Activities in Slovenia
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Bled and Bohinj Valley Tour from Ljubljana
8 hours (Departs Ljubljana, Slovenia)
by Viator
Bled is often mentioned as the pearl of the Alpine region due to its emerald-green lake, a church on the island in the middle of the lake and a medieval castle…Not LP reviewed
from USD$99.22 - All activities
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Emerald River Adventure
Agencies such as 3glav, Life Trek and OSA organise a wide range of outdoor activities in and around Bled. The 3glav agency's most popular trip is the Emerald River Adventure, an 11-hour hiking and swimming foray into Triglav National Park and along the Soča River. A two-day guided ascent of Triglav from Pokljuka, the Vrata Valley or Kot Valley costs around €150. More challenging mountaineering traverses lasting between three and five days cost between around €250 and around €500.
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outdoor activities
Agencies such as 3glav, Life Trek and OSA organise a wide range of outdoor activities in and around Bled, including trekking, mountaineering, rock climbing, ski touring, cross-country skiing, mountain biking, rafting, kayaking, canyoning, caving, horse riding and paragliding.
A 2½-hour rafting trip down the Sava Bohinjka/Soča River costs around €23/around €30, and a three-hour canyoning descent is around €45. Kayak trips lasting three hours cost around €38. Paragliding is around €70. Horse riding starts at around €40 for a two-hour outing.
A half-day tour of the (easy) Bobji Zob cave near Bohinjska Bela is around €20, while the more challenging Simnovo Brezno…
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hikes and walks
The area around Kranjska Gora and into Triglav National Park is excellent for hikes and walks ranging from the very easy to the difficult. One of the best references available is Walking in the Julian Alps (2005) by Justi Carey and Roy Clark, published by Cicerone Press in the UK, which includes some 50 walking routes and short treks.
Another option is A Guide to Walks and Scrambles in the Julian Alps (2003) by Mike Newbury, published by Zlatorog Publications in Perth, Scotland, which uses Kranjska Gora as a base for its suggested itineraries.Between Podkoren and Planica is a beautiful nature reserve called Zelenci (837m) with a turquoise-coloured lake, the source of the…
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Wild Lake
An excellent 3km trail called Pot ob Rakah follows the Idrijca River Canal from the Kamšt to Wild Lake, a tiny, impossibly green lake fed by a karst spring more than 80m under the surface. After a heavy rainfall, water gushes up from the tunnel like a geyser and the lake appears to be boiling (although the surface temperature never exceeds 10°C).
Wild lake was declared a natural monument in 1967, and little signboards around the shore identify the plants and trees and point out the lake's unique features. The body of water flowing from Wild Lake into the Idrijca just happens to be the shortest river in Slovenia. The Jezernica River is a mere 55m long.
If you were to…
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hiking
There are plenty of hiking options to choose from. A circular walk around the lake (12km) from Ribčev Laz should take between three and four hours. Or you could just do parts of the walk around the lake by following the hunters' trail in the forest above the south shore of the lake to the Hotel Zlatorog and taking the bus back, or walking along the more tranquil northern shore under the cliffs of Pršivec (1761m).
Much more strenuous is the hike up to Vogel (1922m) from the cable car's upper station. Take a map and compass, and don't set out if it looks stormy; Vogel is prone to lightning strikes. The whole trip should take about four hours. The 1:25,000 Bohinjsko Jezero…
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Kranjska Gora Ski Centre
The snow-covered slopes of the Sava Dolinka Valley, running for almost 11km from Gozd Martuljek all the way to Rateče and Planica, are effectively one big piste. However, the main areas are the Kranjska Gora ski centre and Podkoren, 3km to the west, with ski jumping concentrated at Planica. The season usually lasts from mid-December to early March.
Skiing in Kranjska Gora is on the eastern slopes of Vitranc, and some runs join up with those at Podkoren - site of the Men's World Cup Slalom and Giant Slalom Competition (Vitranc Cup) in late December - on Vitranc's northern face to an altitude of 1570m. Together Kranjska Gora and Podkoren have five chairlifts and 15 tows.…
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gondola
Getting to Bled Island by a piloted gondola is the archetypal tourist experience; there are jetties below the tourist office, below Spa Park (Zdraviliški Park) to the north, in Mlino on the south shore and near Zaka Regatta Centre. You get about half an hour to explore the island. In all, the trip takes about 1½ hours. Alternatively, you can rent a rowing boat at the Castle Baths, at Mlino or at the large beach at the southwest end of the lake.
The boat sets you down on the island's south side at a monumental South Staircase (Južno Stopnišče) built in 1655. As you walk up you'll pass the Chaplain's House (Meznarija) and the Provost's House (Stavba Proštije) from the…
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Old Timer Train
In summer the Old Timer Train offers excursions in vintage carriages hauled by a steam locomotive. Trains usually run between Jesenice, 13km to the northwest, and Most na Soči, stopping at Bled Jezero station and Bohinjska Bistrica. Ask the tourist office about departure times; there have been fewer trips scheduled for individuals in recent years, amounting to only about one a month in summer.
You can buy tickets from most travel agencies in Bled, including Kompas on on Ljubljanska cesta or through the organiser ABC Rent a Car (01-510 43 20; abc-tourism@europcar.si; Ulica Jožeta Jame 16) in Ljubljana.
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Planica
The ski-jumping centre at Planica, 6km to the west and across the motorway from Rateče, has six jumps with lengths of 25m, 120m and 180m. The short lift near the Dom Planica hut reaches an altitude of 900m. There are also some good possibilities at Planica for tobogganing and for cross-country skiing in the Tamar Valley.
The Ski Jumping World Championships are held here every year in March. The 100m mark was reached here by Austrian Josef Bradl in 1934 and the 200m one by the Finn Toni Nieminen in 1994. Another Finn, Janne Ahonen, set a new world record here in 2005 by jumping 240m.
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Boka Waterfall
The most popular do-it-yourself walk in the area is to Boka Waterfall, 5.5km to the southwest of Bovec. The waterfall drops 106m from the Kanin Mountains into the valley and is almost 30m wide - it's an impressive sight, especially in late spring when the snow melts. To get there on foot, follow marked walkways B2 and S1 on the Bovec z Okolico (Bovec and Surroundings) map; mountain-bike track No 1 on the map will also take you there.
The trip up to the falls (850m) and back takes about 1½ hours, but the path is steep in places and can be very slippery.
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hikes
There are many easy signposted hikes around Bled (numbered signs correspond to numbered routes on the local hiking maps). One of the best is trail No 6 from the southwest corner of Lake Bled to the summit of Velika Osojnica (756m). The view from the top over the lake, island and castle, with the peaks of the Karavanke in the background is stunning, especially towards sunset. The climb to the first summit is steep, but the round trip, returning via Ojstrica, takes only three hours or so.
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Castle Tours
Castle tours depart from the bridge at the castle's main entrance and include admission to the tower and museum. You can reach the castle from the Old Town on foot in about 15 minutes via any of three routes: Študentovska ulica, which runs south from Ciril-Metodov trg; steep Reber ulica from Stari trg; and Ulica na Grad from Gornji trg. The fastest way to reach the castle is via the new funicular, which ascends from Krekov trg in just one minute.
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Bled Golf & Country Club
The 18-hole, par-73 King's Course at the Bled Golf & Country Club , about 3km to the east of Lake Bled near Lesce, is Slovenia's best golf course and, with its dramatic mountain backdrop, one of the most beautiful in Europe. This club also has the nine-hole, par-36 Lake Course (Mon-Fri around €35, Sat & Sun around €44) open the same hours. You can rent a set of clubs for around €15, and there's a PGA pro who gives lessons from €18.
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Kanin Ski Centre
The Kanin Ski Centre in the mountains northwest of Bovec has skiing up to 2200m - the only real altitude alpine skiing in Slovenia. As a result, the season can be long, with good spring skiing in April and even May. The ski area - 17km of pistes and 15km of cross-country runs served by four chairlifts and three T-bars - is reached by a cable car in three stages. The bottom station is 600m southwest of the centre of Bovec on the main road.
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Mostnica Falls
An excellent hike is the two-hour one north from Stara Fužina through the Motnica Gorge to the Mostnica Falls, which rival Savica Waterfall after a heavy rain. The 1:25,000 Bohinjsko Jezero z Okolico (Lake Bohinj & Surrounds; around €7.30) map available at the tourist office lists a dozen excellent walks. Also useful is the 1:15,000 Bohinj (around €5) map with as many walks outlined.
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Castle Baths
Bled's warm (23°C at source) crystal-clear water - it now rates a Blue Flag - makes it suitable for swimming well into the autumn, and there are decent beaches around Lake Bled, including a big gravel one near the camping ground and a grass one on the northern side. Just east of the latter is the large Castle Baths , with an indoor pool and protected enclosures in the lake itself with huge water slides.
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Maribor Island Swimming Pools
Maribor has several outdoor swimming pools, including the Maribor Island Swimming Pools, a sand bank at the end of a dammed-off portion of the Drava River called Maribor Lake, about 4km west of the Old Town. A sunbathing area is reserved for naturists. Local bus 15 from the train station will drop you off at the Kamnica stop, near the start of the footpath leading to the bridge and the island.
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Intersport Bernik
There are quite a few places offering ski tuition and renting equipment, but it's best to stick with the tried and true. Intersport Bernik offers skiing and snowboarding instruction, with alpine and cross-country tuition in groups and individually. For one-on-one instruction, expect to pay from around €25/around €40 for one/two hours (from €38/€55 for two people).
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rowing boats
You can rent rowing boats for getting to the island or just pottering about (motor boats are banned on the lake) from the Castle Baths (Grajsko Kopališče; 578 05 28; Kidričeva cesta 1). Boats for up to four people are also available from the Pension Pletna in Mlino or further west near the entrance to the camping ground for around €11.50 per hour.
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indoor swimming pool
Some of the beaches on Lake Bohinj's northern shore are reserved for naturists in summer. Nonguests can use the indoor swimming pool at the Hotel Zlatorog (572 33 81; Ukanc 65; pool/pool & sauna Mon-Fri around €6/around €7, Sat & Sun around €8/around €9; ;16:00-22:00) should Bohinj's infamous early morning fog drive you inside.
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Fiesa Beach
Piran has several 'beaches' - rocky areas along Prešernovo nabrežje - where you might get your feet wet. They are a little better on the north side near Punta, but as long as you've come this far keep walking eastward on the paved path for just under 1km to Fiesa Beach, which is a very small but clean beach.
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Vogel ski centre
The main station at Bohinj is Vogel ski centre, 1535m above the lake's southwestern corner and accessible by cable car. With skiing up to 1800m, the season can be long, sometimes from late November to early May. Vogel has 18km of ski slopes and 8km of cross-country runs served by four chairlifts and four T-bar tows.
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Bled Sightseeing Tour from Ljubljana
5 hours (Departs Ljubljana, Slovenia)
by Viator
We recommend to visitors, who are interested in learning something more about Bled, to take a sightseeing tour around this resort. Bled was discovered by the…Not LP reviewed
from USD$87.15 -
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Straža-Bled ski centre
Beginners will be content with the tiny (6-hectare) Straža-Bled ski centre, southwest of the Grand Hotel Toplice. A chairlift takes you 634m up the hill in three minutes; you'll be down the short slope in no time. Rental skis and poles are available from ProMontana and Kompas, both on Ljubljanska cesta.
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fishing permits
The tourist offices sells fishing permits valid for a day on the lake (around €23), the Radovna River (around €51) and the Sava Bohinjka River (around €46 to around €51, depending on location and catch). Fauna on Cesta Svobode sells equipment and has a guide service.
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