Bulgaria Ski discussion board

Hi, this is a great forum with loads of useful info already!
I'm travelling to Borovets in January for a 4 night break with my 7 year old son, I'm a semi-regular snowboarder but it will be my sons 1st time skiing on snow (currently having dry slope lessons) and our 1st time in Borovets. As its a short break I want to make everything as straight forward as possible re. lessons accommodation etc. currently going through different websites to get best deals but a few things I could use a little help with.

1. I've found a great price for a 3 day 'full ski package' for my son through Bulgaria-hotels.com but can't find info on who actually provides the tuition, equipment etc? Also the location for this. I've seen 2 main companies regularly recommended for tuition on this forum so wondered if either were the school or if different as want to make sure my son has a great experience.

2. Accommodation, haven't booked yet but probably going to be Rila, Iglika or Flora although a bit confused as there seem to be various Flora available for booking so assuming there are a complex?? would also be handy to be close to where ever we hire lessons and equipment from. Any other recommendations are welcome.

3. transfers - best quote through Balkan travel at 74€ although I understand bobbys bar can provide transfers but couldn't find anything online so if you'd like to message me if any better that would be great.

4. plan to eat out each night, have a few drinks and meet a few people but was wondering what activities there are for kids in the evening ie ice skating, sledging etc?

thanks in advance for any help and recommendations.

Lee

HI Lee

Welcome to the forum and great to see that you plan to head to Borovets. In answer to your questions...

1. The price you will have been quoted will be with Borosport - the owners of the resort. They can always offer cheaper prices as obviously they control everything and do not need to pay the full cost of lift passes the same as other ski schools do. There are pros and cons to all ski schools and it is really down to what is the most important for you. Better quality equipment, cheapest price, group size etc.

2. Flora consists of the Flora hotel and then 5 apartment blocks behind the hotel. Many people prefer it because it is next to the Rila slopes. Bear in mind though that hotels like Iceberg, Moura, Ela are all no further to walk to the gondola than the Flora apartments, with the latter being even less. The simple difference is...with the Flora you walk down the hill in the morning and with the others, you walk up the hill, in the afternoon after skiing, this is obviously the other way round! Rila & Iglika again are equi-distance and you walk ''across'' and down in the morning however the gradient is much less than the Flora! The Rila is being totally refurbished so will be lovely but for 4 days and based on the fact that you will be out skiing most of the time, I personally would go for the best deal. In addition to the above, Iceberg is also great with a lovely swimming pool and spa facility as well. Saying this, Breza is cheap and cheeful and very close to the gondola and there really are so may choices. There are some fantastic deals in the resort at the moment so if you want me to do a comparison when I am in Borovets today then please let me know.

3. There are cheaper options for transfers for that from several companies and like you say, ours included so I am more than happy if you want to message me for details.

4. Some of the big hotels have swimming pools, whic you can use for a fee regardless of whether you are a hotel resident or not. There is Ice skating however this is in the town of Samokov, 7km away and 15lev for a taxi. In the Samokov hotel, there is a shooting range, bowling, table football etc. Also, new this year is haunted-hill, which is based on the video games however you actually take part in it and go in and unravel the clues / solve the mystery etc. This is for groups of 2 to 5 but I am sure your son will make friends and maybe you could do this with another family. You are allowed to go sledging on one of the slopes and also on one night a week, they do organised Ringos - basically sitting in a big donut and coming down the hill however sledges / bum boards are just as good and what's more, you don't have to pay for this unlike the ringos. Many restaurants have bumboards they will loan you to save you buying them. You could also do a ski-doo ride with your son (snow-dependent) which is also great fun.

I set up a facebook group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/753984188061906/ for people to ask questions like this, so there is also lots of information on there both from Borovets regulars but also first-timers with lots of questions - this may help you as well.

I am sure others will be along soon to help answer your questions however if you need any more help then you can always email me at karen@khevents.co.uk

Hope this hels

Kas & Bobby
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