Well, as someone already mentioned above, all the accommodation in the immediate area of the lake is very expensive, especially for Slovenian standards. The reason behind this is rich Russian and Chinese tourists visiting in flocks in the last few years increasing demand especially for the villa-hotels alongside the lake.

In general I would say it depends on your budget. My boss (he's Italian) goes to Bled every year and he's staying at the hotel at the golf course. It's a 4 star guest house few minutes away from the lake itself and the prices start at 60€ per night for a double room.

If your budget is lower and you don't mind a short drive to the lake, there are literally dozens of small family owned B&Bs or even just people letting spare rooms to tourists in a few miles area around the lake. If you plan on going off season, I would probably even recommend just going there without any reservations, as in the villages surrounding the lake, basically every other house is displaying a sign saying "zimmer / rooms"

Like this for example, starting at 32€ per night:
http://www.tulipan-azman.si/en/names...nik-namestitev
There are many places like this and you might even find something cheaper. You can check the surrounding villages like Lesce, Gorje, Žirovnica, etc. all within few minutes from the lake.

Oh and one more thing, you can't actually stay on the island, it belongs to the church, but you are allowed to spend as much time there as you wish. It's a tradition in Bled that newly wed grooms carry their brides up the 99 steps leading to the church

We did a trip to Croatia last year. We went on a sleeper train from Munich to Zagreb, then bus from Zagreb to Zadar and then to Nin.

We went to Nin because we have friends who have a camping/caravan/apartment site there. We loved it.

It's listed here on the top sandy beaches for Croatia - the water was crystal-clear and around Nin itself (a roman fortification/town) there is a shallow area for swimming, so quite kid and non-swimmer friendly...

I assume that being north (Dalmatian coast) that would cut down some of the driving time, but personally I'd just fly into Zadar and catch a local bus or hire a car...unless you are really dedicated to driving (that said, we would do 14 hour car trips (one way) in Australia to see my grandparents at Christmas time...)...

You can get train tickets from Zurich to Zagreb for like 30€ - 40€ if you're lucky, but I would definitely recommend it only as a last resort. You will be spending 15-17 hours with 5 other people and you won't even be able to sit properly. Alternatively you can take a sleeper, but that costs considerably more. Oh and once you are in Zagreb, you are still quite far from the seaside...

Well in that case just hop on your bike and check out one of the best biker roads in the world connecting Trenta and Kranjska gora. (in the TOP 6 according to Getgeared: http://www.getgeared.co.uk/6-best-biker-roads )

When you go to Postojna make sure you visit the Predjama castle as well. It's just 5-6 miles away and it's one of the most interesting buildings I've ever seen. It's built into a karst cave. http://www.slovenia.info/en/grad/Pre...grad=654&lng=2

Nejc already mentioned the Škocjan caves: http://www.slovenia.info/en/Nature-P...rki=3899&lng=2 (nicer than Postojna in my opinion) and my personal favorite the Soča river http://www.dolina-soce.com/en/ , the most beautiful color I have ever seen

If you see that as expensive for a 4* I'm guessing you haven't stayed at many Swiss hotels....

The prices at the lake are double. This is a few miles away from the lake. 100-120€ per night by Slovenian standards is something like 400-500 CHF per night in Switzerland.

Thanks Nenad- I didn't know you can't stay on the Island (as my mum did all those years ago)- just this one, we will blow the budget and stay by the Lake, off Peak, like late April and just for a couple of nights. My mum told me so much about it- and I want to try and compare with all the pictures I have. Will try and shop around for the best prices and as we are retired, will go when we can get the best offer. Will have to do some research, but what is the nearest airport actually?

OH won't be carrying me across I'm afraid- we've been married for 44 years later this month- and I am a big girl lol.

Wow- I think I've found the Hôtel which was the house where my mother stayed- and later was Tito's! So perhaps this would be best- prices are not bad off-peak at all.

The closest international airport is the Ljubljana Airport, which is like a half an hour drive away from Bled. Not sure whether there are direct bus/train connections though.

One that stood out to me is in Poreč.