 skiguidebg
skiguidebg
Guest
|
Hail to the Powder People!
If you want the inside track on anything to do with winter sports in Bulgaria check out w[url]ww.skiguidebg.com[/url]
We have all 17 ski resorts in stations featured to help you see why Bulgaria is one of the fastest growing ski destinations in the world!
It’s cheap, easy to get to and (probably) the best value you can find this season. Many holidaymakers are switching to Bulgaria to beat the credit crunch.
www.skiguidebg.com is designed to help you make the best choices and give you all the information you need before you get there.
www.skiguidebg.com helps you plan road trips, network with other users, see what the resort après ski scene is like (we will soon be adding menus as downloads of our favourite restaurants) and basically beat the tour operators!
We will also be developing the Summer Mountain Guide for Bulgaria featuring all the things you can do to get your kicks when the snow leaves.
Register here http://www.skiguidebg.com/apps/auth/signup to get the most up-to-date news and add us to your Face Book page for funny videos and give always from our sponsors.
Stay Frosty!
Ski & Snowboard Guide to Bulgaria
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
skiguidebg, Give us the low down on the place. Prices, as it may be cheap but is it really good value?
|
|
|
|
|
|
skiguidebg
skiguidebg
Guest
|
Hi and thanks for your question.
If we try and define "good value" as KM of runs versus cost of getting there, lift passes, etc then I believe it is "great value"!
I have worked all over the world as an instructor and I have to admit that most of the resorts don't offer the same experience as say Lake Louise (CA) in terms of number of runs and difficulty most people find what they are looking for (I just head off piste if I get bored).
But some places like Dobrinishte (http://ssgbg.webs.com/dobrinishte.htm) next to the bigger resort of Bansko has some really challenging stuff, long runs and is only about £10 a day for a lift pass.
OK... the lifts are a little old but it's a cracker for the money.
And then take into account that a beer on this hill will only set you back about 75p a pint I find it hard to compare it to too many other resorts in terms of value.
Bulgaria has always attracted learners and those on a budget, as it gets more sophisticated resort infrastructure (and the general cost) will go up too.
But for now, I reckon for those on a budget it is hard to beat!
If any one has any other questions I will be glad to answer them.
Take it easy
Si 
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
Prices are going even lower now in Bulgaria. E.g. 7 nights on bed and breakfast basis in a 3*** hotel close to the Gondola lift in Bansko, 6-day lift pass, skis, poles and boots hire and private return transfer Sofia Airport-Bansko-Sofia Airport based on your flight schedule costs only 395 Euro/person (http://skibansko.bg/Product.aspx?id=62&lang=1). Flight tickets (low-cost) to Sofia Airport from the UK cost as low as 130-150 Euro return with all taxes with EasyJet and Wizz Air. I don't think there is anything more to say about "the value" stuff considering the quality of the food, drinks and nightlife on spot 
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
skibulgaria, are there any webcams in the ski areas?
|
|
|
|
|
|
skiguidebg
skiguidebg
Guest
|
Thats cheap but you can get it cheaper than that (apart from the flights) if you (can be bothered to) contact the hotels/owners directly and are flexi on dates.
We are about to launch a "deal direct with owner" booking portal that means you will be able to get a 1 bedroom apartment sleeping 4 for £120 or less a week. Also Bulgaria Air are beating most of the low cost airlines for the season and will get you out and back for as little as 90 euros. You just need to keep on top of their site to check their prices.
Cheapest lift passes in town (but need to be booked 7 days in advance) can be got from Bansko Tourist info (Link here : http://skiguidebg.com/banskoonthehill.htm) and just shop around for kit to hire, although the best snowboards are at Method (Burton Learn to Ride Center on the same link).
Once there, get yourself a Bansko Discount Card (free). Most places will give you 10-20% off your food bills and it's also valid for a lot of ski hire shops.
Webcams can be found on the resorts home pages (most are on www.skiguidebg.com under Resorts of BG) or just google the resort. A lot of bars are starting to put webcams in their busy areas so you can see what the nightlife you can expect before you arrive.
Rather helpful really!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
BG, not very cheap and not very good. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
skiguidebg
skiguidebg
Guest
|
|
In comparison too....?!
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
|
| skiguidebg wrote: |
| In comparison too....?! |
Any resort that doesn't have-
2hr lift queues.
30,000 beds for 68kms of skiing.
Rampant over development.
Rubbish piled-up on street corners.
Open manholes in pavements.
Packs of stray dogs.
Shady blokes in blankets on the streets at night trying to entice you into their restaurants for a plate of cold fat and potatoes with appalling wine.
Rubbish food on the mountain served by miserable Ulen staff.
Snowboard and ski instructors that aren't much better than 3rd weekers.
Will that do? 
|
|
|
|
|
|
skiguidebg
skiguidebg
Guest
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
The only people I know that have been to Bulgaria loved the first day.
They then realised, in the bar (cheap but shady locals eyeing up their wives all night), that they had covered the entire resort and were there for another 5 skiing days.
Its probably a good option for people who are poor and have never been skiing before, but its not for western Europeans with jobs, who think they would like to take up the sport.
Sorry if that sounds snobby, but you could as much fun in Hemel or MK for a week.
Then again, I am only going on first hand experience of friends and haven't been there myself. My friends could be wrong/lying. Thanks for reminding us of the place though.
|
|
|
|
|
|
skiguidebg
skiguidebg
Guest
|
|
|
|
|
|
As much fun at Hemel for a week.... 2 hour lift queues....
Have skiers/boarders again become snob like, judgemental... I always thought it was all about free will and enjoyment.
I doubt if anyone would have as much fun for a whole week at Hemel. Although Hemel has excellent facilities, you can't beat the mountains. As for 2 hour lift queues... anyone who knows Mayrhofen also knows it's generally less soul destroying to catch the bus to Finkenberg if they want uplift onto the Penken ski area than coil up in the queue for the penken lift from town. (Can easily be 2 hours - followed by further queues for the chairs.)
Lift queues abound all over Europe. But I cannot say that I've ever waited two hours in a lift queueu in Borovets, Bulgaria. Maybe I've just been lucky and been there while there were no mechanical difficulties. Perhaps the same sort of difficulties that closed the Finkenberg Gondola in Austria for almost a week in 2007.
Most resorts will have times when guests experience less than expected. Can every resort please everyone all of the time. All resorts have positive and, in some eyes, negative points.
Same could be said for some ski slopes in UK. Although I do quite like Hemel. Don't have anything negative so say about that place whatsoever. The best indoor slope and associated facilities I've come across.
Many people visit Bulgaria for the purpose of enjoyment (snowsports and otherwise) and come away having enjoyed themselves. Some people just can't be pleased. (Including my first wife who hated Borovets while I loved it.)
True, Borovets doesn't have the advanced blacks and off piste of Zermatt. But then, it does have blues and reds catering for its' main target client which I believe is the same for Pamporovo and Bansko.
Maybe the other lesser known resorts have other challenges to offer.
The same can be said for certain Austrian resorts along the Ziller Valley; Wilder Kaiser; and Armade regions. Not all are jet set and/or cater for the super snobs and bar room experts.
Not everyone goes skiing to freak themselves out and brag about near death experiences in bars.
so, after that little bit of spleen venting, Bulgaria has what it has. There is some good skiing to be had. Not the most challenging but enjoyable with quaint twists to the night life.
Oh, it's still quite cheap too. By that I mean much cheaper than Austria to go out for a drink and a meal and most ceratinly without the "Je ne sais quoi" of the expensive french resorts. Ah, that's it, the expense.
If you want to be seen by people who couldn't care less, go to France. If you want a good time on a tight budget, you could do worse than consider Bulgaria.
A week in a snowdome perhaps?
Incidentally, Bulgaria is a place I go for R&R not work.
Kind regards to all who know me.
Now the flaming begins.... heh heh
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
Snowshark.
Spot on, mate.
I'm not the biggest fan of BG but always seem to end up defending it.
Normally to people who've never been................ .
See it, and any other place, fashionable or not, for what it is. Unless you "can't be pleased", any slope time is better than none, as most will agree.
But comparing a fridge to any rideable mountains is just plain daft.
John.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
| bar shaker wrote: |
| Its probably a good option for people who are poor and have never been skiing before, but its not for western Europeans with jobs |
Trolling, much?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
| BCjohnny wrote: |
Snowshark.
Spot on, mate.
I'm not the biggest fan of BG but always seem to end up defending it.
Normally to people who've never been................ .
See it, and any other place, fashionable or not, for what it is. Unless you "can't be pleased", any slope time is better than none, as most will agree.
But comparing a fridge to any rideable mountains is just plain daft.
John. |
i was in bansko last january and it was excellent. it is overdeveloped, like spain was when i was a kid.
it does have many faults but i had no lift queues the snow was great and never had a problem with the locals being unfriendly. well apart from the woman that takes the money for the toilet in one place, but would you be friendly??
as for them eyeing up my other half, well i never noticed if they were looking at my girlfriend as i was probably too busy having a look at theirs
the guy with the blanket in the town square, well he was a bit of a pain. but hardly a deal breaker.
the only part i would never do again is the day trip to sofia. not the most inspiring place, but then on the whole Bulgaria seems to be one of those countries that never picked the right side in the past history dealt a rather bad hand.
my advice to any one is to go and try it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
I hope the medical care has improved since my one and only visit there!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
| welshskier wrote: |
| I hope the medical care has improved since my one and only visit there!! |
they got people of the hill quick enough. whether they throw you in a pile thereafter i dont know
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
skiguidebg,
"PS - Genuine offer...if anyone does want to "brave it" and come to this part of the world I'm a qualified Level 2 CASI instructor and would gladly spend some time showing people some powder spots... for the princely cost of a beer (that's 75p)!"
I'm out in Bansko from the 28th Feb till the 6th of March and would take you up on that
most of my group are still getting to grips with linking turns where as I'm a bit further along so wouldn't mind exploring further
I've been to bansko before in 2007
Les Gets in 08
Tignes and Pamporovo 09
I'm sure I could stretch to a beer if the offer is genuine (in resort probably more like £1.50 I'm guessing)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
| snowscreen wrote: |
skiguidebg,
"PS - Genuine offer...if anyone does want to "brave it" and come to this part of the world I'm a qualified Level 2 CASI instructor and would gladly spend some time showing people some powder spots... for the princely cost of a beer (that's 75p)!"
I'm out in Bansko from the 28th Feb till the 6th of March and would take you up on that
most of my group are still getting to grips with linking turns where as I'm a bit further along so wouldn't mind exploring further
I've been to bansko before in 2007
Les Gets in 08
Tignes and Pamporovo 09
I'm sure I could stretch to a beer if the offer is genuine (in resort probably more like £1.50 I'm guessing) |
was closer to 2-2.5 a pint on the mountain when i was there but the rate has improved. hopefully be as sheap when i get there in january.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
