Slovenia and Croatia in Winter: A Christmas Honeymoon from Lake Bled to Zagreb
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The first time I saw Lake Bled was in 2010, as an exchange student in Poland with a backpack and a rail map. 15 years later, I went back for my honeymoon.
From 21 December 2025 to 5 January 2026, my wife and I spent two weeks in Slovenia and Croatia, with Christmas at Lake Bled, a couple of days at a thermal spa, a night at Plitvice Lakes, and New Year in Zagreb.
Why Slovenia and Croatia for a December honeymoon?
Our brief was short: romantic, Christmas vibes, a little bit of luxury, and no dead towns. That last part matters more than it sounds, because a lot of Europe shuts down on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, and a small town in winter can feel like a film set after the crew has gone home.
We weighed three options. South Korea had no closures at all, plus ski resorts and great shopping, but it felt more like a winter city break than a Christmas. Poland, Hungary and Romania had more snow and better value, with a lot more train-hopping. (Japan was on the list for a while too.)
Slovenia and Croatia won. Between them, they had the fairytale scenery, English spoken almost everywhere, quiet nature, and a Christmas market in Zagreb that runs into January.
So you might be thinking, what about the cold and the short days? Do note that daylight runs from roughly 7.30am to 4.15pm, so any long transfer has to fit into the middle of the day.
What is Lake Bled like at Christmas?
We flew in through Amsterdam, spent one night in Ljubljana, and then had 5 nights at Lake Bled. Bled is the postcard you have probably seen: a small church on an island in the middle of the lake, a castle on the cliff above it, and the Julian Alps behind.
The main event was our honeymoon photoshoot around the lake.
Bled is also the home of the original cream cake, the kremšnita, which is a tall slab of vanilla custard and whipped cream between two sheets of pastry.
One day we went up to Vogel, a ski area above Lake Bohinj, which is the wilder and quieter lake next door.
What do you do after Christmas?
You go somewhere warm, even in Slovenia. On 27 December, a private transfer took us east to Podčetrtek, close to the Croatian border, for 2 nights at a thermal spa resort.
Then another transfer took us south into Croatia, with a stop at Rastoke, a small village of old watermills where the river runs right between and under the houses. We spent one night at Plitvice Lakes, the national park of terraced lakes and waterfalls. In a cold snap, the waterfalls can freeze into curtains of ice.
From Plitvice, a FlixBus took us the last stretch to Zagreb. We never hired a car on this trip.
How is New Year in Zagreb?
We finished with 5 nights in Zagreb, and saw in 2026 there. Zagreb’s Advent market has been voted the best Christmas market in Europe several times, and it spreads across the whole city centre, with lights in the parks and food stalls on almost every square.
This was my third time in Croatia. I first came in 2010, and passed through Zagreb again at the end of 2019, on my Eastern Europe trip through 14 countries.
One tip from our planning that I would pass on: on 1 January, most restaurants in Zagreb close. The hotel restaurants stay open, so book one of those ahead. And the local dish our research kept pointing to was štrukli, a baked pastry filled with cottage cheese.
How did the trading fit in?
The same way it does on any trip, in about 15 minutes a day.
That short routine is what makes two weeks away possible at all, honeymoon included. The full setup, the watchlist, the alerts and the time zones, is in my post on how I trade while travelling.
What would I tell a friend?
If you are planning a winter trip to Slovenia and Croatia, three things I would tell a friend. Book your Christmas Day and New Year’s Day dinners early, because so much closes. Use private transfers or the bus between towns instead of driving on winter roads. And give Zagreb more nights than you think, since the Advent market is the reason to be there in December.
Have you spent Christmas in Europe? Which market would you pick? Let me know in the comments.
All my other trips are on the travel log, country by country, and more photos from this one are on Instagram, @iamrecneps.
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