Bulgaria Ski discussion board

Let me post this one more time............


In case you missed it, I posted this to an earlier question on Bansko, hope it gets you 'can't waiters' buzzing.

Prices are rock bottom and standards are high. The Unesco world heritage site of Bansko in Bulgaria is rapidly developing into a resort to be reckoned with.

Riding the gleaming blue Doppelmayr gondola up the Pirin mountains over a pine forest blanketed by overnight snow, it is easy to imagine you were in the French Tarentaise rather than Bulgaria. The meticulously groomed pistes and a final glorious descent in a bowl at the top of the ski area, through 15cms of light powder, will do nothing to dispel the illusion.

Heading for a long lunch won't dent your wallet either.
The lunch bill that restores reality. A welcoming hut with honest mountain fare before a roaring log fire are essential components of the perfect skiing day. But in recent years the cost of a long lunch in the French or Swiss Alps has reached iniquitous heights. Even a modest meal at a waiter-service restaurant in Val d'Isère is £20 a head without drinks. In high-flying Courchevel the damage can easily be double.

Here it is a different story. £10 for two, with a decent bottle of local Cabernet Sauvignon? Surely some mistake. Back in Méribel it barely buys a soggy sandwich. A six-day lift pass costs £100 compared with £150 in the Trois Vallées.That is still a lot more than you would pay if you booked it in the UK through your travel agency, but it is still tremendous value for money. In town, a beer is 50-70p, chicken and chips £2. Last season the combination of rock-bottom prices and a high standard of mountain facilities made Bansko the hottest property in European skiing - and the trend seems set to continue. Bansko lies close to the Macedonian and Greek frontiers and on a clear day you can see the Aegean Sea.

£95 million has been spent making Bansko what it is today, quite possibly the best value ski resort in the whole of Europe - if not the World.

PP

I've been to Borovets twice and also France and Austria.

For the people, value for money and fun it cannot be faulted. Depending on your skiing/boarding level you'll love it. I've been boarding for 8 yrs now and do find the mountain a bit tame but the family are all beginner skiers and it is perfect for them.

If I want a mad, extreme party fuelled holiday with my boarding mates i'd go to Deux Alps or St Anton as the mountains are amazing but to take the family away I wouldn't go anywhere except Bulgaria because it offers everything we need. Have stayed in the Rila and find it a bit surreal and tatty (probably not anymore). In Jan we are off to Borovets again but have decided to go for a catered chalet. You can get the same luxury in Bulgaria if you just do some research and book it yourself rather that through a tour operator and it still works out cheaper than a 3 star in Austria. It all depends what you want really. The orderley lift queues are a definate advantage. And as for sunsets......the sun sets everywhere in the world bar the poles so you can even see one in Bulgaria......