a day in Lake Bled
TL;DR
Lake Bled was the warm welcome I needed after a long voyage to Ljubljana from Sydney. Despite being one of the most popular tourist locations in Slovenia, and my visit being in summer, it was just busy enough for the town be filled with the wonderful, thriving energy of summer holidaymakers, without it feeling overcrowded or stressful. I recommend to walk around instead of drive though, as the main road isn’t designed for large volumes of traffic and (anecdotally) the parking situation can be difficult in Bled town.
Whilst I only spent a day there due to limited time, I think 2 full days would be perfect. You can stretch to 3-4 if you want to take it even slower and do more relaxing on the shore or water activities.
Where I stayed
I stayed at the Riverside Chill hostel. It had everything I needed and the most stunning location on a riverbank with a fire pit and hammocks to sit and read in the sun. Breakfast was included in the price and hot, fresh baked goods were available every single morning. Katja and Ryan, the hosts, were super welcoming and friendly, and ready to share great local info!
The great thing about it was that it was walking distance from Vintgar Gorge, so I didn’t need to get a bus from the town or pay for parking at Vintgar itself. The downside is that it wasn’t as close to Bled town as other hostels were.
Part 1: Vintgar Gorge
I started my first day by walking to Vintgar Gorge in the morning from my hostel (I talk about this above). You can also catch a shuttle from the centre of Bled town if you’re staying there.
Note: make sure you book your ticket in advance because they release tickets in timed slots! The ticket is about €15 at the time of writing. You’ll get a helmet at the entrance to wear on your walk through the gorge.
The walk through Vintgar was stunning. Walking slightly in between groups made the 1.6km walk feel peaceful and unhurried, and it was not physically strenuous at all, save for some stairs here and there. The gorge changes in width multiple times, from steep-sided, narrow sections to wide sections which just looked like a normal river. The water was a beautiful glassy green colour! ✨
Eventually the path finishes and opens up at the top of the Šum Waterfall, and there’s a little cafe where you can stop for a snack or a coffee. Walk down the stairs from there or across the bridge and down to take some beautiful photos of this waterfall!
From the Šum waterfall, you can take a short walk through the forest to Sveta Katerina church which has a stunning view over Bled town & castle from its hilly outlook.
Then, you can either a) complete the loop back to the start of Vintgar and take the free shuttle back to town from there or b) walk down the hill from Sveta Katerina to Bled town. Full disclosure — it was not a short walk to the shore of Lake Bled from here (~45 mins), but it was a lovely, safe-feeling walk through some smaller villages on the outskirts of the town, and had a great view for most of it since it was coming down the hill. I stopped at a small grocery store to get some lunch on the way.
Note: There’s also an alternative loop to walk back to the Vintgar entrance from the waterfall instead of going to Sveta Katerina church, but Katja, who owned my hostel, recommended me this route.
Part 2: Bled town
I ate a quick sandwich & Bled cream cake for lunch once I got to the lake shore. If and if you, like I did, find yourself at the shore of Bled, definitely do the full lake circuit next. It’s a gorgeous, easy 6km loop walk with plenty of spots to stop for a swim — perfect for a lazy afternoon loop with dips along the way.
For your classic Bled viewpoint photo opp, the Ojstrica and Osojnica hikes are a must. You can do them separately or link them into a loop. If you’re doing the loop, I recommend to start from the Ojstrica trailhead — going the other way means tackling a pretty brutal uphill (AllTrails warned me about this, and I saw it for myself on the way down!!).
Note: If you only have time for one, Ojstrica’s lookout is best if you want a photo of yourself with the lake, while Osojnica gives you wonderful, sweeping views of the lake itself. There’s a third optional viewpoint, Velika Osojnica, between them, which I personally skipped it because the climb was too much (and honestly, my naive assumption was that the views aren’t wildly different anyway!).
When it comes to swimming, I found that the southern end of the lake — right after you finish the loop — has some lovely, quieter spots. Otherwise, the whole western shore is great for a dip, though it can get a bit crowded depending on the time of day. I saw lots of people relaxing on the timber decks around this area which was conveniently next to some nice cafes.
And finally — a hot tip from Katja, the owner of my hostel: the famous Bled cream cake apparently tastes the same from the grocery store as it does from the fancy bakeries… at half the price. Take that as you will 😄
Other activities you can do in the Bled area (I didn’t personally do these):
Visit Bled Castle. Buy tickets for €18 here.
Take a Pletna boat ride to Bled Island. Boats mostly seem to depart from this jetty, you should be able to show up and pay around €20 in cash for a short return boat ride including a little while to explore Bled Island.
