Jimmyt,

Your kids are going to a great (if unheralded part of the world). I was there (with my daughter & son in law) in April & was blown away by the beauty of the country & how relatively untouched by the Tourist Plague it was.

we flew into Venice & hired a car to drive from there on. (Warning - make sure they know you are going into Slovenia as several Hire Firms don't allow it & all hell breaks loose at the first border crossing. You may be forced to abandon your car & find your own way back & they will bill you for retrieving the car!!!). we spent the first night at Koper ( a convenient distance after an afternoon flight from the UK) & thought we had died & gone to tourist heaven. It was the first wedding anniversary for the kids & so we thought a nice dinner was in order.
we had (& bear in mind this is for 3 adults):
2 camparis & Sodas
3 beers (half litres)
3 mineral waters
3 mushroom soups
2 calamaris
1 spaghetti carbonara
cheese for three
2 brandies
6 expresso coffees

Total Bill
    $45:00 Australian
       (to put this in perspective, the A$ is about .70 US & .42 UK)

We then (next day & I might add that my room was about $A 50 for all trimmings, cable tv, private bathroom etc) headed for Postojna which has the best caves you can imagine. You take a small diesel train into the mountain for about 2 kil before getting out and starting to explore. Enormous caverns, stalagmites & stalagtites too many to count and one chamber so big that they held concerts in there with a full symphony orchestra & 4000 audience - I believe they stopped because the musicians complained that the damp was bad for their instruments. The whole excursion took about 3 hours & was less than $20 - absolute bargain. Also, just up the road is one of the most authentic castles you will ever see. It backs into a huge cave & is almost impregnable. Not to be missed!
The next day was Bled, a resort town around an Alpine lake but without the tourist hype you get in Austria or Switzerland. Superb setting & almost deserted. Then we went up into the mountains to Planica where the World Ski Jump record was set and indulged ourselves in Alpine scenery that was magic.
As you can see, we were blown away by Slovenia - All I can say is get in there and see it before it becomes yet another standard stop on the tourist itinerary and the prices go through the roof. And tell your kids to watch out for "Berliners" - gigantic doughnuts either filled with Peach Jam or iced with Chocolate & stuffed with cream.
As you can see, I was enthralled by Slovenia - have to admit that I have no idea as to the music side of things but if you want a cheap exhilerating holiday in Europe, I can't think of anywhere better. And this from a bloke who had never heard of it before his daughter insisted we should go there.

As the bible says "Go and do thou likewise"!!!

Regards

DaveA