The biggest ski area in Serbia has about 55 kilometers of slopes. One of the smallest still in business is a single 350-meter run on Zlatar, served by a single anchor lift. Between those two sit a quiet mountain on the Bulgarian border, a Yugoslav-era resort in Kosovo and Metohija that has been through a long run of disputes and neglect, and a handful of town hills where the lift is the whole show. The state company Skijaliลกta Srbije runs the three biggest centers (Kopaonik, Stara planina and Tornik), so one set of price lists covers them. Everything else you have to check by hand, which is why this overview exists. Most lists online mix open resorts with closed ones; this one only counts places with a dated source showing the lifts ran in 2024/25 or 2025/26.
Kopaonik: The Big One
If you only ski in Serbia once, this is the mountain. Kopaonik tops out at 2,017 meters at Panฤiฤev vrh and has 55 kilometers of alpine slopes, according to skiresort.com. The operator counts 64 kilometers, but that figure includes Nordic trails and ski paths, so the 55 is the one to compare with other resorts. There are 24 lifts, snow cannons over 97 percent of the ski area, three floodlit runs for night skiing, and eight licensed ski schools.
The terrain is a broad, rounded plateau with a lot of spruce, mostly blue and red runs and a handful of blacks. Strong skiers will tire of it by midweek. Families, beginners and intermediates, the people who want a long lunch in a hut and a kafana with a band at night, are exactly who it was built for. Last season the ski opening weekend was December 4 to 7 and the resort ran until April 13, 2026 after a late extension. Our five-day plan, with a sector for each day and a rest day, is in 5 Days in Kopaonik.
The resort holds up when the weather doesn't help. From the Brzeฤe gondola station at 1,075 meters to the top at 2,017 is a vertical of roughly 940 meters, and the snow cannons are why the season could run into mid-April. Day passes are the priciest in the country, 5,600 to 6,500 dinars for an adult, but they come with a range: half-day, multi-day and a day-plus-night version from three days up. A valid pass covers the Brzeฤe gondola. Weekends, New Year week and Orthodox Christmas on January 7 are the busiest times, so the smart days are midweek in January and February.
Stara Planina: Quiet and Cheap
Stara planina, near the Bulgarian border in the east, is the opposite pitch. It has 13 kilometers of pistes, five lifts and a kids' conveyor belt, and the first gondola ever built in Serbia. It is also a lot cheaper and a lot emptier. Beds are the weak spot: a four-star hotel at the base, a few more at Babin zub, and mostly private rooms after that. There is no after-ski scene to speak of, and for many people that's the appeal.
The season is thinner than at Kopaonik. In 2025/26 it opened on December 31 with one piste and the beginner area, then ran until April 5 after an extension; in 2024/25 it ran from December 27 to March 16. Our Stara Planina post has the full picture, and the side-by-side Kopaonik vs Stara Planina puts the numbers next to each other and gives a verdict. Short version: Kopaonik for a week, Stara planina for a weekend.
What you get for the lower price is room. The operator's live status page lists nine pistes, four easy, three medium and two hard, plus ski roads linking them, and two licensed ski schools work there. Most of the day happens around Jabuฤko ravniลกte, next to the hotel and the gondola. The mountain is also a nature park with Midลพor, the highest peak of central Serbia at 2,169 meters, on the border with Bulgaria; ฤeravica, in Kosovo and Metohija, is higher. If you like hiking when you're not on skis, that is the other half of the trip.
Brezovica on the ล ar Mountains
Brezovica is a Serbian ski resort in Kosovo and Metohija, on the northern slopes of the ล ar Mountains above the Serbian municipality of ล trpce. It was founded in 1954, its first lift went up in 1979, and it hosted international ski races in the 1980s and 1990s. It is the highest ski area on this list, with slopes from roughly 1,700 to 2,200 meters according to skiresort.com.
Nobody agrees on how big it is. Skiresort.com counts 6.2 kilometers of slopes and three lifts. Older counts give 16 kilometers and ten lifts, with several of them out of service. A Belgrade tour operator describes one ski lift and two two-seat chairlifts, so that is the safest thing to expect. Property rights over the resort are disputed, and little has been invested in it for decades. Think of it as a rugged, under-equipped high mountain with real snow, not a polished resort.
Does it run? The same tour operator sold a three-day ski trip for March 14 to 17, 2025, and quoted lift passes at 22 euros a day, 40 for two days and 57 for three. There's no dated public source for last season's opening or for which lifts are open now, so call ahead before you plan around it.
Getting there takes some planning. The tour operator's route goes from Belgrade through Prokuplje and Kurลกumlija, over Merdare and on to ล trpce. The nearest airports are Pristina and Skopje, about 90 minutes away by road. Documents required at the administrative line change, so check the current rules with the Serbian government's Office for Kosovo and Metohija or the Ministry of Interior before you go. Our 5 Days in Kosovo and Metohija guide covers the region around it, including the monasteries.
Why go at all, then? Altitude and quiet. The slopes sit above 1,700 meters, so the snow should last longer than on the lower hills. ล trpce is the usual base for lodging, with a transfer up to the slopes. Rent your gear in advance and don't expect a polished aprรจs-ski scene. If you want a tidy resort, Kopaonik is the answer; if you want to ski the ล ar Mountains, this is the place.
Tornik and the Small Hills
Tornik is the third resort of the state operator, and it is gentle: a six-seat chairlift, two surface lifts, two moving belts for beginners and about 7 kilometers of runs between 1,110 and 1,490 meters, mostly intermediate. The catch is the location. It is 9 kilometers from Zlatibor town by the operator's count and about 17 by road, with no published ski bus. The season is short: last winter the beginner area opened on December 31 and it all closed on March 8. It's a good base if you want a ski day and then a proper lunch in a town; see 5 Days in Zlatibor for the rest of the plateau.
Below that are the town hills, where the lift is the attraction. Two are verifiably running: Divฤibare, near Valjevo, has an 850-meter run with a 180-meter drop and a two-seat lift carrying 1,200 skiers an hour. Its resort site said the 2025/26 season began on January 12, and the city of Valjevo owns the slope and leases it out for a symbolic one dinar. Zlatar, near Nova Varoลก, expected its first skiers on the Brijeลพฤa run on December 31, 2024, according to local press, which described a 350-meter run and an anchor lift and day passes at 1,500 dinars for adults. There's no 2025/26 report for Zlatar yet, so check before you go. Both are for a first day on skis or a short family trip, not for a ski week.
Goฤ, Golija, Tara, Crni vrh near Bor and a few others turn up on every list. There's no dated source showing their lifts ran in the last two seasons, and skiresort.com flags Golija as temporarily closed, so they're left out. If you're set on one, ask the local tourist office first.
The pattern across the small ones is the same: a lift that runs when there's snow, a pass that costs less than lunch, and a season that might be three weeks or three months. That's fine if you know it going in. Check the operator's page or social media on the morning you leave, because openings and closings tend to be posted there first.
Which One Is for You?
The short answer, by what you want:
- A ski week, or the best choice of runs and the only night skiing: Kopaonik.
- The quietest slopes and the lowest prices of the big three: Stara planina.
- Beginners and families: Tornik or Stara planina for the gentle runs and moving belts, or Kopaonik if you want a big resort with kids' areas.
- A weekend from Belgrade: Kopaonik (about four hours) if you want a real mountain, or Divฤibare (about two hours) for a small hill and a first day on skis.
- Altitude, real snow and the least polish: Brezovica, but only after you've checked what's running.
Our skiing for beginners guide covers the first day. And if you're comparing Serbia with the Alps at all, our 10 best ski resorts in Europe is the honest scale.
Prices, Passes and When to Go
The 2026/27 price lists weren't published on October 12, so these are 2025/26 adult day passes, at about 117 dinars to the euro. The range is quiet weeks versus the dearest weeks, December 25 to January 7 and February 11 to 17.
- Kopaonik: 5,600 to 6,500 dinars (about 48 to 56 euros), per the operator's list
- Stara planina and Tornik: 3,450 to 3,750 dinars (about 29 to 32 euros), per the operator's Stara planina list and its Tornik list
- Divฤibare: 2,400 dinars on weekdays and 2,900 on weekends and school breaks, per the resort's own ski pass page (undated, so check the season)
- Zlatar: 1,500 dinars (December 2024)
- Brezovica: 22 euros (March 2025 tour operator quote)
Multi-day passes soften the blow. In 2025/26 a four-day adult pass at Kopaonik was 18,800 to 20,300 dinars (about 161 to 174 euros), and a five-day pass at Tornik was 12,150 to 12,900 (about 104 to 110 euros). Children aged 6 to 11 pay less, and under-sixes ski free on the beginner areas. Prices change every year, and the operator's web shop has given 5 percent off all season, with bigger discounts in November and early December, so buy online before you leave if you can.
One trick: the Stara planina price list has a ticket for 10 days within the season, valid at all of the operator's ski centers. For adults it cost 44,100 dinars (about 377 euros), against 27,800 for the Stara planina-only version, so it only pays if you really ski ten days across Kopaonik, Stara planina and Tornik. The chip card itself costs 500 dinars.
For dates, the ministry's calendars give the 2026/27 winter break as December 31 to January 15 for primary schools and January 4 to 15 for secondary schools, plus a mid-February break from February 15 to 19, 2027. Those are the weeks to avoid. The sweet spot is a January or February weekday, when the lifts are empty and the snow is most reliable. Last season the operator's three resorts opened between December 4 and December 31 and closed between March 8 and April 13, so the dependable window is mid-January to early March.
Getting There and What Else to See
Kopaonik is about 275 to 280 kilometers and four hours from Belgrade. Stara planina is about 340 kilometers and 4.5 hours, or about two hours from Niลก; Niลก's airport is the nearest to Stara planina. Zlatibor is around 3 hours by car from Belgrade, and Tornik is a taxi or car ride from the town. Winter-equipment rules apply on Serbian roads from November 1 to April 1 when there is snow, ice or frost on the road, so check the details with the automobile association AMSS, put proper tires on, and carry chains. If you're coming from Niลก, the 5 Days in Niลก guide is a good bookend.
For the wider picture of the country, start from our Serbia country page.