Last updated on January 11, 2024
The final stop on our road trip in Slovenia was the fairytale Lake Bled. We’d been told that the nearby Lake Bohinj is a much less touristy, and some would argue better, option, but the first photo that ever captured our attention of Slovenia was one of Lake Bled, so we really wanted to visit.
We got to Lake Bled on our road trip around 4pm on a Sunday so the crowds weren’t too much and we still had time to do all the things we wanted. Seeing the image above was worth the visit alone.
If you’re there in wintertime, see this post for the best things to do in Lake Bled in winter – I think the castle looks even more beautiful at that time of year!
When we arrived, the lake was looking its moody best. The clouds cleared a little later meaning we got to see the lake’s colours transform through a spectrum of blues and greens.
One of the things we wanted to do was hire a boat and row to the lake’s castle. Boats cost €10 for an hour have to be returned by 6pm. It took around five minutes one-way, so we had plenty of time to fit it, and loved taking in the gorgeous views across the lake.
However, being the giant kids that we are, we opted not to tour the castle as there was something else that had caught our eye – the Straza toboggan ride!
The Straza is open from April-October each year and is a 450m toboggan track down a hill overlooking Lake Bled. You sit in a little toboggan and control your speed by pulling a lever to and fro. It’s easy to stop if you need to, but you can also reach great speeds. If you’re embarrassed at your childishness (we’re not!) then you can always use the views as an excuse to have a go!
The views are certainly worth it…
… but the ride is where the fun’s at. SO much fun! We had to go on it twice!
Lake Bled may be touristy, but with such a picturesque setting, it’s very easy to see why. Plus we know the perfect place to stay…
Read about where we stayed in a tree house in Lake Bled.
This post is part of the Must Love Festivals project. Thanks to Visit Ljubljana and Spirit Slovenia for inviting us.
Lake Bled is gorgeous (we picked Slovenia for a trip based on a picture of Lake Bled too) but we went in Winter so instead of the toboggan we jumped around in the snow and made snow men while getting lost in the woods. I’d love to go back during the summer!
I *love* the picture of Steve rowing the boat – it looks like a screenshot from a movie trailer! Lucky you had such nice weather – when Zab and I visited in 2009, it rained the whole time. It was still beautiful, of course.
Have to agree with Sam above… that photo of him rowing the boat is so picturesque! As well as the castle in the middle of the lake 🙂
Isn’t it?! I love that photo!
Yesssss for toboggan rides! I fully admit that while the Great Wall in China is striking and magnificent in its own right, I still consider the toboggan ride down my highlight from our day spent there. I would absolutely do it at Lake Bled too… I’m so glad you indulged your inner kids and went for it! Love the shots of you clearly having a blast as you wend your way down.
Glad to hear we’re not the only ones 🙂
This looks like the most picture perfect day ever! Gorgeous photos :).
Crumbs alive! It just looks so beautiful. You’ve just bumped Slovenia up several dozen places on my bucket list. I quite literally can’t wait to hear about the tree house! Thanks so much. Bryony x
Excellent. We are huge Slovenia fans!
What a cool place to visit. I am still trying to figure out where to fo to in 2015, this one os on my list of places to consider.
Go for it! It’s wonderful.
Every now and then you have to just let go and head to the touristy spots I think! And, like you said, Lake Bled just can’t be missed if you’re over there. Such a gorgeous setting!!
Brilliant! I love the idea of taking a row boat, slow moving scenic views! looks like you had loads of fun! I always wanted to hit Slovenia but never got a chance 🙁 Lake Bled looks amazing
The row boat was definitely pretty idyllic 🙂
I so envy about the toboggan thing – I was just to afraid to do it 😀 Even though Bled was great, I have to say for me it was a bit too noisy with the road being so close, motorbikes and all that :/ And freaking mosqiutos or whatever when it gets dark 😀
Oh no! You’ll have to go back and have a go _ it’s great fun! We visited Bled quite late in the day so I think we avoided a lot of the traffic.
We did spent 2 days there, went bike riding to the waterfalls in nearby 🙂 I think I just need to revisit in low season 🙂 also I’m from Croatia – little lakes like Bled don’t impress me that much 😀
It seems you really experienced Lake Bled ”at its best” – rowing was an excellent idea. I guess the toboggan ride was an adrenaline rush bonus 😉
P.S. Where did you stay?
Yes, it was great! We stayed at The Garden Village. There is a post on it here: https://www.bridgesandballoons.com/garden-village-lake-bled/
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