Hungary and Slovenia with kids 2021 - thermal pools, a cave and a river

How do you plan a summer holiday in Slovenia with kids if you don't want to pack up every day? In summer 2021 we needed only three places to stay: a thermal campsite in Sárvár in Hungary, a week in a mobile home at Terme Čatež and a few days by a river at Camping Šobec near Bled. We drove about 2,200 km in total, and more than 1,600 km of that on the first and the last day.

A different kind of holiday

This trip was calmer than our earlier ones. We were expecting our fifth child, so instead of sightseeing every day we chose to rest: lots of pools, short drives and only a few attractions that didn't need much effort. Another unusual thing: for a whole week we slept in a mobile home, not in our tent.

Day by day

• 2 August: we left home at 5:30 and drove about 700 km to Hungary. At 15:40 we were at Thermal Camping Sárvár.
• 3 August: a full day at the thermal pools, entry included in the camping price.
• 4 August: about 240 km to Slovenia, to Terme Čatež.
• 5-10 August: pools and rest at our mobile home.
• 11 August: 150 km to Postojna Cave, then 100 km to Camping Šobec by the river.
• 12 August: Vintgar Gorge and St Catherine's church.
• 13 August: Bled: chairlift, summer toboggan and a swim in the lake.
• 14 August: 953 km home through Austria and the Czech Republic. We were home at 23:30.

What we liked most

Easy: the river at Camping Šobec. We built a dam out of stones, and nobody minded that the water was really cold.

All videos from this trip are on our YouTube playlist Hungary / Slovenia 2021. We had been to Hungary before, in 2017, on our way to the Balkans: Szigliget Castle by Lake Balaton.

Driving home: 953 km on an almost empty tank

On 14 August we packed our tents at Camping Šobec and set off home. After about 130 km we stopped in Austria at the Oldtimer Pack service area on the A2 motorway. After that it was just driving, through Austria and the Czech Republic.

Just before the Polish border near Międzylesie, still on the Czech side, we were driving through a small village. Suddenly an ambulance with its siren on appeared behind us. I pulled over and it passed us. A moment later we understood why: a motorcyclist had had an accident ahead of us. The road was closed for a long time and we were told to turn back.

That would have been fine, but we were already on the fuel reserve, and I had planned to fill up at the first station in Poland. This is when we learned how poorly the car predicts its range. When the range went below about 40 km, the number simply disappeared from the screen and a message like "refuel now" came up instead. Feeling quite nervous, we found a small Czech petrol station and filled up there. We were home at 23:30.

Lesson for future trips: a plan with no reserve does not leave room for changes. On long drives we now fill up earlier, not "at the first station after the border".

Practical info

Checked in November 2026.

• Route: we drove from Poland through the Czech Republic and Austria to Hungary, then to Slovenia, and back through Austria and the Czech Republic.
• Road tolls: the Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary and Slovenia all use digital vignettes today. You buy them online and they are linked to your number plate.
• Austria: a 10-day digital vignette costs 12.80 €. Slovenia: a weekly e-vignette costs 16 € (class 2A). Taller vans, more than 1.3 m high above the front axle, are in the more expensive class 2B.
• Places with pools included: in Sárvár (campsite) and in the Čatež mobile homes, pool entry is included in the price.
• Vintgar Gorge: today you can only enter with a ticket bought online for a specific day.