Vršič Pass: Kranjska Gora to Bovec, 50 km in 2 Days

The Vršič Pass (1,611 m) is Slovenia’s highest road pass — 50 numbered hairpins, several of them cobbled — climbing over the Julian Alps in Triglav National Park and dropping into the valley of the Soča, one of Europe’s most vividly turquoise rivers. The road was built by Russian prisoners of war in the First World War; the little Russian Chapel still stands near hairpin 8. The pass is best driven June–September. It is not automatically closed in winter, but snow, avalanche risk or roadworks can restrict or close the road at any time of year, so check promet.si before you go. You drive on the right.

Day 1 — Kranjska Gora over Vršič to Trenta (25 km)

From the resort town of Kranjska Gora, climb the 24 northern hairpins past the Russian Chapel to the 1,611 m saddle. Wind down the 26 southern bends into the Trenta valley, stopping at the source of the Soča and the small alpine museum. Trenta is a small valley with very few beds, so have your night booked before you set off.

Day 2 — The Soča valley to Bovec (25 km)

Follow the emerald Soča downstream to the Velika Korita, the Great Soča Gorge, which is free to visit on foot, and on to Bovec, the valley’s hub for rafting and kayaking. The Soča Trail along the river is a hiking trail, closed to motor vehicles. The Boka waterfall is not on this stretch: it lies about 6 km beyond Bovec, on the road towards Kobarid, a short walk from the car park. The Kanin cable car above Bovec has been closed since 2023 and needs a major renovation before it can reopen.

Costs

Use the cost calculator to price fuel and nights for your exact dates. You need a Slovenian e-vignette only for the motorway from Ljubljana, which you leave at Jesenice; a regional road continues to Kranjska Gora, and the Vršič road itself is a toll-free mountain road. Budget for fuel and guesthouse nights. Accommodation in Trenta is very limited: in summer book well in advance, directly with the hosts or on a booking platform. The tourist information centres do not take bookings, and every summer motorcyclists arrive without one and find nowhere to stay. The Great Soča Gorge and Triglav National Park have no entry fee.

Ride with care

From June to September the narrow, winding roads over Vršič and down the Soča valley are shared with motorhomes, cyclists, buses and cars, and motorcyclists are regularly involved in accidents here. Keep to the speed limits, ride or drive within your skills and the conditions, and take the steep cobbled bends slowly. Go early to beat the traffic, and keep the revs down through the hairpins: this is Triglav National Park, Slovenia’s only national park, and loud engines carry far through the Trenta valley, where people live and wildlife needs quiet.

This trip is also in the free Roadcut trip planner: change the number of days and where you sleep each night, pick your vehicle to see the fuel cost, check the weather on the road, and open each day in Google Maps, Apple Maps or Waze.