Pekárnica in Bovec, where they have top-quality meat and cheese burkas for a snack, lunch or dinner, ideal to eat warm immediately after purchase. And also the chocolate croissants for breakfast were very good.
Cottage Planinsky dom pri Krnskih Jezerih
You can get here on foot on a trail. If you come here on your own, definitely try their strudel. Because we have never eaten better anywhere.
Pizzeria Žag´ca
We are driving at a speed of thirty kilometers, about 7 kilometers south of the local "adrenaline" town of Bovce to the village of Žaga. Around the corner, you will come across an inconspicuous house, lined on all sides with parked cars. When you walk in, the first thing that strikes you is the beautiful Italian pizza oven that cost the owner probably the same amount as the entire house. And by that oven – and this is the most important thing – there is a real pizza maker / chef from Naples, where pizza originated.
Now you know the secret to one of the best pizzas far and wide. The pizzeria is owned by a nice local guy who was very attentive during the service and if we understood correctly, he is dating a girl from Jeseník.
We definitely recommend the Žag'ca pizza with parmesan shavings and arugula so you don't get confused.
Pizzeria Črna Ovca
The pizza here is also perfectly fine and excellent, although we didn't see the oven or the pizza maker. On the other hand, there is a wonderful sheep interior, so if you were celebrating an anniversary or birthday here, it would definitely be the first choice.
It is cozy, clean, beautiful view. As a bonus, you can go play tennis as the restaurant is next to the tennis courts.
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