September 2024

I have been dreaming about this place for SO long – ever since I saw this country on an episode of The Amazing Race, Season 35 (in November 2023). It has not even been a full year yet since the episode aired, and I went to Slovenia! Seriously, the way the show portrayed this place is literally what it is in person. When I watched the episode, I was like I have to go here and I did! Lake Bled and Slovenia in general is a beautiful country! Super underrated too! My pictures will never do this place justice, you have to see it in person. I am still in shock that I went there…I manifested it and it happened! Ohhh, Slovenia, I cannot wait to go back. Seriously. Four days in Slovenia was NOT enough time. I think you need a full week here to experience 2-3 cities. People say they will come back to certain places, but oh no, this one, Slovenia, I will 1000% come back for you. What a beautiful place and a great experience here.

Speaking of experience, this Europe trip is part of my birthday trip to myself, and I traveled solo to the Netherlands & Belgium, then, I met up with a friend’s cousin for the first time here in Slovenia LOL. It is insane how the world works. The friend’s cousin lives in the Bay Area too…but we met in person in Slovenia..like what? Haha. It was a good experience.

I have listed the places of things to see and do, and places to eat in alphabetical order. I also added some photos & information below the list that I have experienced.

How to get to and around Lake Bled

I flew from Brussels, Belgium to Ljubjlana, Slovenia and landed at their tiny airport. I was in awe when I walked out of the airport, because the mountains were the view! How beautiful and a change of scenery. The airport is very tiny and they did not do any stamps there 😦 I was sad, because I wanted a Slovenia stamp in my passport haha! Anyway, my friend’s cousin rented a car for the trip and drove us to Lake Bled. However, if you do not have a car, you can totally get a taxi, take a shuttle bus, take the public bus, or get a tour guide to take you from Ljubjlana airport to Lake Bled.

To get around Lake Bled, you can walk, take a bus, or rent a bike or car. Most blogs and other travel sites do recommend that you rent a car, because it will be easier to get around to go hiking, swimming, etc. – whatever you want to do around Lake Bled/Slovenia. However, before the car was part of my trip, I was planning to take the bus everywhere. It seemed doable with public buses.

Where Did I Stay

I splurged since it was my birthday trip, and I stayed at Hotel Park. It was SUPER convenient because it was a one minute walk to Lake Bled. There were a few restaurants around the hotel and it was super easy and quick to walk to. The hotel itself was beautiful…especially the Lake Bled room view. If you want to get the Lake View…do it! I mean, you might as well, because you are at Lake Bled!! I spoiled myself and enjoyed every second of it. The hotel pool is gorgeous too. The best indoor hotel pool I have experienced so far. They have showers, free lockers, etc. and also provide free robe(s) for you too. There is also free breakfast that is included in your stay, and the free breakfast is from 7am-10am, and it is a buffet style. Good food and views while you eat too. They also have free bikes that you can rent too! I would stay here again whenever I come back to Lake Bled, because of the convenience.

How was the weather?
It was WILD. It was super sunny and hot for a couple of hours, then it rained and hailed for an hour, then it cleared up…so it was a mixture and this was early September! So it varies! However, the locals said that the rain comes and goes, and does no’t rain all day, which is good…otherwise, it would be a bummer – since Lake Bled is an outdoorsy area.

What is the currency?
Euros! Lake Bled is a “touristy” area so they accept cards everywhere. 

Things to Do/See
Bled Castle
Enjoy Lake Bled!! Swim, kayak, paddle board, walk, etc.
The Heart of Bled Sculpture
Vintgar Gorge/Triglav National Park

Things I wanted to do/see, but did not have enough time
Ojstrica Viewspot
Paraglide
Planica Nordic Centre (not in Lake Bled)
Straza Hill

Things to eat/drink
Lake Bled Cream Cake 

Bled Castle
We did not go inside the castle nor near it, but we saw it from afar, from the bottom of Lake Bled. It also lights up night. If we had more time, maybe we would have went? But otherwise, I was okay not going inside 🙂

Enjoy Lake Bled

The main reason to go here in Slovenia is to enjoy the lake itself. You can walk the entire Lake and it will take about an hour or so. Maybe a bit more, if you decide to stop and take photos. You can also swim in the lake, rent a kayak, paddleboard or even a boat, and enjoy the water activities. There is a church in the middle of the lake, and you can go in dock your boat/paddle board/kayak, etc. and go inside the church, for a fee I believe. I swam Lake Bled in the evening and the water was not too cold, but ofcourse, I think it would be better during the day. Ugh, such a gorgeous lake, and I wish I had more time to enjoy it.

The Heart of Bled Sculpture Statue

When you walk around Lake Bled, you will see a heart statue and many people take pictures here. It is romantic and has a nice view.

Vintgar Gorge

This hiking spot is located 15 minutes away from Lake Bled, and you can take a bus, drive, or walk here. We decided to walk from Lake Bled to Vintgar Gorge and it took about 45 minutes (speed walking). It was very nice to see the neighborhoods and cute little houses. Vintgar Gorge costs $10 euros and they only let a certain amount of people in at a time, so make sure you book online before you go. Once you get there, you will need to scan your QR code. They will give you a helmet, because there are some areas where you could hurt yourself and hit your head, so becareful. I took my helmet off at certain parts for photos haha! The water is GORGEOUS. Super clear, green, and lucious. It was a beautiful trail for about an hour. Once you get to the end, you return the helmet, and there are clean free restrooms, thank goodness! Then there are two routes to get back to the main entrance or even back to Lake Bled. So we literally HIKED our way back to Lake Bled. I thought Vintgar Gorge would loop us back to the beginning, but it did not, so it was an adventure to get back to Lake Bled. There was a regular bus, but also a train station. I was SHOCKED that there was a train station in the “middle of nowhere” in Slovenia, but it was functional and safe! It only took a few minutes to get back to the West side of Lake Bled and we walked back to the hotel. Vintgar Gorge is beautiful and is also part of the Triglav National Park.

As you can see, it is only a “few” things listed for things to do/see in Lake Bled, because most of the activities takes at least half a day, or even a full day depending how you want to make use of your day. I was at Lake Bled for 1.5 days and it was not enough in my opinion. I think you need a three full days in Lake Bled to fully enjoy and relax here. But I am satisfied with my trip there. If I had more time, I would have liked  to hike Ojstrica Viewspot. I would have love to paraglide over Lake Bled, we saw two people paragliding while we were there. And I would have LOVED to have gone up Straza Hill and take a mini ride down. It is something fun and to enjoy the surroundings of Lake Bled. I would have liked to visit Lake Bohinj as well. Another thing that I put on here is Planica Nordic Centre, which is not located in Lake Bled, but it is semi close to Lake Bled and it is a skiing place, and it is also known for the STEEPEST zipline in the world. The Amazing Race went here and it looked so fun! However, during the time I went, they only have reservations for Fridays and Saturdays, but if you go at the peak of summer, there seemed to be more availabilities for ziplining. So Planica Nordic Centre would have been a nice add on to get to, but it is okay – this just gives me another reason to come back to Lake Bled/Slovenia to experience it all!

Things to eat/drink
Lake Bled Cream Cake
To be quite honest, the restaurants around Lake Bled is very basic, just your typical food to cater to tourists. Nothing really stood out besides the Bled Cream Cake. It was good and not too sweet. It has a golden crispy crust made from butter dough, mixed with butter, with vanilla cream, topped with whipped cream and a crispy layer of butter dough and a good dusting of icing sugar. Get the original Lake Bled Cream Cake from Park Cafe! It is the original!

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I loved the nature, the greenery, the water…I was at peace and in awe. I love you, Lake Bled. I will be back!

As always, thank you for visiting Vivian’s Ventures. Have you been to the Lake Bled? If so, tell me in the comments/reply section about your experience. What should I do when I go back? If you haven’t been, tell me what you are planning to do there. Any questions or comments, let me know. Let’s chat! #viviansventures