Europe,  Slovenia,  Travel,  Weekend Away

Affordable Things to do in Ljubljana & Lake Bled

September 24, 2016 / 25 Comments

I really wanted to visit Slovenia after seeing photos of Lake Bled on Pinterest. I also decided to visit Ljubljana as it’s the capital of Slovenia and a great base for a day trip to Lake Bled. The lake lived up to my high expectations, its like a fairytale and you could easily spend a few days there admiring the views. Here is what I got up to on my trip.

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Love locks at Butchers Bridge

Ljubljana Castleimg_0055I got a funicular to the castle, ticket price with entrance to the castle is €10 or €7 with a student card. It is slightly cheaper to walk to the castle and pay for entrance €7.50 or €5.20  for students. The funicular runs frequently around every 10 minutes. Once at the castle climb up to the viewing point for a beautiful view over the city.Slovenia (79).jpgIf you walk around the city in the evening you will see the castle lit up green.

Lake Bled

Lake Bled is amazing it’s so picture perfect with its emerald waters and cute church in the middle.

How to get here

To get here from Ljubljana I got a bus it takes about 1hr 15 minutes. I went in August and the bus was full lots of people were standing. I left at 10am and the buses got even busier after this. I would recommend arriving at the bus station early so you can get a seat. At the bus station there is a kiosk you can buy a single or return ticket €12 from and also a small bakery you can get some snacks from. Once you arrive it is only a few minutes walk from the lake.

What to do – Bled Castleimg_0036A medieval castle built above the city of Bled overlooking the stunning lake. The castle has a museum, restaurant and the most breathtaking views. It takes about 20 minutes to walk up here it is quite steep and there is a lot of stairs. It costs  €10 or €7 if a student.

Walk, cycle & swim

There is an area cornered of for swimming you have to pay to get in but it has changing rooms, showers and you can rent a beach umbrella. Its also great to walk or cycle (they have bikes to rent) around the lake and you can get a closer view of the church on the island.

img_0045Accomodation – Hostel Tabor LjubljanaIMG_0053.JPG
  • Free breakfast & wifi
  • Good location short walk from centre and about 15 minutes from bus station
  • Hostel used to be a school, it feels funny sleeping in a school but its quite cosy
  • Quite a big hostel so not that easy to meet people, the people in my dorm room where really friendly though
  • You have to give your key in everytime you go out which is a bit annoying so try and remember your room number

How to get to Ljubljana

You can get direct flights from the UK to Slovenia with EasyJet or British Airways offer flights throughout Summer. Slovenia has one international airport, Airport Jose Pucnik which is 30km from Ljubljana.

From the airport you can get the airport bus which costs around €4, this is a public bus so makes numerous stops along the way and takes 50 minutes. If you prefer a quicker option you can book a transfer or taxi for around €35. If you fancy driving around Slovenia there are plenty of car rental options near the airport.

Ljubljana weather

The best time to visit is from April to May or September to October these months offer comfortable weather for sightseeing and lower hotel prices compared to peak summer season and busy winter season. June to August is the tourism high season with warm sunny days and little rain. September is a good month to visit as the days are still pleasantly warm and there are less crowds.

Essential information

  • Getting around Ljubljana is easy by foot
  • Don’t eat dinner too late I went to one restaurant around 8.30pm and most of the dishes where sold out and another pizza place I went to shut at 9pm. People tend to eat fairly early here.
  • Currency: Euro
  • A lot of museums are closed on Mondays
  • A lot of shops and supermarkets are closed Sunday or close earlythings-to-do-in-slovenia

Looking for other European breaks, check out these posts:

What to do in Split, Croatia

Weekend in Luxembourg

Fun things to do in Dublin

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