Distances · from Slovenia
From Ljubljana to Sappada
From Ljubljana to Sappada you enter from Friuli. You leave the A23 motorway at the Carnia exit, and that is where the slow part of the journey begins: about 75 min between the main road and Val Degano, up to the Cima Sappada pass.
There is a route without the tunnel, via Kranjska Gora, the Rateče border crossing and Tarvisio: the time changes little, the road is shorter.
Times measured on 6 October 2026, by car, without traffic
By car
about3 h 30 min
- By road
- 230 km
- On a clear road
- 2 h 59 min
- You enter by
- Val Degano, from Friuli
- Measured from
- Kongresni trg
The cautious estimate is the routing engine's time plus fifteen per cent, rounded up to five minutes.
The route
The road, stretch by stretch
- Udine1 h 50 min
- Villach2 h 20 min
- Tarvisio
- Zoncolan
- Forni di Sopra
- Piancavallo
- Cortina
- Tolmezzo
- Belluno
- Lienz
- San Candido (Innichen)
- Calalzo di Cadore
- Klagenfurt
- Carnia exit · A2375 min
- End of the A27 · Pian di Vedoia80 min
- 1
- 3
- 5
- 6
- Sappada
Relief calculated from Copernicus DEM GLO-30 elevations (© DLR and Airbus, provided by the European Union and ESA). Roads and borders © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. The times beside the cities are the cautious estimate to Sappada.
- DepartureLjubljanaabout 3 h 30 min left230 km
- As far as the mountainsA2 · A11 · A23The Slovenian A2 to the Karawanks Tunnel, then the Austrian A11 and A2 to the Tarvisio border, and the A23 to the Carnia exit.
- You leave the motorwayCarnia exit · A23about 75 min left53 kmThe signs read “Carnia, Tolmezzo”.
- Tolmezzoabout 70 min left46 km
- Villa Santinaabout 55 min left38 km
- Ovaroabout 40 min left28 km
- Comegliansabout 35 min left24 km
- Forni Avoltriabout 20 min left11 km
- PassCima SappadaThe highest point of the road from Friuli. No scheduled winter closure; in heavy snow it has been closed (December 2020, January 2021).
- ArrivalSappadaThe town hall, in Borgata Bach: it is the arrival point of all the measurements.
From the Carnia exit to Sappada
From the exit you follow the SS52 “Carnica” to Villa Santina, passing beside Tolmezzo. There the SR355 “della Val Degano” begins, climbing along the river through Ovaro, Comeglians, Rigolato and Forni Avoltri. After Piani di Luzza the road rises to Cima Sappada with four hairpin bends and two short rock tunnels, and from there it descends into the village.
Where to stop
The last town before the valley is Tolmezzo. From Villa Santina upwards there is one road only, and the villages come one after the other: Ovaro, Comeglians, where the road for Ravascletto and Zoncolan branches off, then Rigolato and Forni Avoltri. Beside each name you will find how much is left to Sappada.
The times beside the villages are the cautious estimate from there to Sappada's town hall (OSRM measurements of 6 October 2026).
Before setting off
What to know about this road
OpenVal Degano
Between Comeglians and Cima Sappada, Val Degano is one road only, with no parallel route. If it is interrupted, the detour runs through Forni di Sopra, the Passo della Mauria and Comelico, and it is long. It has happened twice because of landslips, in 2022, and in two winters because of snow and avalanches, in December 2020 and January 2021; today the road is open. From 15 November to 15 April you need winter tyres, or snow chains on board.
Read on 7 October 2026The state of every road and every pass
Border, vignettes and tolls
On the quickest route you need the Slovenian vignette, the toll for the Karawanks Tunnel and the Austrian vignette. Going via Kranjska Gora and Tarvisio leaves only the Slovenian vignette and the Italian motorway.
Rates are with the operators (read on 7 October 2026):ASFINAG · Felbertauernstraße AG, tariffe · DARS, e-vinjeta
Without a car
No train reaches Sappada, and no airport has a direct link. The useful stations, the buses from Tolmezzo and from Calalzo and their limits are on the main distances page.
The same journey
From Ljubljana to the other resorts
From Ljubljana, among the six resorts compared, Sappada is fifth by travel time. The closest is Tarvisio.
| Resort | Cautious estimate | On a clear road | By road |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tarvisio | 1 h 40 min | 86 min | 126 km |
| Ravascletto · Zoncolan | 3 h | 2 h 32 min | 210 km |
| Forni di Sopra | 3 h 15 min | 2 h 47 min | 226 km |
| Piancavallo | 3 h 20 min | 2 h 52 min | 237 km |
| Sappada | 3 h 30 min | 2 h 59 min | 230 km |
| Cortina d'Ampezzo | 4 h 20 min | 3 h 42 min | 320 km |
The full comparison between the resorts: prices, pistes, altitude
- Tarvisio: about 1 h 40 min by car, 126 km by road, 88 km as the crow flies
- Ravascletto · Zoncolan: about 3 h by car, 210 km by road, 133 km as the crow flies
- Forni di Sopra: about 3 h 15 min by car, 226 km by road, 153 km as the crow flies
- Piancavallo: about 3 h 20 min by car, 237 km by road, 153 km as the crow flies
- Sappada: about 3 h 30 min by car, 230 km by road, 151 km as the crow flies
- Cortina d'Ampezzo: about 4 h 20 min by car, 320 km by road, 190 km as the crow flies
Cities of departure
From another city
- From Trieste2 h 45 min164 km · Val Degano
- From Udine1 h 50 min94 km · Val Degano
- From Pordenone2 h 15 min135 km · Cadore and Comelico
- From Venice2 h 30 min154 km · Cadore and Comelico
- From Treviso2 h 20 min133 km · Cadore and Comelico
- From Padua2 h 55 min188 km · Cadore and Comelico
- From Munich5 h 20 min308 km · Monte Croce di Comelico
- From Vienna6 h 50 min465 km · Val Degano
- From Villach2 h 20 min135 km · Val Degano
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