Slovenia is perhaps the biggest success story of the former Yugoslavian states, with an economy which has done spectacularly well since its independence in 1991. However, this has been tempered fairly strongly by the global economic downturn. Slovenia has borders with Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia and an immensely pretty coastline onto the Adriatic sea. Its currency is the euro and its official language is Slovene, although English, German and Italian are widely spoken as second languages. This is a small country with a population of only around 2 million. The capital city is Ljubljana.

The Slovenian landscape varies from its spectacular Alpine borders in the north to flat plans bordering Croatia and Hungary. In between, most of the country is hilly and forested. The climate varies with the terrain, with coastal areas being typically Mediterranean and mountainous areas being colder and more extreme.

Main tourist attractions are the historic buildings of Ljubljana, the Adriatic coast, the Alps and the Karst Plateau, an area of limestone caves and underground rivers. There is skiing in the fabulous mountains and of course the beautiful coastline, with the towns of Koper, Izola, Strunjan, Piran and Portoroz is a major draw.

Most people probably don't visit Slovenia for its cuisine and, given the varying natures of Slovenia's bordering countries, food here is generally eclectic and tends to be fairly heavy, although Italian influences have also given rise to pasta type dishes. Crabs are popular and dried ham (kraski prsut) is a speciality.

Getting to Slovenia by plane is relatively easy nowadays, with flights on budget airlines and flights by the main carrier, Adria, being available. Bus connections run from Italy and trains run from Austria, Hungary and Croatia. It is also simple to arrive by car. Getting around in the compact country is simple. There is a good road and bus network and a reasonable train network, although this is a little limited.

Places to rent in Slovenia are very often alpine style ski chalets and apartments. There are also cottages in rural areas and villas and apartments on the coast. Apartments are common in the Slovenian cities and towns and locally run country bed and breakfasts / guesthouses are also a good alternative.