Our guide to the guidebooks on offer is entirely subjective: there may well be many of you who feel comfortable with publications that we don't like. But if we're picky about what we sell, I think we should be picky about what we recommend.
However, consider this: the main reason that we started Slovene Dream was that we had had enough of the rubbish that was being written about Slovenia in the broadsheet press... and the available guidebooks. |
Recently we have been monitoring the exchanges on travel websites like Trip Advisor. In our view, they are very useful for practical information, but invariably useless for qualitative 'reviews' of hotels, restaurants and the like. That's the bit that we do. |
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Cadogan Guide to Slovenia James Stewart
Published in 2006, the Cadogan guide is a good overall guide to Slovenia. A clue to James' approach can be gleaned from his own introduction, wherein he describes nursing a reluctant camper van across Europe. Although he shows a good insight into the Slovenian people and describes the country itself very nicely, James also manages to completely miss the Mons and Royal Media hotels in Ljubljana, plus the excellent Cubo restaurant and Trta pizzeria.
Still, we would certainly recommend this guidebook to take with you... as long as you note the best stuff on our website first. Oh, and it's the first guide to mention us, so that's good. |
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The Bradt Travel Guide Robin and Jenny McKelvie
So far, our favourite guide. Not big on pictures, but the writing is excellent: it even makes us want to discover more. Given that the Slovene Tourist Organisation didn't bother to let us know about each other, it's not surprising that they've missed a few of our gems, but hopefully we'll be swapping notes for the next edition. All in all, a great guidebook and we'd like to pass our congratulations to Robin and Jenny.
A note to Bradt: more pictures will make this a much more attractive book for bookshop browsers. |
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Slovenia Sunflower Landscapes: Car Tours and Walks David Robertson and Sarah Stewart
Excellent guide to getting about and investigating Slovenia's plethora of nooks and crannies. Full of maps, pictures and very useful information. When (eventually) we have the time to don our hiking boots, we'll be taking this with us. |
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The Julian Alps of Slovenia Justi Carey and Roy Clark
This one is for the hikers and mountain walkers amongst you, and the walks are graded from easy-peasy to (for me) really scary. Justi and Roy obviously know their stuff and write with great authority. Once we have cut our teeth (and grazed some other bits) on David and Sarah's book (above) we'll have a go at this one. |
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Architectural Guide to Ljubljana Andrej Hrausky and Janez Koželj
Only available in Slovenia, this will provide an excellent alternative guide to the city. Don't worry if architecture isn't your thing, it will give you an insight into the city's geography and history... and it'll keep your eyes open.
In fact, I had walked past what is now my favourite building (Centromerkur, just off Prešeren Square) in Ljubljana hundreds of times, until this little tome pointed it out. Sadly, at the moment it looks as though no one cares about the building either. We'll see. |
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Insight Pocket Guide Jane Foster
If you're daft enough to only want to spend two or three days in Slovenia, this is a nice compact guide. But be warned, there are some glaring ommissions. For instance, in the Soča Valley section (spelled Soca - tut tut), it says, "Kobarid is known for two things - its museum and its adventure sports facilities... " Er, no: Kobarid is known for a damn site more than that, not least four top-class restaurants. However, if you also take notes from us, this guide will do for a quick trip. |
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The Front on Soča Petra Svoljšak
A must-have if you are going to investigate the area around Kobarid. This book can be bought in Kobarid museum. |
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Lonely Planet Ljubljana Fionn Davenport
Lonely Planet Slovenia Steve Fallon
Truth be told, the Rough and Lonely guides were an inspiration to us when we started Slovene Dream... as both of them managed to miss the very best that Slovenia had to offer.
The Ljubljana guide is OK in a weekend breakish sort of way - Fionn obviously loves the place and most information is good. For us, the Slovenia guide is less useful, for the reasons mentioned above. |
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The Rough Guide to Slovenia Norm Longley
A slight improvement on the last edition, but mostly a general update.
We'd love the Rough Guide people to get in touch with us - we've left them emails and phone messages - to explain why they continue not to include us in their directory.
If you really want the very best that Slovenia has to offer, look around this website, or call us: 020 7193 3054.
That goes for the Rough Guide people too. |
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CitySpots Ljubljana Ryan Levitt
It's not often that we get the chance to pay our respects to the big agencies, but Thomas Cook have put their corporate head above the parapet, and it seems churlish to ignore them.
So far, the Cooks have stayed out of Slovenia, and if this patronising rubbish is anything to go by, a good thing too.
A note to Mr Levitt: Slovenia isn't, never was and never will be in the Balkans: get the basics right and you'll boost your credibility no end. |
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Berlitz Slovenian Phrasebook
We knew we were on the right track when Berlitz published this, and it has already come in handy for the non-Slovene side of the business (me). However, the strange thing is that the food section almost doesn't mention fish: a bit daft for a country on the Adriatic, full of rivers full of fish. Recommended anyway. |
 Rick Steve's Guides
This will be just for you Americans, as the rest of us are unencumbered by this man. He encapsulates everything that gets American travellers a bad name. F'rinstance, every reference to Slovenia is associated with another country (usually Croatia). Hello - Ricky Baby - two separate and very different countries - different cultures, languages, cuisines, histories... perhaps when us Yoorpeens travel west we should take in the US and Mexico? |
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