Bulgaria Ski discussion board

Hello,

Just spent a week in Bansko (14th - 21st) and thought we d leave a small report of what it was like.

Snow Conditions: If we d listened to all the reports of doom and gloom on this forum, we would have had a really bad no ski ing holiday. However, although the snow cover is nt anything like it was this time last year, there is plenty ski ing to be done. The blue runs at the top of the mountain are very "moguly" and quite difficult to ski. (A lot of people doing bum ski ing down the side to get past them)!! Mid mountain runs were generally good, a little icy in places and some parts were bare with rocks showing through. These were also quite busy with ski schools all over the place. The ski road home was open, but towards the end of the week, it was nt doing to well and was very slushy near the bottom which meant you had to push yourself with poles for the last couple of kms home. During the whole week it didn t snow at all, and the temperature was quite warm. On our last day, the mountain was closed due to high winds.

Gondala Queues: What queues?? We went at about 8:30 10:30 or about dinner time and didn t wait more than 5 minutes. I think the key is to avoid the peak times for ski schools going up. They all start at 10:00.

Ski Lift Queues: When "queuing" stick together in your groups, if you see a space go for it. Its not a queue as much as its a rabble! People don t get offended, if you don t fill the space some one else will. We found for the lift nearest the gondola station, if you stick to the far left side (next to the orange fence) you get on the lift much quicker.

Food: Having read comments on here, we were expecting cold, raw inedible food delivered in an untimely fashion but found the complete opposite. We ate out at the restaurants on the mountain and the local mehanas. The staff were excellent, food was excellent and very cheap. The Bulgarians find it un healthy to overcook food so although its not as hot as you d expect, it is very tasty and is cooked! The menus are quite fun with the translations, however if you are unsure just ask and they will explain.

Flights: We flew with Balkan Holidays Edinburgh to Plovdiv via Humberside. No problems there. Return flight was delayed 8 hours due to "technical difficulties". Not much to do at Plovdiv airport ( no shops ) but staff let us outside to sit in the sun next to the aeroplanes. They fed some airline food and gave us a couple of drinks. On the aircraft there is no in flight entertainment so bring your own. Leg room is nt great but its only a 4 hour flight.

Bansko: A lot of building work going on at the moment so its quite dusty. Pavements were literally appearing overnight! Work seems to start at about 8 -9:00 and finishes about 4:30 ish so it s not really disturbing. People are friendly enough and old Bansko is worth a wander round. There seem to be a lot of dogs wandering about. They are very friendly but like barking a lot at night.

Hotel: We stayed at the Narcis Apartments. The room was great but as the hotel has only been open a couple of months, some of the finishing details are nt quite done yet. A couple of rooms did nt have balconies even though the door to them was there and able to be opened (not ideal for children or drunks as it was about 30ft to the ground!!!) and one apartments second bedroom wasn t finished.

Sorry for such a long winded report, but hope it helps. Had a great time ski ing, eating and drinking!

Oh yeah, try the bum boarding ( don t play the knockout game, just go straight from the top of the slope to the bottom!!)

Spinky.

Hi Roo

Narcis is advertised as 250 metres from the gondola but I think it's slightly further, but still pretty close, no more than a 5 min walk. There are towels in the apartments, we also had bath robes and slippers. The pool is nice, and there are sun bed type things to chill out, also a jacuzzi. You can use the pool and jacuzzi free. there are roman baths and a vapour bath area downstairs in the spa, also you can get a massage and things as well. You do have to pay for these ones though, but they aren't very expensive. I didn't use the vapour or roman bath but I did have a massage which was great. No need to make an appointment most of the time, just head down to the spa area. A full body massage was advertised as 45 mins although i ended up with over an hour and it was only 35 lev.