Gretchen Stuppy Carlson
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The gorgeous Soca River in the Triglav Mountains of Slovenia is the perfect setting for kayaking and river rafting. This incredibly clear and vibrant blue river offers a variety of opportunities for kayaking and rafting. There are many outfitters in Bovec and the surrounding area that offer Soca River Kayaking and rafting tours. We spent time trying to decide on the best tour option for our family and had an absolute tremendous time on the water.
Below we will share our experience during out Soca River Kayaking Tour. Most of the outfitters operate in the same area and we were impressed with all of them and think you can’t really go wrong with any of the tours offered out of Bovec.
See more of the Best Things to do in Bovec.
Things to Consider When Planning a Bovec Kayaking or River Rafting Tour
Below you can find some of the things to consider when you are trying to decide on the best Soca River kayak or rafting tour.
Which is Best: Kayaking Versus Rafting on the Soca River?
We’ve done both river rafting and river kayaking tours and enjoy both experiences. In general we find rafting the best option if you have people in your party who are not confident in a boat. In a raft, it is easier to be a passenger compared to managing your own kayak. That said, it is possible to attempt larger rapids in a raft compared to a smaller beginner kayak. For either experience, you can expect to get wet.
There are multiple sections of the Soca River that offer different experiences, and in general, the shorter 3-4 hour tours are going to operate on section with small rapids appropriate for beginners. on our river kayaking trip, we found no section to be challenging, but the guide did an excellent job offering some options and challenges.
You can also find multi-day kayak experiences on the Soca River that offers more education and additional challenges.
If you are doing this tour with children, note that there may be some limitations on the age of the kids who can participate. In general, you will find lower age requirements for rafting versus kayaking.
When to Plan your Soca River Kayak or Rafting Tour
The best time of year for boating on the Soca River is mid March- August. The experience on the river depends on the amount of water flowing. When we visited in July of 2022, the water was especially low and several areas were barely passable.
How Much Skill do you Need for a Soca River Kayak Tour?
You need basic physical fitness for a Soca River tour, and some basic kayaking skills are helpful, but did not seem completely necessary. We did our kayak tour with our 3 kids, our youngest was 10 years old at the time. She did not have a problem navigating the river and it was her favorite activity in Slovenia.
How Cold is the Soca River?
This is an alpine river and is always cold. We are very used to cold water, but were grateful to have full wet suits on as this make the trip much more enjoyable. The temperature in the Soca River ranges from 7 degrees in the spring to 14 degrees in the summer months. All Soca River Kayaking tours offered wet suits. You can get an updated water level and water temperature here.
Looking for an itinerary for Slovenia as a printable and downloadable itinerary? You can find a Slovenia Itinerary on our Etsy Shop.
An Overview of our River Kayak Tour
We booked a half day kayak tour for our family of 5 and were joined by 2 other kayakers on our tour. We met at the kayak tour center in Bovec where were were fitted with our helmets and wet suits. Once we were outfitted, we get into the van and were driven to the start of the kayak tour.
After suiting up in our full wet suits, booties, life jackets, and helmets, we joined our tour guide on the river and spent about 15 minutes getting introduced to the basics of white water kayaking and communication out on the river. We practiced some basic paddle strokes and went over the plan for our kayak.
Once everyone was comfortable, we headed off down the river with out our leader in front. Before reaching each rapid, our guide gave us a basic overview of what to expect and informed us where to pull over after the rapid. In several areas, we ran the rapid twice or he explained a different way to run it for another challenge.
While the rapids were fun and challenging, the best part of this tour was the incredible scenery. Each turn offered a new and exciting view of the surrounding mountains. We did this tour as part of our week long road trip in Slovenia and this was one of the best experiences of our entire trip.
After a couple hours, we pulled our kayaks over to the finish point and helped transport the kayaks up the river bank to the waiting kayak trailer. The van transported our group back to their headquarters in town where we dropped off our gear and wrapped up our tour.
Visiting Bovec and the Soca River
Where to Stay in Bovec
If you are visiting the Soca River Valley, you are likely staying somewhere near the town of Bovec. We stayed just south of Bovec in Apartment Mars. This was a great and affordable apartment with a lovely host. There are also some excellent places right in Bovec. We like to use booking.com for our lodging as we often find more options for our family of 5.
What to do in Bovec
There are also plenty of other amazing things to do in Bovec and the entire Soca River region. Our family loved visiting the Great Soca Gorge, the Boka Waterfall, and the Kozjak Waterfall.
You can also find other local adventure tours including canyoneering and mountain biking.
How long do you need in Bovec?
Bovec is seriously an adventure hub and there is so much to do in the surrounding area. You could easily spend a full week here and not run out of things to do. We recommend at least 2 full days in the area so you have a day to explore the Soca River and a day to do one of the longer adventures such as one of the tours above. We spent 3 days in the area and even with 3 days we felt a bit rushed.
Where else to visit in Slovenia?
Slovenia is an amazing country and worth exploring. In addition to exploring Bovec we loved Lake Bled, visiting the huts in Triglav National Park and stopping in the capital or Ljubljana. For information on exactly how to visit Slovenia, check out our 7 Day Slovenia Itinerary.
