Lake Bled, Velika Zaka

Monthly water temperature temperature

The surface runs about 23 °C in August. The annual low is 4.5 °C in January and the high is 23 °C in July. The summer thermocline sits at about 6 m, where the temperature drops sharply. For October, the mean surface figure is 15.5 °C.

Mean water temperature by month (°C)

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
4.5	4.5	6.5	10.5	16	20.5	23	23	20	15.5	10.5	6.5

Safety safety

Slovenia's ARSO samples Lake Bled at six points through the season; Velika Zaka is consistently the best-rated on the lake thanks to the spring inflow, and has never fallen below 'excellent' since records were digitised in 2010.

Safety notes (3)

• Pletna boats and tourist rowboats cross the lake continuously. Stay inside the bathing-area buoys; a rowboat has very limited visibility ahead.
• The island is 300 m offshore and looks closer than it is. Do not attempt the crossing; the water between the shore and the island reaches 20 m.
• Thunderstorms develop over the Karawanks most afternoons in July. The lake is large enough to build real waves in 20 minutes of wind.

Where to get in

• Bathing-lawn shelf — Grass lawn down to a gravel shelf; the designated bathing area, lifeguarded 15 June–15 September.
• Rowboat jetty — Diving platform beside the boat hire jetty, 3 m depth. Busy with pletna boats in the morning.

On site

• Beach bar and ice cream stand on the lawn
• Changing cabins, showers and toilets, €2
• Rowboat and SUP hire at the jetty

Getting there arrival · entry · exit

Getting there

Velika Zaka is on the south-west shore, 2 km from Bled town along the lakeside path — a 25 minute walk, or 5 minutes by car via the road to Bohinjska Bela.

Walk rather than drive in July and August. The car park fills by 10:00 and the lakeside path from town is one of the nicest approaches on the lake.

Getting in

Walk out over the gravel shelf. With a 1:18 gradient you will be 20 m out before reaching waist depth, and the surface temperature in August is 23 °C — the second warmest swim on this list.

Swim the 400 m along the bathing-area boundary and back. The thermal spring inflow is on this side, so the water gets slightly warmer the closer you stay to the western end of the lawn.

Getting out

Use the lawn, not the jetty. The lawn edge is grass over gravel and gives a dry standing spot within a metre of the water.

The beach bar is open until 20:00 in July and August and serves as the usual gathering point. Outside the season, showers are shut off and there is nowhere to change but the lakeside path.

Depth profile

A gentle 1:18 shelf reaching 1.5 m at 20 m out, then a steady slope to the 29.5 m basin in the middle. Because the lake is fed by thermal springs on the western side, the water near Velika Zaka is measurably warmer — 1.5–2 °C above the north shore on the same day.

Season window

June to September; the lake is a designated bathing area with a summer lifeguard service

Cold-water questions

Why is Lake Bled warm compared with other Alpine lakes?

It is small (1.45 km²), relatively shallow for its size at 29.5 m, and fed by thermal springs on the western shore, which combine to give 23 °C surface water in August.

Can you swim to the island in the middle of Lake Bled?

You should not. The crossing is 300 m over water up to 20 m deep, the lake carries constant boat traffic, and the bathing area does not extend beyond the buoys.