Does anyone have suggestions for sites nearby Bled (within a 1 hour drive) to visit while my friends are mountain climbing? I really enjoy beautiful scenery, food, markets, and historical sites like churches and castles. We will already be visiting Ljubljana, Bled, Radovljica, and Bohinj together.
Posted by
Slovenia
470 posts
You might enjoy a scenic drive to historical Skofja Loka via Kropa and Jamnik, where there is a church in an incredibly scenic setting. There is also historical Kamnik with its castle and the nearby Velika Planina highland pasture, or you could visit Jezersko or do a hike along the Bohinj Cheese Trail to traditional cheesemakers on highland pastures around Bohinj, rent a bicycle and cycle into the Radovna Valley northwest of Bled, etc.
When will you be visiting? There might be a seasonal event, market or festivity during your visit that you could attend, too.
Posted by
Medford, OR, USA
5835 posts
Slovenia’s Triglav National Park:
http://www.mailtribune.com/entertainmentlife/20170616/exploring-craters-sibling-park
Simply put, there’s a lot to see and do at Triglav National Park,
which seems like several parks in one.
Posted by
Portland, Oregon
5687 posts
The scenic drive Dejan describes is fantastic - but it assumes you have your own car. It's not really practical by public transportation. But you can still get to the lovely town of Skofja Loka by bus, so that might be something worth doing.
Posted by
OP
16 posts
Thank you for the replies! Skofja Loka is one I was thinking about. I will be going August 17 - 20. I plan to drop my friends off at their mountain climb, so I will have a car to drive.
Posted by
Portland, Oregon
5687 posts
That's great - I really loved Skofja Loka, I hope you enjoy it. FYI, you can park for free for two hours at the (busy) public parking lot across the street from the bus station - which is at one entrance to the town.
If you like churches, there's an interesting one near Skofja Loka at Crngrob, a short drive from the town.
You might drive there first thing from Bled via the faster roads, explore the town and have lunch there, then do the drive back up through the mountains via Jamnik and Kropa. Be prepared to stop numerous times for pictures. You'll get a view of the church at Jamnik ahead of you for a bit if you drive from Skofja Loka up and in the direction of Kropa back to Bled. The road is really narrow, but I manged driving it just fine (with a small car) and found safe places to pull over with some patience. I've never driven the road in summer - could be more traffic in August than I experienced in the shoulder season.