Lake Bled Day Trip from Ljubljana: How To Do a Budget and Solo Day Trip

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Here’s my guide to a solo Lake Bled day trip from Ljubljana and why it was a highlight of my Euro trip.

We’re hopping back over to Europe for this week’s blog post, because I still have so much to share from my trip. For instance, it’s about time I shared the prettiest photos I took during my Lake Bled day trip from Ljubljana. This was one of the most perfect days of my trip (and year). I still can’t get over it. So if you’re also a solo traveller looking for information on doing a day trip to Lake Bled, look no further.

Should you do a tour or a solo Lake Bled day trip?

Firstly, I did peruse Viator’s day trip options, as it organises a variety of day tours from Ljubljana to Lake Bled. In particular, there’s this Lake Bled/Bled Castle combo and this Bled Sightseeing option. However, I decided I wanted to go at my own pace. I spoke to the friendly reception staff at my Ljubljana hostel, Vila Veselova and they gave me the exact directions to get the bus to Lake Bled.

Standing at the edge of Lake Bled with my back to the camera, with snow-capped mountains surrounding me. — Just me and my camera on self-timer

Getting the bus from Ljubljana to begin your day trip

This information was accurate as of November 2017.

In the morning, I headed to the main bus station in Ljubljana, which was just over a 10-minute walk from my hostel. I got the bus from platform 7, which stopped at a few places before arriving in Lake Bled just under 1.5 hours later. It cost €6.30 for my ticket, which I paid with cash on the day. From there, everything worked out perfectly. Here’s a guide by Get By Bus for more up-to-date information, but getting the bus to Lake Bled is a cheap and easy option.

Can I tell you, the bus journey got me so excited for my impending arrival in Lake Bled. We passed lush green fields that were backdropped by the most picture-perfect snow-capped mountains. The sun was also shining and there was not a cloud in the sky during my Lake Bled day trip. Thank you, weather gods.

I kept track of our journey through Google Maps, but you will know when you reach the required stop as a lot of the bus will disembark alongside you. The bus stop is literally a two-minute walk from Lake Bled.

How to do a solo Lake Bled day trip from Ljubljana — First glimpse of Lake Bled

My Lake Bled experience

So once I reached the walking path that takes you around the entire lake, I turned right. It took me close to three hours to walk around Lake Bled, because I kept stopping every five minutes to take photos. I also took a pitstop to have a necessary WhatsApp video chat with my parents.

Church on an island in the middle of Lake Bled, with snow-capped mountains in the background. — O.M.G 😍

As I visited at the end of November, it was relatively quiet as I walked around the lake. The best views of the island, castle and snowy mountains appeared on the other side of the lake. I still can’t believe how beautiful it was. As I stood there taking in the wonder in front of me, I remember thinking that my life was pretty damn great. I may not own a house or car right now, but I am so glad I decided to make travel a priority in my twenties. No regrets.

Now, during my Lake Bled day trip I didn’t do a lot of extra activities. After circumnavigating the lake, I was extremely ravenous. There are a few restaurant options, but I decided on the Park Cafe at Hotel Park. Although it’s home to the original Bled cream cake, I needed more than cake for sustenance, so ended up ordering an expensive pasta dish. But hey, the view was worth it.

It was then time for me to head to the bus stop and back to Ljubljana.

Lake Bled day trip options

Due to the limited daylight hours in winter, my Lake Bled day trip was quite short. But if you’re visiting in summer, you’d have a lot more time to do a lot more things. This includes going on a hike, visiting Bled Castle and of course, getting a boat to Bled Island. I’m obviously very happy with what I did during my day trip, but there are so many options for things to do in Lake Bled.

A wooden boat cruising across Lake Bled's surface, with pine trees in background. — Cruising along Lake Bled

Bled Castle on a rocky cliff top, with the lake in front and snow-capped mountains behind. — Spot the castle

I hope this helps you in planning your own Lake Bled day trip from Ljubljana. But I mean it when I say it was a highlight of my trip around the UK and Europe. I highly recommend visiting Slovenia.