If you have found yourself wanting the perfect nature escapade in Europe than Lake Bled is a fantastic option. We all find ourselves wanting to visit the beauty Switzerland has to offer or head up north to Iceland but these holidays tend to be more expensive. As such here is a full Lake Bled budget breakdown and this in fact will show you how it is a fantastic option for a short break.
You can also read about my other blog post here talking about Things to Do in Lake Bled – 3 day Itinerery
However this post is solely directed at providing a complete budget breakdown and to give a rough estimate on how much a trip to Lake Bled will cost. I will answer all your questions and address all the ways on how you can spend your holiday here. Providing a list of all nearby airports and their incoming destinations as well as connecting trains and their respective costs.
Here is a TLDR Poster summary that gives an approximate value. Make sure to read the entire post for detailed information and different options that you have available to you!
Disclaimer : ALL costs are subject to change. This is only a rough estimate with quality based information.
Is Lake Bled Expensive?
The first and most important question is the obvious one. Is Lake Bled expensive? The answer is NO, not really especially if you are smart and incorporate some of the travel tips mentioned here under.
Lake Bled Airports
One of the major costs for any holiday is the transport to get there. Most commonly this is by catching a flight, so here is a list of nearby airports and the respective destinations they serve.
Ljubljana Airport
One of the major drawbacks Ljubljana has for our budget needs is that there is no budget airlines serving this airport. Frankly, Ljubljana and Slovenia isn’t well served at all and hence one of the reasons it isn’t as popular. There are flights to all major hubs in Europe with premium airlines dependent on the season.
Make sure to check all your flights on SkyScanner for the latest info as routes and timetables change frequently. These are a few of the destinations which are served in 2024.
- Paris (Orly and Charles De Gaulle)
- Amsterdam
- Brussels
- Munich
- Copenhagen
- Zurich
- Istanbul
Estimated Costs for a return flight to Ljubljana Airport: €200
After reaching Ljubljana you would need transport to Lake Bled. Depending on your options, a taxi would cost around €50, a direct bus would cost around €5
Estimated Costs for transport to Bled assuming cheapest option: €5
Total Estimated Costs: €205
Trieste Airport
Trieste Airport is in my opinion the winner for getting to Lake Bled for cheap. Ryanair has a whole load of routes from Trieste and are perfect especially if you are traveling without luggage. This was my airport of choice and I landed here, spent some time in Trieste, before taking a bus ride to Bled.
Some of the destinations Ryanair serve from Trieste are:
- Malta
- Barcelona
- Catania
- Krakow
- Budapest
- Paris Beauvais
- London Stansted
If timed right, you can catch a flight to Trieste for as little as €15-20. This is without any luggage and just a small bag, but as a general rule of thumb, either a cabin bag or a checked in bag, it will cost you an additional €20-25. If you are traveling inside a couple or a group, you can easily share luggage.
Estimated cost of a return flight to Trieste WITHOUT Baggage: €50
Costs of Luggage would incur an additional estimate of €50
There is really one main option to get to Lake Bled from Trieste. Flixbus offers a direct connection and this will cost around €15. Make sure to book in advance as prices tend to fluctuate.
For more information on how to get to Lake Bled from Trieste, check out How to Get to Lake Bled from Trieste
In addition to this, you would need to catch a train to get to Trieste from the airport and this costs €5. You can buy your tickets here.
Estimated Travel Costs to get to Lake Bled from Trieste: €20
Estimated Total Costs: €120
Zagreb Airport
Similar to Trieste airport, there are plenty of routes served to Zagreb by budget airlines so this is also a great option to have. Personally, I went back to Malta, where I am from, from Zagreb Airport. I also spent the night here as my flight was at 5am and to save money did not want to spend a night’s hotel to spend a few hours of sleep. Anyways, you don’t have to go to my extremes if you do not wish and on a more informative note here are a list of airports served from Zagreb Airport:
- Frankfurt
- Eindhoven
- Rome
- Brussels Charleroi
- Malta
- Basel
- Oslo
Once again make sure to check your personal destination on SkyScanner for your best deals.
However getting to Lake Bled from Zagreb airport is far from ideal as you need to catch a bus into the city center, then a train to Ljubljana and then another bus to Bled from there. So unless you are not planning on visiting and spending some time in Zagreb/Ljubljana I would only consider this option on your return trip.
Cost of Return Flights without Luggage: €45
Total Cost to get to Lake Bled from Zagreb Airport: Approx. €35
Lake Bled Budget Accommodation
The other major expense for any holiday is accommodation. Where are you going to stay? I would say that you have 3, maybe 4 options depending on the type of traveler you are. I am going to cover the 2 or 3 cheap – mid range options. The other of course is to stay in a luxurious hotel.
Option 1: Hostel
For all the enthusiastic solo adventurers out there, going and staying at a hostel is by far the cheapest choice. There are plenty of hostels to choose from all in the vicinity of the main bus station, going a few minutes up hill. As far as hostels go, they are all pretty good, with the majority of them having lockers and a bathroom inside the dorm.
Given the assumption that this is not for group or family travelers but mainly catering for solo travelers, the average cost of a hostel in Lake Bled are around €30 per night. Make sure to check your bookings with HostelWorld and Booking.com for the latest prices.
Hostel Total Cost for a 3 Day / 2 Night stay in Bled is €60 per person.
Option 2: Airbnb
If you want to have some privacy then Airbnb is a fantastic option for solo and group travelers alike. The prices vary a lot depending on the amenities you are looking for and seasonality. Prices in the off peaks season tend to be much cheaper (around €40/night cheaper)
Nevertheless here is a table breakdown if an airbnb is your choice for a 2 night stay in Lake Bled.
| No. of persons | Cost Per Night | Total Cost Per Person | Total Cost (2 nights) |
| 4 | 200 | 100 | 400 |
| 2 | 135 | 135 | 270 |
| 1 | 80 | 160 | 160 |
The table above is filled with prices taken if booking early and not last minute but in peak season (Jul/Aug). Prices tend to be cheaper if you book in advance and are traveling outside the peak season. So these prices are almost worst case scenario.
For my estimated cost I am going to take somewhere in the middle based on the reasons above.
Total Estimated Cost per Person for Airbnb : €125
Option 3: Hotel
A more pricy option but still popular due to the service and peace of mind it offers is staying in a hotel. I do not recommend this for solo travelers and as such I am not going to include it in my price breakdown. There is a lot of different options but on average you are looking between €170-250 per person.
Total Estimated Cost per Person for a Hotel: €200
Lake Bled Budget Activities
There are a ton of things to do in Lake Bled which vary in price. Check out this blog post as I have already broken down a list of things to do with prices included.
READ: Things to do in Lake Bled – 3 Day Itinerary
If you do not want to read here is a quick summary of a cost breakdown mentioned in that post
| Activity | Costs |
|---|---|
| Walking around Lake Bled | FREE |
| Bled Castle | Grounds FREE / Optional €13 for visit |
| Hiking to the Viewpoint of Lake Bled | FREE |
| Eating Bled Cake | €5 |
| Bus to Lake Bohinj | €6 |
| Mount Vogel Cable Car | €28 |
| Vintgar Gorge | €10 |
| Boat Ride to Bled Island | €20 |
| Kayak Rental | €10 |
Combined Average Total Costs for Everything: €100
If you are looking for a more guided experience and willing to pay the price you can always check out GetYourGuide and their fantastic tour options!
Food in Lake Bled Budget
The food prices are pretty normal for European standards. While the cost of living is going up, I would calculate the price for a day’s food at around €30 per day. This is about normal for European standard and considering that there are not many options and quite a touristic hot spot it is really reasonable in terms of food costs. For lunch I would opt to buy something from the mini market and the bakery.
Lake Bled Budget Breakdown – Summary
For the purposes of an accurate representation, I am going to take the average cost for everything. The total cost here can be further reduced. This is for a 3 day – 2 night stay. You can adjust your costs accordingly for accommodation and food (30/day)
| Area of Expense | Total Cost |
|---|---|
| Travel | 120 |
| Accommodation | 125 |
| Lake Bled | 100 |
| Food | 90 |
TOTAL COST: €435 Per Person incl. Baggage and a stay at a mid range Airbnb. Within the margin of error I would put a 3 day all costs inclusive holiday in Lake Bled around the €350 – 500 range.
Thanks a lot for reading, please feel free to ask any questions in the comments below and will get back to you. For more information about Lake Bled why not check out my other blog posts:
11 ESSENTIAL Things to do in Lake Bled – Cheap 3 day Itinerary
