Rafting on the Soča River and canyoning around Bovec, Slovenia, in one weekend. That was the plan when Martin Vlk, a reporter from the Czech news site Novinky.cz, came to visit. He came for a normal weekend trip. We ruined it, as usual.
On 10 October 2026 he wrote about it in A weekend full of adrenaline and fun, just a few hours’ drive from Czechia. That’s his side of the story. This is ours.
Day one: rafting the Soča River
Wetsuit, helmet, life jacket, and into the emerald water of the Soča. Cold? Very. Nobody gets a warm-up round here.
Before the rapids, the whole crew went overboard on purpose. Not a mistake, a lesson: how to float through the current if the river decides you’re done with the raft. Then it was rapids time, and the Soča did what the Soča does.
Somewhere along the way, our raft stopped being a raft and became a playground. And then there was a seven-metre cliff. Did everyone jump? Did the reporter? Martin tells that part better than we do.
Day two: canyoning in Bovec
Bovec has plenty of canyons of different difficulty, and on day two we took the crew into one of them. A short hike up, a short briefing, and then down the canyon the only way that makes sense: sliding, jumping, swimming and scrambling.
Natural water slides, clear pools, rock walls. One slide got taken on the back, head first. Guess by whom.
Higher jumps and technical sections are always optional, so nobody has to do anything they don’t want to. And because our guides speak both Czech and English, no safety briefing gets lost in translation.
And then there’s the mountain
Rafting and canyoning were our part. But Martin didn’t stop there, and his weekend has a bonus chapter high above the valley. You’ll find it in his article.
Why Bovec works for a weekend
Bovec sits in the Julian Alps in northwest Slovenia, a few minutes from the Soča River. From Brno it’s about six hours by car, from Prague an hour or two more. Leave on Friday morning, and by the afternoon you can be in a raft.
Quick answers
Can you do rafting and canyoning in one weekend in Bovec?
Yes. Rafting on the Soča one day, canyoning the next.
Do I need experience for canyoning?
No. Higher jumps and technical sections are optional. We also have levels for completely beginners.
What language do the guides speak?
Czech and English.
How cold is the Soča?
Cold. That’s what the wetsuit is for.
Thanks, Novinky.cz
Huge thanks to Martin and Novinky.cz for coming over and for the great write-up. Read the full story (in Czech): Víkend plný adrenalinu a zábavy jen pár hodin autem z Česka
Fancy ruining your own normal weekend? Check out our rafting and canyoning trips in Bovec and book your dates. Cold water, warm team.