Ski Holidays Bulgaria

Bulgaria fulfills an important part of the UK ski market in that it offers budget holidays for those new or relatively new to skiing and that is vital for the sustainability of the industry. Whilst it isn’t fashionable it is cheap, in fact, very cheap by Alpine standards. Equipment, tuition, passes and accommodation are all inexpensive.

It is important that skiers understand what they are getting in this Balkan backwater, it’s fun, it’s unsophisticated and even a little rough around the edges. My advice is to max out on your budget to get as good accommodation as you can, aim for 4 or 5 star residences, it’s worth the small increase in price.

There are really three resorts in Borovets; the very small Pamporovo with just 30km of piste is a great family destination. Then we have Borovets which was previously Bulgaria’s main resort. Here we have 60km of piste with slow and older lifts that are prone to closure. There is a mix of hotels from huge 1970s monstrosities to much nicer 4 and 5 star smaller hotels. Finally we have Bansko, which is the flagship of Bulgarian skiing with 50km. The resort is a party town with some very nice hotels such as the Kempinski but as with Borovets there is a feeling of a seedy underside with contraband goods on sale, drugs, and prostitution. Whilst the latter isn’t as obvious in Borovets it is very much so in Bansko. Bansko’s elephant in the room is its lift system that just cannot accommodate the tourist bed bank. Queues of 2 hours to get up the mountain are not uncommon, so beware.

The snow in Bulgaria is erratic and it can often suffer from lack of snow and poor quality, in general though they do have excellent snow making facilities to assist with this cruel act of nature.

Driving isn’t an option for us Brits so it’s a case of flying into Sofia or Plovdiv – both cities have a huge amount of culture and are worthy of staying at for a couple of nights.

Bansko, Bulgaria.