Early planning Prague to Ljubljana trip
 

After researching Provence and Norway for our 2012 summer vacation, DH announced he would like to go to Prague and Slovakia (no idea where the Slovakia idea came from). I read, did not find a lot of info on Slovakia, and somehow could not get excited about it. But I usually pick our destinations, so this time, at least Prague needs to be a destination. And because we wanted to go to Lake Bled ever since researching the Croatia trip, and we could not fit it in, what about Prague and Slovenia?

So, for a 2 weeks trip next Aug-Sept, I am thinking: 4 nights Prague (which will give us 3 full days), 2 nights (1 full day) in Cesky Krumlov, 3 nights in Hallstatt, 3 nights in Lake Bled and last 2 in Ljubliana.

In Hallstatt we would probably walk around the town one day, and drive to St. Gilgen or Dachstein to Five Fingers on the other day. Which one is better? We’ve been to Salzburg, so not interested to go back this time.

In Bled, we would visit the castle one day, and drive around to see the mountains (need an itinerary) on the 2nd day.

We’ll probably fly into Prague and out of Ljubljana, and rent a car in between. Have not looked into rates yet …

As a general plan, how does this sound? Thanks

I haven't been to Cesky Krumlov or Hallstatt, but think your plan sounds good! Just a few thoughts:

Do 3 nights in Lake Bled mean 2 days or 4 days? I think 1.5 days about right to see the castle, lake, island, and Vintgar Gorge; add another half or full day for your drive around the mountains (don't miss Lake Bohinj). If you are currently planning more than 2 or 2.5 days in Lake Bled, you might want to shift 1 night from Lake Bled, perhaps to Prague (to have 4 days there) or Ljubljana (to be sure you have more than 1 day there, if you don't already). Of course, it all depends on what you want to see and experience, and I think your plan could work very well as is.

Hope that helps!

good choice for Slovenia-spent 10 days there in Ljublijana and did trips out to Lake Bled and Postojna. Easy jet flies form there too =so cheap flights.

kja,
The 3 nights in Lake Bled mean 2 full days plus the afternoon/evening when we get there. We will probably leave Hallstatt around 10 am, and depending on how interesting the 2-3 hours drive is, and how much we will stop on the way, I suppose we’ll get in Bled sometimes around 3-4 pm.

So I guess we have 2 options, not sure which one is better:

Option #1 – 3 nights in Bled, 2 in Ljubljana
Arrive in Bled at 3-4 pm, spend the next 2 full days in Bled to see the castle, island, gorge, drive around to see the mountains. After that, leave for Ljubljana in the morning, and considering how close they are, spend 1.5 days there.

Option #2 - 2 nights in Bled, 3 in Ljubljana
Arrive in Bled at 3-4 pm, check in, see the gorge and walk around. Is there enough time and day light in early Sept for this? The next day drive around to see the mountains, then the following day visit the castle in the morning then drive to Ljubljana, where we check-in in the evening. This will give us 2 full days in Ljubljana.

Not knowing much about any of these places, and considering that we are planning to spend time in 3 tows/cities (Prague, Cesky Krumlov and Ljubljana), I think we would like more time allocated to Bled and nature, so personally I am leaning towards option #1.

What do you all think? Thanks

Option 1 sounds like a good plan!

BTW, I wouldn't try to visit the gorge too early or too late in the day - it's deep enough that it is better to visit closer to the middle of the day, when the sun is higher in the sky. IMO, a better option for late afternoon would be taking a pletna to the island.

Enjoy!

I would spend longer in Ljubljana than at Lake Bled, you can do the castle and lake in half a day.

Why are you nixing Slovakia? I enjoyed it - some great hiking, and Levoca was a cute town for a couple of nights. See my TR at http://wilhelmswords.com/eur2006/index.html - Slovakia, who Knew.

kja,
Thanks for the gorge visit tip. I love photography, so good light is always important.

thursdyasd,
1)On a different post, someone recommended a circular drive from Bled – Jesenice – Vrsic Pass – Trenta – Soca – Bovec – Kobarid – Bled. I had not looked into details, but it sounds interesting, and with about 200 km, doable in one day. If this allows us to see more of Slovenia and some nice scenery, it is definitely something we would like to do. And as I mentioned earlier, we will spend time in 3 towns, we will need time outside them. We very rarely visit cities/towns on our trips, so this will be different for us.

2)I would like to think that I am just leaving Slovakia for a different time, when hopefully more touristic info will be available. We are not big hikers, but enjoy nature, easy strolls, photo ops, nice landscape, etc. Thanks for sharing your Slovakia trip report, and your pictures, it looks beautiful…but now I really got excited about Hallstatt and Bled. You mentioned a couple of days…I was looking for maybe 4-5, but it is hard to find info on what to do to fill them. Where are the gondolas/funiculare/cable cars to take you to the mountain top? Where are the special views, that you cannot get anywhere else? Stuff like that…
Thanks