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Donovaly, Slovakia

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About Donovaly

Village 985 m. Facts: verified.

A ski resort with its village at 985 m and its top at 1,359 m. It has 9 km of runs and 22 lifts, as mapped on OpenStreetMap. The runs drop 454 m, from 1,359 m to 905 m. For beginners and families: 47% of the km of runs are green or blue. For experts: 0 km of black, expert and freeride runs. Within 5 km of the village: a ski school. It is usually in season from December to April. The snow is usually deepest in February, about 0.4 m at the top (1,359 m). The town to stay in is Donovaly.

Donovaly is a village in the Banská Bystrica Region of central Slovakia. Being situated in an important pass between the mountains of Veľká Fatra and Starohorské vrchy, on the route connecting Banská Bystrica with Ružomberok, it became a prominent centre of winter and summer sports.

From the Wikipedia article Donovaly, shortened. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.

The ski area

Runs from 905 m to 1,359 m: 454 m of vertical. 9 km of runs and 22 lifts, as mapped on OpenStreetMap for Donovaly.

Runs
Beginner (green)0.7 km
Easy (blue)3.5 km
Intermediate (red)4.0 km
Advanced (black)0.2 km
Not graded0.6 km
Lifts
Gondolas and cable cars1
Chairlifts1
Drag lifts12
Magic carpets8

Measured along each mapped run, so it can differ from the resort's own figure. Ski area data © OpenSkiMap.org and OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

For families

47% of the km of runs are green or blue.

Within 5 km of the village:

  • a ski school: Patty Ski Donovaly, 0.9 km

The Family filter counts these. Places from the Overture Maps Foundation, from Meta, Microsoft, Foursquare and AllThePlaces. Foursquare data © 2024 Foursquare Labs, Inc., Apache 2.0. Check opening times before you go.

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Book the trip

From Chicago: about 17 h 35 door to door, one way. An estimate; the journey never changes the score.

  1. Fly. Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) to KRK, direct. About 2 flights a week that month.

    See flights ORD → KRK · Skyscanner from about £455 returnAd

  2. Getting there. 3 h 30 from the airport to Donovaly.

    Car hire · Discover CarsAdTransfers · HoppaAd

  3. Accommodation.

    Stay in DonovalyAd

    Typical prices for a double room that month, not a quote.

    Room photos are examples, not these hotels (credits).

    See all places to stay on Booking.com →

    Closest towns to stay in

    Typical prices for a double room that month, not a quote. Drives are estimates.

  4. Hire, lessons and lift passes.

    Ski lessons in Donovaly · GetYourGuideAdSki and board hire · SkisetAdLift passes · Ski area website

Everything else for the trip

Where it is

Donovaly on Google Maps · Directions

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Lifts closed for the season. They usually open about 25 November.

Forecast

The score, coloured as on the area pages:GoodFairPoor

DayScoreFresh72 hDepthtop, mid, baseColdestat topWindat top
Sun 18Oct00 cm0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m4°C
Mon 19Oct00 cm0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m1°C
Tue 20Oct00 cm0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m1°C
Wed 21Oct00 cm0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m6°C
Thu 22Oct00 cm0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m2°C
Fri 23Oct00 cm0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m1°C
Sat 24Oct00 cm0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m2°C
Sun 25Oct00 cm0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m0°C
Mon 26Oct00 cm–mid –base –––

Day scores here are the conditions out of 80; a trip's score on the results is the same conditions out of 100. The journey never scores. The forecast reaches about 10 days. Wind is in knots: 10 kn is about 19 km/h. The arrow points where the wind blows to.

Snow by month

MonthBase985 mMid1,172 mTop1,359 mColdestat the top
Dec0.2 m0.2 m0.2 m-5°C
Jan0.3 m0.3 m0.3 m-7°C
Feb0.4 m0.4 m0.4 m-6°C
Mar0.1 m0.1 m0.1 m-4°C

Typical snow on the ground in the village, halfway up and at the top: the middle value over 2016 to 2025, from ERA5-Land reanalysis at the grid cell nearest each height. Not a forecast, and not the groomed pistes: resorts make snow lower down.

Your trip, day by day

6 nights from Mon 19 Oct, leaving from Chicago. Change dates

  1. Mon 19 Oct
    Travel out

    Direct flight ORD to KRK, then 3h 30 by road. About 17h 35 door to door

  2. Tue 20 Oct
    Lifts closed

    Out of season.

  3. Wed 21 Oct
    Lifts closed

    Out of season.

  4. Thu 22 Oct
    Lifts closed

    Out of season.

  5. Fri 23 Oct
    Lifts closed

    Out of season.

  6. Sat 24 Oct
    Lifts closed

    Out of season.

  7. Sun 25 Oct
    Travel home

    Direct flight ORD to KRK, then 3h 30 by road. About 17h 35 door to door

Rough cost

About £1,305–£2,300 each for 6 nights, 2 people sharing a room. A guide from typical prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book.

WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn ORD to KRK, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bag£455–£950
To the UK airportparking or the train, there and back£35–£65
Transfershared airport transfer, return£70–£120
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, shared£135–£220
Food7 days eating out£155–£290
Lift pass5 days£325–£435
Ski hire5 days, or about £85 to fly your own£130–£220
Total£1,305–£2,300

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026: where they come from. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra.

Book the trip

Getting thereAd

Flights · Skyscanner Car hire · Discover Cars

Airport to resortAd

Transfers · Hoppa

Where to stayAd

Places to stay · Booking.com Ski holidays · Crystal Ski

Lift passes

Lift passes · Ski area website

On the snowAd

Ski lessons · GetYourGuide Ski and board hire · Skiset

KitAd

Ski kit · Ellis Brigham

Links marked Ad may pay us a small commission if you book. You pay the same price, and it never changes a score.