September is an excellent month to visit because it's the best time for hiking and climbing, and the summer crowds have vanished. December to March is high-time for skiers, while spring is a good time to be in the lowlands and valleys because everything's in blossom. Try to avoid July and August, when hotel rates rise and there are lots more tourists, especially on the coast.
The International Summer Festival is the nation's premier cultural celebration, featuring music, theatre and dance performances in Ljubljana and Bled during the months of July and August. Maribor's Lent Festival, in late June or early July, celebrates folklore, culture and music. The Cows' Ball (Kravji Bal) in Bohinj is a kitschy weekend of eating, drinking and folk dancing in mid-September to mark the return of the cows to the valleys from their high pastures. It doesn't get any more Slovenian than this.
January and March bring ski competitions - the January Women's World Cup Slalom and Giant Slalom Competition is one of the major ski events for women, held on the slopes southwest of Maribor. In March, the Ski Jumping World Championships host three days of high flying in Planica. In between the two, there's a rite of spring called Kurentovanje, held every February for 10 days up to Shrove Tuesday. This is the most popular Mardi Gras celebration in Slovenia; most of the festivities are centered in and around Ptuj.
Time for visiting
