Transport
The most popular way to get around Bled is by foot. The walk around the lake is beautiful and only takes around an hour and a half to do a full lap. There is a little road-train that goes around if you need it, but if you’re able to then I’d highly recommend walking. It’s stunning, and if you manage to go when it’s not too busy, it’s really peaceful and it can do wonders for your mind! We had a pushchair with us and didn’t have much of a problem getting around, however the pavements didn’t often have dropped curbs at the crossings – less than ideal for wheelchair users.
When we stayed here, we hired an AirBnB just tucked away down this really quiet road surrounded by orchards, fields and all sorts of wildlife! It was only a 10/15 minute walk down into the main town, and only 5/10 minutes from a nearby SPAR shop. It had loads of space and a balcony running around 2 sides – perfect for us to sit out on in the evening and watch the thunderstorms around us in the mountains!
What to do
Straza Bled
Straza Bled is an adventure park situated amongst the trees; perfect for kids (and Scott). It also includes a taboggan which offers the best views of the lake. The taboggan only costs €10 per person, including the chairlift up to the top – even if you don’t want to taboggan down, you can pay just for the peaceful ride up and down the hill to take in the views!
Our Lady of the Lake
In the middle of Lake Bled lies a church called The Church of Queen Mary – otherwise known as Our Lady of the Lake. If you’re even considering a trip to Bled, you will no doubt have seen the red-roofed building nestled in the tree-lined island (it’s the most popular ‘image’ to represent the town). There are lots of ways you can get there – you could go on a little passenger boat, hire a rowing boat, or of course – you could swim! We chose to hire our own rowing boat for the three of us and spent an hour exploring the lake and the island. It doesn’t take long to get across and the journey isn’t too strenuous (having said that, I was just a passenger and was absolutely no help whatsoever at putting in the leg-work!)
Water sports
The area has plenty to offer in the warmer months. As well as rowing boats and canoes, you can also do paddle-boarding in the lake, and excursions such as canyoning and white water rafting nearby. Get Your Guide offers a great range of activities. We went in May and were more limited on the adventures we could have with a 10-month-old, however we took turns going for a swim in the lake, which hadn’t yet had the chance to warm up from the summer months – it was a fresh 21C but perfect for a hot day! Scott spent a few hours one day canyoning and said it was the best activity he’d ever done. The 3-hour excursion was full of waterfall jumps, abseils and rock slides, and then he got to float back down the river to where the car was parked.
Walk around the lake
We walked around the lake most days as it’s such a peaceful and beautiful trail. It’s approximately 6km all the way around and takes around an hour and a half to complete at a leisurely pace. We often spent the day circling the lake and stopping off for drinks, lunch and the BEST ice cream place I’ve ever eaten at – Blejska Sladoglednica! It’s right across the road from a huge patch of grass and easy access into the lake, so perfect for a rest halfway around the trail.
Where to eat
The place that we ate at the most was Villa Preseren, as it’s got lots of options and it’s so conveniently located. It’s the perfect place to stop for lunch, or to start the day before setting off around the rest of the lake. Spica is another place we ate at a couple of times as again; the location was easy for us to get to from our accommodation. Having said that, it did have a huge selection of food, it all tasted really great and they were so accommodating to our daughter which made it all much easier for us.
If you’re looking for somewhere more upmarket to stop for an evening meal, the places we would suggest are Tale of Us (recommended to us by a friend) and Restavracija Sova Bled. Both are actually run by the same chain and are a lot more ‘fine dining’ and tucked away than the others in the middle of the town. Both times, we visited with our young daughter, and we were never turned away or made to feel unwelcome – in fact a lot of the waiters were really friendly and made a huge fuss over her!
Bled is famous for it’s Bled Cake (below) which is incredible! A lot of places will sell it, but we found Villa Preseren to be our favourite.
Whilst you’re in Bled, why not take the hour-and-a-quarter bus journey into the capital city of Ljubljana! We’ve got the perfect literary for spending a few days here.