How long in Lake Bled?

I’m on the RS Adriatic tour now. During the tour, the bus drove us up to the castle and gave us plenty of time to take photos and walk through it. Then he drove us down to the town. I chose to take one of the pletna boats to go over to the island. The same oarsman takes you back, so you have an hour there. Afterwards, we had a leisurely lunch. Some others chose to take the walk around the lake instead of going to the island.

Another day trip I really recommend is the half-day tour to Postijana Cave and the nearby castle that sits at the mouth of the cave. It picks people up from Ljubljana. The whole day tour included Lake Bled. “Carol now retired” suggested it earlier on the forum.

I arrived in Ljubljana on a Friday, and the tour began on a Sunday.

(It’s early morning, so I will edit this with the correct spelling later today.)

Thanks so much. I didn't know that the tour stops there so that may change my thinking. Thanks again and hope your tour goes well...

I haven't been on the RS tour, but I have been to Slovenia and to Lake Bled a few times now. The lake is beautiful, but it doesn't take an enormous amount of time to see (more time if you want to take a pletna boat out to the island and the church - I've actually never done it). There is some hiking to be done above the lake up to the castle...or up in nearby Vintgar Gorge.

The town of Bled itself was not my favorite - it's practical if you are visiting the area, but I much preferred Ljubljana as a base, and even though the tour spends a few days there, It's a vibrant little city that is very pretty at night. I think I'd still recommend it as a base to start with. I guess it might seem odd to arrive in Ljubljana before the tour starts and then not immediately spend a day exploring the city (since you will do that with your guide), but you could easily day trip from Ljubljana to various places by bus or train.

There are some lovely little towns near Ljubljana. One is the town of Skofja Loka, which is an easy bus ride away. There is some hiking you can do above the town - very pretty. If you are up for it, rent a car for the day and drive to Skofja Loka and then on from there to Bled, not by the freeway but through the mountains, via little towns like Dražgoše, Jamnik, and Kropa. The scenery from the mountain road is breathtaking, and there are some neat stops along the way. Another nice old town between Ljubljana and Bled is Radovljica; if you still think you want to base near Bled but not stay in Ljubljana, you could always base in Radovljica, which is an easy bus ride to Bled (or bus or train back to Ljubljana). Radovljica seemed more appealing to me as a town then Bled.

I see that on the tour you won't be visiting Piran, a lovely seaside town. I imagine you'll stop in Rovinj down on Croatian Istria, but another option might be to start your trip in Piran, a beautiful Venetian seaside town.

This is very helpful advice. Thanks

I second the comment about spending time in Ljubljana prior to the start of the trip and looking at one or 2 of the day trips that are available to nearby caves or out to the coast to the lovely town of Piran. I looked at some options on Trip Advisor for day trips and then went to the actual website of the tour providers (instead of booking through Viator which is just a 3rd party booking vendor) to get a better idea of all the options available for day trips where they pick you up at/near your hotel. Plus Ljubljana is a lovely little city to spend some time just wandering and enjoying the local cafes. While Lake Bled was a wonderful stop on the RS Adriatic tour, I agree that a day is enough to see all of the sights and since you're already going there on the tour, it might be a better use of your time to base in Ljubljana and do day trips from there (and recover from jet lag as well). Enjoy the Adriatic tour - it's wonderful!

We just finished Best of the Adriatic and the time in Lake Bled was sufficient for sightseeing, but if you were looking for somewhere to relax before tour, I could see one night.

We did two runs of the luge. It was great! -- wish we did three. You pay for how many runs you want before you get started, and it's cheaper the more you buy. We weren't sure what it would be like so bought just two.

It allowed time to have leisurely lunch and walk partway around Lake.

sschickler Another thought to add - you could start in Zagreb.  Zagreb generally seems cheaper to fly into, Rick/Cameron say it is underrated and they list it as a "try hard to see" in the guidebook (even though the itineraries and tour don't go there).  It has easy connections by train or bus to Ljubljana.  But the idea of a leisurely start in Ljubljana to tame jet lag and a day trip to the caves sounds great as well.  

Andrew H I was glad to hear you preferred Ljubljana as a base over Bled.  We are basing in Ljubljana, day tripping to Bled one day and then the Julian Alps drive another day, and I was worried it was a lot of wasted driving back and forth to Ljubljana.  But Ljubljana sounds like a better place to be at night, with a lot more food options (plus we don't even have a full day in Ljubljana, so I thought evenings there would help make up for it).

Andrea Can you tell us more about the luge?  Was it on the tour?  Where is it?

This is an excellent use of time.

In October 2022, I was on a two-week RS tour that ended in Lake Bled. We only spent two nights and one day. I could have spent two more days there. Bled is a lovely town, peaceful and idyllic. It's great for hiking. There is a beautiful castle. The pletna boat ride to the island is worth it.

Muguet, the luge was probably better called the summer toboggan. Its one of the things you can do when on free time in Lake Bled. You take a ski lift up and then hurtle down a track. Its a fairly long ride, and lots of fun. The guide will explain how to get there from the bus; maybe a 15-20 minute walk from where you are released for free time. We had time to do two runs, have a leisurely lunch in town, and have a walk partway around the lake.

There's a lot to do even if you're just trying to stay in Bled for a week or so... there are a lot of activities like canyoning in Bled or sightseeing you could do here are just a few resources

https://www.slovenia.info/en/places-to-go/regions/alpine-slovenia/bled

https://www.altitude-activities.com/

The tour Jean talks about is offered through Slovenia Explorer. It is Postojna Caves/Predjama Castle tour. They pick up just about a block from the hotel in a van. It was a positive experience and you see things not included in the tour.

IF you had a car I can heartily recommend a day of hiking in Bohinj.

I just got back from Ljubljana and took a day trip to Lake Bled via public bus. The RS tour includes a stop in Bled, and honestly that’s enough. I went to the island, and that’s definitely the thing to skip. It takes a lot of time to essentially visit a coffee shop. The lake is absolutely beautiful, but even hiking all the way around it got a little monotonous (like, ok still breathtaking here.) The luge is awesome, but will it be operating? May might be too early. And a bigger problem might just be weather. If the weather happens to be poor, you’re kind of stuck for two nights. I doubt you’d want to try putting together an excursion on day 1 of your trip. You’re trying to ease into it.

There’s no better place to ease in than Ljubljana. I think two nights and an extra day in Ljubljana is the better way to go. It’s incredibly chill, picturesque and a pleasure to just hang out in.

Another poster mentioned Zagreb as an option, as Ljubljana can be expensive to fly into. This is a good idea too. I’m also in the “Zagreb is underrated” camp after my brief time there. It has a fascinating mix of architecture, and as chill European capitals go, gives Ljubljana a run for its money. Zagreb is an active, modern and clean city with hidden gems that reward a little exploring.

This is great advice, make sense and I will take you suggestion. Extra day in Ljubljana is what we'll do. We will be in Zagreb as a last stop on our RS tours.

I just returned from the RS Adriatic tour. I spent an extra full day in Ljubljana and it's an excellent place to ease in to the time zone. Lovely town. So glad I landed Friday afternoon to take advantage of the Friday night Open Kitchen. So much fun to be among locals enjoying themselves and the food and wine/cocktails are great. It also introduces you to some of the ways Slovenia has embraced the zero waste goal. I can also highly recommend the food tour given my Ljubjlana Yum. I love food tours for the insight they give you on local life and wonderful local food. Well worth it and very good value for the money. The tour stays at Hotel Mrak and would recommend booking your extra time their. Great location and one of the best breakfasts I've had anywhere.

Molfit

Thanks for that thoughtful letter. That’s helpful. We did already book 2 additional nights at the hotel Mrak and look forward to the trip next May.