Rating: ★★★ 6.5 out of 10

“Krvavec is a small resort only 25 km (30-35 minutes away by car) from Slovenian capital, Ljubljana. It is best suited for beginners but it can keep better skiers occupied for 2 or 3 days. Views are spectacular since there is a sprawling plain around the mountain. Snow reliability  is good due to the orientation of the resort and their snow making machines. It is small but it has almost everything you need (ski park, free ride zone etc.). If you are not a die-hard fan of skiing this can be a great destination, because you can combine shopping, sight-seeing, and other activities you can do in a big city with going to the resort.”

PROS: great snow reliability, beautiful scenery, ideal for short visits, close to Ljubljana (Slovenian capital)

CONS: small, can be crowded on weekends

KRVAVEC SLOPES

You will start your day in the Krvavec ski resort on large parking just by the gondola base station. If you don’t find empty space  for your car there, you can leave it on smaller parking lots down the road and take free bus to the lift.  Top station of the gondola is situated at 1,477 m. It is the lowest point of the resort, and from there you will be able to reach the rest of the slopes. The Highest peak of Krvavec lays at 1,971 m above sea level. Queues can be long on weekends or holidays since Krvavec is mainly visited by domestic and Croatian (close to the border) snow enthusisasts.

The resort has 30 km of pistes. Snow grooming is fine but not up to standards of Italian or Austrian resorts. Pistes are mainly red but actually even slopes marked as intermediate will be fine for beginners. There are 4 black runs, 2 of them are not groomed at all (reason why they are marked as hard) and the other 2 are not too steep. Pistes are short but you can combine them and get from the highest to the lowest point of the area (494 m in height difference). Keep in mind that lifts are not fast and you will need some time to get up to the top again. There are great views from the resort. It is often sunny and cloud coverage is frequently below your position.

If you think that Krvavec won’t fulfil all your needs and if you have a car, you can buy the Slovenian Alps Ski Pass, which will give you access to additional resorts: Kranjska Gora (most famous in the group, venue of FIS world cup), Vogel, Cerkno and 3Laendereck ski centre (Austria). Resorts are not connected and there is some distance between them. They have 117 km of pistes in total.

FREERIDE AND TERRAIN PARKS ON KRVAVEC

Krvavec has 2 designated spots for freeriding. First one is run number 14 (left on the map) and the other is slope number 4. Area around run number 14 is pretty big but it gets criss-crossed in a few hours. There is a fence on the right side of the slope which marks the border of the resort. If you skip it (seen people do it but I didn’t dare) you will have even more space for off piste skiing. I wouldn’t recommend it because of a huge abyss on one side (just imagine how many opportunities there are for something to go wrong).

Krvavec snow park elements change from season to season. It is situated on slope number 12 just below freeride area. Usually it has one huge kicker and lot of rails and fun boxes. It is nothing special but it is a nice addition to other features of the resort.    

HOW TO GET TO KRVAVEC

Krvavec is the  ski resort closest to an airport in Europe. Ljubljana’s, Brnik airfield, is only 8 km away.

If you have a car, as I mentioned earlier, you will need only 30-35 minutes to get there from Ljubljana. If you don’t, there is ski bus which will take you from Ljubljana’s main bus station to Krvavec. Bus operates only on weekends and holidays. Departures are at 8 AM and return from the resort is at 4:20 PM. The fare costs 7.2 EUR.

Biggest train stations close to Krvavec are in Ljubljana and Kranj (on the rail-line between Ljubljana and the Austrian city of Villach).

WHERE TO STAY ON KRVAVEC

There is only one hotel on the spot and it is, surprisingly, called Hotel Krvavec. It is the highest altitude in Slovenia. If you stay there you will be right on the slopes, it has sauna, but there will be not much to do in the evenings. You can also find accommodation on the road leading to the resort (there are several establishments).

We chose Ljubljana because it is not far away and it has a great choice of different places where you can stay (from high end hotels to private apartments you can rent). Also you have a wide range of activities you can do while you are off the slopes. Last time we were there we went for Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel. Great hotel (rooms, food, service…), at not such a great location, except if you are a shopaholic. It is situated 45 minutes by foot from city the centre and just by a big shopping mall called BTC.

Kranj (the 4^th largest city in Slovenia) would also be a good choice since it is closer than Ljubljana. You might even consider Bled, a well-known resort town. It has a nice lake with a small island in it, old fortress, famous cream cake, casinos etc. It is further away from Krvavec than Ljubljana but if you are interested in other resorts included in the Slovenian Alps Ski Pass it might be a better choice (much closer).  

WHAT TO DO AFTER DAY ON SNOW (APRES-SKI) ON KRVAVEC

There are several bars with self-service restaurants on Krvavec where you can have a brake. Hotel Krvavec has a big sun deck where you can enjoy your refreshments. Others are situated around the top station of gondola. Don’t expect too much from the restaurants.

If you chose to stay in Ljubljana you will have a great choice of what to do in your time away from the mountain. A great place for shopping is the BTC mall, where you can also find an indoor water park (free entrance for guests of Radisson Blu hotel), a bowling alley, a cinema etc.

Take a walk along Ljubljanica River in the centre, visit Presern’s square and the Dragon Bridge (especially vibrant around Christmas and  New Year’s Eve). Climb up Ljubljana Castle. Pizza was great in Ljubljanski Dvor, also try the food in Pod Lipom restaurant. If you are interested in alternative music and street art go to Metelkova Street where you will find old army barracks turned into clubs, bars etc.

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