Hiking the Vintgar Gorge Slovenia with Kids!

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The Vintgar Gorge Slovenia is one of the most touristy spots in Slovenia for good reason. The stunning gorge is just north of Lake Bled. It was carved by the beautiful blue, clear water of the Radovna River and it is really a sight to behold. Luckily, the Vintgar Gorge is an easy Lake Bled day trip, even with kids.

The Vintgar Gorge Slovenia was one of the easiest hikes that we took during our trip. It really is a must if you are visiting Lake Bled with kids.

The payoff for this short 3 km, relatively flat hike? Jaw dropping views of the bright blue, perfectly clear river from platforms and bridges that criss cross the deep gorge. Want to tackle the Vintgar Gorge walk with your kids? Here are our best tips!

When you finish here, these are some other highlights from our time in Slovenia:

How to Get to Vintgar Gorge Slovenia from Lake Bled

Vintgar Gorge is one of the easiest day trips from Bled. Getting from Vintgar Gorge from Bled is straightforward and only about a fifteen minute drive.

Go north out of the roundabout on Ljubljanska Cesta (this is the main roudabout that you will likely pass through multiple times while visiting Bled).
Follow Ljubljanska Cesta out of town (it will turn into Seliska Cesta).
Make a right on Ceska Vintgar which will take you into the village of Podhom. You should see signs from there.

If you get turned around, Vintgar Gorge is also shown on just about every tourist map. If you are driving in Slovenia and need a good road map, this is one of our favorites!

We highly recommend renting a car to get around Slovenia, as public transport options are sometimes not plentiful or convenient. If you find yourself in Bled without a car, you can get to the village next to the Vintgar Gorge by bus, but you would need to walk from there. It might be more convenient to take a tour or check in with these folks about the cost of a shuttle there.

The beautiful blue water of the Vintgar Gorge Slovenia — The water of the river that runs through the Vintgar Gorge Slovenia really is that beautiful blue color…no photoshopping needed!

Vintgar Gorge Price

Visiting Vintgar Bled is a great deal as far as amazing travel experiences go. The Vintgar Gorge price for admission is 9 euros for adults / 3 euros for children 6-15 / 1 euro for children under 6. They only accept cash for payment. There is ample free parking.

The Vintgar Gorge Hike

The Vintgar Gorge hike is a wonderfully satisfying Lake Bled day trip with kids. The trail is level and is approximately 1.5 km each way (3 kilometers round trip). There is a bathroom in the building where you purchase your tickets.

Some of the trail is on ground/rock but much of it is on wooden and metal walkways that skirt the edge of and cross over the river. The path is mostly flat, but is quite skinny in some spots so for this reason we do not recommend doing it with a stroller.

At the far end of the gorge is another building with bathrooms and snacks available for purchase. There are picnic tables here so you can stop and enjoy the views and a picnic lunch.

We moved faster on the first half of the hike because we were trying to beat the crowds for those nice photos. The way back was we took our time as we were passing line after line of folks going the other way. We planned for a half day at the Vintgar Gorge and this was enough time.

The Gorge can be cool even in the middle of the summer. Make sure to bring a light jacket and maybe even hat and gloves if visiting in spring or fall.

The picturesque bridge and dam at the Vintgar Gorge Slovenia — This was about the midpoint of the hike down the Vintgar Gorge Slovenia

Views of the Julian Alps at the far end of the Vintgar Gorge hike at our lunch stop

A nice spot to stop for lunch at the end of the hike down the Vintgar Gorge Slovenia — This was at the far end of the Vintgar Gorge Slovenia hike where we turned around to head back, about 1.5km down the trail.

How to Avoid the Vintgar Gorge Slovenia Crowds

The Vintgar Gorge Slovenia is one of the most popular attractions in the country. As such, you can expect crowds, especially in the peak tourist months of June, July and August. Even during our late September visit, there was a steady stream of people on the walkways by mid morning.

There are a couple of good ways to avoid crowds at the Vintgar Gorge. Our best advice, no matter what time of your you visit is to get there early. Visiting in the spring or fall is also a good tactic if you are looking for some alone time in the gorge.

The Vintgar Bled Gorge opens at 9am. We arrived by about 9:30am and started our Vintgar Gorge hike. Even in September, the groups of tour bus visitors were nipping at our heels the whole way. We had the kiddos with us, so we move more slowly than many folks. Get to the gorge early and move at a good pace and you MIGHT be able to capture some of those amazing Vintgar Gorge photos with no one else in them.

As far as photos go, the blue water of the gorge is the most intense towards the afternoon when the sun illuminates the bottom of the canyon. Unfortunately, this is also the time when the most people visit.