Lakes Bled, Bohinj & the Julian Alps

Another well organised holiday with InnTravel with wonderful mountains, lakes and rivers. Highlights included the Mostnica Gorge and Voje Valley walk, an impressive deep gorge and not too busy, and beautiful wildflower meadows at the upper end of the walk, swimming in Lake Bohinj and swimming to the island in Bled. It is well worth upgrading to Hotel Majerca, a lovely room and excellent food. When in Kransjka Gora, even if you don't opt to do walk option B make sure you walk 15 minutes up the valley to Jana lakes - a beautiful spot and a very refreshing swim, if you can brave the alpine water. In Bled definitelty do the The Vintgar Gorge - very impressive and not too busy if you pick a week day and a less popular time. On returning from the gorge we didn't opt to walk downhill to Zasip but instead followed a very nice balcony path with views of Mount Triglav back to the gorge entrance and then found our way back to Bled. In Kransja Gora we can highly recommend Hotel Pino Alpino, delicious and creative modern Slovenian dishes and great outdoor seating.

Sava Dolinka Valley walk with great views and refreshment at hut. Walk from Bohinjska Bele to Bled. After the initial climb the view was well worth the effort and the gentle walk to Bled through the pasture was most enjoyable. However the climb up the hill to Hotel Triglav was a bit of a shock.

It is all so well organised from the taxi pick ups to the walking notes and routes, very accurate and easy to follow. Good to have options of different routes or ideas for shortening routes too. Slovenia is a beautiful country, can't recommend Inntravel enough, thank you. 

This was our first self-guided walk having been referred to Inntravel by relatives who have used the company, and it exceeded our expectations! The routes were so clear, well organized and covered all the bases (paths, farms, country lanes) and we felt this was a wonderful introduction to a very special Country. If anyone wanted to experience a self-guided walk holiday, we would strongly suggest beginning with this one! Lake Bled was the only congested tourist area which is to be expected, but the earlier walks were stunning and perfect. The hotel choices and food at hotels was well beyond what we expected.

This was an excellent holiday.  Slovenia's alpine peaks and lakes are Disney-perfect and the walking routes are varied and take in alpine views, rivers, forests and open meadows.  Apartment Rozle is a terrific first base for this holiday but the highlight will be circling Lake Bled as you approach the grand Vila Bled.  Staying at Vila Bled feels like being an extra in a Wes Anderson film - it has a characterful 1950s Eastern European vibe - and the meal at its restaurant made for a memorable conclusion to our holiday.  Highly recommended!  

Lovely walking holiday in a country we had never visited. Beautiful scenery everywhere and wonderful hospitality

A wonderful week of walking through alpine pastures, gorges and valley floors. There were many highlights but two which stand out are the first day's walking from Kransjska Gora and our day at Vintgar Gorge.  We decided to book a taxi from Hotel Bled to the Gorge early in the morning, rather than get the free shuttle bus.  This meant we arrived before the crowds and were able to immersive ourselves in the walking experience without tourist intervention.

highlights were the Lakes, especially Bled which was spectacular!

View of Bled from Hotel Triglav and the restaurant, both view and tasting menu were hard to beat

We were pleased to travel by train and therefore avoid flying. Inntravel staff were helpful and knowledgeable about rail options. We had three great centres for walking combining lakes and mountains - look out for the great mountain hut inns serving lovely cakes and dumplings. We added on two days in Ljubljana which we highly recommend, especially lunch at Barbarella (vegan), Tivoli gardens and the Museum of Modern Art. Apart from Ljubljana we found that many of the small shops and cafes only accepted cash. We were made to feel welcome everywhere and everyone speaks great English. 

We had a great trip and oved Slovenia. Inntravel were very good. We relied mostly on the supplied GPX files but were flexible using the All Trails app as additional support. August is very hot and very busy. We would like to return perhaps in spring to appreciate the wild flowers!

Awesome lake swimming too in Bohinj warm and clear best all round sustained spectacular mountain views in Krnjska Gora that I've ever seen with relatively little effort and all so wonderfully lush too. Public transport round the country is incredibly cheap and efficient 

This was a lovely holiday!  The hikes were beautiful and the directions were very clear, though it was nice to have the GPX files as a back up. We loved Kranjska Gora.  The Hotel Miklic was a real highlight, with clean, spacious rooms and a wonderful breakfast buffet.  The staff were very friendly and helpful.  One hike that was a bit disappointing was "Option C"--Zelenci.  The Koca v Krnici hike was fabulous, perhaps our favorite of the trip!  We had two dinners at Pino Alpino as we enjoyed the food and atmosphere so much--reservations are recommended. We opted for an upgrade to Hotel Majerca and booked an extra night at Lake Bohinj.  I rested my legs on the off day, while my sister jogged around Lake Bohinj--we both had a nice swim in the Lake as well.  The hike to Lake Bohinj was scenic, particularly early on.  The Mostnica Gorge was also beautiful, another favorite.  For dinners we ate at Hotel Majerca, Hotel Bohinj and Foksner, each which was terrific in their own way. In Lake Bled we stayed at Hotel Triglav, which was very pleasant.  The restaurant was elegant, and the food was terrific.  Despite it being quite busy/packed with other hikers, we enjoyed Vintgar Gorge--it was incredibly beautiful, as was Slovenia/Julian Alps as a whole! The transportation to/from the airport and luggage transfers throughout the trip were very smooth as well. All in all it was a terrific holiday!!!  It is easy to imagine returning to Slovenia in the future.

Slovenia was absolutely beautiful and so clean. The scenery around Kranjska Gora was spectactular. We particularly enjoyed the high route '2' to Gozd Martuljek. The views were outstanding. We checked with the tourist information to make sure that route was open as it had been shut due to logging. We used the GPX as the notes didn't cover the high route.  We enjoyed restaurant Pino Alpino.  Hotel Majerca is by far the quieter option and we had a very nice meal there. Beautiful swimming in the lake. We also loved the Mostnica Gorge walk. Hotel Triglav is also the quieter option with superb elevated views over Lake Bled. The 4 course menu was the finest meal of the week.

We enjoyed all the walks immensely. Very much helped by downloading the gpx files of the routes, which were very accurate onto the free Komoot app. We always knew exactly where we were on the map. Impractical to use the written directions, which we used very occasionally as a double check

Slovenia and the Julian Alps are stunning. The wild flower meadows amazing and the constant vista of mountains surrounding you on every walk are breathtaking. I would definitely advise on taking walking poles. Although not too demanding as such, some of the descents on loose gravel and rocky patches do need care and poles help a lot. The hospitality and food we had was exceptional, with trout a local popular item on the menu, and the Bled Cream Cake a must! 

Do stay extra nights in Ljubljana - one of the prettiest, friendliest most cultural capitals of Europe - it's a funky little town.  

We really enjoyed staying at Hotel Rozle. The owners were very friendly and helpful. They made us feel very welcome. 

Slovenia is a beautiful country with well marked footpaths, we loved the alpine wild flowers and were very lucky with the weather. Had a few days of intermittent heavy showers but managed to avoid the worst of them. We used an airport shuttle service to get to Kranjska Gora, this was booked online before departure and was good value for money. Buses from Bled to Ljubljana were cheap and regular as were buses from Ljubljana to the airport. 

Highlights:

Beautiful alpine scenery.

Arriving down at beautiful Lake Bohinj and getting a chance to cool down with a swim

Really enjoyed all the optional walks which we did.

Worthwhile adding on 2 nights in Ljubljana 

Fantastic holiday and walking routes. Particularly loved the flexibility to start on any day and extend to fit our requirements. Many thanks. Wild flower meadows were unbelievable and an unexpected delight. 

Slovenia is a beautiful and friendly country.  We enjoyed walks through rural villages full of traditional houses, barns, flowers, and gardens; we enjoyed walks through limestone gorges with rushing water and beside very blue lakes; we enjoyed walks with high mountain peaks and forests all around. Everywhere there were wildflowers! The loop from Kranjska Gora via Koca v Krnici, the transit hike from Kranjska Gora into Ribcev Laz, and the Mostnica Gorge hike stand our for us. The Add-on of Ljubljana at the beginning of the holiday was well worth the extra days, as were the extra days added in Ribcev Laz and Bled.  We appreciated having 3 days in each location.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: This customer did our walking holiday 'The Lakes & Julian Alps' alongside our city add-on in Ljubljana.

As others have said, the scenery is beautiful and we had some wonderful walks. The profusion of wild flowers is breathtaking. We also enjoyed some excellent meals and Slovenian wines. We particularly recommend the meals at Hotel Lipa in Kranjska Gora, Hotel Majerca at Lake Bohinj and Old Bled Cellar in Bled. Don't miss coffee and cake at the Belvedere in Vila Bled if you are not staying there. Hotel Triglav should be avoided if you are not a fan of foam mattresses. It is also a long walk from any other restaurants which gets a little tedious. 

We chose to visit Slovenia in mid-May to see the flower-rich hay meadows. We were not disappointed. Also we saw some interesting orchids even by the side of the busy road south of Lake Bled. Unfortunately we had two very wet days but three beautiful sunny days so the weather seems to be similar to the UK in May. The scenery was amazing and the waterfalls great after the rain. We found no difficulty with navigation using a combination of the maps and the detailed route notes. At Kranjska Gora we ate at the pizzeria at Hotel Kotnik each night because the food was good and the staff friendly. The town was very quiet until the Friday night which was the start of the Whitsun holiday. On the transfer walk we started from Jereka and made a detour from Stara Fuzina to visit the start of the Mostnica gorge. At Lake Bohinj we ate both nights at Restavracija Center which does very good goulash and is near the Tourist Information Office. We caught the electric boat across the lake to Ukanc at 9.30 am. It wasn't busy and there was no need to book. We then followed footpath 3 to the Slap Savica waterfall, which was busy. We returned to Ukanc as per the walk notes. We had planned to walk back to Bled along the Hunters' Path from the cable car station but it was closed due to fallen trees so we walked along the path along the south side of the lake which wasn't very exciting. Unfortunately we had a very wet day at Lake Bled but visited the castle. On the last night to avoid the long walk into town, we had pizzas at the locals' pub next to Bled Jezero station. The owner was very welcoming and friendly as he used to drive lorries in Hampshire. We flew from Gatwick to Ljubljana and returned by train staying overnight in Stuttgart.

HIGHLIGHT: Loved Kryanska Gora because of the mountains

Highly recommend Slovenia as a walking destination. Beautiful and varied countryside, hospitable people with good level of English, wonderful food and local wine.  

In Kranjska Gora we recommend the local bakery (Trgovina Planika) next to Mercator supermarket for picnics, on the Option A walk we highly recommend the apple strudel at the Koka v Krnici hut!  We ate well at Hotel Kotnik and thought Hotel Lipa was overpriced and nothing special.  

In Lake Bled do not miss the Vintgar Gorge walk, stunning! Staying at Villa Bled was a unique and worthwhile experience, worth the extra walk to get there.

The days and routes in and around Kranska Gora were the best days along with the day to Bohinj, providing spectacular scenery and a wide variery of flora and fauna. For eating in Kranska you need to be careful to ascertain portion sizes which could be vast and we overordered. It would also be helpful to have recommendations for vegetarian/vegan restaurants although we accept the limitations imposed by local cuisine. We would certainly recommend the Eco Hotel Bohinj for a meal, excellent quality and choice. Our final point is the number of days of stay recommended at each location. Where the available routes take more time than allowed at the stop it would be good to have highlighted that an additional night(s) can be booked to make full use of all recommended routes. 

There were plenty of memorable moments we will cherish from this holiday: Walking through the gorges near Kranjska Gora and Soteska Vintgar near Lake Bled. Stopping for lunch with cow bells ringing through the meadows and mountains thrusting into the sky behind one of the pretty local churches. Having a really wonderful dinner at Hotel Triglav which by coincidence was on our anniversary. Walking over sedimentary rocks twisted, bent and folded over time. Rowing around the island on Lake Bled on a warm sunny afternoon and taking the electric ferry across Lake Bohinj. I recommend stiff soled walking shoes/boots to reduce the pressure on the soles of your feet of the many stones and tree roots you will encounter on many of the paths.

This walking holiday in Slovenia was delightful. We enjoyed wall-to-wall sunshine for the entire week which made the magnificent mountain scenery all the more beautiful. Some parts of the walks were challenging in terms of gradient but to be expected in a mountainous country. Slovenia is a beautifully clean and tidy country with crisp mountain air. Our highlights would have to be the mountains of Kranjska Gora; mountain rivers tumbling over boulders; the huge waterfalls; the glorious lakes of Bohinj and Bled; Vintgar Gorge near Bled; the views over the alpine countryside; and the friendly and welcoming locals. Without a doubt this was the most beautiful walking holiday we've done.

We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to the Lakes and Julian Alps in Slovenia. The destination was wonderful and the people very friendly and relaxed. We did 6 days of walking back-to-back and probably should have taken an extra day somewhere to break it up - we were very weary by the end.

Definitely recommend the add-on of Ljubljana - castle, visit, riverboat trip and wine-tasting all absolute musts!

Hotel Miklic and the Kranjska Gora area is delightful and without this hotel and venue the holiday would have been even more disappointing.

Slovenia is beautiful. The first day (route A) was challenging but worth it. Bring sticks everyday for sure! On the Vintgar Gorge day, note that the route picks up directly from the Gorge not from the parking lot. Be sure to use the GPX files on the Gaia app. The saved us many times. Also, it was useful to have a waterproof carrying case on a lanyard for the iPhone we were using to navigate. And be sure to put your phone in airplane mode to make sure the battery lasts all day while navigating. In Kranjska Gora, the dinner at the Hotel Kotnik was the best. We also had a good meal at Hotel Lipa. Do not eat dinner at the Villa Bled in Bled -- the food is terrible. Go insted to Starkl.

Thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of the holiday - walking, accommodation and food and drink. Recommend combining the Vogel gondola with a walk at the other end and a circuit of lake Bohinj. At Vila Bled recommend Starkl restaurant just 5 mins walk away. The Sauna facilities at Vila Bled are superb and included - great on a walking holiday. We used the included dinner on the last night of our hotel stays rather than the first night which worked better for us. 

A lot of thought has been taken in creating an appropriate balance between a stress free/relaxing holiday but with a suitable level of activity, with a good range of walking options. The hotel upgrade option in Lake Bohinj (Hotel Majerca) was particularly excellent. Vila Bled did not disappoint with its magnificent setting.

The Julian Alps are outstandingly beautiful

Slovenia was an amazingly beautiful and tranquil country. Despite the inclement weather the walks and views were wonderful. The people we met were lovely and helpful. The food was out of this world. The terrace at Vila Bled was everything we had read and more. We will be back.

Slovenia is a very friendly, welcoming country and the mountains are spectacular. It is very busy at the height of summer but even so it is a lovely place to visit

HIGHLIGHTS: Very good evening meals in relaxing surroundings at Restaurant Lipa in Kranjska Gora. The walk round the northern shoreline of Lake Bohinj from Ribcev Laz to Ukanc and the return by boat. A glass or two of wine sitting on the terrace of Hotel Vila Bled overlooking the lake with its castle and the island. In Ljubljana, our stay at the Pension Slamic, in particular our musical evening there and our leisurely strolls around the streets of the old city down by the river.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combined our walk The Lakes & Julian Alps with our Ljubljana City add-on

Slovenia more than exceeded our expectations - what a beautiful country and what friendly people! Some of the accommodation we stayed in was the best we have experienced with Inntravel....the welcome at Appartments Rozle was amazing

We thought the Julian Alps were beautiful with wonderful scenery and spring meadow flowers. The excellent walks allowed you to explore properly in ways you couldn't without firsthand knowledge. We had some great lake view accommodation at both Bohinj and Bled. It was a great experience and treat. Customer service and support from Inntravel was always excellent. We'd thoroughly recommend.

Slovenia is a wonderful place for walking holiday with the most beautiful scenery. There are some lovely hotels available and great places to eat but need to search them out. Hotel Jezero is to be avoided, dreadful food, uncomfortable beds, it is also large and overcrowded. Breakfast area is like a bun fight. 

We had a fabulous walking holiday in Slovenia, it is such a beautiful country. We were very lucky with the weather which added to the walking experience. The walks were varied, including superb mountain views, stunning waterfalls and wonderful meadows in full flower (end of May). Aside of the waterfalls and gorges the paths were extremely peaceful with very few people on the routes. The idyllic location of Vila Bled and the views from our balcony were magical. We enjoyed our dinner in the gardens of Hotel Majerca, again with wonderful views. A recommendation for dinner in Lake Bohinj would be Foksner, a relaxed informal burger restaurant with excellent good value food and a lively atmosphere.

Slovenia is a beautiful, clean and friendly country with stunning scenery and beautiful countryside.  The meal at the Hotel Majerca plus the included dinner at Hotel Villa Bled were particular culinary highlights.

An absolutely fabulous holiday in Slovenia. It is a beautiful country with stunning mountain scenery, waterfalls & meadows full of wild flowers which were all in bloom.Everywhere was vey clean and tidy and the Slovenian people were friendly and welcoming.
If possible try to avoid staying in Bled over the weekend as it gets very busy.  Also the walk to the Vintgar Gorge is best done on a weekday as at weekeends it gets very crowded, even in low season.
We would recommend the restaurant at Hotel Majerca  at Lake Bohinj ( our best meal of the holiday) and the mountain hut of Koca na Vojah where we had an excellent lunch.
We added two days at the end on the Ljubljana Add On which we would highly recommend.  A really beautiful capital city which is very compact and has plenty to offer. Restaurant Julija In Stari Trg was fabululous on our last night (booking advised) and rounded off a memorable holiday.

Walking in those flower-covered meadows, and seeing Lily of the Valley growing wild by the side of the road was very special. The people we met were charming and friendly, with good English.

Was an excellent Inntravel walking week as usual. Our only disappointment was the terrible weather and missing out on the stunning mountain views.

Beware the weather !! Take an umbrella!! Restaurant /Hotel Triangel was very good as a stopping place 1/2 way on walk A from Kranjska Gora 

Would also recommend Foksner restaurant up the road from Hotel Jerezo , very good prices and excellent food 

Wine is very interesting and would recommend a wine tasting if budgets stretch to it , we did an excellent one " Wine Tasting Ljubljana " not cheap but very interesting 

It was a very rainy week in early May so we did miss out on what we believe would be stunning mountain scenery. However, it was very green, lots of wild flowers in the meadows and heard several cuckoos calling. We particularly enjoyed the Mostnica Gorge walk, despite having umbrellas up for the entire walk! Peaceful and idyllic (unlike Vintgar which was much more touristy) and some very tasty blueberry pie at Koca na Vojah mountain hut. On the Lake Bled transfer walk, having checked into our hotel - we were then unable to get any boatman to transfer us across to the island - on that particular day they only seemed interested in large tour groups. We, therefore, returned to the  farmhouse cafe in Milno and had an excellent walnut pastry and a tour of the farmhouse and black kitchen from the very friendly host. We do recommend downloading the GPX if you value peace of mind that you are going in the right direction!

Another lovely Inntravel walking holiday, I was a bit unfortunate with the weather but even without being able to see the full view at times, due to the mountains being covered with cloud, the walks were really good. Without the clamour they would have been even more impressive. I have to mention the exceptional instructions as well, even I can't go wrong with them. All hotels good and very friendly. Another very positive experience and I am looking forward to planning my next one.

We absolutely loved our experience of Slovenia and the people we came into contact with. We have some unforgettable memories of amazing days in a wonderful landscape. We trust Inntravel and would recommend these walks to anyone that asked. We definitely recommend the home made beer and cake from the lady who runs the wayside farm with the ancient black kitchen mentioned in the notes on the walks around Bled.

Although we do quite a lot of walking this was our first "self -guided" & supported holiday. We really enjoyed it and will certainly do another one. The Julian Alps were incredibly beautiful & the selection of routes left us feeling as though we had really experienced the amazing scenery of Slovenia. We walked 10 miles a day on average for 7 days and felt nicely tired but not exhausted at the end of each day. The estimated timings were fairly accurate for us. And make time for the Mountain hut refreshment stops, they have lovely views and delicious food! With a couple of exceptions, we found the walk notes easy to follow & accurate - however would recommend using an app that allows following gps as well as it helped to compare the two occasionally.

An excellent walking holiday in a truly beautiful and stunning location. The Slovenian countryside is magnificent and all of their villages seem to be competing for the best in bloom prize! Every single house is smart and bedecked with flowers no matter how remote and off the beaten trail! A great variety of both mountain and lake/country walks.

We had high expectations of Inntravel from the experience of friends, with the expectations being exceeded! Vila Bled was an exceptional place to stay. with excellent facilities, the view onto the lake and the church on the island, and the history associated with the hotel.

Slovenia was fantastic - the cleanliness of Austria with the atmosphere of Italy - maybe some more choice of walks, some of which are quite long?