The Alpe Adria Trail through Slovenia, Kranjska Gora to Brda

The Alpe Adria Trail’s Slovenian stages

The trail reaches Slovenia close to the point where the Austrian, Italian and Slovenian borders meet, and the Slovenian section starts in Kranjska Gora. From there the first stage climbs the Vršič Pass, the highest in the Julian Alps, with views of the north faces of the biggest peaks, and drops to Trenta, passing the monument to the mountaineer Julius Kugy. If I had to choose one stage, this would be it.

The Soča Valley, the highlight

The Soča Valley tourist board counts five stages on its patch. Trenta to Bovec runs through Triglav National Park and past the Great Soča Gorge, where the water has polished a narrow slot that opens into green and blue pools. Bovec to Drežnica passes the Kozjak gorge and the Kozjak waterfall, 15 m high inside a chamber of rock. The next stage ends in Tolmin, with the Tolmin Gorges a short walk away and Javorca church a little further. The fifth leaves Tolmin for Gorenji Tarbij and passes an open-air museum to the Italian third line of defence on the Soča Front.

Brda and the Karst, towards the sea

The route then crosses into Italy via Cividale and returns to Slovenia through Goriška Brda, with one stage ending at Šmartno, the fortified village among the vines, and the next leaving it for Cormons. The final stages cross the Karst, pass the Lipica stud farm and finish at Muggia, by Trieste.

If you are staying the night, see the best hotel deals in Bovec for your dates: the well-placed rooms go fast.

Beds, luggage and pace

For the Soča Valley tourist board, the benchmark is coping with 15 to 25 km, or 5 to 6 hours’ walking, each day. No climbing gear is needed, but you do want good boots, layers, sun protection, a first aid kit, water and food, plus tick repellent in spring. There’s accommodation at the end of each stage, mostly three-star, and a shop on every stage except Drežnica. Some simpler restaurants don’t take cards, so carry cash. Wild camping is banned in Slovenia, so it’s campsites only.

You can do it independently and with a dog, kept on a lead. If you’d rather not carry the big pack, the official Alpe Adria Trail booking centre for Slovenia arranges rooms, luggage transfers and transport to the start, with a 10-hour emergency line seven days a week. For public transport, Arriva buses cover Kranjska Gora to Trenta and Nomago runs from Trenta to Tolmin.

The section I’d walk

For anyone short of days who wants the big scenery in one go, I prefer it to the Juliana Trail, because it packs Vršič and the Soča into three or four days. The Juliana is better for getting to know the villages. If you’re torn between them, the hiking guide compares all of Slovenia’s long routes.

So you do not lose the morning at the ticket office, browse tickets and tours in Bovec on GetYourGuide.

If you are staying the night, see the best hotel deals in Bovec for your dates: the well-placed rooms go fast.