Home > Slovenia travel tips > Health and safety in Slovenia
Slovenia is one of the safest countries in Europe. Women are regarded as equal to men and also for women alone travelling is generally safe. However, crime does exist. Tourists should be alert for pickpockets in crowdy places, for instance in cities and along the Slovenian coast. Defibrillators are becoming widely available. There are two alarm numbers: tel 113, which connects you to the police. This is also the number you should call in case of car accidents – as long as no-one is hurt. In case you need an ambulance or report a fire, call 112. Operators who pick up these numbers should speak English. Theft should be reported at the nearest police station. In case of an emergency: each health centre (“zdravstveni dom”) has a first-aid post which is permanently manned. For most of our tours, the closest by one is in Cerknica, the quickest way to reach them is by dialing 112.
Hepatitis A and routine vaccinations are usually recommended for travellers to Slovenia. Hepatitis B vaccination is recommended for people who are at an increased risk of transmission (contact with blood or sexual contact).
In Slovenia, ticks are common. They can transmit both Lyme disease and Tick-borne encephalitis. Ticks are active from early spring to late fall in most of Slovenia and throughout the year in coastal regions. Vaccination against Tick-borne encephalitis is recommended for travellers who spend much time in nature and off-roads.
Rabies is still present in Slovenia, but the incidence in foxes dropped dramatically in recent years. This is the result of an annual program of spreading bait with Rabies vaccine from aeroplanes. The bait has a warning written in Slovenian language only. If you find this, please do not touch. Also, stay clear of any visibly ill or unusually tame wild mammals. All dogs in Slovenia are obligatory vaccinated against rabies. When in doubt: dogs also have a microchip implanted. With the microchip-data, any Slovenian veterinarian can access the vaccination status of any dog in a central database. If there is any doubt if a dog is vaccinated, contact a veterinarian a.s.a.p. In principle, all mammal species can contract and transmit Rabies. Most known cases in Slovenia are from Fox and Bats.
Please note that the author of this blog is not a medical specialist and check with your countries health-centre for official information.
Bait with rabies-vaccine. This bait is dropped from aeroplanes and you can find it in any rural area. Do not touch. Photo credit: http://www.nijz.si/ Click to enlarge.
In the entire country, tap-water is nearly always safe to drink. Locally, problems can occur in dry periods in summer. When in doubt, ask local people if the water is safe to drink.
Tip for thirsty travellers: graveyards usually have a tap, meant for watering plants on graves. These taps are nearly always connected to the local drinking water systems. You can freely take some drinking water at a graveyard, as long as you respect the graves and the people who look after them.
Water quality of streams and rivers has improved dramatically in recent years. However, water from streams is only safe to drink in mountain areas. Anywhere where there are houses or villages located upstream, you should consider water from a stream as unsafe. This also applies to small springs in the forest: these are connected with underground streams which transport water rapidly from higher altitude locations. If, in those higher altitude locations, there are houses or villages, also the spring-water lower down a slope is unsafe.