Whitewater Kayaking on the Soca River

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Kayaking on the attractive Soca River is likely one of the finest outside adventures in Slovenia. The emerald inexperienced river has calm water and whitewater for all talents. Whereas paddling the river, the Julian Alps’s majestic slopes tower round you. You’ll share the river with fly fishing fanatics casting for the indigenous Soča trout.

The middle of whitewater sports activities is the city of Bovec, with quite a few outfitters and tour corporations for kayaking and rafting the river. There may be additionally mountain climbing, mountain biking, and snowboarding within the space.

Nonetheless, one of the best ways to see the beautiful Soca River valley is by boat. In my case, it was by an inflatable kayak. We had a pleasant paddle on Class I and a pair of whitewater with Fillip, the proprietor of Bovec Sport Heart.

Mix the joys of whitewater descent with the breathtaking surroundings of the Soca River Valley. Mountains stand up across the aquamarine inexperienced water. One part is a literal scene from Narnia, because the film was filmed right here. The Soca River has its supply in Triglav Nationwide Park, within the northwest nook of Slovenia. It flows south in its emerald-green glory and is thought to be one of the crucial lovely rivers in Europe.

Kayaking the Soca River with Bovec Sport Heart

A quiet stretch of the Soca River

Bovec Sport Heart is an impressive journey firm. I admired their philosophy of journey. They have been dedicated to an genuine expertise that included small teams, taking time on the river to benefit from the pure surroundings, and having a bunch connecting expertise on the finish by sharing a glass of elderberry blossom juice and native gourmand dessert that tasted like a candy dumpling.

My journey targets at all times embrace discovering time with locals to share tales, laughter, and fascinating tidbits. Gathering across the desk after the kayak journey was an ideal solution to accomplish my purpose. The authenticity within the conversations we had shall be a reminiscence cherished as a lot because the adrenaline-pumping kayaking.

With so many whitewater corporations solely all for “pushing rubber down the river” in pursuit of {dollars}, the philosophy of Fillip and Maja, the house owners, was so refreshing. They consciously determined to do fewer journeys in a day so they may spend extra time with their visitors.

The corporate can also be involved about sustainability. They gather rainwater in tanks to make use of to clean the wetsuits and flush the bogs.

The gear issued for the whitewater journeys is top-notch. Newer mannequin wetsuits, paddling jackets, wetsuit booties, helmets, and life jackets make the chilly water expertise heat and protected. The inflatable kayaks designed by Fillip particularly for the Soca River are tremendous buoyant, steady, and simple to paddle. Since they’ll deal with larger water even with newbie paddlers, the vary of rapids doable is wider than with exhausting shell kayaks. We have been in a position to do part of the rafting route with its larger water because of the versatility of the inflatable kayaks.

Whitewater paddling

Kayaking Journey on the Soca River

The Bovec Sport Heart kayak journey on the Soca River begins at their outpost simply outdoors city. They’ve a campground and a problem course at their facility. We collected wetsuits, life jackets, helmets, booties, and paddle jackets for our journey. Then there was a 15-minute van trip to the river put-in.

We pulled on our gear within the parking zone, nonetheless, there are restroom amenities for altering. Fillip began with a lesson on security and paddling strategies. He confirmed us the right way to use the thigh straps within the inflatable kayak to brace within the boat.

As soon as we have been on the river, Fillip, in his exhausting shell kayak led all of the duckie boats via the rapids. The inflatables are way more forgiving than plastic kayaks. Due to this fact, much less skilled paddlers can benefit from the rapids on the part of the river we did.

Nonetheless, the boats will not be invincible. I hit a pointy bit in a fast, punctured my kayak, and went for a swim. They received me again into one other kayak when Fillip’s son gave me his and hiked out. It made me understand that it’s pretty simple to do a rescue on this river as a result of the highway parallels the river.

The fabulous surroundings and the emerald-green water continued via the whole river descent. We handed merganser geese floating in eddies. On the take-out, we rode within the van again to the middle for a scrumptious native snack and dialog with our paddling staff and the household. It was the proper ending for the adventurous whitewater kayaking journey.

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Lodging in Bovec

Bovec Sport Heart affords two residences for hire within the middle of Bovec named after their sons. We stayed within the two-person Jakob residence. It’s a glowing clear, well-equipped studio that makes an amazing base camp for outside adventures within the Soca River Valley. The Luca residence which has area for 4 folks can also be obtainable.

One other fascinating lodging in Bovec is the Boutique Lodge Dobra Vila Bovec. Positioned on the town, this historic lodge affords an distinctive breakfast and exquisite environment.

Journey to Bovec

There’s a bus from Ljubljana, the capital metropolis of Slovenia, that takes about 4 hours. I discovered the best solution to get round Slovenia was by rental automotive. The roads are well-maintained and different drivers are courteous. If you happen to plan to enter the mountains, the roads are fairly windy with quite a few switchbacks. If you happen to take it sluggish, you’ll be advantageous.

I used my favourite automotive rental firm, Uncover Automobiles, to get a improbable automotive for the journey. Uncover Automobiles works with respected corporations providing nice vehicles at good costs. I had a flat tire on my journey and the corporate was tremendous useful in getting it fastened to get me on my approach.

Wrap Up of Kayaking on the Soca River

Whereas there are numerous outside adventures within the Soca River valley, I extremely suggest a kayak journey with Bovec Sport Heart. The inflatable kayaks are simple to paddle via the rapids making thrilling whitewater obtainable to all ability ranges. The private contact of the household that runs Bovec Sport Heart is one more reason to check out adventures with them. I used to be happy to get pictures of the memorable day in my e mail quickly after the journey. It’s these little touches that make for a improbable expertise.

The Soca River journey was sponsored by Bovec Sport Heart. My opinions are my sincere evaluation of the expertise.

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