This September, We’re Taking a Slightly Different Route to Work
31. 8. 2026
In September, Soča Valley Tourist Board is joining the Sustainable Commute to Work campaign. The initiative encourages us to reflect on our everyday journeys in a way that takes into account the realities of life in the valley, while also connecting sustainable mobility with autumn events, hiking, cycling and local experiences.
Anyone who lives or works in the Soča Valley knows that the way we travel to work is often shaped by more than personal preference. A journey from Trenta to Bovec, from the surrounding villages to Kobarid, or from Bovec towards Tolmin is measured not only in kilometres, but also in time – influenced by the terrain, public transport timetables, the weather and, during the summer months, increased traffic.
That is precisely why we believe it is important to talk about sustainable mobility without grand statements, and with a clear understanding of the place in which we live. For many people in our valley, leaving the car at home is simply not always an option. But each of us can consider where and when there may be an opportunity to choose differently.
With this in mind, Soča Valley Tourism is joining the Sustainable Commute to Work campaign this September. The campaign is organised by the Northern Primorska Regional Mobility Centre at RRA Posoški razvojni center as part of European Mobility Week, which takes place from 16 to 22 September.
The campaign will run from 1 to 30 September 2026 and encourages everyone who travels to work each day to choose walking, cycling, public transport, car sharing or another option that reduces the number of journeys made by private car whenever this is practical for them.
For our team, this is not something entirely new. Some of our colleagues already walk or cycle to work, while others share rides. We therefore see September primarily as an additional opportunity to look at our everyday journeys and identify options that are realistic for each of us.
For one person, that might mean cycling instead of driving one day a week. For someone else, it could mean sharing a ride from Tolmin towards Kobarid, while another person might walk part of the way. These are not major changes, but practical choices that can be meaningfully incorporated into everyday life and adapted to the realities of living here.
Autumn in the Soča Valley also shows how sustainability can become part of the way we experience a destination. From 4 September to 11 October, the Soča Valley Hiking and Cycling Festival will connect places, trails and experiences across the valley, inviting visitors to discover the area primarily on foot and by bicycle. The autumn programme will be complemented by two further festivals with strong ties to the local environment – Jestival, taking place on 3 October in Kobarid, and FrikaFest, on 10 October in Tolmin.
Each of these events connects visitors with the valley and its character in a different way. Hiking and cycling encourage a slower way of discovering places and trails and a closer connection with the natural environment. The culinary festivals, meanwhile, highlight local ingredients, producers, knowledge and traditions rooted in this very landscape.
Sustainability is not a single campaign or a single solution. It is a series of choices that make sense for our environment and place what belongs here at the heart of the experience.
At the same time, we are fully aware that traffic congestion, parking and mobility management in the Soča Valley are much broader challenges that cannot be solved by a single campaign in September. During the summer months in particular, these pressures are felt strongly by everyone who lives, works or travels through the valley every day.
We therefore do not see the Sustainable Commute to Work campaign as an answer to all these challenges. Rather, we see it as an opportunity to begin with the journeys and choices that we can influence directly ourselves.
We also invite our partners and the organisations we work with to take part. Not because everyone should travel in the same way, but because each of us can consider our own journey, location and circumstances – and find the option that works for us.
Sustainable mobility is not only important for those of us who live and work in the Soča Valley. Visitors, too, can experience the destination in a way that brings them closer to the landscape and reduces their dependence on travelling by car.
The Soča Valley can also be explored with less reliance on the car and more connection with the place itself. To help visitors plan their journey, we have brought together sustainable mobility options across the destination, along with useful links for travelling by public transport, bicycle and other means of transport.