Individual arrival. Start your cycling holiday in Bled, a world-renowned alpine town on the banks of the beautiful glacial lake, with the striking island church surrounded by high peaks, and the cliff-top castle guarding the town. Bled is one of the most popular and well-known tourist attractions in Slovenia. If you arrive early enough, you can walk around the lake or take the boat to the island church and make a wish. A stay in Bled is not complete without seeing the lake from above. So walk to the castle or hike 40 minutes to Mala Osojnica for beautiful views. Round off your evening with Bled’s culinary delight – the cream cake.

A short car transfer leaves you on the high plateau at Pokljuka. From here you’ll cycle through alpine villages to Lake Bohinj, the jewel of the Triglav National Park. Encircled by tall mountain peaks, Bohinj is the largest and deepest lake in the national park. A side trip takes you to Savica Waterfall – the source of the lake and the Sava Bohinjka River. A cable car runs up to Vogel Mountain, where you can get a spectacular view into the Bohinj Valley and of Mount Triglav, the highest peak in the Julian Alps.

In the morning you’ll have two options. Your route will take you via the Sorica Pass over the Julian Alps, but if you want to save some climbing you can take a short train ride through the Bohinj tunnel to Podbrdo. Then you peddle off through a narrow valley and follow the beautiful emerald-green Soča River as it rushes out of the mountains and into the western side of the Julian Alps. Just before reaching your destination you’ll have a chance to dive into its supernatural waters, or visit the only monument in the world dedicated to military cooks.

You start with a transfer to the ridge of Kolovrat – the best vantage point, high above the Soča valley that forms the border between Slovenia and Italy. The ridge is about 7 km long and lies at an altitude of between 800 m and 1150 m. Be sure to visit Mrs Josephine, who runs an old-fashioned pub in the first village you cycle through. After descending, you will reach your destination for the day – Šmartno v Goriških Brdih, a recently beautifully renovated medieval village with narrow streets and Mediterranean houses. Relax here with a glass of white wine in an authentic village pub.

From Solkan you quickly reach “Southern Berlin”. The town of Gorizia was once the dividing point between Italy and Yugoslavia. While here, visit the very interesting Curtain museum. Further along the border you’ll come to the smallest military museum in the world, a historic Yugoslav border outpost, and the ancient Kostanjevica Monastery, burial place of the last French King. Turning south and entering Italy, you’ll soon reach the Adriatic sea. You will spend the afternoon in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, passing by rivers, canals and ancient Roman towns. Your destination will be Aquileia, with its Roman excavations, or Grado, a lively historic resort town on a lagoon island.

This morning you cycle back a bit, inland and leave the sea behind. You will traverse a multitude of ‘Valli da pesca’ (long stretches of lagoons enclosed by dams and home to extensive fish farming) and ‘casoni’ (constructions once used by fishermen during the fishing season). Your destination is the city of Portogruaro, which was one of the centers during the Venetian Republic period and still impresses with its magnificent palazzi or palaces.

From Portogruaro you can expect a comfortable drive west along beautiful Adriatic beaches. There are plenty of relaxation and swimming opportunities, so don’t forget to take your swimming gear with you. You will stay in one of the two towns along this famous coastline, subject to availability. Jesolo is a gateway to Venice, from here you can easily travel to the airport or to the old town on the lagoon.

After breakfast the cycling from Lake Bled to Venice tour ends. But you can stay longer or visit the historic city of Venice.