Our day trip to Lake Bled was without a doubt one of our favorite days from our entire three months in Europe. Lake bled is located in northern Slovenia and is such a picturesque lake! It is absolutely beautiful and such an easy day trip from Ljubljana. In this post we go through how to take a day trip to Lake Bled, Slovenia including how to get there and where to get the best views!
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Getting to Lake Bled
The town of Bled is located about 50 kms northwest of Ljubljana. You can either drive, take the bus or take the train.
We traveled almost exclusively by train through Europe with our Eurail Global Passes so our instinct was to take the train included in the pass. However, the train was actually going to take longer than the bus from Ljubljana. Taking the train requires one transfer and then a walk to get to the lake.
At the bus station it’s advertised that the bus from Ljubljana to Lake Bled takes 1 hour and 20 minutes. From Ljubljana on the weekdays there are over 25 buses and at least 19 buses that leave on Saturdays and Sundays.
- On the way there our bus took under an hour which is significantly less than the hour and twenty minutes that we thought it would be!
- Going back to Ljubljana our bus stopped first at the airport making it more like 1 hour and 20 minutes. The time seems like it depends on if it’s a direct bus or not.
We bought bus tickets in the Ljubljana bus station ticket office which is right next to the train station. You get a discount if you buy a round trip ticket so it’s best to buy both ahead of time. A single ticket is 7.80 Euros while a round trip ticket is 12.84 Euros ($14 USD) so you save almost 3 Euros by buying both. There is a big sign in the bus station with all the times for the buses so don’t worry about not finding the timetable.
We took the 8:00 AM bus and although it was a little early to get to the bus station we’re so glad we did because we ended up having the perfect amount of time at Lake Bled! We actually arrived in Bled ahead of schedule a few minutes before 9:00 AM.
What to Bring to Lake Bled
Taking a day trip to Lake Bled is definitely a full day especially with the travel time to and from. That said there are a few things to make sure to bring with you to make it even better!
Pack a good daypack with a picnic lunch, water bottle, camera and if you plan on swimming you’ll need a towel to dry off.
We packed a picnic lunch and enjoyed it at the top of one of the viewpoints. It was so beautiful and we were both hungry after walking around for a couple of hours! There are a few restaurants on your way down to the lake from the bus station and one that we walked past along the lake. But otherwise it’s best to bring at least some snacks in case you’re on the other side from where you want to eat!
- We went to the grocery store in Ljubljana and got fruit, nuts and crackers and really enjoyed it!
We wore closed-toe shoes and were happy to have them especially on the hikes. It was muddy and would have been almost impossible to do in sandals.
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Walking around Lake Bled
There is a pathway that goes around the edge of the entire lake. It is a beautiful walk and something that you should definitely plan to do! How long it takes to walk around really depends on your pace and how many times you stop. We could not stop taking pictures which meant we stopped a lot! It was also so quiet and relaxing that we just weren’t in a rush which was so nice!
- In October it was not crowded at all making our entire day so peaceful! We passed people every now and then letting us enjoy the quiet.
- If you’re visiting in the more popular summer months I’m sure it can get more crowded so we would definitely recommend taking one of the first buses in the morning. Not only it is a pretty place to start your morning but then hopefully you’ll have the lake (mostly) to yourself before more buses come in.
We started at Blejski Park where we immediately spotted a large white swan. It was an incredibly photogenic way to start our day at Lake Bled!
- There is a restaurant (that is also a hotel) a few steps away called Vila Preseren with a patio looking out to the lake.
- We opted to bring our own breakfast and enjoyed it on a bench sitting by the lake.
- When you get to the lake if you walk a little to the right you will be able to see Bled Castle up on the cliff.
We then walked west along the well paved path. The entire way it’s a very wide and clear path so you don’t have to worry about going the wrong way.
At Grajska Plaza Restaurant there are public bathrooms available to use. They cost 1 Euro to use. From there the path goes up a staircase onto a higher pathway.
Travel Truth: There is a really good viewpoint on this stretch of the path where you get a clear view of Bled island. You can find it just past the Grajsko Kopalisce, a swimming area along the lake.
After walking for a little longer, you will get to a dock area with row boats that you can rent and take out on to Lake Bled.
About halfway around the lake are docks and Veslaski Klub Bled or Bled Rowing Club. You can get some outstanding pictures with Bled island, Bled castle and the lake from the dock!
- It took us about 2 hours to walk to this point, however, you can absolutely do it faster! We stopped about a million times to take pictures and just enjoy the scenery!
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Past the docks is Velika Zaka, a small beach area where you can swim in Lake Bled. We saw a few people jumping in and on a warm day it looked really refreshing! Walk past Camping Bled and at the intersection of the two roads on the opposite side of the road is the start of the hikes to both Ojstrica and Mala Osojnica. We will go over both of these hikes below!
The next part of the path becomes a wooden dock down on the water. It’s beautiful and because you’re so close to the water gives you such amazing views of Bled island as well as Bled Castle as you’re now about two-thirds of the way around the lake.
- The next stretch is very green and lush similar to a forest. We passed a bunch of locals fishing in the lake.
Once you pass the Mlino Port (marina area) you then have to walk on the sidewalk along the road for a little while. Eventually it becomes a path again and you get probably the best views of Bled Castle as you come back around to where you started at Blejski Park.
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Hiking to Ojstrica
Ojstrica is a mountain on the northwest side of Lake Bled. It is an easy hike from the Velika Zaka beach area that provides an amazing viewpoint at the top.
From the beach walk along the path to a road. Cross the road and you will see a marker pointing up the hill to the path. The path is mostly made of loose rocks and mud so attempting it in sandals would definitely be hard. Sneakers or hiking shoes are going to make it a lot easier!
It starts out fairly steep but it really doesn’t last for too long. It took us about 12 minutes to get to the foot of Ojstrica. Don’t worry there is a sign saying to go up to your right. Or continue on straight for Mala Osojnica.
The last part is up steep and rocky. This is again when sneakers or closed-toe shoes come in handy. But it’s short and then you’re up at the top! Looking back you can see all the surrounding trees as well as Camping Bled nearby. Looking to the front you get panoramic views of all of Lake Bled with the Bled Island in front of you, Bled Castle on the left side and beautiful mountains in the background.
- If you have a tripod (or someone to take the picture for you) set it up on the first set of rocks. Then walk down to the farther set of rocks to get an amazing picture with the lake as the background!
- It took us about 15 minutes to hike to the top of Ojstrica.
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Hiking to Mala Osojnica
Mala Osojnica is very similar to Ojstrica, just a slightly different view. It’s a longer hike though as it’s higher and farther east along the lake.
The hike to Mala Osojnica starts along the same path as the hike to Ojstrica so you can decide which, or both, you want to do. We chose to hike to Mala Osojnica first because it was farther and then on our way down go up to Ojstrica before going back down completely. That meant the least amount of backtracking we had to do. There really is no right way to do it though as both are beautiful viewpoints and really nice hikes!
Continue on past Ojstrica up a decent size hill to a fork in the trail. There is a path that continues straight and a path that goes to the left. There is a marker giving directions but honestly we had a little trouble trying to figure out which way it was pointing. Go on the path to the left as the path going straight goes to Velika Osojnica, another hike you can do in the area.
After about 5-8 more minutes of hiking you should get to the Mala Osojnica viewpoint. It’s higher than Ojstrica so you can see much more of the surrounding town areas as well as all the small peaks nearby.
- There are 2 benches at the top which is where we had the most scenic picnic lunch we’ve ever had! It was a great spot and there was only one other couple up there with us.
- It took us about 35 minutes to hike up to Mala Osojnica.
Both hikes did have steep sections and the ground was very muddy and slippery so take your time! We were surprised by how wet the ground was which made it a little slower both going up and going down. But the views from both Ojstrica and Mala Osojnica are absolutely gorgeous and both are worth taking the time to see!
We would absolutely recommend visiting Lake Bled if you’re in Slovenia and have the time! It is one of the most beautiful places and we had such an amazing time!
