Towards the end of 2023 we were made aware of potential changes to the river permit scheme in the Soca Valley for 2024.
The Soca River is a gem in the European paddling crown and a mecca for many European paddlers each summer.
While in general we would be against the concept of charging for use of rivers, up to now the system has worked very well with a fair price being charged to cover the cost of river maintenance and access facilities (car-parking, changing and toilets).
For this season, from the information recently published on the official Soca River website, the annual river permit will be split into 3 Sectors. Sector 1 from Velika Korita to Srepenica 1, Sector 2 from Srepenica 2 to Napoleonov Bridge and Sector 3 from Kamno to Volcanski Bridge.
For Sector 1, the price remains the same as before but now for paddlers that want to paddle the main sections of the Soca from Bunkerji to Napoleonov Bridge, 2 permits will be required.
It would also appear possible to put in and start a section with a valid permit but then get to section downstream without a valid permit. We are not sure how this will be policed and enforced in practical terms.
There has been an online petition to prevent the changes to the permits and we hope that sense will prevail and the recent decision will either be reversed or a more sensible system introduced instead.
Link to online petition below:
https://chng.it/5QMzZDmVFj
| SECTOR 1: Bovec | SECTOR 2: Kobarid | SECTOR 3: Tolmin |
| *One-time anonymous permit: €10 | *One-time anonymous permit: €5 | |
| Daily kayak: €3 | **Daily name permit: €10 | **Daily name permit: €5 |
| Weekly kayak: €16 | Weekly name permit: €50 | Weekly name permit: €25 |
| Seasonal kayak: €30 | Seasonal name permit: €250 | Seasonal name permit: €125 |
| Daily raft: €50 | ***Seasonal name permit at a subsidized price: €25 | ***Seasonal name permit at a subsidized price: €25 |
| Seasonal raft: €500 |
*one-time non-name permit is valid for a one-time entry and exit from the river under the conditions stated in the permit
**daily name permit is valid for unlimited use of entry and exit points under the conditions stated in the permit
***conditions for obtaining a seasonal name permit at a subsidized price are listed in the regulations
| Sektor 1 | Sektor 2 | Sektor 3 |
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