Summer in Austria/slovenia

[Paratana]

We are looking to go on holiday in Austria/slovenia with our two boys (8 and 11). Does anyone have some good suggestions on where to stay and what to do? We will likely be driving from Munich and think about spending 1.5ish weeks going to Slovenia and back, but open to suggestions!

Slovenia is incredible for boys that age, we have done 2 holidays there with boys similar ages.
Couple of days in Ljubljana is plenty, we had a great time in the escape room there and going up to the castle although it’s not THE most exciting city for kids and can be skipped
The caves are Postojna are wonderful and the children will be gobsmacked by them, they are a must do.
Then head to Lake Bled, stay there for as long as you want, sunbathe, swim, pedalos, cycle, SUP, there is a great lido there with diving boards etc, hike up the gorge and come down on the tobagan, take the snorkelling stuff and see the fish etc.
Lake Bohinj is a short drive and you can do more of the same there, some people prefer it as quieter but I think Bled is better for kids and prettier.
You can also arrange to go rafting/kayaking/horse riding.
Slovenia is a gorgeous, safe, friendly and well organised country, it’s very easy to drive around and plan stuff.

DP and I had a holiday in Slovenia in 2024 - we spent 5 days in Ljubljana and drove out to Lake bled, lake bohinj, up to the mountains Julian Alps- 50 hairpin bends driving up and down - thrilling - the scenery is out of this world and lake Bled swimming leisure area is very family oriented. Lake bohinj is more rustic but fab for swimming too.
Ljubljana is a lovely city very small and loads of places to eat - didn’t really take note of any child friendly places but I’m sure it’s very set up for them.
we had been in Trieste for a couple of days and drove to Slovenia so we also visited the Postojna caves and castle which kids would love - little train down into the bowels of the earth. The weather was extremely hot when we were there so this was a welcome and cold respite.
Overall would recommend

Any recommendations for child friendly accommodation around Lake Bled or Bohinj? We don't mind self catering or hotel or glamping style but I'm having difficulty pinning something suitable down at the moment

I’ve done up a few pages on our Austria / Slovenia trip of last summer and can send it on if you would like to send me an email address ?

These apartments are amazing…. The location is stunning, the owner is lovely and you get (or did when we stayed) free SUP/row boat every day! Apparently it’s the only s/c place directly on the lake shore.
https://www.booking.com/hotel/si/lake-bled-apartments.en-gb.html?aid=2378099&label=olr-gmcc%3AEAIaIQobChMIjbHt3vmGkgMVBpNQBh2DmAFfEAAYAyAAEgI06PD_BwE&sid=64d936a34e38c03afd3088a457398ebd&checkin=2026-01-19&checkout=2026-01-20&dest_id=-75414&dest_type=city&dist=0&group_adults=2&group_children=0&hapos=1&hpos=1&no_rooms=1&req_adults=2&req_children=0&room1=A%2CA&sb_price_type=total&soh=1&sr_order=popularity&srepoch=1768253576&srpvid=15c597815b820560&type=total&ucfs=1&

The campsite in Bled is a good location too and the campsite at Bohinj is right on the lake, we walked through to eat and it looked nice

Good hotels , trips etc all with links. Was one of our best trips ever hence the reasons I documented as felt it could be useful to others .

These recommendations sound amazing, and maybe pushing more towards Slovenia than Austria (which my DH will be very happy about :D). I will look at all the suggestions, but if there are more keep them coming!

Slovenia is great, as all of the previous posters have commented, and you could easily spend your entire holiday there.

If you want to spend some time in Austria there are plenty of opportunities. Many ski resorts now have comprehensive summer programmes including zip wires and rope parks, summer tobogganing, rafting, hiking, outdoor swimming, mountain biking and more. Some resorts offer free tourist cards to their guests that give free use of cable cars, buses and entry into local attractions. See for example the Saalbach tourist office website - saalbach.com