Bulgaria Ski discussion board

Got back on the evening flight to Gatwick last night - what an excellent holiday and what a great place.

Went with Balkan Holidays and flew with Balkan Airline. The flight was very basic - no alcohol and cold food (the side salad consisted of one piece of cucumber placed on a leaf of lettuce!) Best take a few provisions of your own, especially on the way back as Plovdiv Airport has no duty free and a very small coffee shop. There is also a bloke selling a dozen old CD's and one ceramic plate (slighlty chipped).

Hotel Pamporovo was very nice. Food was good and the drink prices were reasonable. Please do not buy any DVD's / CD's from the bloke in the shop downstairs as none of them worked the whole way through.

The coach to the slopes had space at any time of the day, but if you wanted to take a taxi it cost about 8 lev's but sometimes you do take your life in your own hands.

The ski school, especially the teachers, are first class. The boot room could become rather hectic if you arrived at 9:30am (lessons beginning at 10am or just before). Our teacher was brilliant - Mimma I will see you soon!!

The slopes were well groomed and the lifts effecient. Even when they closed the 3 and 4 man lifts for their weeklty maintenance we only waited for a maximum of 5 minutes. Food was cheap on the slopes - expect to pay about £1.750 for a large brandy chocolate (compulsary at noon each day) and £3/£4 for a good lunch. We found that everywhere we ate was of quite a good standard.

Weather - good for the first four days then came the rain. Conditions of the slopes are now poor and the temperature in the dya is approximately 5 degrees plus. Even though some sites forecast snow, in the resort itself they do not foresee snow at least for the next 7 days. I do hope it improves.

Other Points
1. The bloke in the CD shop downstairs at the Pamporovo Hotel exchanged sterling at 2.70 levs, better than anyone else we found in the resort. Just don't buy any of his CD / DVD's.

2. White Hart Pub - Cheap, good fun, good service, good breakfasts - you cabn't go to Pamporovo without spending at least one evening there.

3. Perelik Hotel - Good fot a late afternoon / early evenings entertainment. 6 pool tables, games room, numerous bars and a numnber of shops. Good fake watches, etc.

4. Evening entertainment. We went to the bumboarding, Ski Instructors Evening and the skidoo's.
Bumboarding - good laugh although one of the blokes was a little over competitive and brought his own board which he had pre-waxed. He therefore won the bottle of champagne for the longest run - well done mate!
Ski Instucors Show - Amateurish, predictable, men dressing up as women, pretending to sing to dodgy 80's songs - it was a brilliant evening. I really recommend it. Naff but great fun.
Skidoo's - If you haven't done it before you have to do it. It is £40 per skidoo for one hour. We booked the later cession as we wanted to go in the dark with the lights on. I was talked in to doing it - I am so glad I was.

5. Take sterling and only a few lev's - £ is king and you will get a better deal anywhere with it.

6. Bell sellers - just don't leave you alone! One of our party thought if they bought one then they wouldn't bother him for the rest of the week. How wrong he was. They then expected him to buy the whole range! (It was quite funny actually).

7. Taxis - obvious I know but pre-agree a price before you go. I forgot once and paid the price (literally).

8. Bulgarians - very friendly people unless they are employed in the hotel trade. This seems to change them. Don't expect change from a drink without the customary "tut" that you didn't have the correct change.

I am going back in a few weeks time subject to an improvement in the weather - it was that good. Even considering Bulgaria this summer - I have been converted. Thanks for all the advise from the regulars before I went - it all came in very handy, especially the recommendation on taking soft loo roll.

Cheers,

Smudge