[Closed] Skiing in Bulgaria, Any experiences?

I've been to Bansko once and had a good time. Resort is quite small so an advanced skier would get bored if they went for a whole week. But a beginner might find it ok as they might prefer the safety of runs they know well as they progress their skills.

Didn't take lessons so can't comment on standard of teaching bu the rental was amazing, most the group were renting skis or boards and a few of us got absolutely brand new kit literally out the plastic wrapping and it was very high kit for mid range kit prices.

I found the hospitality very good too; every one in the cafes and restaurants on the mountain where very welcoming and once place even got their kitchen fired up earlier as our group wanted a late (hungover) breakfast on the mountain. They normally start serving for lunch but said they would happily knock up a simple breakfast for us.

A few downsides other than lack of runs for more experienced people is that there is one big gondola up the mountain and one flat long run back down to the very bottom. So there are big queues in the morning getting up the mountain and lots of traffic in the evening going home. Some of the lift systems where quite old tech and slow, its been a few years since I've been so they might all be replaced by now.

As above; we enjoyed Bansko when we went three or four years ago. Had a teacher who was good, and the children's lessons seemed OK. Was only a couple of days, but we're still novices and would definitely go again.

Went to Bansko a few years ago as a complete beginner, hired kit and took a couple of ski lessons. One other complete beginner in our group and two experienced skiers/snowboarders. The variety of runs were ideal for me allowing me to progress within my comfort zone and I could have done a week without getting bored. The more advanced guys complained that there weren’t as many challenging routes as they’d have liked (though looking at some of the runs they did terrified me). Apparently they don’t manicure the slopes as much (ie no pistebashers) and one member complained that it wasn’t as good as the french resorts at every opportunity 🙄 places to eat in the town ranged from cheap and basic to pretty cheap and good. Some of the bars and clubs had a bit of a mafia feel to them which kept things slightly tense at times 🙀

Went to Bansko a few years ago as a complete beginner, hired kit and took a couple of ski lessons. One other complete beginner in our group and two experienced skiers/snowboarders. The variety of runs were ideal for me allowing me to progress within my comfort zone and I could have done a week without getting bored. The more advanced guys complained that there weren’t as many challenging routes as they’d have liked (though looking at some of the runs they did terrified me). Apparently they don’t manicure the slopes as much (ie no pistebashers) and one member complained that it wasn’t as good as the french resorts at every opportunity 🙄 places to eat in the town ranged from cheap and basic to pretty cheap and good. Some of the bars and clubs had a bit of a mafia feel to them which kept things slightly tense at times

Pretty much exactly my experience with Borovets, including the mafia run bars.
If you're an experienced skier, it's not great in terms of amount of skiing and the quality of it. For a beginner it'll be fine.
Apres can be good fun but can also be a tad rough round the edges.
It is however much cheaper, particularly piste side, once you're on the slopes.

I went to Pamporovo as a complete novice, really enjoyed it, stayed in hotel Orlovets, there were a couple of good bars for the evening near the hotel. There was a great bar on the slopes called Bohemi which did great pizzas and local sausage. It was a great holiday and for a beginner the coaching was good and as we never got past blue/beginner red slopes, there was plenty of room to progress. Another plus, it is so cheap!

Went to Bansko a couple of years ago with a largeish group of experienced boarders/skiers and had amazing snow, which kept everyone happy.

Would agree with all of the comments above, great bars and restaurants, friendly but a definite "edge".

Ski hire was good away from the state run centre, which was shocking.

Oh and would definitely not want to have an accident there, based on one of our group's visit to the hospital.

Cheers for the advice!

Went to Bansko last year with the family as a novice skier. The positives would be the low cost, especially for lessons and ski hire. The slopes were great for a novice and food was of a good quality. The family we went with were experienced skiers and after 4 days cheaply hired snowboards for their kids to learn on.

The negatives would be the gondola queues, these can be avoided with good timing and I would recommend get a minibus back down if there isn't snow on the ski road. An advanced skier/boarder would find the slopes a bit limited. Although my skiing technique was pitiful, I felt that the biggest chance of an accident was being hit by someone else out of control and the slopes felt too busy in places. With a young family you are aware of a number of strip joints on the main street.

OP as an alternative I can recommend Pila. We're not beginners but went back for the first time in years this year as part of an Aosta wide trip so did 2/3 days there. I was pleasantly surprised by the extent and variety of the slopes. Would definitely suit beginners for a week and whilst the lift pass is alps average the cost of accommodation, eating and drinking is far more reasonable than France or Switzerland.

When people say "cheap" is that in relative or absolute terms?

My wife an I went to Bansko in Feb past. Stayed in a 4* hotel half board - very nice huge room a 5 min walk to the gondola. Food was all fried or boiled but OK - ate out once, food wasn't much better...

We went as absolute beginners so had 6 days of 5/6 hours of tuition a day, express gondola passes (a must - you skip all the queues) plus ski hire. It worked out I think £600 per person including flights from Newcastle.

It was a brilliant holiday - the ski road was perfect for us, so we skied the 8km piste back to the bottom a few times a day.

The group were all beginners but one's husband was intermediate- he thought the blue slopes were pretty hard and more like a red. Couldn't give an opinion myself.

If really recommend it as a place to go - we were thinking of going back this winter, but covid may change that...

blockquote>When people say “cheap” is that in relative or absolute terms?

Everything is relative!
It's way cheaper than the big French and Swiss resorts, piste side food is the best part of 50% cheaper, lift passes cheaper still. Accommodation cheaper as well, maybe 30% cheaper France, but it's difficult to compare as standards are different.
Bulgaria is good fun, it's cheap, a bit dirty and good for beginners. It's also good if drinking and eating are more important than the skiing.

When is the best time to go?

I also went to Pamprovo, it was my first time on snow for 15 years, so not much to compare it too but i enjoyed it. The snow seemed good and there were some OK places to drink. I stuck to the green runs mostly and they did get a little crowded but some of the more competent in my group seemed to enjoy the more advanced runs. "The Wall" being a fun talking point for them. My Bulgarian friend seemed to think it was one of the better resorts to go to. To clarify I went in the Feb half term

We've been to Pamporovo a couple of times. For novice or beginner skiers it's brilliant, but if you are good you'll be a bit bored by the end of the week.

As regards costs it's way, way cheaper than some of the more traditional ski countries. I didn't notice any of the Mafia stuff mentioned above. Friendly people, tasty food (if you hunt around a bit) and some amazingly good value wine.