Discover Slovenia’s Exceptional Ski Resorts
The beautiful central-European country of Slovenia is home to some of the best-value skiing in the Alps. The majestic mountain peaks of the Julian Alps surround several small, picturesque ski resorts, most of which are under an hour’s drive from the nearest airport. Accommodation and lift passes are affordable and pistes are generally uncrowded. Although most of the ski areas are quite small, it’s possible to combine multiple resorts in a single trip, allowing visitors to sample the unique terrain and warm welcome.
Vogel: A Picturesque Ski Destination
Vogel is the only ski area situated within Triglav National Park, benefiting from an almost unbelievably picturesque location. Surrounded by towering mountains, it offers stunning views over Lake Bohinj towards Mt Triglav, Slovenia’s highest peak.
Despite its relatively diminutive size (18.5km of pistes), the area’s varied topography makes it feel much bigger. The laid-back atmosphere is perfect for carefree coasting down the well-groomed blue and red runs. When conditions are optimal with plenty of snow, it becomes an excellent destination for off-piste skiing and ski touring. Most skiers stay down in the pretty Bohinj Valley, taking the high-speed gondola up from Ukanc. However, there are restaurants, bars, ski-hire facilities, chalets, and even a hotel available up on the mountain.
Family-friendly Facilities at Kranjska Gora
Uniquely, Kranjska Gora’s ski area is located directly next to the village, allowing many hotels to offer ski-in, ski-out access. The compact and straightforward piste layout features several parallel lifts providing access to a range of side-by-side nursery, blue, and red slopes. This makes it a perfect choice for families and beginners, as it’s virtually impossible to lose anyone and incredibly easy for parents to check on their kids in ski school.
Moreover, abundant artificial-snow cannons compensate for the relatively low altitude, and night skiing until 10pm allows for plenty of slope time even on short visits. More advanced skiers can test their mettle on the steeper red and black runs over the hill in Podkoren, including a challenging world-cup downhill run that appears almost vertical in places.
Cross-border Skiing at Kanin
Slovenia’s highest ski area, situated right on the border with Italy, Kanin reopened in the 2016–17 season after extensive refurbishment of the cable-car connecting it to the town of Bovec in the Soča Valley. In contrast to the Cold War era, skiers can now pass freely across into Italy thanks to a state-of-the-art cable-car connection with the resort of Sella Nevea.
Kanin’s runs are sunny and south-facing, which is ideal during chilly conditions, whereas Sella Nevea’s north-facing runs are favorable as conditions warm up. The scenery on both sides is spectacular, characterized by dramatic rocky outcrops and views stretching all the way to the Adriatic Sea on clear days. Consequently, thanks to high altitudes of up to 2300m, conditions remain good into the spring, allowing for the unique possibility of combining winter and water sports in the same holiday once the rafting season begins in mid-March down in the Soča Valley below.
Ski Pass Options
Although most of Slovenia’s ski areas are relatively small and suitable for beginners, families, and those on short breaks, a great option for more experienced skiers is to combine various resorts within the same holiday using the Julian Alps International Ski Pass. This pass currently covers Slovenian resorts such as Kanin, Kranjska Gora, Krvavec (30km of pistes located close to Ljubljana’s airport), Cerkno (a family-friendly area incorporating a thermal spa), and Soriška Planina. Additionally, the pass includes six nearby resorts in Italy and three in Austria.
Furthermore, the picturesque Bled, with its charming lake and castle, is just a 35-minute drive from Vogel, Kranjska Gora, and Krvavec, making it an attractive alternative for accommodation. You can sometimes find excellent deals by purchasing ski passes bundled with stays in Bled.
Cross-country Skiing and Biathlon at Pokljuka
The Pokljuka Plateau is the perfect place to reconnect with nature, skiing through towering coniferous forests and beautiful alpine meadows without the infrastructure and hustle of major ski resorts. Located at an elevation of around 1100 to 1400m, this heavily forested plateau is Slovenia’s prime destination for cross-country skiing.
Featuring over 30km of cross-country tracks, visitors can glide through peaceful forests and sunny meadows that transform into pastures for cows in summer. Equipment rental and lessons in cross-country skiing are available, and adventurous visitors can also try their hand at biathlon (a combination of skiing and shooting) using an air rifle.
Learn to Ice-climb in the Mlačca Gorge
Adventurous types who dream of strapping on crampons and wielding a pair of ice axes will find it easy to turn their ice-climbing dreams into reality in Slovenia. The ideal place to start is the Mlačca Gorge, situated not far from Kranjska Gora, where local ice-enthusiast Pavel Skumavc creates artificial waterfalls each winter by trickling water down the frozen cliffs each night.
Skumavc welcomes complete beginners to his frozen wonderland and provides all the equipment and training needed to scale his icy creations safely. Soon, climbers find themselves perched precariously on the tips of their crampons, several meters above the ground, swinging their ice axes with wild abandon as shards of loose ice shower down from above.
