Recently, spending a weekend in Lake Bled had been at the top of my bucket list. Slovenia (check out the vlog) turned out to be the most breathtaking and picturesque places I have ever been to. It’s a direct flight to the country from London (God bless this city and it’s infinite travel freedom) so it’s easy to reach if using the city as a connecting hub.
On Friday morning, we landed at the Ljubljana airport and had already booked a car rental to get us around the area. We spent one night in the city of Ljubljana which was such a cute and bustling city in the summer month. We had drinks by the canal and went to a pop up food market right in the heart of the city.
The next morning, post breakfast at the hotel, we started our quick and short journey to the town of Bled, home to the infamous and gorgeous Lake Bled. Less than an hour later, we had arrived!
Where to stay in Lake Bled
This was the thing we were most excited/nervous about; for the first time in my life, I went ‘glamping‘. A very interesting take on camping, this glamping resort was such a surprisingly AMAZING experience and I couldn’t believe I had almost passed on it.
We booked Garden Village Slovenia which was a quick 3 minute walk to the lake itself. The tent was super cute and the inside was no short of a mini hotel room. They even had plugs, mini night stands, lamps and a heater! All complete with every type of blanket to help you adjust to the changes in the temperatures throughout the night. The tent itself was perched on a wooden raft connected to the land with a small little one step bridge. We could hear the waterfall and the water streaming below us and both falling asleep and waking up to that sound was so relaxing!
Once there, we really got into a resorty relaxed mood and decided to book a couples massage for ourselves. Again, it was a very relaxing experience and one of the best massages ever.
Things to do in Lake Bled
1. Row Boating
We went to Bled with one key activity on our itinerary for Slovenia: row boating. This experience is plastered all over Instagram and it was the first thing I wanted to do when we got there so we started walking around the lake. Our reception lady had told us that there was a rental company nearby and we made our way there, unfortunately they only took cash and the closest ATM was in the city, about 1.5 hours walk away. It didn’t really matter to us since we had planned to walk the entire perimeter anyway so we strolled towards the city center.
There was a picture perfect view of Bled Castle and Bled Island throughout. Many people were swimming in little nooks around the lake as well. There are designated swimming areas and a beach in the region, but my advice would be to avoid the main commercial crowd and find a more quiet spot to go dipping in the pretty blue Bled waters.
2. Summer Tobagganing
We finally got to the city center, got our cash and decided to settle for lunch in a cute restaurant lakeside. While we were having lunch, we noticed there seemed to be a roller coaster and chair lifts going up a mountain. A quick google search revealed that we were just a short hike away from a Tobogganing area! Naturally we got SUPER excited, wrapped up lunch and let Google Maps lead the way. The line was short and for £10 per person, we took the chairlifts up and tobogganed our way down the slopes.
SUPER cool and such a big highlight. A definite MUST do and you also get a very pretty view of the Julian Alps and the Lake as you come racing down the slopes in your cart!
Once we wrapped up here, we walked along the lake and complete the loop from where we had started. It cost about £20 an hour to rent a boat from the Villa Bled row boat rentals and we wobbled our way in the middle of the lake. It was incredible.
3. Vintgar Gorge
Just a short 10 minute drive from Bled is this gorgeous wonder and Gorge. Slovenia hosts many of these and this was the quickest and closest option for us to explore on our morning. The water is incredibly blue and green. Its about a 45 minute walk one way and it was so insane!!!! Another absolute must do for your itinerary for Slovenia!
4. Paddle Boarding in Bohinj
We actually ended up doing this activity in Lake Bohinj. A short drive from Bled, we were told by everyone to not miss out on this. And we were so glad that we didn’t. Paddle boarding in Bohinj was an absolutely AMAZING experience that should NOT be missed out on! It’s much smaller in terms of scale than Bled, so very much slow paced and relaxing.
I would have to rate our trip to Slovenia as one of the best ones in Europe to date. It exceeded every single expectation that we had and I would recommend everyone to 100% have this on their bucket list as an absolute MUST. Hopefully my itinerary for a weekend in Lake Bled, Slovenia gives you a great head start!
All opinions are my own.
