Postojna Cave is the show cave almost everyone in Slovenia ends up at, and the reason is the train: an open electric railway carries you 3.7 km into the mountain, and the rest of the 90-minute tour is just over a kilometre on foot, with not a single step. Above ground the same park holds the Vivarium, where the olm - the "baby dragon" - actually sits still long enough to be looked at, and 9 km away Predjama Castle is built into a cliff. The other famous Slovenian cave, Škocjan, is a different operator, a different ticket and a much harder walk.
- TicketsWhat you book is a fixed tour time for the cave.
- Price€34.90 (about $40.00) – Postojna Cave, adults
- OpenOpen all 365 days, public holidays included, but you get in only at a fixed tour time.
- Best timeMay, June and September: the full timetable of eleven departures a day, without the July and August crush.
- ClaustrophobiaThe halls are very large and brightly lit and the standard route has almost no tight passages.
The cave, the castle and Škocjan compared
Postojna Cave and its railway
The 90-minute standard tour: 3.7 km on an open electric train on what the operator calls the world's only double-track cave railway, then just over a kilometre on foot across the Great Mountain, the Russian Bridge and the Spaghetti, White and Red halls to the five-metre white stalagmite called Brilliant, and into the Concert Hall.
Not one step on the whole route - but the walking section includes a 200 m ramp at up to 20 per cent. An aquarium with live olms stands in the Concert Hall, so the walking tour gives you a look at one without a Vivarium ticket.
€34.90 adults (about $40.00), 09/2026
Vivarium (the olm exhibition)
A speleobiological station 50 m from the cave entrance, in the Passage of New Signatures, with a research half and an exhibition half. The star is the olm, Proteus anguinus: 25 to 30 cm long, the largest cave-dwelling animal, the only European vertebrate bound strictly to caves, able to go years without food and to live for about a hundred years.
Quiet, step-free, fine with a wheelchair or a pushchair, and no fixed time slot - you go in when you like within opening hours. In 2016 one of the cave's olms laid eggs here and the young hatched in front of the world's press.
€12.80 on its own (about $14.67); €44.40 with the cave and the Expo, 09/2026
Predjama Castle
A castle that has sat in the mouth of a 123-metre cliff for some 800 years, 9 km northwest of Postojna, famous for the robber baron Erasmus of Lueg, who held out here against a siege for more than a year. You walk it yourself with an app in 19 languages, included in the ticket.
Open daily all year, but full of stairs: no wheelchairs, no pushchairs, no dogs, no drones. The cave under the castle (€24, about 45 minutes, torch in hand) opens only from May to September because bats hibernate there.
€24.00 adults (about $27.50); €49.90 together with Postojna Cave, 09/2026
Škocjan Caves (Škocjanske jame)
A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986 and one of the largest underground river canyons in Europe: the Reka roars through a gorge over 140 m high, crossed on the Cerkvenik bridge 47 m above the water, the figure the park administration gives. All on foot, no train, far more strenuous than Postojna. Guided in Slovene and English only.
A separate operator, the public institute Park Škocjanske jame - Postojna tickets are not valid here. Full circuit 5 km, about 1,000 steps, 2.5 to 3 hours at 12 °C; a shorter exit in the Big Collapse Doline cuts it to 3 km and 500-800 steps. No photography inside, no pets, and be at the information centre 30 minutes before your tour.
€16-24 adults depending on the month (July/August €24, May/June/September €22, April/October €18, winter €16), 09/2026
Križna jama
A wild water cave near Bloška Polica with no concrete paths and no installed lighting: you are handed wellingtons and a lamp, and the short tour of a good hour crosses the first lake by boat.
The long boat trip across 13 lakes to Calvary (3.5 to 4 hours) is capped at roughly 1,000 visitors a year and four people per boat, and has to be reserved a long way ahead.
see the operator's own price list (not verified)
Tickets and prices
What you book is a fixed tour time for the cave. The operator recommends buying online in advance in the summer months, ideally at least a day ahead. On a combined ticket only the cave slot is fixed - the castle, the Vivarium and the Expo can be used any time within 30 days of that first tour.
Official prices
- Postojna Cave, adults€34.90 (about $40.00)
- Postojna Cave, students aged 16-25€27.80 (about $31.86)
- Postojna Cave, children aged 6-15€20.70 (about $23.72)
- Postojna Cave, children up to 5€1.00 (about $1.15)
- Predjama Castle, adults / students / children 6-15 / up to 5€24.00 / €19.20 / €14.40 / €1.00 (about $27.50 / $22.00 / $16.50 / $1.15)
- "Two Adventures" combined ticket (Postojna Cave + Predjama Castle), adults / students / children 6-15 / up to 5€49.90 / €39.90 / €29.90 / €2.00 (about $57.19 / $45.73 / $34.27 / $2.29), against €58.90 bought separately
- "100% Cave Experience" (Postojna Cave + Vivarium + Expo Cave Karst with the Life within a Billion Years and Butterflies of the World exhibitions), adults / students / children 6-15 / up to 5€44.40 / €35.50 / €26.60 / €3.00 (about $50.88 / $40.68 / $30.48 / $3.44), against €60.50
- "Full Park Experience" (cave + castle + Vivarium + Expo), adults€59.90 (about $68.65), against €84.50
- Postojna Cave + Vivarium, adults€39.90 (about $45.73)
- Postojna Cave + Predjama Castle + Vivarium (or + Expo), adults€55.00 (about $63.03)
- Vivarium or Expo Cave Karst on its own, adults (students €10.20, children €7.70) - sold at the park ticket office only€12.80 (about $14.67)
- Cave under Predjama Castle (May to September), adults; with the castle together €39.50€24.00 (about $27.50); combined €39.50 (about $45.27)
- Trek Through Three Caves, adults€92.50 (about $106.01)
- Audio guide for the cave, 19 languages€3.90 (about $4.47)
- Audio guide handset at Predjama Castle (the app itself is inside the admission price; a damaged handset costs €50)€2.90 (about $3.32)
- Car park at the cave park, full-day ticket for a car€6 (about $6.88)
- Car park at Predjama Castle€3 per hour (about $3.44)
- Motorhome pitch 250 m from the entrance (April to October, water, electricity, waste disposal)€25 per 24 hours (about $28.65)
- Electric car charging at the P1 lot, 8 bays between 1.4 and 11 kW€0.50/kWh (about $0.57)
- Shuttle bus Postojna - Predjama, return€2 per person (about $2.29), cash on the bus
- Cape hire against the cold at the entrance€8 (about $9.17)
- Changing your tour datefree until 24 hours before, then €2 online or €5 at the ticket office per ticket (about $2.29 / $5.73)
- Škocjan Caves (separate operator), adults / seniors and students / childrenJanuary-March, November, December €16 / €12 / €7.50; April and October €18 / €14 / €9; May, June, September €22 / €16 / €10; July and August €24 / €18 / €12.50 (about $18.34 / $20.63 / $25.21 / $27.50 for adults by season)
- Conversion€1 = $1.1460, European Central Bank euro reference rate of 18 September 2026; dollar figures rounded
As of 09/2026 · source and direct booking: postojnska-jama.eu/en
When everything is sold out
Individual departures do sell out in July and August; the operator publishes no occupancy figures. Visitors who turn up without a ticket in high season report waiting for a later departure rather than being turned away.
Day trips and tickets from Ljubljana, Trieste and Koper
Entry is cheapest straight from the operator, which sells at €34.90 (about $40) for an adult and warns that its tickets come only from its own site and ticket offices - so what a reseller adds is the drive. That earns its keep if you are in Ljubljana, Trieste, Koper or on a cruise call without a car: a day tour bundles Postojna with Predjama Castle or with Lake Bled and solves the one leg public transport does not, the 9 km to the castle. Check two things in the description: whether cave admission is actually included or collected at the gate, and which fixed tour time you are booked on, because that slot is the only part of a combined ticket that cannot be moved.
Ljubljana: Postojna Cave & Predjama Castle Tickets and Tour
From Ljubljana: Lake Bled & Postojna Cave with Entry Tickets
From Trieste: Postojna Cave & Predjama Castle
Ljubljana: Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle Tour
Show all 12 offers
From Ljubljana: Postojna Cave, Predjama Castle, & Piran Tour
Postojna cave & Predjama castle half day – tickets included
From Ljubljana: Lake Bled, Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle
Zagreb: Ljubljana and Postojna cave Day Tour with tickets
Ljubljana: Postojna Cave, Predjama Castle & Piran day tour
Tour to Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle from Ljubljana
Koper/Trieste: Postojna Cave & Predjama Castle Tour & Ticket
Ljubljana: Postojna cave & Predjama castle small group tour
Booked through GetYourGuide (affiliate link, advertising). Most offers can be cancelled free of charge up to 24 hours ahead. Prices as of 20 September 2026.
Opening hours and best time
Open all 365 days, public holidays included, but you get in only at a fixed tour time. January to March and November to December: 10:00, 12:00, 15:00. April and October: 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 14:00, 15:00, 16:00. May, June and September: 09:00, 10:00, 10:30, 11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 14:00, 15:00, 15:30, 16:00, 17:00. July and August: the same list plus 18:00. The train boards 15 minutes before the time printed on your ticket and the operator asks you to be in the park 30 minutes before. Predjama Castle: 10:00-16:00 from January to March and in November and December, 10:00-17:00 in April and October, 09:00-18:00 in May, June and September, 09:00-19:00 in July and August, last admission 30 minutes before closing. Vivarium and Expo Cave Karst run shorter or longer hours by month, from 10:00-15:00 in midwinter to 09:00-18:00 in high summer.
When it is quietest
May, June and September: the full timetable of eleven departures a day, without the July and August crush. Within a day the 09:00 tour and the late ones from 16:00 are the quietest, because coach groups mostly arrive around midday. The operator's own advice is to do Predjama in the morning and the cave in the afternoon. Winter has only three tours a day, but almost no queue. For Škocjan, April and October are the value months (€18 instead of €24), although from October to April the tour ends at Exit 1 in the Big Collapse Doline rather than going on.
Who it suits
With children
One of the easiest big caves in Europe for children: no steps, concrete paths, and a train ride that is the highlight rather than the chore. Children aged 14 and under may only visit with an adult. Under-6s pay a symbolic €1.
Minimum age
None for Postojna Cave itself. The Cave under Predjama Castle is from age 6; the Secret Rooms of Hotel Jama are from 15.
Wheelchair
Partly, and less than English pages suggest. The path is slip-resistant concrete with no steps, but it includes a ramp about 200 m long that climbs roughly 40 m at up to a 20 per cent gradient, with an equally steep descent afterwards. The operator advises wheelchair users to do the train section only; the full circuit needs a strong companion. Manual wheelchairs only, and at least two days' notice is mandatory. Predjama Castle is not accessible - it is full of stairs.
Pushchair
Pushchairs up to 80 cm wide are fine in the cave, and folding ones travel on the train; they are allowed in the Vivarium and the Expo too. Not possible at Predjama Castle.
Dogs
Not in the cave, the castle or the exhibitions. Ticket holders can use free dog kennels in the shaded part of the park behind the Expo, as long as one is free - they cannot be reserved. Pets are banned in the Škocjan Caves as well.
Claustrophobia
The halls are very large and brightly lit and the standard route has almost no tight passages. The train does run through some low tunnels, where people instinctively duck.
What to wear
A steady 10 °C, and the train is open, so the wind chill on the ride in makes it feel colder. A jacket or jumper and firm shoes even in August. Rucksacks, large bags and umbrellas belong in the Expo pavilion lockers. If you arrive with nothing warm, capes are hired at the entrance for €8.
Photography
Photos and video for private use are allowed, but without flash and without a tripod. Recording the guide's commentary, in audio or video, is not. Drones are banned at Predjama Castle. Photography inside the Škocjan Caves is forbidden altogether.
Getting there
By public transport
Postojna sits on the Vienna-Venice railway with connections towards Zagreb, Salzburg, Rijeka and Koper; from Postojna station it is roughly a 25-minute walk to the park, and a local bus links the railway station, the bus station and the cave park. From Ljubljana the operator says buses run hourly to the town bus station. There is no scheduled service to Predjama: either the summer shuttle (27 June to 30 September 2026, roughly hourly from the park between 10:40 and 18:05, back between 11:05 and 18:30, 20 minutes, €2 return in cash, combined-ticket holders only and subject to space) or a taxi, which the ticket office will call.
By car
Motorway A1 Ljubljana-Koper, Postojna exit 41, then 2 km. The large car park at the park entrance is €6 for the day; eight EV charging bays at €0.50/kWh sit on the hotel and VIP lot. At Predjama parking is €3 an hour. Slovenian motorways need an electronic vignette, bought before you drive - there are no toll booths.
From the nearest city
The operator's own figures: under an hour by car from Ljubljana (46 km), Rijeka or Portorož, about two hours from Venice and Zagreb, a few hours from Salzburg, Vienna, Budapest, Dubrovnik or Belgrade. Trieste is also inside the hour. Ljubljana Jože Pučnik airport is the nearest airport, roughly 70 km and about 50 minutes away by car, with no direct public transport - by bus you change in Ljubljana and need around two and a half hours. Trieste, Venice, Milan, Zagreb, Rijeka and Pula are the other airports the operator names. Škocjan lies further southwest off the same A1 at the Divača exit; from Divača station it is about 4 km, a 50-minute walk on a marked path.
Tips for your visit
- Take the combined ticket rather than two singles: cave plus castle is €49.90 (about $57.19) instead of €58.90. Only the cave slot is fixed - the castle can wait for another day inside 30 days.
- Do it in the order the operator itself suggests: Predjama in the morning, when the small car park is still empty, the cave in the afternoon.
- Be there 30 minutes before the time on your ticket. The train boards 15 minutes early, and it takes a few minutes to walk up the shop promenade from the car park.
- Put your jacket on before you board, not after. In an open carriage at 10 °C the wind chill does the damage on the way in. If you have nothing, capes are €8 at the entrance.
- Carry €2 in coins for the summer shuttle to Predjama - the driver takes cash only, and only combined-ticket holders get on, space permitting.
- Travelling with a dog: ask for a free kennel behind the Expo the moment you arrive. There are a limited number and they cannot be booked.
- Buy only at postojnska-jama.eu or at the park ticket office. The operator warns about unofficial ticket offers, and resale sites are not selling you its ticket.
- Postojna and Škocjan in one day works - both are on the A1 - but it is a long day: Škocjan alone is 2.5 to 3 hours and about 1,000 steps, on a separate ticket bought at park-skocjanske-jame.si.
- Driving in from Italy, Austria or Croatia: buy the electronic Slovenian motorway vignette before you cross. There are no toll booths to catch you up.
What the internet gets wrong
Neither is right, and the second one turns up in official-looking places. The Slovenian government's own culture portal, culture.gov.si, still carries "The 20,570 metre-long Postojna Cave system is the longest cave system in Slovenia" and even "the longest publicly-accessible depth of any cave system in the world". The operator gives 24 km of passages, English Wikipedia 24,340 m, and the longest cave in Slovenia is the Migovec System in the Julian Alps at 43,009 m - Wikipedia's article on it says outright that it is "the longest known cave in the country, followed by the Postojna Cave System (24,340 m)". The superlatives that do hold up are narrower: the world's first cave railway (1872), what the operator calls the world's only double-track cave railway, and the busiest show cave in Slovenia.
English pages are full of prices that have simply been left to rot, including ones dated 2026. travelslovenia.org lists "€22,90 for adults, €1 EUR for children up to 5 years, €13,70 for children up to 15 years and €18,30 for students"; trekhunt.com has "Adult ticket - cave only: 25.80 euros"; backpackersintheworld.com, on a page headed "Is Postojna Cave worth visiting? A full and honest guide (2026)", quotes €27.90 for the cave and €40.30 for the combined ticket; adventuresofaplusk.com gives €32.90 for the cave, €21 for Predjama Castle and €46.50 combined, and ostrichtrails.com repeats €21 and €46.50 and adds €56.50. On the operator's own price list in September 2026 it is €34.90 (about $40) for an adult, €27.80 for students aged 16-25, €20.70 for children 6-15 and €1 under 6; Predjama Castle is €24 and the two together €49.90. The same adventuresofaplusk page also states "During the summer months, a free shuttle bus runs between the two sites" - the shuttle costs €2 per person return, cash on the bus, runs only from 27 June to 30 September 2026 and carries combined-ticket holders only.
Both come from tanya.guide, a guide site whose Postojna page is dated 2026 and marked "Last verified: 03 May 2026". Neither matches the operator. Tickets are sold at the park ticket office as well as online, by card or cash; what the operator actually says is to buy in advance in the summer months, ideally at least a day ahead, and to arrive 30 minutes before your tour. And its published price list showed one adult fare, €34.90, with no low-season rate - the only dated discount on the site is the combined-ticket saving. Changing your date is free until 24 hours before, then €2 online or €5 at the desk.
The distances are wrong and the conclusion is dangerous. altitude-activities.com writes "you will explore 5 kilometres of the cave; 4 kilometres with the electric train and 1 kilometre on foot" and travelslovenia.org "The 4 km ride with an electric train"; the operator gives 3.7 km on the train and "just over a kilometre on foot". On access, altitude-activities.com states "The walkway is accessible and there are no steps on it, so it is also suitable for disabled persons in wheelchairs and for parents with strollers", and travelslovenia.org that "everywhere is wheelchair/buggy accessible". There genuinely are no steps - but the operator's own accessibility page describes a ramp "approximately 200 metres in length, rising by about 40 metres" at "a 20% incline", followed by an equally steep descent, advises wheelchair users to do the train section only, accepts manual wheelchairs only, and makes advance notice of at least two days mandatory. Pushchairs are capped at 80 cm wide. Predjama Castle, which these pages sell in the same breath, "cannot be visited by strollers or wheelchairs".
What you will see is an aquarium. evendo.com describes "the famous olm, a blind amphibian that thrives in the dark waters of the cave", and altitude-activities.com has the tour "arrive to the pool, where the Olm, human fish lives". Wild olms live in water the tour route never reaches; the animals visitors meet are in a tank in the Concert Hall, at the end of the walking section, and in the Vivarium 50 m from the cave entrance. The Vivarium is also where the "baby dragons" come from - the operator's nickname for the young that hatched there in 2016 after one of its olms laid eggs, not a guarantee that hatchlings are on show today. And it costs €12.80 (about $14.67), not the "€10.00 (estimated)" tanya.guide prints; it is sold at the park ticket office only, or inside the €44.40 package with the cave and the Expo.
Evendo.com opens with "Postojna Cave, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is a breathtaking natural wonder in Slovenia". It is not one. The Slovenian cave on the World Heritage List is Škocjan, inscribed in 1986; the wider Classical Karst, which would include Postojna, sits on Slovenia's tentative list and has not been inscribed. Škocjan is also a different organisation - the public institute Park Škocjanske jame - with its own ticket shop and its own seasonal prices of €16 to €24 (about $18.34 to $27.50). No Postojna ticket, and no Postojna combination package, gets you in.
The park administration's own figure for the Cerkvenik bridge is 47 m above the Reka, and its guided tours are conducted in Slovene and English only. English pages give both numbers loosely - 45 m in some, 50 m in others - and several list four tour languages, which is the Postojna line-up, not Škocjan's. If you need a tour in German or Italian, Postojna is the cave that has it live; in Škocjan you would be following an English group.
By car, fair enough - the operator quotes about two hours each way from Venice, and the same from Zagreb. Without a car it falls apart. Rome2Rio finds no direct train and no direct bus from Venice: the rail route goes via Trieste Centrale in about 5 hours 29 minutes each way, the bus via Ljubljana in about 7 hours 19 minutes, and you still need the 25-minute walk or the local bus from Postojna station, plus a fixed tour slot at the other end. From Ljubljana the same trip is an hourly bus and under an hour on the road, which is why nearly every organised day tour starts there, in Trieste or in Koper.
History in brief
- The entrance chambers have been known since the Middle Ages - the oldest visitor signatures inside date from the 13th century. In 1689 Johann Weichard Valvasor described the cave in his survey of Carniola.
- In 1818, while the cave was being prepared for an imperial visit, the inner passages full of dripstone were found. Until then visitors had seen only about 300 m.
- The cave opened officially to visitors in 1819 and has kept a guest book, the Golden Book, ever since.
- In 1872 the world's first cave railway began running here - at the start the carriages were pushed by the guides themselves.
- Electric light arrived in 1883/84, earlier than in many towns in the region.
- Combustion locomotives came in 1914, electric trains in 1959; today's circuit is double-tracked, which the operator says makes it the only one of its kind.
- A post office has worked in the Concert Hall since the end of the 19th century - the oldest underground post office in the world, by the operator's account.
- In 2016 a female olm laid eggs in the display aquarium and young hatched, something almost unheard of in captivity. The world's press called them baby dragons and the name stuck.
Frequent questions
How much are Postojna Cave tickets in 2026?
Adults pay €34.90 (about $40), students aged 16 to 25 €27.80, children 6 to 15 €20.70 and children up to 5 a symbolic €1, as of September 2026. The combined ticket with Predjama Castle is €49.90 (about $57.19) and the full park package with the Vivarium and the Expo €59.90. Parking adds €6 for the day. Beware of English pages still quoting €22.90 or €27.90 - those are years old.
How long does the Postojna Cave tour take?
About 90 minutes underground. In that time you cover roughly 5 km of the cave: 3.7 km on the train, just over a kilometre on foot. Allow around three hours for the park as a whole once you add parking, the 30-minute check-in and the Vivarium, and a full day if you are adding Predjama Castle.
Is Postojna Cave worth it?
If you want dripstone, comfort and a train ride, yes - it is the least demanding great cave in Europe, with no steps, a constant 10 °C and English guides on every departure. If you want a raw natural spectacle and you are a strong walker, the Škocjan Caves half an hour away are the more overwhelming visit. The one thing Postojna is not is quiet: in July and August it handles coach traffic on a scale nothing else in Slovenia does.
Can you visit Postojna Cave without a guided tour?
No. Entry is only on a guided departure at a fixed time, and the train leaves 15 minutes before the time on your ticket. The Vivarium and the Expo, by contrast, are self-guided and have no time slot, and Predjama Castle is walked alone with an app rather than a guide.
Do you need to book Postojna Cave tickets in advance?
Not strictly - the park ticket office sells for the same day. But every departure has a limited number of seats, so the operator recommends buying online in the summer, ideally at least one day ahead. Claims that you must book 48 hours in advance are not the operator's. Online tickets arrive as a QR code and the date can be changed free of charge up to 24 hours before.
Is the cave train included in the ticket price?
Yes. The train is part of every Postojna Cave ticket, at every price tier, and there is no separate fare and no version of the tour that skips it. It carries you 3.7 km in and out on a double-track circuit; the middle of the tour is on foot.
How many steps are there in Postojna Cave, and is it accessible?
None - the whole route is slip-resistant concrete without a single step, which is unusual for a cave this size. It is not flat, though: the walking section includes a ramp about 200 m long that climbs roughly 40 m at up to a 20 per cent gradient, then drops just as steeply. The operator advises wheelchair users to ride the train section only, takes manual wheelchairs, and requires at least two days' notice. Pushchairs up to 80 cm wide are fine.
Will I actually see the olm, the "baby dragon"?
Almost certainly, but in a tank rather than in the wild. An aquarium with live olms stands in the Concert Hall at the end of the walking section, so the standard tour includes a glimpse. For a proper look go to the Vivarium next to the entrance (€12.80, about $14.67, sold at the park ticket office or inside the €44.40 package) - that is the speleobiological station where the famous 2016 clutch of eggs hatched.
How cold is it in Postojna Cave and what should I wear?
A constant 10 °C, and the train is open, so the ride in feels colder than the number suggests. A jacket or jumper and closed, firm shoes are enough, even in August. Put the jacket on before you board, not once you are moving. If you arrive with nothing warm, capes are hired at the entrance for €8.
How do you get from Ljubljana to Postojna without a car?
Buses run roughly hourly from Ljubljana to Postojna bus station, and trains on the Ljubljana-Koper/Rijeka line stop at Postojna, about a 25-minute walk from the park; a local bus links the railway station, the bus station and the cave park. The journey takes well under an hour either way. Predjama Castle is the harder half: no scheduled service, only the summer shuttle for combined-ticket holders or a taxi.
How do you get from Postojna Cave to Predjama Castle?
The castle is 9 km away on a country road. From 27 June to 30 September 2026 a shuttle runs roughly hourly, 20 minutes each way, €2 return paid in cash on the bus, and only for people holding the combined ticket, space permitting. Outside those dates it is your own car (parking €3 an hour) or a taxi that the ticket office will call for you.
Postojna or Škocjan - which cave should you visit?
Postojna is the comfortable one: dripstone, a train, English and German guides, no steps, easy with small children or grandparents. Škocjan is the raw one: a vast underground river canyon, UNESCO-listed since 1986, but 5 km on foot, about 1,000 steps, 2.5 to 3 hours and no photography inside. Different operators, different tickets, about half an hour apart. If you walk well and can only do one, many visitors find Škocjan the more staggering; if you want formations and comfort, Postojna.
Can you do Postojna Cave as a day trip from Venice or Zagreb?
By car, yes - about two hours each way from either. By public transport from Venice it is not a day trip: there is no direct train or bus, the rail route runs via Trieste in around five and a half hours each way, and you still have a fixed tour time to meet. Ljubljana, Trieste, Rijeka and Koper are all inside an hour and make far better bases.
Can you take photos in Postojna Cave?
Yes, for private use, but without flash and without a tripod. Recording the guide's commentary on audio or video is not allowed, and drones are banned at Predjama Castle. In the Škocjan Caves photography inside the cave is forbidden outright, which catches a lot of people out.
Sources
Show 37 sources – every figure on this page is sourced
- www.postojnska-jama.eu/en/tickets/ – All single and combined ticket prices, Vivarium and Expo sold at the park ticket office only, the 30-day rule, and the warning that tickets are available only through the official website
- www.postojnska-jama.eu/en/tickets/meet-the-queen-of-caves/ – Cave prices by age group (€34.90 / €27.80 / €20.70 / €1.00), train included, 90 minutes, 10 °C, guiding in Slovene, English, German and Italian
- www.postojnska-jama.eu/en/tickets/100-cave-experience/ – Contents and age-group prices of the cave + Vivarium + Expo package (€44.40 / €35.50 / €26.60 / €3.00 against €60.50)
- www.postojnska-jama.eu/en/information/tour-timetables/ – Tour times by month for the cave, castle, Vivarium, Expo and the cave under the castle; train boards 15 minutes early, arrive 30 minutes before
- www.postojnska-jama.eu/en/information/postojna-cave-tours/ – About 5 km seen, just over a kilometre on foot, the 200 m ramp at 20 per cent, no steps, 10 °C, audio guide €3.90 in 19 languages, photography rules, lockers, cape hire €8
- www.postojnska-jama.eu/en/information/tickets/ – Ticket office locations, payment methods, advice to buy at least a day ahead in summer, rebooking fees €2 / €5, QR code tickets, 30-day package validity
- www.postojnska-jama.eu/en/information/visitors-with-mobility-im… – Ramp of about 200 m rising 40 m at 20 per cent, advice to ride the train section only, manual wheelchairs, two days' notice mandatory, 50 per cent discount, Predjama not accessible
- www.postojnska-jama.eu/en/information/families-with-children/ – Pushchairs up to 80 cm, folding ones on the train, children 14 and under must be accompanied, Predjama not possible with pushchairs or wheelchairs
- www.postojnska-jama.eu/en/information/predjama-castle-tour/ – Nine kilometres from the cave, app in 19 languages included, handset €2.90 and €50 if damaged, cave under the castle May to September from age six, stairs, no pets, no drones
- www.postojnska-jama.eu/en/information/shuttle-bus/ – Shuttle timetable 27 June to 30 September 2026, departures 10:40-18:05 and 11:05-18:30, 20 minutes, €2 return in cash, combined-ticket holders only
- www.postojnska-jama.eu/en/information/parking-facilities/ – Car park €6 per day, Predjama €3 per hour, motorhome pitch €25 per 24 hours, eight EV bays at €0.50/kWh
- www.postojnska-jama.eu/en/information/how-to-reach-us/ – A1 exit 41 two km away, under an hour from Ljubljana and Rijeka, about two hours from Venice and Zagreb, Vienna-Venice railway line, 25-minute walk from Postojna station, hourly buses from Ljubljana, local bus, nearest airports
- www.postojnska-jama.eu/en/postojna-cave/ – 3.7 km train journey, 24 km of passages, five-metre Brilliant, world's first cave railway 1872, world's only double-track cave railway, more than 39 million visitors
- www.postojnska-jama.eu/en/attractions-in-the-park/vivarium/ – Vivarium in the Passage of New Signatures 50 m from the entrance, olm 25-30 cm, largest cave-dwelling animal, years without food, lifespan up to a hundred years, the 2016 eggs and hatching
- www.postojnska-jama.eu/en/information/pets/ – "Pets are not allowed inside Postojna Cave and other attractions within the Park"; free kennels in the shaded area near the Expo for ticket holders, subject to availability
- www.park-skocjanske-jame.si/en/read/tourist-information/skocjan… – Škocjan seasonal prices €16-24, 5 km and about 1,000 steps or the 3 km short exit, 2.5-3 hours, 12 °C, no photography inside, no pets; Cerkvenik bridge 47 m above the Reka and guiding in Slovene and English
- www.park-skocjanske-jame.si/en/news/get-ready-for-a-visit-to-th… – Škocjan: be there 30 minutes before the tour, online purchase recommended
- www.park-skocjanske-jame.si/en/read/the-skocjan-caves/skocjan-c… – Škocjan: UNESCO World Heritage since 1986, operator Park Škocjanske jame
- www.park-skocjanske-jame.si/en/read/tourist-information/how-to-… – Škocjan: Divača motorway exit, about 4 km on foot from Divača station
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postojna_Cave – 24,340 m system length, second-longest in Slovenia, history of the railway 1872/1914/1959, electric light 1883, underground post office 1899, the 2016 olm eggs, no UNESCO listing
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Migovec_System – "the longest known cave in the country, followed by the Postojna Cave System (24,340 m)"; Migovec 43,009 m long and 972 m deep
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predjama_Castle – Coordinates of Predjama Castle
- culture.gov.si/en/Postojna_Cave – Misconception source: "The 20,570 metre-long Postojna Cave system is the longest cave system in Slovenia", "the longest publicly-accessible depth of any cave system in the world", "over 500,000 visitors per year"
- travelslovenia.org/postojna-cave/ – Misconception source: "€22,90 for adults", "€13,70 for children up to 15", "€18,30 for students", "everywhere is wheelchair/buggy accessible", "The 4 km ride with an electric train", outdated tour times
- trekhunt.com/en/article/cave-postojna-slovenia/ – Misconception source: "Adult ticket - cave only: 25.80 euros"
- backpackersintheworld.com/postojna-cave-slovenia/ – Misconception source: a 2026-dated guide quoting €27.90 for the cave and €40.30 for the combined ticket
- adventuresofaplusk.com/postojna-cave-predjama-castle-slovenia/ – Misconception source: "During the summer months, a free shuttle bus runs between the two sites", €32.90 cave, €21 castle, €46.50 combined
- www.ostrichtrails.com/europe/slovenia/visiting-predjama-castle/ – Misconception source: Predjama €21, combined €46.50 and €56.50
- tanya.guide/postojna-cave-tickets/ – Misconception source: "at least 48 hours in advance", "€33.50 in the low season and €34.90 during high season", page marked "Last verified: 03 May 2026"
- tanya.guide/postojna-cave-vivarium-guide/ – Misconception source: Vivarium "adult tickets are €10.00 (estimated)"
- www.altitude-activities.com/blog/postojna-cave-all-you-need-to-… – Misconception source: "4 kilometres with the electric train and 1 kilometre on foot", "suitable for disabled persons in wheelchairs and for parents with strollers", "arrive to the pool, where the Olm, human fish lives"
- evendo.com/locations/slovenia/lower-carniola/landmark/postojna-cave – Misconception source: "Postojna Cave, a UNESCO World Heritage site", olm "thrives in the dark waters of the cave"
- whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/6072/ – The Classical Karst, including Postojna, is on Slovenia's tentative list and not inscribed
- www.rome2rio.com/s/Venice/Postojna-Cave – No direct train or bus from Venice; about 5h29m by rail via Trieste, about 7h19m by bus via Ljubljana
- www.rome2rio.com/s/Ljubljana-Airport/Postojna – Ljubljana airport to Postojna about 70 km, roughly 50 minutes by car, about 2h38m by public transport with changes
- www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/eurofxref/eurofxref-daily.xml – Euro reference exchange rate of 18 September 2026: €1 = $1.1460
- evinjeta.dars.si/ – Electronic vignette compulsory on Slovenian motorways (official sales point)