When Is the Best Time
Lake Bled is an excellent year-round destination, even beautiful in winter! However, some periods are better than others to visit this unique place.
The best time to visit Lake Bled for pleasant weather and fewer crowds is from April to May and between September and October. It gets busy in the peak summer months. The winter months are the quietest time.
Make sure to check the 5 Things You Must Do at the end of this article.
Lake Bled Seasons | Weather Guide
Every season at Lake Bled is unique and an unforgettable experience:
- Spring: Average high temperatures from 13°C – 23°C (56-73°F). Still not as warm as in the summer, but already pleasant, especially in April and May. It’s time to experience the enchanting spring atmosphere of Bled.
- Summer: Average high temperatures from 26°C to 28°C (79-83°F). Warm, pleasant, long days, as well as the noise and bustle of Bled, inspire you to participate in a large number of activities.
- Fall: Average high temperatures 12°C – 23°C (53-74°F). A breathtaking scenery is created by the warm shades of yellow, brown, red, and purple colors that reflect on the surface of the lake.
- Winter: Average high temperatures 7°C – 12°C (44-53°F). Lake Bled is particularly beautiful in the winter when the crowds have disappeared and the landscape has turned completely white.
March-May | Spring
The winter at Lake Bled often extends into March, sometimes early April. There can even be snow around this time of the year.
March at Lake Bled is often erratic in terms of weather. It can be a pleasant month, but temperatures also drop to cooler levels. The average daily temperature is 13°C/55°F. However, it can drop substantially lower, particularly at night, to 3°C/37°F, depending on the time of the month.
April offers much warmer temperatures during the daytime. The average high is 18°C/64°F. Keep in mind that nights are still crisp around 7°C/45°F. April is a good month for outdoor activities like hiking and cycling. However, for long bike tours or hikes, the weather is often still not suitable
In May, the amount of rain falls increases, and the temperature rises to roughly 23°C/73°F throughout the day. Often it’s already pleasant and warm summer weather in May. The water temperature of Lake Bled is a refreshingly cool 68°F degrees.
Camping in Spring: If you plan to camp in the spring, be prepared for temperatures in the single digits at night.
June – August | Summer
June is warm and pleasant at Lake Bled, sometimes even hot. It’s a delightful month to visit. Temperatures are steadily climbing around 25°C/77°F on average, and they even have the potential to rise as high as 30°C/86°F. The Water temperatures hover around 22°C/72°F, which makes swimming in the lake a terrific experience. Around the time of Statehood Day, which is on June 25, it is incredibly crowded. The majority of locals will be taking some time off to enjoy the holiday weekend.
There is plenty of space to go swimming, even when it’s busy.
Good to know: Traffic can be a headache on weekends.
The months of July and August are the warmest and wettest of the year. Thunderstorms are more likely to occur, especially in August during the afternoon. In the summer, temperatures can reach 30°C/86°F or more. Even yet, the nights remain cool, with temperatures around 16°C/61°F, making it the ideal time for a restful night’s sleep.
Swimming: The water in Lake Bled is crystal clear and ideal for swimming.
September – November | Fall
In September, the average high temperature at Lake Bled is 22°C/74°F. It drops to 18°C/64°F degrees at the end of the month. Mornings are a lot colder. When you get up early, around 7 AM, it’s still 10°C/50°F outside.
Swimming: It still feels like summer from early to mid-September, and it’s warm enough to swim in the lake. Late September is too cold for a swim.
In general, even mid to late September can be fantastic at Lake Bled. It’s not too hot, it’s not too crowded, and the colors are vibrant. However, you can have either warm or chilly weather. If the cold weather arrives, there may be some snow at higher elevations for a day or two.
In October, the average day temperature is around 18°C/64°F, and in November, it is around 12°C/54°F. In October and November, expect temperatures in the single digits at night. November is sometimes cold, rainy, and cloudy.
Good to know: Almost everything is open for business until late November. A handful of the outdoor companies and a few hotels will be closed, but shops, cafes, restaurants, and other establishments will be open as usual throughout the fall season.
Fall colors: Lake Bled’s peak foliage viewing time is from mid-September through the end of October.
Early Snow: It’s likely that there will be snow in late November at lower elevations, but it’s impossible to predict. Snow sometimes arrives later in December.
December – February | Winter
Winter is the driest season of the year. Typically, it begins to snow in December and continues into January with more frequent snowfall. The high peaks remain snow-covered during that time. In the winter, you may expect clear skies but frigid temperatures ranging from below zero degrees to 7°C/45°F. Sometimes, Lake Bled freezes over, making it ideal for ice skating.
Avoiding Tourist Crowds
Seasons/Months
If you are flexible and want to dodge the crowds don’t go in July/August and try to avoid weekends in general. The high season starts mid-June with many tourists visiting the place. It usually gets very crowded in the summer. Crowds are also attracted during Christmas and New Years’ celebrations. April/May and September/October are great months with a pretty good chance of nice weather and fewer tourists than in summer.
Tip: Very quiet months (besides Christmas and New Year’s Eve) are November until February. It can get cold with snow, especially in January. However, winter is a great time to enjoy this place since it’s super quiet, except between Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
Good to know: Summer crowds start to dissipate in September. October and November are even less busy.
Best Time of Day
If you visit in the summer, you can avoid the crowds by starting your activities early in the day. For example, visit the iconic Bled Castle first thing in the morning: It opens at 8 AM. It starts to get really crowded around 10 AM. The next morning you could rent a boat and row to Bled Island. Again, if you do this early, you’ll dodge the crowds and enjoy a peaceful lake and island.
Special tip: When it gets insanely crowded later in the day, wander around Lake Bled, and you’ll find at least some spots of solitude. Another idea is to hike a strenuous or longer trail. Most visitors do the short walks only.
Rough weather overview: Lake Bled Climate Information. Detailed Weather: Monthly Weather
The best time to visit Lake Bled in terms of great weather is from late spring to early fall. Temperatures are pleasant and swimming or bathing is often possible. The summer is the busiest, hottest, and wettest time with half of the annual visitors. Day temperatures often reach 30°C/86°F. The winter months are the quietest and driest.
Best Day Tours for Bled
Review
Bled is just a 45 minutes drive from the capital city Ljubljana. The only international airport is located 27 km north of Ljublijana just half an hour south of Lake Bled. The lake is famous for its picturesque “Church of the Assumption of Mary” on the tiny island. To get to the island, you can either rent a boat and row or book a trip on a traditional “Pletna” boat. These boats remembered me to Venice; they are gondola-like rowboats made from wood. You can swim to the island as well, but you have to be a good swimmer. Don’t underestimate the difficulty of swimming 290 m/951 feet without a break.
“Lake Bled is truly a magical place with so much to see and do. We arrived in Spring to our amazement to see a beautiful clear freshwater lake with an island in the center. It is well preserved with no motorized boats on the lake, but you can row or swim to the island and explore. For those picturesque views of the lake, you can walk up to Blejski Castle, enjoy a meal and the view. Visit the museum of Bled, a Blacksmith, and many other things to explore (which includes wine).
If you are still up for a hike after visiting the castle, I suggest walking to Blejski Vintgar Gorge (about a 2-hour hike to get there and 2-4 hour hike through the gorge). This was a secondary highlight just board walking over the fast-flowing and still water parts of the gorge. It was a beautiful display of nature which showed very little interference from tourists. Not up to the slow pace of rowing and hiking? There is an extreme bobsled on the side of the mountain for the adrenaline junkie plus so much more on and off the ground. Whatever your way of traveling and expectations are, you won’t be disappointed with Lake Bled.
Since it was Spring check out to see if the Bled Film Festival is running – we stumbled on this. You can walk the red carpet, drink, and talk to the locals. You can watch an open-air night cinema with a lit-up castle/lake as the backdrop.”
reviewed by Daniel Knowles
5 Things To Do / Activities
- Walk to Bled Castle: You have to walk up to Bled Castle at least once. Enjoy the stunning view and check out the museum as well (Prices Bled Castle). Depending on the location of your hotel or B&B, it’s a 10 minute to 60 minutes walk.
- Visit Vintgar Gorge: It’s an easy hike from Bled to this gorgeous place (google maps). We suggest this beautiful round trip: Bled > Zasip > Vintgar Gorge > Bled. This gorge is a must-see, it extends up over a waterfall and has a built-in bridge.
- More Hikes: There are many trails around Lake Bled. The hike to Pokljuka Gorge shouldn’t be missed! A longer and slightly more strenuous hike is Mt. Stol. Another nearby base for hiking is the Pokljuka Plateau, with daily buses going there from Bled in the summer (Transportation Bled)
- Row a Boat: Hire a rowboat to row around the lake. You can get to the island and wander about at your leisure. Between 12-18 EUR/hour. Or you could get a spot on a historic Pletna Boat. More information: Slovenia for you – Things to do
- Eat a Bled Cream Cake: No kidding, try it at least once: Photo Bled Cream Cake It can be bought at most cafes and restaurants in Bled.
Where to Stay
Bookmark your link for later:
- Villa Istra: Exceptional hotel directly at Lake Bled. Quieter and nicer location than others (google maps). Fantastic view of the lake, pleasant and helpful staff, clean and excellent food. Our preferred accommodation!
- Old Parish House: Budget Tip! Not really cheap, but significantly less expensive. Unique location in a historic building next to a church, but still quiet except for the bell tower. You can walk in 7 minutes to Bled Castle. Helpful staff, remodeled rooms, modern bathrooms and very clean. Excellent food!
- Hotels – Lake Bled: More Alternatives. Use the comfortable search: Enter your preferred dates and then check the list of hotels. Make sure to change the search criteria to your liking at the top bar. We usually select ”Review Score & Price”.
Weekly Hotel Deals
Find hotel deals from booking.com below (with a price match guarantee). Booking.com
I have to highly recommed this lovely place! I have never seen so clear water like there is. It’s also paradise for runners because of path around the lake and I cannot forget on Bled Cake – Kremsnita and other tasty local food. I agree, you won’t be disappointed.
This place is just beautiful – whether you are there in the rain or the sunshine. We visited in April. The weather was mild and there were few tourists around. We stayed at the caravan park at the other side of the lake. It was being spruced up after a heavy winter and we were one of only 6 motorhomes camping there for the 4 nights we stayed. We walked around the lake in the drizzling rain on day one. We rode around the hinterland on our bikes in overcast weather on day two. Day three was gloriously cloud free. We walked up the to the castle and spend a long time admiring the view. Bled would rate as one of the best places we have been to (others included Plitvice Lakes in Croatia and Cradle Mountain in Tasmania Australia). Bled is simply gorgeous. I would recommend a visit outside the peak time. We were told that in peak season the place is buzzing with visitors. We always travel and visit high profile attractions outside the high season and have seldom been disappointed. Bled in the rain was a delightful experience not to be missed.
Bled is an awesome place to visit. We went there in August. Even if it was a bit crowded, we really enjoyed our stay! In about 1h you can walk around the sea. We also loved to hike up to the viewpoints called Ojstrica and Mala Osojnica. The views of the lake up there is stunning. In August there was a free festival where a great band from france was playing music. We could enjoy it by sitting on the gras and having some beer. It was a really nice location directly in front of lake Bled.