Introduction: Bled Travel Guide
Bled is a Slovenian town located on Lake Bled and is one of the most touristic places in Slovenia for some good reasons. Lake Bled picture travelled the world with a beautiful landscape of the lake where stands in its center the Bled Island with the stunning Assumption of Mary church, and with the Julian Alps in the background.
Bled is a great place to travel for anu type of travellers and features hiking, cycling, walking, chilling, spending family time and so on.
We are mountain fan, so we really enjoyed another well-known feature of Bled, its proximity to the Triglav national park. In there we hiked and made some amazing road trips!
Lake Bohinj, a nearby place is also great to chill under the sun and swim in a crystal-clear water with the Alps looking at you.
Table of Contents
Mapping tour Bled Travel Guide
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Getting there
We were there with our car in a road trip in Eastern Europe, and it was fantastic. Many things to do in Bled required a car or some moving around. So, you will eventually have to rent one if you are coming by public transportation.
To get to Bled by public transportation, you can take a plane to Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia and from there:
- Take a train to Lesce train station which has frequent connections. Unfortunately, the station is located some 4.5 km from Bled which means you will have to take a bus or a taxi
- Take a train to Jezero Bled train station which is located at the western end of the lake and have up to 5 trains a day.
- Take a bus, which is much easier than the train. There is hourly departure from 6am to 10pm from Ljubljana main bus station. The journey takes up to 1h15min
Moving Around
Moving around Bled and Lake Bled is pretty easy and can be done walking. Unfortunately, if you want to reach the nearby town of Bohinj or the Triglav national park, you will need to have a car.
There are of course some buses that you can use from Bled to Bohinj (30min) and some are also running to the national park and nearby town, but you won’t get the full experience. Also as you are in the mountains, even by car it takes time to go from one place to another.
When to Visit
The best time to Visit Bled is in summer from Mid-June to Mid-September. As you are still in the Alps, this is always the best time to visit and where if you like hiking, the conditions will be the best.
But if you don’t plan on much hiking then May to September is a great window to get there. As in July/August, it’s when the town is most crowded.
We were there in August, but honestly, we didn’t feel overwhelmed by the crowd. It wasn’t as packed as what Croatia of south of France can be at this time.
Where to Stay
- Apartment with Triglav view (outside Bled) : Apartma Gaby
- Apartment in Bled: Apartments & Rooms Sebanc by Lake
- Entire House: Sovica
What to Eat
As always, we cooked all our meals. But the one most famous local delicateness we tried was the “Kremna rezina” a cream cake.
Things to do in Bled
Walk around the lake
You can actually loop walking all the lake, it is one pretty nice thing to do. The best part behind the west part as the southern-east one follows the road and is quite noisy. There is a path all along. We did it under heavy rain and it was still beautiful.
Hike Ojstrica
Once you reach the Bled camping on the west side, you can hike to Ojstrica to get the most famous view in town. You will have to chose or not, between Ojstrica, Mala Osojnica and Velika Osojnica. Those are the 3 peaks from where you can get the view. The offer similar angle.
Visit Bled Castle
Once you passed Bled town, you can walk up to the castle and visit it. It features some amazing view of the area but also some history about the Lake Bled. To enter, you will have to pay a small fee.
Visit Bled Island
There are many ways to get on the island, you can hop on a taxi boat, or rent a rowing boat, or even paddle/kayak to the island. Those are all super nice way to get there. We opted for the rowing option from the Villa Bled which is the closest point to reach the island. It isn’t easy rowing so better be nearby 😊 especially if the wind goes up.
Assumption of Maria Church
Once on the island, you can visit the church and the clock tower (paid entrance). In the church you will find the famous wish bell. Pull 3 times and make a wish.
Discover Soteska Vintgar
Early in the morning, go to the Vintgar gorge to discover lusting nature in a beautiful ambiance. The gorge is 1600m long and offer stunning view all along. At the end you will have 2 options to return. We opted for the easiest and longest trail back that loop around the gorge and not though the forest. Views are amazing all along!
Road Trip in Triglav National Park
Time to get on with a 1-day road trip in Triglav national park. Start by going to Pokljuka Gorge, go until the end of the one lane road (be careful if cars come the other way) and then hike the 2h loops trail within the wild and dry gorge.
From there drive toward Radovna and then head to the Waterfall Pericnik, here you can just admire it from the road and walk to its down point.
Then keep straight on the forest road till the end to get a stunning Viewpoint of the Alps.
Next stop will Kranjska Gora, a small town nearby where you can get a coffee and try the local cake before heading to Planica Nordic Centre to see people sky jumping (even in summer!)
Hike to Viševnik
Hike the 2h (one way) trail to Viševnik, a stunning summit in the national park where you will get breath-taking landscape. From there loop around and head back.
Enjoy Lake Bohinj
Drive to lake Bohinj for some more hiking around or simply to get a nice spot under a tree to rest and swim in this crystal-clear water lake.
3 days Itinerary to Lake Bled
Day 1:
- Discover Soteska Vintgar
- Walk around the lake
- Visit Bled Caslte
- Visit Bled Island
- Assumption of Maria Church
- Hike Ojstrica
Day 2:
- Road Trip in Triglav National Park
Day 3:
- Hike to Viševnik
- Enjoy Lake Bohinj
A Slovenian does not express good fortune… They say “my axe fell into the honey” (Sekira mi je padla v med).
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