Fairytale views by Lake Bled

Nature
The wow factor for nature - does it show nature at its best? Doesn't need to be the wildebeest migration or diving with hundreds of hammerheads. Rather make you pause as you realise just how awesome the natural world can be
10
Culture
How much does this experience showcase some of the better and finer things that us humans can offer? Sure, it can be ancient ruins and renaissance churches, but it can also be festivals or soaking up some of the great modern cities of the world
6
Fun factor/activity
Very simple - was it fun? This is usually linked in with doing some kind of activity - i mean, walking along some cliffs is nice, but paragliding from them, now that is fun. Its a vastly underrated factor in a truly great experience
7
Avoid the crowds
Big tour groups and being surrounded by loud fellow tourists can sap the life out of even the greatest of travel experiences. This score is to reflect just how much you can avoid this. But. . . The score also takes into account if the crowds actually add to the experience, such as with a party town or a bustling local market
5
World famous
How world famous is the experience?
6
unique
How hard is it to have a similar experience in other places round the world?
8
Overall TE Score
The overall travel experiences score:  fun factor + avoid the crowds + (best of nature or culture) + (best of world famous or unique). Then convert into a score out of 100
75 *What the scores mean and where do they come from
RANKING
How this travel experience ranks compared to all the other experiences on this site, based on the travel experience (te) score
101st/454
Top 30%
continent
Europe
country
Slovenia
Length of time
1-2 days
Typical daily price
This gives you a rough idea of the daily price based on 2 people travelling where they can split costs like accommodation. It excludes travel there and back, and factors in inflation the numbers in brackets show the price range for the full time of the experience (so not necessarily daily). It is a range to reflect different budget vs higher end
$60 ($50-$150 in 2021 prices)
Time of year visited
September
Primary Tags
Click on any of the tags to see all travel experiences with the same tag
Castles / Fortresses Islands Lakes
All Tags
Boat trip Christian site Cliffs Fabulous hotel Forests Hiking Mountains River swimming Swimming
Wow Factor
The wow factor reflects just how much you’re likely to say “wow”. As there’s a lot of experiences in the world, and a lot of wows, i’ve gone with a simple ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️ score, and a separate category for the truly "gash"
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Summary

Wow it really is as picture-perfect as you’ve been led to believe! All the ingredients of a fairy tale:

– small church perched perfectly on a small island ✅

– sitting in the middle of crystal clear water with only the light lapping of town boats ✅

– castle nearby hanging over a precarious ledge to the water ✅

– backdrop of the Julian Alps ✅

An Instagrammer’s dream!

The 6km / 3.7mile run around the lake, the swim over the island and the variety of other outdoor options nearby make this a great experience.
Make sure to stay for 1 or 2 nights (as opposed to a day trip) so you can soak up the magical feeling of the place.
Fairytale views by Lake Bled, Slovenia

Highlights

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#1 Running or walking around the flat path of the picture-perfect lake and it’s gorgeous setting

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#2 Swimming or taking a rowing boat over to Bled Island to have a mini explore of the church and small buildings

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#3 Taking in Bled Island views from one of the many higher up viewing platforms, in this case from Ojstrice

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#4 Staying for the night or just exploring in the day the grounds of Vila Bled with its fascinating history and great spots for food overlooking the Lake

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#5 Enjoying the local cake with a view! From Cafeteria Belvedere

Travel Tips

Bled Island – you can easily make your way to Bled Island itself either through rowing, taking a gondola, paddle-board or swimming (note that the lake doesn’t allow any motor boats, which I thought was a great rule).  The Church actually does a service, complete with hymns which really adds to the atmosphere, at different times of the day. It’s worth asking when the next one is and arranging for your rowing boat / gondola over there if that’s what you’re keen for, but just be aware of a couple of things: firstly, the island is busier at this time and maybe visiting with fewer fellow tourists is what you’re after; secondly, if swimming over, they won’t let you in just wearing your swimming gear as I found out!

For swimming over – you can do so from anywhere, but it makes sense to start off from one of the spots closest to the stairs on either side of the island (just down from Vila Bled is the best spot). Mild thermal springs make the lake less chilly than would be expected, but still brace yourself!

The walk / run around the lake was the highlight for me – so many spots to stop and stare at the views from the parks, cliffs, beaches and only 6km / 3.7miles felt like the prefect distance.  My main recommendations for stopping spots are 1. – The Cafeteria Belvedere just next to Vila Bled for super views of the island from a very unusual platform cafe and chance to have some cake with the view; 2. Climb around 20mins to Ojstrice for the picture perfect famous view of the lake – it’s at the far west of the lake and well signposted.  Quite steep at times, but worth it.

Where to stay – I stayed at Vila Bled and would highly recommend it.  It’s location at the west of the lake is perfect for views of Bled Island and feels separate from the main town, but it’s actually the history of the place that is is its highlight.  The oldest Villa in Bled, it was the summer residence of the Yugoslavian royal family and, later, Tito. The grounds are stunning and some of the wall painting take you back to the days of the former communist state.  That being said, I think anywhere on the lake would be great.  After all you’ll most likely spend most of the day outside.

Getting there from Ljubljana is relatively straightforward – although be aware that the closest train station is actually Lesce which is a 7-8min taxi to Bled.

Experiences Nearby

The below map shows experiences nearby with a colour that reflect the Overall Score of those experiences

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3 days / 2 nights hiking the Quilatoa Loop
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The Plitvice Lakes in northern Croatia
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Cycling and drinking craft beers around the Chico Circuit in Bariloche
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Campervanning through Yellowstone National Park
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Kayaking and swimming Lake Malawi from Chitimba
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Boating around the serene Inle Lake
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Three days by Lake Baikal’s Olkhon Island in October
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Score Detail

The scores above are the real point of this site.

Over 20+ years and 100+ countries, I’ve tried to rank the world’s best travel experiences — from genuinely mind-blowing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to the properly gash.

Every one of the 500+ places on this site has both a Wow Factor rating and a more analytical Travel Experience (TE) score based on the things that actually make travel memorable.

If you're curious about the thinking behind it, head to the About page.

Otherwise, explore the map above or on the Home page and see which places truly deliver maximum wow.

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