Before planning our trip to Slovenia, hut-to-hut hiking wasn’t highon our radar. It’s surprising considering how much we love traveling, hiking, affordable accommodations, and meeting new people - hut-to-hut hiking checks every box! Yet somehow, we had overlooked it until now. I mean we knew it was a whole thing, but we just hadn't done it.
Hut-to-hut hiking offers a unique adventure: multi-day treks through breathtaking landscapes, with cozy mountain huts providing lodging and hot, home-cooked meals. These huts, often in stunningly remote locations, vary in amenities. Some offer shared bunk rooms, others private spaces, but all have shared restrooms and incredible views - think mountain valleys and glacial green lakes. If you enjoy backpacking but dread carrying camping gear, hut-to-hut hiking is a game-changer. With only a small pack of minimal gear, you’ll travel light, making the journey even more enjoyable.
From the essentials you'll need to the mountain huts' quirky charms and Slovenia's unparalleled natural beauty, this guide will get you started on planning your own hut-to-hut hiking adventure,
Slovenia: A Paradise for Hut-to-Hut Hiking
(photo here)
Slovenia is a breathtaking hiking and outdoor paradise, offering a diverse landscape that ranges from majestic mountains to striking blue-green glacial lakes. On our 2-week trip to Slovenia, we had two different multi-day hut-to-hut hikes, in the Triglav National Park Julian Alps and along the Alpe-Adria Trail in the Soca Valley.
The Julian Alps in northwest Slovenia, are a breathtaking mountain range known for their stunning natural beauty and diverse ecosystems. This region is characterized by towering peaks, crystal-clear lakes, and lush valleys, making it a paradise for outdoor enthusiasts and nature lovers. Among the most notable features are the iconic Triglav, the highest peak in Slovenia, and the picturesque Lake Bohinj, which draws visitors for its serene landscapes and recreational opportunities.
Triglav National Park, established in 1981, is Slovenia's only national park and encompasses a significant portion of the Julian Alps. The park is named after Mount Triglav, which is not only a symbol of Slovenia but also a central feature of the park. It covers an area of approximately 838 square kilometers and is home to a rich variety of flora and fauna, including many endemic species. The park offers numerous hiking trails, climbing routes, and opportunities for outdoor activities such as skiing, cycling, and kayaking, making it a vital destination for nature lovers and adventurers alike.
Complementing the allure of the Julian Alps is the Alpe Adria Trail, a long-distance hiking route that spans approximately 750 kilometers, connecting the Austrian Alps to the Adriatic Sea in Italy. One of the most picturesque sections of the trail leads through the Soca River valley, renowned for its crystal-clear turquoise waters and dramatic river gorges. As it winds through Slovenia, the trail offers ample opportunities for exploration and immersion in the stunning alpine environment, making it a highlight for those seeking to experience the best of this captivating region.
Link to overall trip itinerary here
Planning A Hut-to-Hut Hiking in Slovenia
When planning our hut-to-hut hiking trip in Slovenia, we were lucky to have friends who had recently done a similar adventure. They provided us with valuable tips and ideas, including a strong recommendation to use SloTrips: Unique Hiking & Cycling Tours in Slovenia | Slotrips
The SloTrips website was a great resource for itinerary options, offering both guided and self-guided hiking adventures. After some research, we blended two self-guided options:
Other companies also offer similar hiking and planning services, such as:
Even if you prefer to plan your trip independently, these websites are goldmines of information. We also watched countless YouTube videos to better understand trail conditions. A word of caution, though: videos often skip the most challenging sections, so be prepared for surprises on the trail!
Why We Chose SloTrips
Ultimately, we decided to use SloTrips to arrange most of our trip. Here’s why:
Route Planning: They provided detailed hiking routes, avoiding “via ferrata” paths that require helmets and harnesses for safety.
Route Directions on an App: Their app gave us precise, step-by-step navigation, which was far more reliable than printed maps.
Hut Reservations: SloTrips’ connections with mountain huts ensured we secured private rooms, a rare luxury.
Luggage Transfers: They transported our luggage from one stop to the next, solving the issue of what to do with extra belongings while hiking.
Support: If something went wrong, we knew they were just a call away.
Transportation: They helped us combine private transfers with public transport for a seamless travel experience.
Planning Your Trip
Slovenia is home to 179 mountain huts, locally known as “dom” or “koča,” operated by local alpine clubs and owned by the Alpine association of Slovenia. While some huts allow online reservations, others require phone calls. Using SloTrips simplified this process for us.
What to Expect from Mountain Huts:
Accommodations: Beds with pillows and quilts. You’ll need to bring a lightweight sleep sack (like the COCOON Silk Mummy Liner | REI Co-op.).
Footwear Rules: Hiking boots must be removed at the door. Bring lightweight sandals or slippers, or borrow those provided by the huts. I brought Mallory, Telic Mallory, Telic Sandals, Telic Women's Sandals . Kevin didn't bring any, opting to use those provided by the huts. Comfort and fit were rather hit or miss.
Meals: Dinner includes hearty options like stew, pasta, or sausage, often with dessert. Breakfasts range from buffets to made-to-order eggs and sausage. Beer and wine are available for purchase.
Community: Sharing stories and route tips with fellow hikers is part of the charm. We met people from all over, including a hilarious group of Irish hikers, a Slovenian couple, and two Dutch women on the same route.
Preparing for Your Hike
Months of planning and preparation went into this trip. We tested our gear on local hikes to ensure everything worked well. However, our trails in Minnesota couldn’t replicate the steep alpine terrain of the Julian Alps. In hindsight, I would have trained more for inclines, focusing on strengthening my quads with lunges, squats, and planks.
The Gear
It’s essential to have the proper backpack for your hut-to-hut hiking. It should accommodate your gear and water, and be comfortable. Kevin and I had different approaches to this.
Roxanne’s pack: Osprey Sportlite 25 liter Sportlite 25L- Essential Light Day Pack for Hiking | Osprey
I like the multiple compartments and easy access (rather than everything being loaded from the top), the padded hip belt, accommodates a water bladder. It's lightweight at 1.66lbs (S/M size) without sacrificing features and comfort. In all my research, I’ve found that a heavier pack with features to more comfortably carry the load is better than a lightweight pack without features.
Note- at 25 liters, this pack was the very minimum that I needed. I stripped down what I packed to be minimal, so it would comfortably fit in the pack. If the weather had been colder and I needed a heavier layer to fit in the pack, this wouldn’t have worked. This is classified as a “daypack”.
Water bladder—I got the 2 liter Osprey water bladder, which I really liked.
Kevin’s pack: Gossamer Gear Kumo Fastpack36 https://www.gossamergear.com
I had difficulty choosing between my Ulitimate Direction Fastpack 20L and the GG Kumo Fastpack 36. (weight 15.8 oz) I really wanted a 25L pack but didn't feel like buying one more pack, so I opted for the Kumo and didn't pack it to capacity. The Kumo has good volume (28L) in the main compartment and mesh pockets on the back, sides, and shoulder straps adding another 8L of capacity. I don't use a water bladder - preferring smaller (hydrapak) handhelds that I can refill at stops or from a 2L (Cnoc) storage bag in my pack. If I were to do it again, I think I would opt for the Ultimate Direction Fastpak 30.
In addition to my clothes, I carried our first aid kit, foot care kit, water filter and treatment tabs, maps, emergency bivvy sack, and a few other "group" items. I brought very few clothes - opting to hike in the same shorts and shirts during the day with a couple of additional layers if needed, a wide-brimmed hat for shade, a knot beanie for warmth, rain jacket, gloves, headlamp, and a lightweight shirt and pants for the huts. Toiletries and electronics (kindle, power bank, and phone) rounded out the gear. All in all my pack was still well under 10lbs, including snacks. Everyone else hiking is doing the same thing - no one cares how you look.
Hiking poles: We both had Black Diamond folding trekking poles.
They fold up very small and don’t have a metal tip, but rather a hard plastic end. Although it’s a risk that you won’t be able to take them as carry-on luggage, I’ve successfully done that many times with no questions from TSA.
Footwear: Probably the most important item is a pair of hiking shoes/boots that are comfortable and adequately broken in. I went through a number of options before I settled on Topo trail running shoes. Kevin wore Altra Timp 5's and was very happy with their performance though they were sometimes a bit slippy inside while moving laterally on sloping scree. Warning. There is a fair amount of scree on the trails.
Clothing:
· 2 tshirts (one I wore every day hiking and the other was a sleeping shirt until last day when I work it hiking)
· Long sleeve wool tshirt (warmth layer)
· Lightweight shorts for sleeping
· Athleta Capri leggings for hiking
· Lightweight Vuori zip-up sweatshirt (in lieu of a fleece) Only used this when I got to the mt huts.
· Rain jacket that packed up very small. Could be used with above zip-up when cooler out.
· Lightweight pants for wearing in the huts
· Sandals for the huts. (Kevin didn’t bring this, as they would have taken up so much of his pack) The mt huts do have slippers you can use, yet I appreciated having my own sandals
· Knit beanie
· Lightweight gloves (needed during part of one day)
· 2-3 pairs darn tough socks
· 2 pairs wool underwear
· Toiletries (includes some disposable wipes, so you can wipe down when you don’t have shower access).
· Ibuprofen, immodium (this came in handy!)
· Super small camping towel. I downsized from the one shown in the video.
· Rain cover for my pack. I hooked this to outside of the pack.
· Small water bottle (I don’t drink coffee, but need caffeine, so I used Crystal Light powdered flavored drink mix with caffeine and this was a life saver for me!)
· Some zip lock bags. Need to pack out trash in some places.
· Kindle
· Charging pack for phone (for photos and navigation). For charging on the go, I use this thin charger. Clutch Charger – World’s Thinnest Charger. For nighttime charging, I use something more powerful like Anker 10,000 chargers.
Hint-- wear the same thing for hiking every day if possible and then change into clean(er) clothes for mountain hut time. You really don’t need too much. I had the right amount of clothing to handle both warm and chillier weather.
I used various stuff sacks to pack and organize item.
Here is a summary of our two different multi-day hikes.
Hiking in Triglav National Park Julian Alps:
DAY ONE: Rudno Polje to Vodnikov dom na Velem polju
Here’s a photo as we set off on our multi-day hike. We started at the Rudno Polje Sports Center trailhead. This was a 7.5-mile hike includingelevation gain of 3330 ft and elevation drop of 1730 ft.
In summary, this day was a hard day of hiking for us. It was very hot and we weren’t yet adjusted to the altitude. Even though we’ve done Superior Hiking Trail hiking, alpine hiking is much more intense, with trickier footing and paths that aren’t groomed in any way. We absolutely needed our hiking poles during the hike. When we rounded the corner and saw our first mountain hut, it was a feeling of great relief that we had made it!
The first hut we stayed at, Vodnikov dom na Velem polju, Vodnikov dom na Velem polju | Planinsko društvo Srednja vas v Bohinju.
· The setting for this hut was spectacular! With views to the mountain peaks and Mount Trigalav, it was a pleasure to hang out on the patios to be a part of this incredible alpine location.
· Check in didn’t open until 3:00 pm . Once checked in, you couldn’t enter the hut until 5:00pm. There were plenty of tables and chairs outside, so that is where you are expected to hang out (along with a "cold" beer from a tub of what may have been ice water earlier in the day, which was incredibly refreshing after a day of hiking).
· Meals- the pasta Bolognese we selected for dinner was a good portion for Roxanne, but not nearly enough to fill Kevin. This was the only place I felt the portion sizes were too small - after expending a lot of calories on a day of hiking, so keep that in mind, snacks might be needed.
· Private room- our private room was big enough for 2 bunk beds and a small window but that was about it. It was fine, as we didn’t need more, but we laughed as Kevin leveraged the wall to get to the upper bunk.
· There was one shower you could pay for. We opted to go without a shower.
· Beware of sleep issues the first night of hiking! I think it was the combination of altitude and my heart still working hard from the day of hiking, but for whatever reason, I was unable to sleep the entire night! Luckily, I had my Kindle and read a whole book. In hindsight, I wish I had brought some sleep aid or Tylenol PM to help me sleep, but I’ve never had trouble sleeping before so this was a first! Kevin slept just fine, because he's cool like that.
Day two: Vodnikov dom na Velem polju to Koča pri Triglavskih jezerih
We hiked for about 6 hours that day, starting out in beautiful forests (saw a red deer) to the high alpine moonscape-like plateaus. The weather was gray, windy, and threatening rain most of the morning. We stopped en route at a hut to fill up on water and had some soup to warm us before continuing our hike. We even saw a number of Ibex on this route, which was a goal of mine! We went through the Seven Triglav Lakes Valley and spent the night near one of the lakes.
The hike length was 8 miles with elevation gain of 2600 ft and drop of 3000 ft.
· This was another popular spot with a lovely setting next to the Double Lake.
· No showers, but the hut does have running water and a water fountain outside to refill your water for your hike.
· The large dining room seemed to be open all the time and a great place to connect with others.
· We had a fairly short day 3 hike, so we hung out a bit in the morning when it was raining. As long as you pack all of your gear and leave your room (usually need to leave by 8:00 am), they welcomed us to stay in the dining room.
Day Three: Koča pri Triglavskih jezerih to Dom na Komni
This was a short hiking day because we didn’t do the additional spur loop trail hike. Kevin was still battling a bit of an intestinal tract issue (BTW - remember to bring some immodium!), so a shorter hike this day was fine with us RUSSIAN ROAD? The hike length was about 4.5 miles with 1348 elevation gain.
Dom na Komni
· This hut is open year-round.
· Our private room had a wonderful view down to Lake Bohinj and bonus, a sink!
· No showers available.
· Although this was quite a large mountain hut, there weren't many people staying here and few people to interact with.
· We did enjoy naps in the afternoon sun on the lounge chairs.
Day Four: Dom na Komni to Lake Bohinj
There were 3 options for lengths of hikes down to Bohinj. We chose the middle option. This was a supposedly mostly downhill - hike of about 8 miles, though there were plenty of uphill climbs and challenging scree sections. When we arrived at Vogle Ski Resort we ate lunch, then took a cable car down to Lake Bohinj and walked the remaining 3 miles into the town.
- I slipped on some scree and hurt my knee, which slowed me down on steep descent areas. I lost my confidence and had pain in my knee, so Kevin needed some patience to wait for me. After several hours, I felt better and the trails flattened out, so I survived!
- Fanta, Beer, and pizza at the Vogel Ski Resort - Smučarski center Vogel was so welcomed! The pizza wasn’t amazing, but we were a bit tired of the Slovenian stews, which tasted all the same to us.
Round Two of Hut to Hut Hiking: The Soca River Valley
This hiking was much less “remote” than the alpine hiking we did for the first segment. We were on the north side of Mount Triglav and all of our lodging was accessible by roads, so our luggage was shuttled from place to place each day. This meant our small hiking backpacks could be even smaller.
Day 1: Hiking from Kranjska Gora to Vrsic Pass and beyond
This was a 9 mile hiking day including elevation gain of +3350 ft and drop of -1049 ft.
This mountain hut was really quite perfect. There was a lovely view over the valley and surrounding mountain peaks, excellent food, free beer, a nice room with a shower room down the hall-- (it’s amazing how you can make a 60 second shower feel like a much longer one when you stop and start the water flow!). and we had good conversation with a couple from Germany.
Food at hut -the only guests
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