Lake Bled - A Slovenian fairytale

We had an opportunity to visit Lake Bled in Slovenia in Mar, 2018.

The place is simply amazing. It is one of the most picturesque locations we have seen, so far. The church on the island in the middle of the lake truly gives it a fairy-tale like feel.

The walk around the lake takes around 1 hour, and is highly recommended. It is so relaxing to walk around the lake, and the experience of an early morning jog around the lake is not to be missed. There are hotels on all sides of the lake most of which have a nice view of the castle, e.g. the pics below show the views from Villa Istra, Grand Hotel Toplice and Vila Bled, respectively. Bled is like a 40 min drive form Ljubljana, so day trips to Lake Bled are also possible, however try to stay at least a day so you can truly appreciate the beauty of the place.

To reach Bled Island, you need take one of the beautifully decorated boats from the shore below. A ride to the island and back takes around 10 Euros per person.  

The way it works is that they take you by boat to the island, where you can stay for 2-3 hours, and then take the boat back to the shore. Below is where the boats are docked at the island.

Finally, walking around the lake, you will reach a point which is the starting point to hike up to to Bled Castle. Half of the hike consists of unpaved paths, so be careful if you are doing it in winter. There is a restaurant at the top, souvenir shops, and you will be rewarded with some nice panoramic views of the castle.

Adriatic Sea Cruise

We took the Royal Caribbean Adriatic Sea Cruise in middle of 2011. The cruise was a 6-night affair starting in Venice and docking at the following ports in the next days: Koper, Slovenia - Ravenna, Italy - Bari, Italy - Dubrovnik, Croatia.


Venice (as seen from our cruise)

Sunset over the Adriatic sea

1st Time Cruisers

For people who are still undecided whether to take a cruise or not, we can absolutely recommend it.

• Sea-sickness as you have seen in old movies does not happen in cruises nowadays - they are very stable. 
• Another very important factor for us Indians is the food on board, esp. since in general we do not eat the meats served here, and on a ship you also cannot go out to find a McDonald's. However, we can assure you that you will have no food problems at least on Royal Caribbean cruises, even if you are pure vegetarian. There are Indian dishes for both lunch and dinner as well as some options for breakfast.
• Washroom: All rooms on board are equipped with their own bathrooms. They operate on the same principle as you find in planes.
• If you are worried that you will get bored spending the whole day locked in a ship, you also do not absolutely need to worry in this regard. The ship itself is like a small city with 1000-2000 people on board. It has its own shopping mall (with great discounts - so husbands beware!), casino, cafe, nightclubs, swimming pool, spa, you name it. They also have shows almost every evening, e.g. broadways, musical events, ice skating shows. And, anyway you will mostly be docking in a new city every morning with new things to explore.
• Internet, Telephone access: Internet is available but is very costly approx. $25 per hour. Same for telephone, it is very costly to call outside (most likely satellite phones) and there is a central number where people from outside can call you in case of an emergency. In a way, it is good as you can finally stay away from your office emails :-) 
• Cost: Approx. 500-700 Euros for a 5 night cruise (this includes food and accommodation) - of course, this depends on the season and route.

Koper, Slovenia

Our 1st stop was in Koper, Slovenia. We took the Panoramic Koper tour which takes you to the cities of Izola, Piran and Padna along the Slovenian coast. A highlight of the tour was in Padna where for 10Euros (extra), we were treated to local wines and desserts of the region. 


Padna, Slovenia

Ravenna, Italy

Our 2nd port of call was in Ravenna, Italy. Ravenna is a city famous for its mosaic works, particularly the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo and Basilica of Saint Vitale are worth visiting. For car enthusiasts, it is possible to visit both the Ferrari and Lamborghini museums from this port of call.


Ravenna, Italy

Bari, Italy

The 3rd day was in Bari, Italy. Polignano & Volare's White Cliffs (below) are the highlights of this place.


White Cliffs, Bari, Italy

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Our 4th port of call was in Dubrovnik, Croatia. Dubrovnik is an important touristic place in its own right. The old fort and (all) its houses with orange rooftops are a sight to behold.

Visa issues: Note that technically Croatia is not part of Schengen - so you might need an additional Visa here. Luckily, during our time of visit, they were giving a 7-day free pass to Cruise passengers who had a Schengen Visa (or a residence permit of any of the Schengen countries). However, don't forget to verify this while planning your trip.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Venice, Italy

There is probably not much point in wasting space here writing about Venice. Venice is Venice. With hype and easy accessibility, it seems somewhat overcrowded with tourists. However, that is no reason to miss its watery alleys and is probably the only place on earth where you will see DHL delivery "boats". And, as a final tip, don't feel ashamed to bargain with the gondoliers - it is standard practice here. As a final final tip, for those of us who have grown up watching "Do Lafzon ki hai ...", gondoliers do sing; at least ours was singing :)

Enjoy!