Some Interesting Facts About Slovenia

Public Holidays

Slovenia’s public holidays are a neat balance between the festivals of the Christian calendar and the secular holidays of the country. 

Date 2005 Occasion
January 1 -2 New Year's Day Holiday  
February 8 Culture Day
March 25 - 28 Good Friday - Easter Monday
April 27 National Resistance Day
May 1 -2 International Labour Day
May 15 Pentecost
June 25 National Day
August 15 Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
October 31 Remembrance of Reformation 
November 1 Remembrance Day
December 25 Christmas Day  
December 26 Independence Day

Weekend: Saturday, Sunday

Customs & Duties

Visitors to Slovenia can bring into the country, free of customs duty, up to 200 cigarettes (or 250 gm tobacco or 50 cigars or 100 cigarillos), 2 lt of wine, 1 lt of spirits, 250 ml of eau de toilette and 50 ml of perfume. Narcotics and firearms are not allowed into Slovenia.

Any items of artistic, scientific or archaeological significance, or over a century old, need an export certificate in order to be shipped out of Slovenia.

Electricity

220 volts, 50 Hz is the standard supply in the country.

Post & Communications

Internal postal systems in Slovenia are fairly efficient, although the same can’t be said of postal networks which connect to the rest of the world. Post offices usually stay open from 8 am to 6 pm from Monday to Friday and from 8 am to 12 am on Saturdays; the Central Post Office in Ljubljana works 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Stamps are available at post offices and bookstands too.

Public telephones, operated by coin or card, are widely available, and other communications facilities, such as fax, telegram or the internet, are available at business centres and hotels in larger cities. 

Weights and measures

The Metric System is used through the country.

Tipping

Most restaurants in Slovenia tack on a 10% service charge to the bill, so you needn’t bother to add a tip on top of that. Where the service charge has not been levied, a tip of about 10% is expected; this also applies for taxis.

English Language Media

Fortunately for English-speaking tourists, Slovenia’s media networks are not totally dominated by local language publications and channels. The state-owned news agency, the STA, releases English news bulletins daily, and a handful of English-language newspapers are available in Ljubljana and other large cities. These include Slovenian Business Report, Slovenija, Slovenia Weekly, MM Slovenia and Ars Vivendi.  

On radio and TV, it is possible to tune into foreign channels or frequencies such as BBC and Voice of America. In addition, there is an English-language broadcast of news and other programmes during the tourist season.