Our May 2022 RS trip ends on Sunday morning after 2 nights at Lake Bled, Slovenia . We have two extra nights/ days to do some exploring before we have to catch our flight out of LJU. Should we go back to Ljubljana or stay at Lake Bled? Any great day trips you would recommend? Thank you !
Posted by
11130 posts
Lake Bled! Take advantage of this opportunity to relax and look at all the beauty.
Posted by
WA State
3961 posts
As much as I loved Lake Bled, IMHO I would head to Ljubljana! We spent 4 nights and didn’t want to leave. Highly recommend staying at an apartment on the beautiful river. What a great way to relax and enjoy the vibe & cuisine before heading home! My all time favorite city in Europe. https://Mescanka.si
Posted by
Alexandria, VA
771 posts
Julie,
Both of the suggestions above are great ideas, depending on your interests.
Another idea if you want to explore more of Slovenia is to contact the guides Tina and Saso at Private Guide Slovenia: https://pg-slovenia.com. They are husband and wife who are guides for Rick Steves on The Best of the Adriatic, and maybe others.
We were supposed to do the Best of the Adriatic two years ago, but COVID got in the way. We had booked them to explore the Logar Valley, a beautiful mountain valley to the east of Bled: https://www.moonhoneytravel.com/logar-valley-slovenia/. I contacted them and said I wanted to see something different that wasn't on the tour. They will listen to what you want.
Although we haven't actually traveled with them, Saso has been responsive and helpful in all my communication with him. He may take a day or two to get back, but he always does. We actually booked the RS tour again for this spring and arranged with Saso again, but had to cancel that, too. We will get there in the future!
Posted by
11130 posts
Not knowing whether you are a city or nature lover, I would recommend more time Ljubljana.
Posted by
OP
Indianapolis, IN
12 posts
Thank you everyone , this is super helpful!
Posted by
Southeast US
3834 posts
I did a 2-week virtual tour with Tina and Sašo last year. It was awesome. I would love to do a tour with them in person. You can meet them in the Slovenia episode of the RS tv show: https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/video/tv-show/slovenia
They also have some nice Youtube videos of the area: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeUNykAxyGaK0rjwLTyNSsA
They are based at Lake Bled. I think asking them to show you what is cool about their area of Slovenia would produce a great adventure.
If you are a city person, a return to Lubjljana would certainly be worthwhile. LubljanaYUM offers a great food tour. https://ljubljananjam.si/
The Logar Valley, as noted above, is gorgeous and would be a good place for outdoorsy people to visit. I would recommend staying there, though. It is too far away, in my opinion, to be a day trip from Lake Bled. Maybe a night there and then spend the last night near the airport at Kranj. If you like sausage, eat a delicious Carniolan sausage.
Radovljica (near Lake Bled) has a lot to offer (and is where Saso was raised). https://www.radolca.si/en
I thought Begunje (also near Lake Bled) was great, too. You can read about my visit there in my Slovenia trip report. Scroll down to the "Examples of Guides Enhancing My Experience" to read about another Sašo and my experience with him at Begunje. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/25-days-in-slovenia
Posted by
Irving
2943 posts
Ljubljana was a nice surprise and deserves two nights.
Posted by
OP
Indianapolis, IN
12 posts
Thank you for all this great information ! Lots to look into!