Share
Scan the QR code and open PeakVisor on your phone
Scan the QR code and open PeakVisor on your phone
Vogel Ski Resort is one of the most scenic Slovenian ski resorts. It is named after nearby Mount Vogel and is located above valley Bohinj next to Lake Bohinj in the Southern Julian Alps. The resort has been in operation since 1964 and currently offers quality skiing on 22 km (13.5 mi) of slopes and pristine off-piste terrain, accessible with nine lifts. The resort is in Triglav National Park; it’s 100 km (62 mi) northwest of Ljubljana, and the nearest city is Bled. The lifts service terrain between 560 m (1837 ft) and 1800m (5905 ft) above sea level. Ski season depends entirely on natural snowfall, as no snow-making can occur within the national park. Visitors are primarily locals, but the resort is gaining popularity among foreigners who stay for low prices, good food, and natural beauty.
Vogel Ski Resort is in the Southern part of the Julian Alps near Lake Bohinj in the northwestern part of Slovenia. It is part of the Upper Carniola region (Gorenjska). Bohinjska Bistrica is the largest settlement within the Bohinj Valley. To the northeast, you can reach the resort’s closest city, Bled.
Bled is the most popular tourist destination in the Upper Carniola region and the country of Slovenia. The city sits directly on the shores of Lake Bled, which features an island in the middle of the lake. The island is not populated but serves as a tourist attraction where you can have family hangouts, parties, or even weddings.
Vogel Ski Resort is within Triglav National Park (TNP), the only national park in Slovenia. TNP is in the Julian Alps, which form the southeastern part of the Alpine Massif. TNP’s and Slovenia’s highest peak is Mount Triglav, with an elevation of 2864 m (9396 ft).
The nearest airport to Vogel is Ljubljana Airport (Jože Pučnik), roughly 60 km (37 mi) away. If you are planning your trip in winter and are flying in, it is worth giving Ljubljana a night or two of your time. The capital’s central area is covered with decorative lights from December until the New Year. Prices of apartments vary through seasons, but generally, places closer to the center are more expensive than the ones closer to the highway ring.
If you don’t have a car, it’s possible to get to Vogel from Ljubljana by bus from the central station. It’s a 2-hour trip operated by the company Arriva.
Parking at the ski resort is free; just be mindful of parking in the overnight lot if you’re traveling by campervan.
The nearest city to Vogel Ski Center is Bled. Getting around by bus is possible with companies like Arriva, Alpetour, and Nomago. Multiple buses run from between Bled and Vogel every day. I also find Rome2Rio helpful when planning trips using public transportation. However, it’s important to note that public transport schedules in Slovenia change often. It’s worth calling the providers to inquire about routes. Most people understand some English, making basic communication possible.
Renting a car is undoubtedly the most convenient way of getting around the resort area. You can avoid waiting for public transport in the cold, flit in and out of nearby restaurants and pubs, and hit the slopes first thing in the morning. Naturally, renting a vehicle is more expensive than public transport, but you may find the convenience worth the price. Additionally, Vogel is much cheaper than resorts in Western Europe, so you’ll save money either way.
The ski season at Vogel usually lasts from mid-December to mid-April. Half-term in Slovenia is in the second week of February, so the resort is busiest that week. Like any place, you will wait in longer queues on weekends. The best skiing is during the week when there are no lift lines, and few people are out and about on the slopes.
The amount of snowfall in Slovenia varies from season to season. At Vogel Ski Resort, the snow is entirely natural due to national park regulations; there is no artificial snowmaking.
Generally, the most significant snowfall occurs in January. Snow is good quality, making Vogel a popular freeride and backcountry destination (especially the upper part). Nevertheless, the weather can be moody on some days (wind or rain). Don’t forget that this is the Mediterranean, and there are always many sunny days in the season, even during snowy winters.
Vogel Ski Resort is a medium-sized ski resort. The cable car from the base brings you to the resort, where several chairlifts and tow lifts service the slopes. The best view of Lake Bohinj is on the way up (when loading into the gondola, stay on the left of the cabin for the best view).
One of the biggest pros of Vogel Ski Resort is how straightforward the infrastructure and logistics are. The parking lot, ticket office, and cable car are hard to miss. The cable car in the valley is the only way to ascend if you are not ski-touring. Next to the ticket office is a large piste map that gives a clear overview of the lift status and basic orientation. Slopes are well-marked with signs; you can also find information at the bottom of each lift.
Beginners can stick to the blue slopes at the bottom of the mountain, while advanced skiers can head higher up or hit the snowpark.
Visitors can purchase ski passes at the ticket office from 7:45 to 16:00, and the cable car operates from 8:00 to 18:00 every half an hour. It is possible to ski back down to the ticket office with enough snow. Otherwise, you’ll download the cable car at the end of the day.
To be honest, if you stay at Vogel for a week or two, skiing should not be your only activity. You will likely get bored if you only ski the groomers; there simply aren’t that many of them. Remember, the resort only has 22 km (13.5 mi) of groomed runs. Sticking to the lifts, Vogel is great for fresh air and forgetting work for a while. However, ski touring and spending nights in the mountains make this destination worth staying for an entire week.
Vogel slopes are easy and intermediate. Most of them are placed above the treeline. Slovenia's longest official ski run, Žagarjev Graben, is 7.5 km (4.7 mi) long with 1231 m (4039 ft) of elevation difference. The higher up the mountain you go, the harder the slopes get.
The ski lifts at Vogel ski resort are not shiny and new, with one of the country's oldest chairs - the Šija chairlift. Šija is a one-seater built in 1967 that takes you to the highest station of the resort (1792 m / 5879 ft). It’s worth coming to the top just to experience this museum piece of a lift - you won’t find many chairlifts like this in the U.S. and Europe. Vogel’s newest lifts are Doppelmayrs, installed in 2007.
To give you an idea of how few people are skiing here at a given time, the cable car brings up to 80 people from the valley to the resort every half an hour. From there, the maximum number of persons on the lift is 4. However, a new gondola is planned up the mountain for the upcoming season 2023/2024.
Because it only transports 160 people per hour, the morning lift line at the cable car can be absolutely atrocious during busy days. Conversely, the afternoon can be equally bad for folks downloading if the piste doesn’t have enough snow. Your best bet is to arrive early; if you can avoid this queue, you shouldn’t worry about the upper mountain. The higher lift capacity generally keeps lines to a minimum.
Ski Slopes and Lifts
Other features and services
There are no official trails at the resort, but you can rent snowshoes from snow sports stores in the Bohinj Valley and head out exploring. The Pokljuka Plateau is 33 km (20,5 mi) from the Vogel Resort and close to Bled (14 km / 8.7 mi). Pokljuka is famous for hosting World Cup events in Biathlon and being a good starting point for mountain hikes and ski tours. Hikes can be mellow or long, and you can get up into the alpine. Below the treeline, mighty forests offer an enchanted wilderness experience.
Vogel Ski Resort and Bohinj Valley will not disappoint when it comes to ski touring and backcountry skiing. It is Slovenia's most popular destination for chasing powder turns on virgin snow. When the days become longer, people drive to Pokljuka after work to get some vertical distance under their belt and shrug off the office blues.
During snowy winters, locals say Slovenia’s best powder is right at Vogel Ski Resort. The lift-accessible off-piste is great for freeriders; the terrain is skiable between the slopes, and most of the area is above the treeline. Powderhounds love the resort on storm days; if it’s not too windy and the lifts are running, you can hammer out deep laps all morning. The slopes are almost universally moderate in pitch, so avalanche danger is much lower than in other European freeride areas.
For ski touring enthusiasts, Suha and Rodica, the queen of the lower Bohinj mountains, are two more accessible ski touring options. I suggest starting your tour at the Kratki plaz drag lift and the Šija single chairlift. At Šija’s top station, you can traverse and climb to the top of Šija mountain and ski down to Zadnji Vogel double chairlift or even Ukanc when the conditions are good.
The peaks surrounding Vogel and the renowned mountain hut Komna are also among the most popular ski-touring destinations.
A one-day ski pass was 40€ for adults and 20€ for children during the 22/23 season. However, the resort offers a family discount for daily ski passes: 35€ for adults and 17€ for children. The ski resorts Vogel and Kranjska Gora partnered to provide a mutual ski pass. If you buy multi-day tickets and plan to ski in Kranjska Gora on your trip, it can be worth buying the combined ticket, especially if the weather forecast in one place is undesirable.
Žičnice Vogel Bohinj, d.d.
Ukanc 6, 4265 Bohinjsko Jezero, Slovenia
Info: +386 (0)4 572 97 12
Ticket Office: +386 (0)4 572 97 21
Upper cable car station: +386 (0)41 774 468
General inquiries: info@vogel.si
Compared to European megaresorts, the food at Vogel is cheaper and of higher quality. You can enjoy traditional meals for relatively low prices (for a ski resort). You have two main restaurants on the mountain.
The kind staff in Restaurant Viharnik offers excellent service while guests enjoy the panoramic view of the Bohinj Valley and Triglav. Located in the cable car top station, it has an inside dining room with a stunning view. You can also sit on the terrace for a panoramic view of the ski resort.
You can take a shorter break next to the top station of the Orlove glave chairlift. The snack bar there goes by the same name as the lift, which means ‘eagle’s head.’ It’s a common stop for folks who want to stay close to the slopes and freeride zones; often, ski tourers stop here on the way to the next peak.
The Bohinj Valley has plenty of dining options next to the ski resort. A popular choice is the restaurant and pizzeria Ukanc, in the town of Ukanc.
You can find several pleasantly warm corners for accommodation in Vogel. You can expect to be just a few steps away from the groomed ski slopes or go on a planned tour before dawn. Rental is possible throughout the year. Guest houses are also available all year round, and they are happy to prepare a delicious meal for you. Chalets Ruša, Zala, Burja, Merjasec, and others provide one of the coziest experiences in Triglav National Park.
If your plans include accommodation in the valley, there are plenty of options, from Airbnb apartments to hostels and hotels.
Vogel Ski Resort is not party oriented. You can experience some Après-ski at the top gondola station or Orlove glave, but you’ll have to head down to the Bohinj Valley for the real action. However, when the National Big Air championship or Obsession Snow Session is held in the snowpark, it’s an excellent time to party at the resort.
Bled is a town of about 10,000 people located 30 minutes from Vogel Ski Resort. The town, with its stunning lake and feudal architecture, has been a tourist getaway since the 19th century. Bled is also the gateway to Triglav National Park for outdoor adventure seekers and is the starting point of many hikes and treks.
The Assumption of Mary Pilgrimage Church sits on a small island in the lake's center. It is a tradition among visitors to ring the church bell, per an ancient legend that promises good fortune. Before the church's construction, the island housed a temple dedicated to Živa, the Slavic deity associated with love and fertility. During weddings, which are frequent in the summer months, it is customary for the groom to carry his newlywed bride up these steps while the bride observes a tradition of remaining silent.
Visitors can utilize traditional flat-bottomed wooden boats, known as ‘pletnas’ in Slovene, to reach the island. These boats, which a family-owned business has operated since the 18th century, form a fixed fleet of 23 vessels to preserve the lake’s cleanliness. During cold winters, you can walk to the island on the frozen lake.
Bled Castle, once the center of a sizeable feudal estate, sits on a cliff overlooking the lake. It is the oldest castle in Slovenia (a country filled with castles) and is one of the most visited places in the country. The castle now serves as a historical museum open to visitors year-round.
Ljubljana is a couple of hours from Vogel, but it’s worth paying a visit to this lively and beautiful capital city. You may even want to stay a few days to really get an idea of the place.
It’s easy to explore Ljubljana on foot, although taxis are also relatively affordable. Prices generally range from 5 to 10 euros, depending on the distance driven. A cab from Ljubljana Airport to the city center should be 30 to 40 euros. If you plan to stay longer, getting the urban card for the public bus service (LPP) is worth considering. You can get it at the central station and put your funds on it at many bus stops using ATM-like machines.
Ljubljana is a bastion of central-European culture. The capital’s central area is covered with decorative lights from December until the New Year. Canals crisscross narrow streets lined with historical buildings and architecture. Castles overlook the city from nearby hillsides. Better yet, the city has most of Slovenia’s universities, and the students like to party. The club and music scene here is robust; the best nights to go out are Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
Prices of apartments vary through seasons, but generally, places closer to the center are more expensive than the ones closer to the highway ring. It shouldn’t be hard to book a hotel or an apartment in Ljubljana online with the help of platforms like Booking and Airbnb.
Opened in 1948, Kranjska Gora Ski Resort is Slovenia's oldest ski resort. Located in Upper Carniola, it encompasses five distinct sections nestled under the majestic Vitranc Mountain, spanning across the valley bearing the same name as the municipality.
The resort boasts an extensive array of offerings, including 20 km (12 miles) of ski slopes and 40 km (25 miles) of cross-country skiing and snowshoeing tracks. Kranjska Gora is on the northern end of Triglav National Park, about 75 minutes from Vogel by car.
The Vogel cable car operates year-round. Lake Bled and Lake Bohinj are beautiful to visit in winter or summer when you can rent stand-up paddleboards or kayaks. In Bled, you can row to Bled Island and visit the historic Pilgrimage Church of the Assumption of Maria.
Hiking, kayaking, canoeing, fishing, boating, and mountain biking are the primary summer activities for active folks visiting Bled. There are many mountain bike trails, and bike park enthusiasts can visit Kranjska Gora bike park. Kranjska Gora and Bovec offer plenty of wine tastings at the local vineyards.
Savica Waterfall is a double waterfall and is the most famous in Slovenia. It is just 4 km (2.5 mi) from the Vogel Ski Resort. When the road is clear, it’s just a five-minute hike to see this mysterious natural beauty.
