One of the best ways to see the Soca Valley is from the Soca River. Choose between an exhilarating whitewater rafting excursion or a gentle kayak or paddleboarding trip. For an even more thrilling adventure, opt for a canyoning trip and rappel down waterfalls, glide down natural water slides, and swim through narrow gorges and pools.
Other options in Soca Valley include hiking, mountain biking, climbing, fishing, and horseback riding; in the winter months, there's skiing, ice climbing, snowshoeing, and more. Visitors interested in World War I history can follow the Walk of Peace or the Kobarid Historical Trail, which pass by remnants of trenches, forts and buildings, and several war monuments.
The Soca Valley extends from Triglav National Park in the north to the city of Nova Gorica on the Italian border. The nearest major airports are located in Ljubljana and Venice. The easiest way to get to the Soca Valley is by car, but you can arrive by a combination of bus and train from Ljubljana, Bled, or Venice.
The Soca Valley is a beautiful place to visit any time of year. Wildflowers are fantastic in late June, and the larch trees typically peak in color in mid-October. Guided river trips are offered mid-April through October, and fly-fishing season kicks off in April and runs through early November. Ski season runs from December through early April.
The famous Isonzo Front runs through the Soca Valley, one of the biggest battle grounds between the Italian and Austro-Hungarian military in World War I. Ernest Hemingway’s novel A Farewell to Arms was largely based here. Visitors interested in war history can visit many of the battlegrounds, see the remains of old forts and trenches, and tour the war history museum in Kobarid.
