Need help with details planning a day at Bled and Vintgar Gorge

We visited in July of 2018. My biggest recommendation is be flexible on your days, if possible. We spent 4 nights in Ljubljana. On the day we had planned to go to Bled and Vintgar, it was raining. We had to rearrange our days. The next day was crystal clear and a beautiful day for Bled and Vintgar. Looking back at my pics, we arrived at Bled around 11. Rented a boat and rowed to the island and back. Walked about half way around the lake. Had late lunch in town. Drove to Vintgar and arrived around 5. Didn’t buy tickets in advance. Only spent about 45 minutes there. It was pretty, but we didn’t feel the need to walk the full trail. It will close earlier off season, so check the hours.

So I guess you prioritize what is more important to you: gorge or lake and do that first. Don’t worry about finding parking in Bled. Just park wherever you can find parking. We parked along the south shore of the lake and walked into the town.

Thank you! Staying chill is probably excellent advice for me. Though I'm not sure how much flexibility we will have, since the day before is the Cow's Ball and the day after we will drive the Vršič pass en route to Kobarid. I am keeping an eye on Vintgar tickets to see when or if they fill up. They have been selling out every day this summer but hopefully mid-September will be better.

Rick Steves says it takes 1 1/2 hours to walk the 3.5 miles around the Lake and Vintgar says to plan at least three hours for the hike. Are these good planning numbers?

Yes. I visited in the afternoon in July:

• 12:35 shuttle parking lot
• 1:30 Vintgar Gorge entry
• 2:18 Slap Sum waterfall viewpoint
• 2:43 St Catherine church (on the longer path back)
• 4:06 Bled parking lot by ice rink
• 4:30 - 5:00 Park Cafe (cream cake)
• 6:00 Olympic Rowing Center
• 6:45 Bled Castle
• 7:35 done (castle closing up for a wedding)

Thank you!

I would recommend go to Vintgar first, allocate 3 hours, head over to Bled and finish your day there. Bled is not overwhelmingly crowded choked with crazy drivers; it does have narrower roads and tighter parking spots compare to what we are used to in the US, just go slow and be patient. Bled is not big, everything you want to do would be within walking distance, just park where you can find a spot. We noticed there were plenty of parking space available at the parking lot at the base of the castle.

Thank you, leeshao, I think that is what we'll do. I'm glad to hear you say it's not horribly crazy in Bled. Thanks for talking me down from the tree on this one!

We hiked Vintgar yesterday and it was hot. When you buy a ticket, you can only enter at that time or within 15 minutes. We parked at P1 and rode the shuttle. Allow 30-45 minutes to do this BEFORE your checkin time. There's no forgiveness on checkin time as the barcode checkin machines. They'll tell you if you're early or late or a day early. Oy vay! How did we do that? It was a dry run day. I don't know how you cut the hike short after the canyon. We took the King Triglav trail. It is almost all uphill through shady forest until the church (and a little cafe stop). We are slow going uphill. Then, down gradual, dusty path in full sun, with no cows or cowbell serenade. Lots of photos along the way. 3 hours was tight for us and it was more like 4. Went home to shower and rest. Headed to Bled about 4:30 ebbs parked in the central lots by the ice rink. Plenty of parking at that time. Walked around the lake taking lots of photos so our time was more like 2+ hours. Had dinner at The Grill and went back to the car in the dark, about 8. Hope this is helpful for you. We didn't visit the castle or the island.

Wow, thank you for the cautionary tale, KayC! Did you actually miss your time slot? And if you do, do you have to re-buy your tickets?

I've been tracking Vintgar Gorge tickets, and while last week they were all selling out at least a day early, they don't appear to be selling out now. I plan to keep an eye on it, and maybe we can just buy tickets when we show up. We have to make breakfast and lunch that morning and drive 45 minutes to the parking, so it's hard to say exactly when we'll be there. I was hoping if you show up earlier than your time slot and there are places available, that you can go in. Does anyone know about this?

I'm a little bummed about the heat this year; I was hoping for 70 degrees, not 90. But it is hot everywhere.

Important question: is it really humid? I live in a dry climate, and I don't know how to read a forecast with humidity.

Let's just say that we had a practice run to Vintgar. The next day, our correct day, all went well other than we were early and had to cool our heels before going on. You very well might be able to walk up and get tix. I doubt you could get in of you're late. We're not used to humidity either although I know it when I feel it. I would say that it is mostly hot. Lots of people in shorts and young women in those tiny, curves-revealing tops. By the time you get here, the temps could change.

Thank you, KayC. I am really glad to hear the humidity is not overpowering. I appreciate your responses!

Bistoa - I just got back from my Slovenia/Croatia trip. I did the gorge and Lake Bled on Aug 29. I bought the 10 am Gorge ticket online that morning at 8:20 am. I arrived Lake Bled at 9:15 am and took the free shuttle to the gorge and was there in plenty of time to walk around and visit the small gift shop. People were buying tickets right then but none were available for the immediate entry time. They had to wait till the next available. I didn’t do near the research you are doing and didn’t even realize about the hike after. That was a wonderful surprise. It was a bit challenging too because of the heat and the mostly uphill at the beginning. I loved it though. I think sometimes not knowing what to expect makes things even more fun and adventurous. By about 2 pm I was back at the gorge to grab the shuttle back. I can’t speak on the parking situation since I got there by shuttle from Lake Bled. And I got to Lake Bled by bus. By 2:30 pm I was at Lake Bled. Swimming in that Lake was divine after the hot hike. I also took the boat to the island. I didn’t walk all the way around Lake Bled - I didn’t feel the need since I’d had the big hike already and saw plenty of spectacular views of the lake just walk around about a quarter of it. Hope this helps. Maybe next week when you go it won’t be so hot. I’m from south Texas and used to the heat and humidity. But I still was surprised at how hot it was there.

Thank you cruzsavebig. We are going to Vintgar day after tomorrow. The weather now is quite cool and rainy. Summer went directly to winter.

It doesn't look like tickets to the gorge are selling out. I guess we will buy them in the AM before we go like you did.