Bled to Bohinj, from one lake to the other

Bled to Bohinj by car

Bled is about 21 km from Bohinjska Bistrica, the valley’s main village, and 26 km from Ribčev Laz, the village by the lake, around half an hour without traffic by my OpenStreetMap calculation. Bohinj Tourism describes two approaches, one past Bled and through the Soteska gorge and one across the Pokljuka plateau. Once there, you may only park in marked spaces, and two boards, before Bohinjska Bistrica and at the entrance to Ribčev Laz, show which car parks have room. Motorhomes may only stay overnight at the Bohinjska Bistrica station and Senožeta car parks, in Srednja vas, and at the Danica and Bohinj campsites. More short hops between the lakes are in distances in Slovenia. If you haven’t reached Bled yet, the first leg is in Ljubljana to Bled.

By bus

Bohinj Tourism highlights the good daily connection with Ljubljana bus station, on the Bled-Bohinjska Bistrica-Ribčev Laz route, which also runs from Jesenice. Timetables and tickets are on the AP Ljubljana and Arriva websites. In summer there are extra lines to the Savica waterfall and Soriška planina, and organised shuttles to trailheads with a Bohinj 24-hour ticket for €2, sold online or in cash at various points. How buses work around the country is in buses in Slovenia.

By train to Bohinjska Bistrica

The Bohinj railway, one of the most scenic lines in the country according to Bohinj Tourism, reaches Bohinjska Bistrica from Jesenice and from Nova Gorica, and takes bikes. It calls at Bled Jezero, the station by Lake Bled, so you can travel from one lake to the other by train and do the last stretch to Ribčev Laz by bus or by one of the taxis in Slovenia, which Bohinj Tourism also suggests. Bohinjska Bistrica is also where the car train through the Bohinj tunnel leaves for Most na Soči and Nova Gorica. Everything on tickets and timetables is in trains in Slovenia.

If you are staying the night, see the best hotel deals in Bohinj for your dates: the well-placed rooms go fast.

The Julian Alps Card: Bohinj

If you stay at least two nights with accommodation partnered with Bohinj Tourism, the summer or winter card includes parking and lets you use the regular public transport around the valley for free; in winter, the ski bus too. Bohinj Tourism asks guests to leave their car at their accommodation during their stay. I find it the calmest way to enjoy the lake without fighting over parking spaces, and in summer, when the car parks by the water fill early, it makes even more sense. For seasonal timetables and the shuttle routes, Bohinj Tourism sends visitors to its traffic website, promet.bohinj.si.

So you do not lose the morning at the ticket office, browse tickets and tours in Bohinj on GetYourGuide.

If you are staying the night, see the best hotel deals in Bohinj for your dates: the well-placed rooms go fast.