It’s nice when you remember a place by its attractions, but you remember it even more by the experiences you had for the first time. Portorož is one such place that I will remember forever…
Portorož is a resort located in the Gulf of Piran and belongs to the Slovenian coast. It is only 47 km long, but it has a lot to show. Portorož is ideal as a city break destination and is about 130 km from Ljubljana.
This means that it is incredibly convenient, if you live in Slovenia, to visit the sea, take a bath and return home in one weekend.
For the rest of us, who come from afar, Portorož is never the final destination, but is always associated with a visit to Piran, Trieste and maybe even Venice.
It was the same with us, the plans were very rich and packed, and when you travel in a wheelchair, there is no room for improvisation.
The road to Portorož is as green as everything else in Slovenia. Even the overpasses are green here. Even Portorož is somehow green.
Since Portorož is surrounded by hills, which descend rather steeply towards the sea, it was a big challenge to find accommodation. We needed it to be budget friendly and as close to the coast as possible.
We partially succeeded in that, but it was very far away from the city. Our main hope was a large promenade of unknown length and passability.
Encouraged by the words that Piran is somewhere, about 45 minutes away on foot, we started our walk from the Marina of Portorož. It is one of the largest in this part of the world.
After the marina, we come across the promenade, which is wide, flat and long. Perfect for wheelers.
From the rare passers-by, you can hear Italian, which, apart from Slovenian, is also the official language here.
As I walk, I think about how Portorož got its name. In Italian it means Port of Roses. There are no ordinary roses here, but there are salt roses. Since the 13th century, Benedictine monks have been treating the sick with medicinal mud and salt.
Add to this the mild Mediterranean climate and you have a resort with a rich spa culture.
We continue our walk, which is getting more and more beautiful. It doesn’t happen to me often, but here I wished I had an electric wheelchair so I could buzz along this boardwalk by myself.
By the way, Portorož is also a city of casinos. Given that everything here is subordinated to tourism, it is no wonder that there are also casinos in the city. They have to attract tourists in every possible way, because they have very serious competitors in the area.
They say that Portorož has 240 sunny days. In May, when I was there, the clouds decided to deny me. That suited me, because I could look at the sea undisturbed.
Portorož was empty in May. I was glad to have it all to myself.
Numerous chairs tell me that it is really crowded here in the season.
Beaches are a combination of concrete, grass and sand.
These docks make me want to fish.
Older and more modern parts alternate on the road.
Not only is Portorož a resort, but it also has its own permanent ‘cast’. More precisely, it has about 3,000 inhabitants, so it is not completely deserted in the winter months.
Although I wondered more than once if some stairs would stop me, the walkway did not let me down. It’s very long. There are places to rest which we used a lot.
It is a great blessing to have a promenade like this by the sea. You can write a book or a poem here, when it’s this calm and with this view.
Nice hotels on the beach are the right choice.
This famous hotel Bernandin also showed us that we are close to the goal.
If I could choose, where to drink coffee, it would be on this hotels terrace.
All rooms face the sea and have a spectacular view. It’s like being on a cruise ship but without the seasickness.
After the hotel, there is also a parking lot for those smart people who have passed this destination by car. This is where Piran begins, you can’t enter it by car.
My guess is that this parking lot is too small when the season is in full swing.
Before returning, we had to refresh ourselves a bit. Nothing better than a hot soup while looking out over the vast Piran Bay. This time, the choice fell on “paveza” soup and seafood soup.
And to return to the beginning, why will I remember this town?
As much as I enjoyed the walk, this stretch of the promenade, with our group, is not crossed all at once.
The fatigue that set in, after the many kilometers, was equal to the fear that we would have to do the same back. Salvation came in the form of a local low-floor bus, which was driving in the opposite direction.
Although it was not adapted for the disabled, the deal was that I would be squeezed into it at all costs. Why is this special to me? Namely, the crowds as well as the lack of adaptation meant that, even though I come from a big city, I never used the bus.
Well, there it is. Portorož is my first bus experience.
The ride was easy, I didn’t fall left and right. Everything would have gone perfectly if we hadn’t missed the right station. I got to know Portorož very well.
All in all, it was a nice day filled with various adventures. Portorož bought me with its beautiful promenade, which I will walk down more wisely next time.
Have you been to Portorož?
Did I miss something?
Traveled and enjoyed,
Marko Velickovic
