As we have a coeliac in our team, we are well aware of how much planning and research is required to ensure a gluten-free holiday can be as stress-free as possible. Even if just one member of a family has coeliac disease, the entire family usually eats gluten-free at home and also chooses gluten-free dining options while on holiday.
It’s with this in mind that we have decided to write a blog on this subject. We have also put together a carefree, gluten-free holiday, including a visit to Gluten-Free Expo Slovenia.
When choosing where to go on holiday, most people will first choose the country, then the city/town/beach, etc., then narrow down the choice of hotels, apartments, etc. Once that’s done, they can start looking into the finer details of what to see and do, where to eat, etc. After all, planning a holiday is usually fun, right? For those with coeliac disease, however, it can be quite stressful.
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The first thing they usually consider is which countries are most coeliac-friendly. This can involve plenty of research on the internet, and/or asking in various Facebook groups for coeliacs. Once the country has been determined, coeliacs will often visit the website of the local coeliac association, order (or print) a coeliac travel card, which explains everything in the local language, and begin to do more detailed research.
More often than not, coeliacs tend to go self-catering, because it’s rare to find hotels that are really geared up to offer food that is prepared separately without any risk of cross-contamination.
Having booked where to stay, now the real work begins, with researching where to buy and eat gluten-free food while on holiday, all in an effort to avoid spending the entire holiday either hungry, ill or stressed.
Slovenia might not be the first country that springs to mind when thinking about gluten-free travel. However, you’d be pleasantly surprised to know that considering its small size, it has a decent choice of gluten-free restaurants, bakeries, cake shops and other venues where gluten-free food can be bought and/or eaten.
Gluten-free food is widely available in all major supermarkets and health stores. The Italian budget retailer Eurospin has a range of well-priced basics such as bread, pasta, biscuits, ice-cream, etc., and other supermarkets, such as Spar, Mercator and TUŠ, have their own brand gluten-free ranges as well as stocking products from Schar, Gluteno and other well-known brands.
In terms of travelling around Slovenia, the capital, Ljubljana, has one gluten-free restaurant and two gluten-free patisseries, while in Kranj – the capital of the Gorenjska region – a visit to Kotiček dobrot is a must. This small shop is crammed with fresh, frozen and longlife gluten-free products. If you plan to visit Bled and would like to try the famous Bled cream cake (kremšnita), then you should visit the Lincer cake shop in Lesce (just 3 kilometres from Bled), where, in addition to Bled cream cake, you’ll be away to try and buy a wide range of fresh and frozen, sweet and savoury, gluten-free food, much of which is also free of other allergens, such as eggs, soya and milk. Also in Lesce, we recommend Restavracija in picerija Center, for great gluten-free pizzas and burgers.
If you plan to visit the south of Slovenia, Hiša Fink is a fully gluten-free, fine dining restaurant in Novo mesto.
Elsewhere in the country, Gostilna Stara Brajda in Celje is a gluten-free restaurant offering daily gluten-free lunches (Monday to Friday only), while in the Koroška (Carinthia) region, Gostilna Repolusk, while not fully gluten-free, is run by a coeliac and is the place to go for an excellent gluten-free experience in a beautiful setting. If it’s gourmet food you’re after, then Hiša Linhart in Radovljica, one Michelin Star, won’t disappoint.
We recommend checking out www.glutenfreehubeu for information about all the above and more, including helpful articles about how to read labels, EU labelling laws, etc.
Finally, as mentioned previously, we’ve put together the ultimate, carefree, gluten-free escape to Slovenia, which you can find here
Depending on your requirements, we can also put together tailored gluten-free holidays, and our gluten-free advisor is always on hand to help.
