Dubai, UAE – Middle Eastern visitors to Slovenia are welcome to go on a journey to discover old indigenous olive tree varieties which grow in the most beautiful vantage points on the Slovenian coast and in the Istrian countryside. They will learn about the story of oil dishes and taste world-class olive oils and special Istrian dishes in a fun way. The tour guides will be the members of the Lisjak family, the largest producer of olive oil in Slovenia.
Visitors will experience mixing their own favourite combination of olive oil and, while tasting traditional Istrian dishes, they will learn about the wide range of applications of olives in cosmetics and industry. They will learn how to recognise high-quality olive oil – and much more in less than 3 hours, which is the tour duration.
The tour includes also a narration of olive oil story, which visitors can listen to in old olive groves, in the middle of a high-tech laboratory, and on the edge of a coastal cliff at Strunjan Nature Reserve. There will be an enjoyment of a real treat by taking a ride in legendary classic cars of the flower power generation, which have been recycled using olive wood and which, in their own way, left their mark on the people of the Primorska region and the history of the world. Moreover, the tour will give the chance to photograph the most beautiful views of the Slovenian coast.
Slovenian Istria is synonymous with world-class oil, the reason behind this is its location in the very north of the Mediterranean and the cold that affects olive trees only to the extent that it increases the nutritional value of the oil.
Tourers can join an experiential tour and taste a mixture of old Istrian oil varieties that have been around even up to 300 years.
The olive tour experience is conducted every day throughout the year, and includes the following activities:
- Meeting at a designated location and a ride in classic old-timer cars through Portorož and along the coastal road, through olive groves, and all the way to the Belvedere vantage point above the fishing town of Izola.
- A walk through old olive groves, learning about various olive varieties.
- A ride past Izola on the coastal road to the Lisjak Family Olive Mill in the Istrian village of Krkavče.
- Arrival at the olive mill, a welcome including a traditional dish called ‘bobiči’ – an Istrian minestrone with corn.
- A tour of the oil mill, testing olive cosmetic products made of olive pits and a guided tasting of eight varieties of home-made oil.
- Return in classic old-timer cars.