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Visitor reviews for Zakopane Ski Resort

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• November 17, 2011
  Barbara from Zakopane from Poland
  

  Hi Sharon,
  The best place to go with your parents is MT. Kasprowy Wierch - they can easily get there by cable car from Kuźnice (5 minuts on public mini bus from the centre of Zakopane). Another recommended places are Gubalowka (funicular from the market squere) and Szymoszkowa. If they like walking they can take a funicular up, then have a 2 km walk and take the chair lift on Szymoszkowa to go back. Have a great time in Zakopane!
  Barbara

• Zakopane Ratings

  Based on 1 vote. Vote

  Access: 3.0 (1) At least one overnight stop, (2) requires a whole day, (3) requires more than half a day – you may have time for a few turns (4) arrive by lunchtime and ski all afternoon, (5) there is a main airport within an hour of Zakopane.	Scenery: 5.0 (1) An ugly resort in a bland setting, (3) average mountain views and resort, (5) a spectacular setting and a beautiful / historic resort town.
  Accommodation: 5.0 (1) No places to stay in/near Zakopane, (3) a few places to stay in the resort, (5) a wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets.	Cheap Rooms: 3.0 (1) No budget accommodation available, (3) just one or two hostels so book ahead, (5) several cheap hostels and pensions available.
  Luxury Hotels: 5.0 (1) No luxury accommodation available, (3) just one or two luxury hotels so book ahead, (5) several up-market hotels in Zakopane.	Ski in/Ski out: 4.0 (1) The ski area is located far from any accommodation, (3) a free ski bus takes you to the ski area in a short trip, (5) Ski-in ski-out accommodation is available.
  Childcare: 4.0 (1) There are no child care facilities at Zakopane, (5) the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche.	Snowsure: 5.0 (1) Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing, (2) is often closed due to a lack of snow, (3) occasionally suffers from a lack of snow, (4) rarely suffers from a lack of snow, (5) Zakopane is snowsure even in the poorest seasons.
  Snowmaking: 5.0 (1) Zakopane relies entirely on natural snow, (3) there are just a few snow cannons, (5) there are snowmaking facilities on all pistes.	Snow Grooming: 5.0 (1) There are no snow groomers at Zakopane, (3) occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state, (5) all the runs at Zakopane are groomed daily.
  Shelter: 4.0 (1) there is nowhere to ski when it is windy or visibility is bad and lifts often shut, (3) there are some trees for poor visibility but main lifts sometimes close, (5) Zakopane is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close.	Nearby options: 4.0 (1) If snow conditions are poor at Zakopane, it will be poor everywhere nearby, (3) there are good alternatives within an hours drive, (5) other locations on the same lift pass provide a rich variety of snowsure ski conditions.
  Regional rating: 4.0 (1) Zakopane usually has poor snow conditions compared to other resorts in region, (3) has average conditions for the region, (5) usually has the best snow conditions in the region.	Lift Staff: 5.0 (1) The staff at Zakopane are rude or unhelpful, (5) lift staff at Zakopane are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help.
  Crowds/Queues: 3.0 (1) the resort is always busy and there are usually long lift queues, (3) it is quiet apart from occasional weekends and school holidays, (5) it is uncrowded and lift queues are very rare.	Ski Schools: 5.0 (1) No ski schools available, (2) one or two ski schools but local language only, (3) a few ski schools but book early for multi-lingual instructors, (4) plenty of ski schools and multi-lingual instructors available, (5) excellent ski schools with friendly multi-lingual ski instructors.
  Hire and Repairs: 5.0 (1) Nothing can be sourced, not even ski-wax or ptex. (3) there are some ski shops but rentals need to be booked in advance, (5) good quality ski equipment can be purchased or hired and overnight repairs are possible.	Variety of pistes: 3.0 (1) The ski runs are featureless and unvaried, (3) the ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week, (5) Zakopane has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain.
  Beginners: 5.0 (1) Beginners can only watch others ski and snowboard, (3) a few gentle slopes but beginners will get bored in less than a week, (3) Vast areas of gentle terrain.	Intermediates: 5.0 (1) No intermediate terrain at Zakopane, (3) intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days, (5) vast areas of cruising runs.
  Advanced: 3.0 (1) Nothing for advanced skiers and snowboarders, (3) enough steep terrain for a few days with some good offpiste, (5) Enough steep terrain and offpiste areas to entertain advanced skiers for at least a week.	Snow Park: 5.0 (1) Not even a kicker at Zakopane, (3) average sized park quite well looked after, (5) huge park area and expertly crafted pipes, jumps and boardercross trails.
  Off-piste: 2.0 (1) No off-piste worth mentioning, (2) off piste is out-of-bounds, (3) some varied offpiste that stays fresh for one or two days, (5) a vast array of off-piste routes that can stay untracked for several days.	Mountain Dining: 5.0 (1) Nowhere to buy food by the pistes, (3) some places to eat up on the mountain but they are often busy and expensive, (5) there is a variety of excellent mountain eateries right next to the slopes to suit all budgets.
  Eating: 5.0 (1) Bring your own food, there isn't even a shop. (5) A wide variety of places to eat and drink in the resort, from fast food to fancy restaurants.	Apres-Ski: 5.0 (1) Nothing to do, not even a bar, (3) there are a few bars in the resort but nothing special, (5) clubs and bars stay open until very late and have a friendly atmosphere.
  Other Sports: 4.0 (1) No sports facilities at all apart from ski lifts, (3) resort has just a small public swimming pool, (5) resort has all kinds of sports facilities, including a full-size swimming pool.	Entertainment: 4.0 (1) Besides the snow and walking there is nothing to do here, (3) the non-skier will find things to do for few days but may become bored after a week, (5) the resort area is a fascinating place to visit, regardless of winter sports.
  Ski Pass Value: 5.0 (1) A 1 week ski pass is overpriced compared to the number of lifts available, (3) the ski pass is averagely priced and covers a reasonable number of lifts, (5) ski passes are excellent value for money and cover a lot of lifts spanning a big area.	Value (National): 5.0 (1) Overall, Zakopane is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the country and not worth the money, (3) overall represents average value for money, (5) overall offers the best value resort in the country.
  Value (Global): 5.0 (1) Overall, Zakopane is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the world, (3) overall it offers pretty average value for money compared to resorts from other countries, (5) internationally the resort offers excellent value for money.

  Based on 1 vote. Vote

• April 15, 2011
  Barbara from Zakopane from Poland
  

  Hi,
  We have 30cm of fresh snow on Kasprowy Wierch - quite good ski conditions. For the very first time in its history, the Ski mountaineering World Cup Final is going to take place outside the Alps. On April 16th we will enjoy in Zakopane and Polish Tatra Mountains already the XIV edition of Piotr Malinowski Memorial which has been acclaimed the most prestigious ski mountaineering competition in this part of Europe. An extraordinary scenery for this event constitutes the high mountain setting of Tatra National Park. The race's route leads through the most picturesque sights of Tatras, yet it is within an easy reach for all the supporters from Kasprowy Wierch area.

• April 09, 2011
  Barbara from Zakopane from Poland
  

  Ski slopes in Białka Tatrzańska (Kotelnica) will be open until tomorrow (10.04). On Sunday (last day) all the lifts are available for free! The chair lift on Gasienicowa (Kasprowy Wierch) is closed until Monday (11.04). According the weather forecast it is going to snow in Tatra Mountains today and tomorrow so probably it will be possible to ski on Kasprowy Wierch at least during next week.

• February 02, 2011
  donald from United Kingdom
  

  Zakopane is a great place to learn and if budget is an issue. Fantastic vibe day and night. If you can avoid the main slopes do as they can be very busy. Plenty of others around with no queues and cheaper but is cheap anyway, Also, February is regional holidays for schools with each region taking turns to holiday there so will be busy on slopes. 4th time this Feb, can't wait. Party of 18 going.

• January 07, 2011
  James from Australia
  

  Zakopane is a fantastic place! I have been to many ski resorts in Europe (from the Alps to the Carpathians) and after discovering it this year I like Zakopane the most. It has great skiing, combined with great tourist facilities and a fabulous atmosphere!!!

• March 16, 2010
  Neilson from United Kingdom
  

  Just come back from 3 nights in Zakopane. Great snow and enough slopes to keep you going for 3 or 4 days as an intermediate/advance skiier/boarder. Not sure if I would spend a week there though, unless learning, then I would imagine it to be really good place to stay longer.

  Kasprowy Wierch was great until the snow storm set in and for some reason no queues as others seem to experience! Scymozykova seems to the best 'resort' for ski hire (£12 per day) and has a nice red and blue run with cafe/bars on top (£1.50 - £2 a pint) and at the bottom with a roaring fire. Harenda, 2 miles out of town has one chair lift and a drag - essentially one big slope divided as blue, red and black runs. Fine for a morning but then time to move on. Didn't manage to make it to Nosal unfortunately but meant to be decent (one black/red run plus nursery slopes).

  People generally friendly but sign posts, menus etc could be improved as it took a little while to work things out with the resorts scattered around and my Polish being non existent.
  

• December 22, 2009
  derek fitzharris from United Kingdom
  

  I have taken my family to Zakopane 4 years running. Fantastic food, though restaurants very busy. Took 16 friends last year all had good time and want to return, even though not much snow. Cheap to learn to ski and very friendly at Nosal though quite icy and hard.

• December 10, 2009
  kostek from Poland
  

  Zakopane as a city is nothing but a poor place with lots of tourists, eastern Europe atmosphere, no idea how people should arrange the city for tourists. Zakopane without Tatra Mountains is almost nothing. For travelers a good place to meet original culture and see how far from western Europe that city is and how close to the east we are. Mountains above Zakopane are the reason why You should have come here. Backcountry terrain is great. You can hike, you can climb, you can ride. Skitouring and freeriding is so cool there.

  Check this video out! -> this will tell you all what Zakopane really means:
  http://www.vimeo.com/6590059

• July 15, 2009
  Gareth Nicholls from United Kingdom
  

  I've spent three winters working in Zakopane now and know the place, the slopes and a lot of people there. It has something to offer everybody and the best part is it's cheap. Cheap skiing or snowboarding, cheap drinking and eating and you can get everything organised for you by UK based ski and snowboard holiday company White Side Holidays.

• February 26, 2009
  Janet Kulbat from United Kingdom
  

  My family travel to Zakopane most years for the February half-term. My son snowboards and my husband is into skiing. Once again, a terrific holiday. Fabulous snow, although it was very cold this year. Ski slopes: excellent. Everywhere offers value for money and the people can't do enough for you. You don't need a car at Zakopane, as the local mini-buses run frequently and are very cheap. Restaurants and bars are plentiful and offer really good meals.
  Would recommend Zakopane to all people of all ages.

• February 12, 2009
  Christophe Signolet from United Kingdom
  

  I've been skiing and snowboarding in Zakopane for the past 4 seasons now and it's amazing. I traveled each time with a British tour operator called Sunshine World who organise everything from flights and airport transfers to accommodation of all standards and also equipment rental, transport in resort, lift passes and professional coaching with their own English speaking ski and snowboard team. It's so cool because I don't have to think of anything - they do it all and it doesn't even cost more than if I did a go it alone holiday as they have negotiated discounts everywhere and have buyer-power so the savings are passed on to us. I'd recommend Zakopane and Sunshine World to anyone looking for a cheap yet great quality skiing or snowboarding holiday. Now I'm actually a qualified ski and snowboard instructor with the CSIA and CASI and definitely thank the excellent coaching of the Sunshine World team - thanks again to all the guys and girls and see you this season for sure. Chris

• February 09, 2009
  Chris from United Kingdom
  

  Zakopane is the biggest and best known ski centre in the south of Poland but what most people aren't aware of is that every other town between Myslowice and Zakopane and down to the Polish border have ski slopes. These vary in length, altitude and facilities but one thing you can do at all of them is ski without queues. Take a look at Rabka where there are 2 lots of ski slopes: 1. Maciejowa and 2. Polczakówka. You haven't got the same variety of nightlife and conditions are simple but if it's skiing you want there is a great choice all over Poland. Search the web using terms such as narty kamera Wyciąg trasa for a list of webcams at all these slopes.

  The other advantage of skiing outside Zakopane is easier and cheaper parking plus cheaper accommodation.

• April 06, 2008
  James from United Kingdom
  

  We went to Krakow recently (March 2008) and spent 1 day snowboarding in Zakopane (to research the resort for a future holiday).
  I have to say, I was very pleased with the snow and the experience. The snow, even at this time in the season, was well maintained and the conditions were very good.
  Skiing there isn't like the Alpes where there is one integrated resort - instead it is split into several ski areas where you purchase separate ski passes based on the number of times you use the lift. The equipment near the ski slopes was very good (perhaps one season old at most) and it lives up to the level of ski service you would expect in the Alpes. I would avoid the rental shops in dead centre of town as some of it looked very dated.
  Sign posting there is poor to say the least, but the official tourist office is very helpful when you find it.
  All in all, we had a great day of skiing. As a guide: our snowboard and boot rental came to £8 for the day and they didn't try and charge me when I returned a boot halfway through the day which I had broken! The ski pass was about £12 each for the equivalent of a day of skiing (but some areas are more and less expensive.)

• February 07, 2008
  Darryl Ramage from Poland
  

  Keep the bad reports coming, all the better for us that have found this gem of a place. You've seen the film Beach and that wee paradise away from all the idiots! Zakopane should be kept a secret from all those numb nuts. The place, people and food are excellent. If you can't find something to do, you're not looking and shouldn't be there. Let the clown pay sky high prices for that we bit of 'lets pose on the slopes', get a life.

• December 30, 2007
  Ian from United Kingdom
  

  Have been snowboarding in Zakopane for the last 3 years now. Granted, the options are limited but if cost is a factor when booking a trip then this is a great destination! We found the best conditions and variety at Kasprowy Wierch. We used the cable car the first couple of times we went, which you can end up queuing up to 3 hours for, but then found out that it's a beautiful 45 minute walk up to the first chair lift if your legs can take it! Food and drink is cheap, the people are friendly and the nightlife isn't bad either, check out Paperazzi. Looking forward to returning in Feb 08.

• February 26, 2007
  Byron from United Kingdom
  

  Spent 9 days in Nosal, mid Feb 2007, which is a about 1 mile from Zakopane central. It only snowed for 1 day while we were there. However the snow was pretty packed from recent snow fall. There is only 1 decent run in Nosal which was always really busy and was a very poor conditioned piste. The Ski lifts are very old and very disorganised as you have to purchase individual tickets every time you want to use the lift. The only half decent run is in Kasprowy Wierch which is about 10 minutes away, but you always had to queue for about 2-3 hours if you get there about 9ish. ( RECOMMEND BOOKING FOR THIS AS SOON AS YOU ARRIVE.) The cable car up to the top is very old and in need for modernisation. Once you get up there, the views are just incredible and the skiing is quite good to. On the whole, Zakopane isn't for the experienced skiers as there are limited runs. I would recommend Zakopane to people who want a little bit of skiing as well as some sightseeing as Zakopane has some great tours available. P.s. - Alcohol and food is very cheap; 60p for a pint of beer.

• January 07, 2007
  Martin from United Kingdom
  

  Spent 5 days in Zakopane just before Christmas. Like the rest of Europe, snow was limited but we had a good time. The town is great, easy going feel, loads of nightlife if you want it, or cosy bars with log fires for anybody wanting to chill out. Although the conditions were poor, it was clear that skiing is limited, best suited to beginners, although there is some off piste if the conditions are good enough. I would recommend Zakopane for anyone wanting a good value party holiday with a bit of skiing thrown in.

• November 20, 2006
  Gabi Duguid from United Kingdom
  

  My husband and I were in Zakopane in the summer of 2004 and it was a marvelous holiday. During the warm days we explored the moutains and the village with its market. During the evenings we enjoyed great Polish dishes (Pierogi and Bigos) in cosy restuarants. This year, 2006, we are heading back to for the snow and skiing. A wonderful village with great people and value for money.

• December 17, 2005
  Barbara and Brenda from Scotland from United Kingdom
  

  We went to ZaKapone by public bus transport on 14th December 2005 from Krakow. We would have stayed in Zakopane if we could!!! The people are so friendly, the restaurants and hotel food, the fun, the smiles, the helpfulness of everyone was marvellous. We thought the scenery was beautiful. The main shopping thoroughfare was full of evey kind of shop you could imagine or need. So much to do and see, the market was great. Value for money everywhere we went. I have travelled to many countries and have never seen more beautiful unspoilt scenery, mountains and town... So THANK YOU to the people of Zakopane.

• December 04, 2005
  brian from United Kingdom
  

  Zakopane is the best Holiday ever. The people at Zakopane make you most welcome.

• November 25, 2005
  mike from Poland
  

  oo dude so not true that the riding at kasprowy is restricted to 2 bowls,i would say its by far the best place to go riding in eastern europe,plenty of quality freeride terrain a the archaic lifts give kasprowy its character,you godda wait on average between 1-3 hours for the fuckin lift to come down than its another 30 minutes up.so all in all the amount of people riding the mountain is restricted which is good and thats the way we like it.if you the loungy weekend skier/boarder type of person dont bother.when it comes to freestyle welll you can always find a some nice back country kickers off piste besides that zakopane dosent really have anything hardcore to offer,food is great,dont touch the gural burgers you dont wanna know what goes into that beeelive meee:)accomadation is cheap and you can always hop over the border to slovaki to some riding but to tell you the truth the only other rival of kasprowy is chopok in slovakia and thats around 5/6 hours drive form zakopane.PEACE