Slovenia (the Republic of Slovenia, Republika Slovenija in Slovenian) is a country situated in the Southern part of Central Europe. Until 1991 it was part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It borders Italy to the West, Croatia to the South and East, Hungary to the Northeast, and Austria to the North. The Southwest is washed by the Adriatic Sea. Slovenia has the total area of 20,273 square km and population of about 2,000,000 people. The official language is Slovenian (Slovene), Italian and Hungarian are also spoken in some regions.

The capital and the largest city is Ljubljana, which is situated in the center of the country. It has population of about 278,000 inhabitants. Although Ljubljana do not belong to the most promoted and popular tourists destinations, the city is rather old and has a lot of various places of interest. Unfortunately, it had been devastated by earthquakes several times (the last major one was in 1895), so there are no ancient buildings there (prevailing styles are Neo-Classics and Art Nouveau).

Geographically the Republic of Slovenia consists а four major regions - the Alps, the Pannonian plain, the Dinaric mountains, and the Mediterranean. The highest point in the country is Triglav (2,864 m) situated in the Julian Alps. The climate is submediterranean on the coast, alpine in the mountains and continental (with rather hot summers and comparatively cold and snowy winters) on the Eastern valleys and plateau.

Slovenia is a rather new and not very well promoted winter destination, but it can provide great skiing possibilities, especially for beginners and families with kids. There are two main ski resorts there - Bled/Bohinj and Kranjska Gora. The surroundings there are very beautiful and picturesque and skiing conditions are rather good, especially on the latter. Besides, prices for accommodation and skiing are comparatively low, so Slovenia is an ideal destination for budget tours.