There is an excellent network of local authority-run tourist information centres in most towns and well-touristed places. As well as providing local information and maps, many centres supply information on other parts of the country, and some also act as an agency for private rooms. Elsewhere, travel agencies (Globtour, Slovenijaturist and Kompas are the biggest-selling chains) can be a useful source of information, although they understandably concentrate on selling you tours and changing your money. A high standard of English is spoken pretty much everywhere.

There's a good 1:300,000 map of Slovenia published by Freytag & Berndt. Excellent small-scale hiking maps are published by the Slovene Alpine Association (Planinska zveza Slovenije; Dvorzakova ulica 9; tel 01/231-2553, www.pzs.si ) and are widely available in bookshops in Slovenia.