Apartma Luca, Bovec

Apartma Luca is in Kaninska vas, the cluster of houses that stretches along the western edge of Bovec, in the upper Soča valley, at 503 metres of altitude and below the walls of the Kanin. It is the right spot for anyone who comes here for the river and for the mountains: the hydroelectric station and the storage lake are a little over three kilometres away, the Apnenica lime kiln 2.6, the Kolovrat open-air museum 4.3 and the Kluže fortress, at the mouth of the Koritnica gorge, five. The information centre of the Triglav National Park is twenty-one kilometres away.

The accommodation is an apartment under the roof, with one bedroom, a kitchen with a fridge and an oven and a bathroom with shower and hairdryer; bed linen and towels are provided. The rooms are bright because of the skylights in the pitch, the walls are painted sage green and on the wall of the dining area the host has had a photograph of the Soča printed, which is in fact the reason nearly everyone chooses Bovec. The kitchen's provision is unusually complete for a short-let apartment: pots, pans, cutlery tidy in the drawer, glasses and crockery in quantity, a detail that counts when you are out all day and have dinner at home. The view runs over the mountains, the wifi is free throughout the property and the private parking is included. The whole house is non-smoking.

The rule on access is declared by the booking portal, which in its child policies section writes that children are not allowed and specifies that no cots or extra beds are available. The exact age, by contrast, is not published: the property has no official website on which to check it and the portal gives no threshold at all, adding only that no minimum age is required for check-in, which concerns whoever registers on arrival and not the guests. The source of this entry is therefore the portal, and it must be said openly: anyone travelling with a young person under eighteen must ask the host for written confirmation before booking. The property is run by a private host, so the protections provided for professional operators may not apply.

The other rules are few and clear: there is no smoking, no parties or events are held, the house is not available for stag or hen gatherings and pets are not allowed.

Bovec is the Slovenian capital of water sports: rafting, kayaking, canyoning and hydrospeed on the Soča are booked in the village, and in summer the valley is also a starting point for paragliding from the Kanin. On foot you climb to the Boka and Virje waterfalls, follow the Soška pot along the river and reach the First World War trenches on the Rombon. In winter the Kanin ski area works, the only one in Slovenia that goes above two thousand metres and that borders Sella Nevea.

It suits two people who want a plain, well-equipped base for staying out all day, with the kitchen for coming back in the evening. It suits less anyone looking for hotel services, breakfast included or shared spaces: here there is an apartment, and that is all.