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Bansko resort snow
Lat Long: 41.78° N 23.44° E
Ski Bulgaria

Bansko Resort Reviews

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Visitor reviews for Bansko Ski Resort

Bansko Ratings

Overall: 3.6. Based on 220 votes and 362 reviews.

Rate this resort

Snowsure: 3.9

  • Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing
  • Is often closed due to a lack of snow
  • Occasionally suffers from a lack of snow
  • Rarely suffers from a lack of snow
  • Bansko is snowsure even in the poorest seasons

Variety of pistes: 3.9

  • The ski runs are featureless and unvaried
  • The ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week
  • Bansko has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain

Off-piste: 3.5

  • No off-piste worth mentioning
  • Off piste is out-of-bounds
  • Some varied offpiste that stays fresh for one or two days
  • A vast array of off-piste routes that can stay untracked for several days

Scenery: 4.1

  • An ugly resort in a bland setting
  • Average mountain views and resort
  • A spectacular setting and a beautiful / historic resort town

Access: 3.5

  • At least one overnight stop
  • Requires a whole day
  • Requires more than half a day – you may have time for a few turns
  • Arrive by lunchtime and ski all afternoon
  • There is a main airport within an hour of Bansko

Public Transport: 3.5

  • There are no buses or taxis to Bansko
  • There are slow or infrequent buses / trains available
  • Getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections

Accommodation: 4.5

  • No places to stay in/near Bansko
  • A few places to stay in the resort
  • A wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets

Cheap Rooms: 4.2

  • No budget accommodation available
  • Just one or two hostels so book ahead
  • Several cheap hostels and pensions available

Luxury Hotels: 4.2

  • No luxury accommodation available
  • Just one or two luxury hotels so book ahead
  • Several up-market hotels in Bansko

Ski in/Ski out: 3.5

  • The ski area is located far from any accommodation
  • A free ski bus takes you to the ski area in a short trip
  • Ski-in ski-out accommodation is available

Childcare: 3.4

  • There are no child care facilities at Bansko
  • The resort has limited child-care facilities
  • the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche

Snowmaking: 4.2

  • Bansko relies entirely on natural snow
  • There are just a few snow cannons
  • There are snowmaking facilities on all pistes

Snow Grooming: 3.9

  • There are no snow groomers at Bansko
  • Occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state
  • All the runs at Bansko are groomed daily

Shelter: 3.8

  • There is nowhere to ski when it is windy or visibility is bad and lifts often shut
  • There are some trees for poor visibility but main lifts sometimes close
  • Bansko is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close

Nearby options: 2.6

  • If snow conditions are poor at Bansko, it will be poor everywhere nearby
  • There are good alternatives within an hours drive
  • Other locations on the same lift pass provide a rich variety of snowsure ski conditions

Regional rating: 4.2

  • Bansko usually has poor snow conditions compared to other resorts in region
  • Has average conditions for the region
  • Usually has the best snow conditions in the region

Lift Staff: 3.3

  • The staff at Bansko are rude or unhelpful
  • Lift staff at Bansko are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help

Crowds/Queues: 2.7

  • The resort is always busy and there are usually long lift queues
  • It is quiet apart from occasional weekends and school holidays
  • It is uncrowded and lift queues are very rare

Ski Schools: 4.1

  • No ski schools available
  • One or two ski schools but local language only
  • A few ski schools but book early for multi-lingual instructors
  • Plenty of ski schools and multi-lingual instructors available
  • Excellent ski schools with friendly multi-lingual ski instructors

Hire and Repairs: 4.3

  • Nothing can be sourced, not even ski-wax or ptex
  • There are some ski shops but rentals need to be booked in advance
  • Good quality ski equipment can be purchased or hired and overnight repairs are possible

Beginners: 3.9

  • Beginners can only watch others ski and snowboard
  • A few gentle slopes but beginners will get bored in less than a week
  • Vast areas of gentle terrain

Intermediates: 4.1

  • No intermediate terrain at Bansko
  • Intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days
  • Vast areas of cruising runs

Advanced: 3.6

  • Nothing for advanced skiers and snowboarders
  • Enough steep terrain for a few days with some good offpiste
  • Enough steep terrain and offpiste areas to entertain advanced skiers for at least a week

Snow Park: 2.7

  • Not even a kicker at Bansko
  • Average sized park quite well looked after
  • Huge park area and expertly crafted pipes, jumps and boardercross trails

Cross-country: 3.1

  • There is nowhere to go for cross-country skiing around Bansko
  • There are some cross country trails available
  • The area features many spectacular and well maintained cross-country trails

Luge/Toboggan: 2.0

  • No designated luge or toboggan runs
  • There are toboggan runs that open quite often
  • Bansko has long and well maintained luge / toboggan facilities suitable for all ages

Mountain Dining: 3.4

  • Nowhere to buy food by the pistes
  • Some places to eat up on the mountain but they are often busy and expensive
  • There is a variety of excellent mountain eateries right next to the slopes to suit all budgets

Eating: 4.2

  • Bring your own food, there isn't even a shop
  • There are a few places to eat in the resort but nothing special
  • A wide variety of places to eat and drink in the resort, from fast food to fancy restaurants

Apres-Ski: 4.1

  • Nothing to do, not even a bar
  • There are a few bars in the resort but nothing special
  • Clubs and bars stay open until very late and have a friendly atmosphere

Other Sports: 3.5

  • No sports facilities at all apart from ski lifts
  • Resort has just a small public swimming pool
  • Resort has all kinds of sports facilities, including a full-size swimming pool

Entertainment: 3.6

  • Besides the snow and walking there is nothing to do here
  • The non-skier will find things to do for few days but may become bored after a week
  • The resort area is a fascinating place to visit, regardless of winter sports

Winter Walks: 3.4

  • Very limited walking and no snowshoe trails
  • A couple of designated scenic walking/snowshoe trails
  • Extensive and diverse winter walking trails for all abilities

Ski Pass Value: 3.4

  • A 1 week ski pass is overpriced compared to the number of lifts available
  • The ski pass is averagely priced and covers a reasonable number of lifts
  • Ski passes are excellent value for money and cover a lot of lifts spanning a big area

Value (National): 3.7

  • Overall, Bansko is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the country and not worth the money
  • Overall represents average value for money
  • Overall offers the best value resort in the country

Value (Global): 3.9

  • Overall, Bansko is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the world
  • Overall it offers pretty average value for money compared to resorts from other countries
  • Internationally the resort offers excellent value for money

Show all 35 ratings

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March 14, 2008
Jenna from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Have just returned from my first trip to Bansko, which was delightful. We stayed on the outskirts of the town and often walked back to out hotel late at night in the pitch dark. Never felt threatened and the locals didn't speak to us or look at us so we felt very safe. Food and drink was great. Yes, there are a few dogs lurking around but they looked healthy and tame so don't think they were strays. The snow was great and there were no queues at all for the gondola. Everything about Bansko is great. It's just a bit behind the times which makes Bansko even more interesting.
March 14, 2008
Rambo from Ski Greece Greece
Just came back from two days in Bansko...I have to inform you that the snow conditions are still very good...the snow machines working good and the snow center looks well organized. The problem today was the wind that stopped the working of the upper air lifts. Bulgarians are strange people and I still can't say whether they are just poor people trying to make easy money, kind or moody and sometimes stupid and unsocial. I can't make generalizations even if I had a bad experience today. I run out of battery in my car and asked for help from a guy in the parking in front of gondola .He was smiley and offered to help and he actually did using his car and battery cables. I was so thankful to him but finally he demanded some money (5 Euros) in a rude way that reminded me of some comments I read here before going up there. It's the amount of money but the character and the way they behave. Last, I have to say that there is a way to avoid gondola queues by driving the road up to the slopes...taking a taxi or a car of course. It's an alternative way to stay calm especially when some people are rude in the queues. Queues are very small during the week, except Friday, and usually none after 9.30-10.00.
March 14, 2008
Dave M from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
I've skied Bansko in mid March and had a great time. Very friendly, helpful and the snow for the time of their season was good. I then tried the festive period... avoid at all costs until they put in better initial access; near 2 hour waits for the first gondola (after we were up the initial lift it wasn't to bad, but that at the start just ruins the day). In the end we hit the wellness centre in the hotel in the morning and took the gondola up at lunchtime, not ideal but I'd rather spend 2 hours swimming and chilling than freezing and waiting. The friendliness of the people seemed to have gone too - as if they knew that were going to be mobed and didn't have to try. So cheap(er) but not always cheerful.
March 09, 2008
Myles from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
I have just returned from a great week in Bansko. I don't know about others experiences but everyone I met was helpful and friendly, once you got past the initial apparent grumpiness. I did also learn to say please and thank you in Bulgarian which may be a tip for those Brits who get outraged when foreigners don't fawn over them. Snow conditions were not good, but up the top was fine (I took my kids up the top as you can go from top to bottom on blues!), and you can still ski all the way down to the bottom. I loved the restaurants, the waiters couldn’t do enough for the kids (and beer is 80p a pint). I loved the accommodation, twice as big, twice the facilities and half the price of the Alps. I loved the town (well, OK the bits that are not building sites). I loved the skiing (30 minute queue at peak time on the gondola, but fine the rest of the time and no queues up top, most of the lifts are new and fast). I would recommend anyone to go to Bansko, ski, and have money left afterwards!
March 08, 2008
Pete from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
All of you that are moaning especially Chris (March4th) GET A LIFE! Just come back 2hrs ago! What a great time. Yeah it is melting low down but still ok (just) but stay high up and wow. What queues? Get there at 8 - 8.15 and clear as a bell. Read loads about packs of dogs and crap service etc etc. Absolute rubbish! A few stray dogs but as good a service as almost anywhere. Yeah, a bit slow but so what and it's not slow at the piste cafes. It's a growing and needing to improve place but I bet it will and do it well. We skied all morning high up and then on the practice slope, for the Europa cup, in the afternoon. Then the 2 or 3 good reds and 1 black had been deserted all day and were therefore excellent. Go with an open mind and keep it that way and you will enjoy it. Also the 2 or 3 mexanas on the old street are really good, a bit slow but good and so cheap. Loved it and would gladly go back.
March 06, 2008
Conrad from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Having been to Bansko two years it was disapointing to observe the huge price increases (although still cheaper than the UK). The queues in the morning are horrendous and if you have any skiing lessons at 10am (start) you have no option but to wait. I agree that the resort is young but it has to alleviate the queues or people will return to traditional skiing resorts. It also makes you angry first thing in the morning when some people have no respect for a queuing system and the security do nothing to prevent this from occurring.
March 04, 2008
Chris from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
If you have a ski holiday booked for Bansko in the next few weeks and can change it, it would be a good idea to do so. This place is in serious melt-down with no improvements on the horizon. Most of the lower runs will probably be closed within the next week or so and temperatures are so hot that there is no possibility of new snow being made. There is also virtually nothing else to do in Bansko!
March 03, 2008
Katie from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
I would recommend Bulgaria as the perfect resort for any beginner skiers, yet intermediates and experts will find it frustrating. It is cheap so if you are worried about whether to go skiing or not this is an affordable option. There are plenty of easy pistes to learn on and the four hours a day tuition is remarkable value. However, the range of pistes are limited so intermediates may find themselves bored after several days. After half a week I started learning to snowboard as the runs were not challenging anymore. The hotels are also great value with full spas and large rooms. However, the food leaves something to be desired, not only in the hotels but generally in the mehanas. Whilst some of the food was delicious not all the translations to English were brilliant. I ordered chicken napolitana at one restaurant and was given chicken satay. Overall, a great resort but if you are to come I would recommend doing it soon before the masses of apartment blocks are built, when the lifts will be even more crowded and all the quaint Bulgarian charm is taken away from this place.
March 03, 2008
Christine from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Have just returned from a week in Bansko. We weren't sure what to expect having read all the bad reviews but were very pleasantly surprised. Yes the place is a building site but we expected that. Yes, there are long queues at the gondola first thing in the morning but you have to work round that, you either go very early or 10.30 when there are no queues. We were given a tip, take a taxi up to the first chair lift (only 4 Levs) potter about there until later in the morning, ski down and take the gondola back up to the top when the queue has died down. We found the resort to be very cheap (far cheaper than France, where we usually go). Our apartment was great with swimming pool, jacuzzi, etc. underneath. The same in France would have cost us a fortune. Yes, the infrastructure needs sorting but they will get there. We look forward to going back next year to see developments.
March 02, 2008
A Stent from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
I have to agree with with most of the Brits; the customer service was appalling, I knew that there was work being done but not to that extent. We had young children with us and found the place dangerous. Went in half-term. Only one gondola lift and waited up to 1 hour to get on. Hotel stated 250 meters from gondola, no this was not true, 1400 meters. Won't be going back.