The Vintgar Gorge is a fantastic half day trip option if you are staying in or near Lake Bled. Unfortunately my visit there, didn’t start so good as the shuttle bus seemed to stop working and did not arrive. However this experience definitely makes me best equipped to tell you all about a visit to Vintgar Gorge as I can tell you everything that can go wrong and had me explained everything that should go right!
While researching online on how to get to Vintgar Gorge, I found myself with not enough information and only really discovered of a shuttle bus during my visit there. Majority of guides seem to suggest walking, biking or park and ride. What was even more confusing was how to return back from Lake Bled. Two hikes being suggested and I ended up taking neither through to spontaneity and confusion. So, here is my complete guide and experience on how to get to Vintgar Gorge.
How to Get To Vintgar Gorge
As I mentioned in my introduction, there are 3 major options suggested, walking/biking or a park and ride. I ended up with a mix of walking/park and ride. I would have biked if I know how to ride one…
Parking Options for Vintgar Gorge
There are 2 main parking options, one is right outside the entrance and the other is around 3km away or a 35 minute walk to the gorge. There is however a shuttle bus which runs every 20 minutes from the parking lot to the gorge with recommended arrival at the parking is around 45 minutes before your supposed entry time. They are very strict to the time of your ticket so adhere to it (more on this later)
The one right outside the entrance have very very limited parking spaces so unless you are the first ones in the gorge you would be very lucky to find parking here. The other parking lot holds ample parking space so you are better off parking here and taking the shuttle bus.
There is a 3rd sneaky option, if you are prepared to start your walk in the beginning and then cut the hike back by following the River of Trees Trail right from the beginning.
Walking to Vintgar Gorge
If you really want to you can walk to Vintgar Gorge and walking takes around an hour just to reach the entrance. You will need to add another 45 minutes to navigate the gorge and another hour or so on average back to the entrance. In other words be prepared to walk!
Shuttle Bus to Vintgar Gorge
Having concluded that my only option was to walk it with other solo travelers opting to do so as well, to my great surprise I found free shuttle bus flyers next to the bus station. Having inquired about it, I was only happy to take a bit of a break from walking having done a trek up near Lake Bohinj the day before. Shuttle buses ran approximately every hour.
My Experience on Reaching Vintgar Gorge
My journey to Vintgar Gorge was far from smooth and I was facing a nasty bout of delayed onset muscle soreness. So I waited patiently for the Vintgar Gorge Shuttle Bus. My entry time was 3pm and I waited for the 2:30pm shuttle. 2:15, 2:20, 2:30, 2:40 and the bus did not come. There were 2 representatives at the desk and having asked them they told me that it is supposed to come. After 2:50 I told them that I will be denied entry at this point and they called the driver only to find out the bus broken down.
They assured me that I will be admitted entry anyways, I took matters into my own hands and started doing the only option left to me and that was to walk it. Halfway through my hour journey I stopped by the parking lot in which I had just seen one bus just leaving so I had to wait another 20 minutes. At this point others did the same and the bus was crammed but I made it on somehow and reached Vintgar Gorge.
After all that hassle, myself and a couple others had to patiently but assertively explain what happened to the ticket officer who was very reluctant to let us in. Long story short, we were shortly dressing up in helmets and start walking down Vintgar Gorge.
The Vintgar Gorge Experience
There are plenty of information available on the trail itself available on the internet, instead I am just going to post some pictures to let you judge by yourself whether it is worth a visit or not. There is however a conundrum you will face once you end the Vintgar Gorge trail itself and that is how do you get back. This is a total mystery as you will just be greeted with 2 random names for trails and colors and not information on which choice you need to make. Supposedly both trails lead you back to the parking lot.
Buying Tickets
Tickets can be bought from their official website and cost €15 to visit. The most important thing is that they are very strict with the timing of the ticket so make sure you make it on time as if it passes the time stated on the ticket then they will not admit you to the gorge.
Sum Waterfall
RIght at the end of the trail you will find a cafeteria selling over expensive food and drink but besides it there is a staircase which will take you down to Sum Waterfall. It is definitely worth checking out as the walk is not long and you will be able to just sit around on the rocks and listen to the sound of the water splashing down.
The 2 Return Trails: Which one should you Choose?
The big question that no one knows for certain how to answer. The problem is not how to get to Vintgar Gorge but how do you escape it! There are 2 official trails back with 2 signs which are the following:
River of Trees Trail
The River of Trees Trail is especially convenient if you have parked your car in the other car park off the highway. which pinpoint is here. It is also convenient to avoid the heat and sun so if you are visiting around mid day you can travel through the shade provided by the trees.
King of Triglav Trail
The King of Triglav trail is the trail I opted to take most of which it looked more people were taking it as well as I could see a clear path going forward while searching on google maps. This is a slightly longer trail back to the parking lot but it is less steep. The thematic trails only matter if you have an audio guide and frankly I may have been a bit uncultured as I did not bother to download an application just to listen to an audio but let nature do the talking.
My Return Trail Back to Lake Bled
Once I finished my experience and hiked the length of Vintgar Gorge, I saw two signs and was baffled which one I should take. I took a quick look on a google maps and it did not make sense to me to walk back to the parking lot for the shuttle bus when I could walk a bit more and arrive straight in my accommodation in Lake Bled. So I followed the trail to Sv. Katrina or St.Catherine’s church and it was very forestry and quiet. However once I reached the church instead of turning right, to walk back to the entrance to the shuttle bus, I continued on downwards.
This was based off the fact that hiking back to the entrance would take 50 minutes and hiking straight to Lake Bled would take me 1 hour. In my opinion the timings found on their official website deceive you in order not to discourage you from visiting. It is definitely a bit of a stretch to reach back to your car so be prepared to plan ample time for your visit to Vintgar Gorge.
Keeping on going down from St.Catherine’s church,it was a pleasant enough walk where I got a feel of a village just outside Bled called Zasip as well as walking alongside these massive corn fields in a main road. The beautiful scenery of the Julian Alps surrounding me was enough to keep me going even on very tired legs. After around an hour I arrived right where my journey began: The Lake Bled bus station.
My Opinion on Vintgar Gorge: Is it Worth Visiting?
Having had a really horrid time getting there, it was soon forgotten as the nature trail through the gorge stretches as far as you can see and you really get to admire all the scenery throughout. Most suggest to go for early morning as this is when the light reflects best throughout the gorge or late in the afternoon. In my opinion it hardly makes a difference as it will be beautiful to look at whatever time you decide to go.
So yes, despite all the setbacks I faced, you have to admit I was unlucky and my experience is not the norm, I will still recommend you to visit and hopefully I have provided some assistance on how to get to Vintgar Gorge. However be prepared to walk more than you should to return back and do not be in a rush while on your visit. The trail is easy to follow and there are no steep uphills so if you take your time everyone of any fitness level would be able to visit.
Vintgar Gorge is just one of the many things to do in Lake Bled. Be sure to check out my other blog post on a 3 day itinerary in Lake Bled here. If you are continuing on your travels make sure to visit the Slovenian capital Ljubljana. It makes a fantastic day trip!
