Slovenia or Austria? Area or hotel recommendations this way please!

[SilkieChick]

I'm debating between these two places for a holiday in July this year. We went to Seefeld in Austria a couple of years ago and loved it, so I'm keen to go back to Austria - this time to Zell am See.

However I'm also keen to see Slovenia, am thinking maybe Lake Bled or Bohinj. I'm not sure which is a better base for exploring - we would reply on public transport and aim to do day trips out to anywhere worth visiting eg Ljubljana so it needs to be somewhere with good links as well as interesting stuff nearby.

I've shortlisted two hotels - Hotel Park in Bled, and Hotel Bohinj ECO in Bohinj. But Hotel Daxer in Zell seems to get better reviews than both of these!

Anyone been to any of these areas or hotels - or can offer an opinion about which might be a better bet - Slovenia or Austria?

I'm terrible at making decisions about holidays - I talk myself into and out of every option... so any help is welcome!

Hotel Bohinj Eco isn't actually at Bohinj, but at the nearest town. The lake itself is a few km away. The town is handy as it's on the bus route between Bohinj and Bled, but I don't think there's anything of note there.

I'd stay at the lake - we stayed at Hotel Bohinj, and it was lovely. Right on the lake for walking, boats/paddleboards etc. Or you can just relax on the 'beachy' area on the lake shore. We spent 3 nights there, which was a good amount of time.

The buses in Slovenia are excellent. We went from Bohinj to Bled by bus, then from Bled to Ljubliana and then Ljubliana down to Piran. All very efficient, easy to use and cheap. They're like National Express buses, in that you put your luggage underneath and they just go from town centre to town centre (so not lots of tiny stops on the outskirts).

I would stay in the different places you're interested in, rather than doing lots of day trips. They're all quite close together, but it's nice to be overnight in all of them.

Bohinj and Bled are quite different - the former is beautiful with the mountains right on the shore (and you can go up the Vogel cable car to get up into the mountains), and very relaxed. Bled is also beautiful, but is more touristy - not in a bad way, but it's much busier! Rowing to the island is fun though, and the lido was a nice place to chill for an afternoon. The castle is good too.
We stayed at a lovely place called the Old Parish House, and would highly recommend. Very central, but tucked away, and much nicer (IMO) than the huge hotels on the lake shore (it's slightly set back from the lake, but only by one flight of stairs!).

Ljubliana also well worth staying over. It's a lovely city - we stayed at B&B Slamic, and would recommend that too - definitely more of a hotel than a B&B, in a great location and really nice rooms.

Zell am See is a pretty town, and the scenery is lovely, but (IMO) not a patch on Bohinj/Bled. I've done it in summer and winter, and enjoyed it both times, but if I was offered the chance to go back to there or Slovenia it would be Slovenia every time.

Thanks @TheTripThatWasnt that's a really useful and detailed answer!

Definitely helpful to know that ECO isn't actually in Bohinj, that may knock it off my list now. I would definitely prefer us to stay in a place (or places) with some amenities and activities on the doorstep - it sounds like Bohinj itself or Bled would be better for that.

I do hear what you're saying about travelling around but tbh I'm looking for something fairly simple and straightforward - minimum organisation required and a holiday where we don't have to pack up and move frequently, I think that way we'll have more time to relax in between excursions and activities.

I was leaning towards Zell I think, but now your enthusiasm for Slovenia is making me think twice! 😄

If you don't want to move around, you may be better off in a town... How long are you going away for? And what kind of things do you like to do?
Bled is more of a base than Bohinj, and easy to get to lots of things from there. Plus more places to eat etc. And maybe don't rule out the ECO hotel - the town it's in is very well connected to everywhere else (if you're keen outdoorsy people, I think there are hiking trails to the lake, and there are certainly cycle paths). The ECO place does have a sister hotel (I think it's called Sunrose, or something like that), which is smaller and more boutiquey - just depends what kind of thing you like. We looked at the ECO hotel, but it was just too big for me (and we wouldn't have made use of the pools etc).

If you're planning to stay in once place, it's worth considering having a car though. Whilst the buses are brilliant, we only used them to get from base to base, and doing all our 'excursions' locally to each base. If you had a car, you could stay anywhere and easily do lots of trips from there. It would be a really easy place to drive in.

Hi @SilkieChick - we had a holiday last year that started off in Austria (we stayed in a chalet at lakeside petzen glamping which was just gorgeous) and from there we drove to Slovenia and stayed at the Eco hotel. The Eco hotel was great for us as the weather was awful (solid rain in August!) and our kids loved the aqua park attached to it that you can use for free. The rooms were fine, large but basic and the food at the hotel was good. Not far at all to the actual lake. lake Bled was heaving in august and Bohinj a bit quieter.

You could base yourself in Kranjska Gora for a few days in Slovenia. It’s a ski village in winter and a hiking base in summer. We stayed at Hotel Skipass which is right next to the bus stop. Would highly recommend and their restaurant was superb too. It’s about a 10 minute walk into the centre of town with lots of restaurants etc.

It’s also only a 20 minute walk to Lake Jasna which is just stunning. Check out Hotel Milka there for a truly stunning stay.

When we went we did three nights Ljubljana, did a day trip to Piran and also to the Postojna Caves / Predjama Castle (both of which were amazing - just booked through the tourist office).

We did then hire a car but you could do it by bus and headed to Kranjska Gora for three nights, then ended up four nights in Bled. We timed it to coincide with the Festival of Light which is on the Saturday round about the 20th July each year. Would recommend.

I stayed at Hotel Park last year (and about 30 years ago). It was lovely - make sure you book a lake view room.

We've also stayed at the Grand Union in Ljubljana which is gorgeous too.

Ok, sounds like lots of recommendations for moving around a bit! I don't love the idea of organising that kind of holiday, but I'll consider it!

To answer your questions @TheTripThatWasnt we're planning just a week, and we like plenty of outdoor stuff - walks, cycling, swimming and bit of sightseeing. Boat trips are a bonus and an indoor pool is a must - everyone agreed we loved using one during our last holiday, especially when the weather wasn't warm enough for outdoor swimming!

@DibbleDooDah I did wonder about Kransjka Gora because I hadn't really heard of it before - sounds like there's still lots to do there.

@CharlotteStreetW1 good to know you had a good experience at Hotel Park! And a good tip too about the lake view - thanks!

I would stay in Lake Bled (also stayed in a lake view balcony room at Hotel Park). From Bled you can get local bus to both Ljubljana and Bohinj. You can also do trips to Piran etc. There are also some lovely walks.

Have yet to visit Slovenia it’s on our must go list.
However absolutely adore Austria!
We have stayed in various places but found we liked Zell and Saalbach best in summer. Both fantastic though zell has the edge for me ,lovely town.,beautiful lake and lidos. The summer card gives free access to mountain lifts lots of attractions and public transport in the region which is great.
Also you can get a train to Salzburg from Zell so you can do a bit of city exploring. We stayed in hotel stadn wein in zell which is fantastic and would totally recommend. In Saalbach, we stayed in a lovely hotel called hotel Eva, however for us Saalbach was a bit too small for our liking but still a beautiful place and the mountain biking is second to none.

Thanks all for your input!

We've taken the plunge and opted for a week in Lake Bled. I think it ticks most of our boxes and suits the kind of holiday we enjoy most.

I'm already looking forward to it! 😀