Bulgaria Ski discussion board
vitosha
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posts : 13 (Beginner)Date : 07-12-08 22:44vitosha
hey folkhas anyone any info on vitosha please? and yes i have done the search stuff!! am thinking of there for feb 2009 can get reasonable flights from dublin. i really don't like the tour operatorstuff.
cheers lynda
re: vitosha
why restrict yourself to Vitosha? both Boro and Bansko have a lot more ski area.
What i do like about vitosha is the fact that the whole side of the mountain can be skied, not so much 'off piste' as 'inter piste' with loads of clear space. However its not huge, the lift system is mainly buttons and some old chairs, but the new operators, same people as Bansko, are updating things. Remeber to that Borovets is only an hour away from Sofia, you might be better off there, as its quite limited ...
What i do like about vitosha is the fact that the whole side of the mountain can be skied, not so much 'off piste' as 'inter piste' with loads of clear space. However its not huge, the lift system is mainly buttons and some old chairs, but the new operators, same people as Bansko, are updating things. Remeber to that Borovets is only an hour away from Sofia, you might be better off there, as its quite limited ...
why restrict yourself to Vitosha? both Boro and Bansko have a lot more ski area.
What i do like about vitosha is the fact that the whole side of the mountain can be skied, not so much 'off piste' as 'inter piste' with loads of clear space. However its not huge, the lift system is mainly buttons and some old chairs, but the new operators, same people as Bansko, are updating things. Remeber to that Borovets is only an hour away from Sofia, you might be better off there, as its quite limited on Vitosha for restaurants etc
What i do like about vitosha is the fact that the whole side of the mountain can be skied, not so much 'off piste' as 'inter piste' with loads of clear space. However its not huge, the lift system is mainly buttons and some old chairs, but the new operators, same people as Bansko, are updating things. Remeber to that Borovets is only an hour away from Sofia, you might be better off there, as its quite limited on Vitosha for restaurants etc
re: vitosha
thanks for that. it will be my son's first time skiing - 14 year old aussie boy - and frankly i skiied 20 years ago :-) was thinking of there as close to sofia for other sightseeing things.cheers
lynda
re: vitosha
Lyndaif you want to have a short ski bash with no queues during weekdays and very easy reach and then go back to capital Viitosha is for you.
If you want .
If you want to pay much more for your daily expences ,to have longer queues and waste your time to experience the front line of BG tourism which is rough around the edges -Borovets is for you.
re: vitosha
Lynda,
A passionate skier myself I live in the outskirts os of Vitosha, just outside Sofia. The ski slope Lale is just 12 km from my home. In the winter I am up at 8.00 and am on the slope at 8.30, ski till 13.30 and then go back home for lunch. What I mean is that Vitosha is great for a nearby skiing, same as the place you would go joggiing in Dublin, but I wouldn't myself fly 4,5h to spend my holiday in Vitosha. To get the real ski experience I go either to Pamporovo/Chepelare or ...
A passionate skier myself I live in the outskirts os of Vitosha, just outside Sofia. The ski slope Lale is just 12 km from my home. In the winter I am up at 8.00 and am on the slope at 8.30, ski till 13.30 and then go back home for lunch. What I mean is that Vitosha is great for a nearby skiing, same as the place you would go joggiing in Dublin, but I wouldn't myself fly 4,5h to spend my holiday in Vitosha. To get the real ski experience I go either to Pamporovo/Chepelare or ...
Lynda,
A passionate skier myself I live in the outskirts os of Vitosha, just outside Sofia. The ski slope Lale is just 12 km from my home. In the winter I am up at 8.00 and am on the slope at 8.30, ski till 13.30 and then go back home for lunch. What I mean is that Vitosha is great for a nearby skiing, same as the place you would go joggiing in Dublin, but I wouldn't myself fly 4,5h to spend my holiday in Vitosha. To get the real ski experience I go either to Pamporovo/Chepelare or Borovetz..Bansko is so commercialized that it's already disgusting.
Vitosha can be qualified as a "daily" resort for Sofia people, with not much infrastructure for apres-ski, restaurants, bars, poch hotels, etc.
A passionate skier myself I live in the outskirts os of Vitosha, just outside Sofia. The ski slope Lale is just 12 km from my home. In the winter I am up at 8.00 and am on the slope at 8.30, ski till 13.30 and then go back home for lunch. What I mean is that Vitosha is great for a nearby skiing, same as the place you would go joggiing in Dublin, but I wouldn't myself fly 4,5h to spend my holiday in Vitosha. To get the real ski experience I go either to Pamporovo/Chepelare or Borovetz..Bansko is so commercialized that it's already disgusting.
Vitosha can be qualified as a "daily" resort for Sofia people, with not much infrastructure for apres-ski, restaurants, bars, poch hotels, etc.
re: vitosha
Pete
that is when you have checked that there are no closures say in Boro on that day you will arrive before the crowds -B4 8.30am, snow is reasonable and enough and the drive from the capital -3-4 hours is worth to go all the way to Pamp/Cheapelare for the 'real ski experience'
Lynda I suggest:
get the tour operator's package to get you to Sofia, drive you to some of the ski resorts ,place you in a hotel there and forget about them .Do your own thing there.
Better that just ...
that is when you have checked that there are no closures say in Boro on that day you will arrive before the crowds -B4 8.30am, snow is reasonable and enough and the drive from the capital -3-4 hours is worth to go all the way to Pamp/Cheapelare for the 'real ski experience'
Lynda I suggest:
get the tour operator's package to get you to Sofia, drive you to some of the ski resorts ,place you in a hotel there and forget about them .Do your own thing there.
Better that just ...
Pete
that is when you have checked that there are no closures say in Boro on that day you will arrive before the crowds -B4 8.30am, snow is reasonable and enough and the drive from the capital -3-4 hours is worth to go all the way to Pamp/Cheapelare for the 'real ski experience'
Lynda I suggest:
get the tour operator's package to get you to Sofia, drive you to some of the ski resorts ,place you in a hotel there and forget about them .Do your own thing there.
Better that just flying -then what hotel etc?
traffic in Sofia is mildly said horrendous.
How to go to the gondola -some days gondola isn't working so back to Sofia to catch up bus or taxi all the way to Aleko.then the same back.by the time you finish day of skiing you won't want to go out of your hotel in noisy Sofia which in the winter is most probably smelly from the fumes which don't dissapear from the valley-Pete will you agree on that with me if you live outside the Capital you can see the colour above Sofia anyway, foggy, grey,or icy on the pavements and bleak anyway.
Don't expect Insbruck, Grenoble,Torino,Maribor or Geneva's look!!
Hope that helps.
that is when you have checked that there are no closures say in Boro on that day you will arrive before the crowds -B4 8.30am, snow is reasonable and enough and the drive from the capital -3-4 hours is worth to go all the way to Pamp/Cheapelare for the 'real ski experience'
Lynda I suggest:
get the tour operator's package to get you to Sofia, drive you to some of the ski resorts ,place you in a hotel there and forget about them .Do your own thing there.
Better that just flying -then what hotel etc?
traffic in Sofia is mildly said horrendous.
How to go to the gondola -some days gondola isn't working so back to Sofia to catch up bus or taxi all the way to Aleko.then the same back.by the time you finish day of skiing you won't want to go out of your hotel in noisy Sofia which in the winter is most probably smelly from the fumes which don't dissapear from the valley-Pete will you agree on that with me if you live outside the Capital you can see the colour above Sofia anyway, foggy, grey,or icy on the pavements and bleak anyway.
Don't expect Insbruck, Grenoble,Torino,Maribor or Geneva's look!!
Hope that helps.
re: vitosha
ok you guys have given me something to think about :-)
i have no intention of using a tour operator if i book flights well enough in advance it is quite cheap. i do not ski - over 50, overweight and overdrawn!!! my plan is read, drink and maybe spa. for me the other thing is staying away from those tacky holiday spots the brits and irish seem to frequent. so if either of you have a suggestion for a hotel in vitosha i'd appreciate it. might even split the trip between there and sofia ...
i have no intention of using a tour operator if i book flights well enough in advance it is quite cheap. i do not ski - over 50, overweight and overdrawn!!! my plan is read, drink and maybe spa. for me the other thing is staying away from those tacky holiday spots the brits and irish seem to frequent. so if either of you have a suggestion for a hotel in vitosha i'd appreciate it. might even split the trip between there and sofia ...
ok you guys have given me something to think about :-)
i have no intention of using a tour operator if i book flights well enough in advance it is quite cheap. i do not ski - over 50, overweight and overdrawn!!! my plan is read, drink and maybe spa. for me the other thing is staying away from those tacky holiday spots the brits and irish seem to frequent. so if either of you have a suggestion for a hotel in vitosha i'd appreciate it. might even split the trip between there and sofia.
cheers
lynda
i have no intention of using a tour operator if i book flights well enough in advance it is quite cheap. i do not ski - over 50, overweight and overdrawn!!! my plan is read, drink and maybe spa. for me the other thing is staying away from those tacky holiday spots the brits and irish seem to frequent. so if either of you have a suggestion for a hotel in vitosha i'd appreciate it. might even split the trip between there and sofia.
cheers
lynda
re: vitosha
that is nowhere near the center of Sofia.Better central place if not skier.or try to book the only few hotels up the mountain within walking distance to the slopes and with A1 views over the capital(if the fog has lifted -problem is they are very much booked all the season.will give you details later.
re: vitosha
Lynda, you may check the official website of the Vitosha ski area: www.vitoshaski.com. I notice there is no English section, but there are pics & maps. There aren't many nice hotels, as Vitosha is a protected area and construction is not allowed. There are some huts/hotels around Aleko (Aleko is the ski area, from where the slopes begin), but they are very basic and not very cosy, built during communist times. You may also search for accommodation in the Dragalevtzi neighborhood of Sofia, in ...
Lynda, you may check the official website of the Vitosha ski area: www.vitoshaski.com. I notice there is no English section, but there are pics & maps. There aren't many nice hotels, as Vitosha is a protected area and construction is not allowed. There are some huts/hotels around Aleko (Aleko is the ski area, from where the slopes begin), but they are very basic and not very cosy, built during communist times. You may also search for accommodation in the Dragalevtzi neighborhood of Sofia, in fact where I live. It is outside of Sofia, in the outskirts of the mountain. There are quite a few family hotels situated in it, and they can also offer you daily transfer to the slopes (12km up to the Aleko area).
