Ljubljana Day Tripping

We did Lake Bled and the Julian Alps in one day (we were staying at Lake Bohinj). It was a long day, but doable. We also drove from the Istrian Peninsula to Ljubljana. You're right, not a day trip. It was a wonderful trip!

Jodi, what time of year? If you have a long day e.g. May-June-July you would probably have enough time to do the long day trip to Lake Bled + the Vršič Pass / Julian Alps drive. I think it would probably be a long day, though. Driving to Skofja Loka and to Bled via the mountains (via Jamnik and Kropa, not via the highway) makes for a beautiful scenic drive (from Skofja Loka to Bled anyway). But if you want to visit Skofja Loka on a separate day, it's easy to get to by bus.

Slovenian Istria is not as big as the Croatian portion. If you just want to visit a seaside town, you could visit the lovely old Venetian town of Piran (the gem of the tiny Slovenian coast) as a day trip. But it's a lovely town, a fun town for an overnight stay.

We also enjoyed visiting the Lipica Horse farm and the Skocjan Caves while we stayed in Ljubljana.

Thanks for the replies!
Andrew, we're going at the end of May, so should be good on day light.

We're both early birds, so figuring we'd be up and on the road by 7AMish. We travel a lot and are used to go-go-go, so our days can be long. Where we live (Bay Area CA) two hours one way is a commute :) so I was thinking we'd have an easy time with long drives. BUT I do want to make sure we have enough time to enjoy the destination!

Jodi, the Vrsic Pass drive doesn't take that long, but you would want to stop a few times to see various sites. I stayed over in Bled the night before doing that drive, so I had plenty of time. I didn't do any hikes or spend a lot of time at each stop along the Vrsic Pass, but I did stop whenever I felt like it. I ended up in Kobarid the following night (arrived in time to see the war museum there). So I had plenty of time.

Driving to Bled is easy and not a long drive if you take the highway. Presumably you'll walk all around the lake. Some people take a pletna boat ride out to the church on the island - that does take time (I've never done it). Some people also go to the castle above the lake (I've hiked up to it, not gone inside the castle). Some people hike the Vintgar Gorge near Bled. Just plan what you want to do there and budget your time. If there's no special detour you'll want to do on the Julian Alps drive, you can probably do it in just 2-3 hours including time to stop. Not sure how you'll wind your way back to Ljubljana at the end.

Thank you, great information! I did notice that it seemed the only way (direct) to get back to Ljubljana from the drive over the pass would be to reverse it.
We do want to make stops and see sites along the way, maybe even hike.
Still working on the plan. Maybe we will spend a night somewhere in the Soca Valley and then head back to turn in car before moving down Croatia.

Day trips from Ljubljana that are off the beaten tourist track:

• Idrija with its UNESCO World Heritage mercury mine and its history of lace making
• Franja Partisan Hospital -- a "field" hospital use by the Partisans during WWII. Most of the original buildings were washed away in a flood several years ago, but pretty much all of them have been rebuilt (with a couple of originals still standing). Interesting place for those interested in WWII, Partisans, and/or medicine. Required viewing for students during the Yugoslavia days. Can be paired wtih Idrija.
• Velika Planina -- a summer herding community high in the Alps. Truly an "other world" experience. Visit the cute town of Kamnik along the way; don't miss the Chapel of the Holy Sepulcher at the Church of St Jakob -- look closely at the small lights on the walls that represent the starts in the sky -- they are little soldier helmets.

Spent 3 nights Ljub, one night Bled, one night Kobarid and one night near Skocjan Caves. Ljub a lovely if a bit shabby town - no problem finding activities there. Bled also lots to do & see. Vintnar Gorge lovely. Drive over the Alps was a highlight - easy and picturesque. Kobarid WW1 museum great. I wouldn't go back to Ljub but would proceed on south thru Piran to Rovinj, Croatia. Roads and signs were good in Slovenia & Croatia, Drivers fast but good. If the one way car rental from Ljub to Croatia is too high. consider flying in to Zagreb, staying a couple of nights, then renting a car there. We used Uni-Rent. a Croatian outfit, and dropped car in Dubrovnik.

Thank you for the recommendations! They're all going down for consideration.
Larry42, driving straight thru to Rovinj & staying a night was my original plan, and then down the Dalmation coast, but I was afraid of the charge for one way & dropping off in another country. Originally was planning on flying into Ljubljana, but maybe Zagreb would be a better idea!