Snowsure: 4.0
- 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
- Bukovel is snowsure even in the poorest seasons
Visitor reviews for Bukovel Ski Resort
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(NOTE: Reviews may be edited by our content team for the purposes of ensuring accurate and relevant information)
(NOTE: Reviews may be edited by our content team for the purposes of ensuring accurate and relevant information)
Latest
January 06, 2017
Olena from
Ukraine
Olena from
Ukraine
Perfect choice for family winter weekend or vacation; 60 km of pistes daily groomed and sheltered by forests from winds, variety of restaurants, SPA and hot open pools in summer and winter, prices in Euro quite friendly esp, if use preseason options.
Pros:
5 months of ski season
Close to Eastern European countries
Preseason prices
Apre-ski
Restaurants
Ski-in-ski-out
Redison Hotel
Voda Club (pools and SPA)
Buka Night Club
CONS
Holiday crowds. We stay Mon-Fri and enjoy uncrowded slopes.
February 24, 2015
Ivan from
Ukraine
Ivan from
Ukraine
The best you can get in Ukraine, but I would not go there from another country.
Overcrowded in Jan and Feb; you can wait up to 20 minutes in line. It's the biggest issue. Ski passes are 1.2-1.5 times more expensive than in other Ukrainian resorts with cannons and groomers but can be bought with a good discount in spring/summer. Accommodation is expensive and should be booked in advance. Pistes are short, as everywhere in Carpathian.
No places for off-piste riding, and not much natural snow for that.
Lots of different well groomed tracks with different difficulty. Many snow cannons and trees so lifts don't get closed because of wind or lack of snow.
A perfect place for beginners, when not overcrowded (Dec, Mar).
Best infrastructure among Ukrainian resorts. You can buy all equipment right there.
January 25, 2013
Vadym from
Ukraine
Vadym from
Ukraine
The resort is always overcrowded. There are no other comparable ski resorts in the country and going abroad to Slovakia, Poland or Austria is complicated for Ukrainians due to cumbersome process of getting Shengen visa. Due to it, most of local skiers / boarders go to Bukovel. That makes it probably a very profitable business but results in a number of unpleasant things for the guests.
- slopes are just dangerous. While they are laid out, snowed and groomed like on every other resort (in most cases, well) they are always full of skiers. 10% of skiers, for various reasons, do not care neither for their own, no everyone's health and life. Some of them are beginners, some pro skiers but they go down like it were last downhill race of their life. The gentler slope, the higher speed. Because of speed and large number of skiers on the slope, this kind of racing leads to spectacular crashes, often against other non-suspecting skiers, resulting in bruises, broken bones and, frequently enough, fatalities. You might not see so many accidents on other resort in two weeks as you would witness in Bukovel in 2 hours. Helms are mandatory but they help little if some of the heads below are plain stupid. Bonuses: first aid and transportation from slope are free. Do not even consider police investigation or some compensation to be paid by culprit. Crash. Standing skier is sent rolling, the other, crashing from behind, too. "I am so sorry but it is a skiing". The offender puts on the skis and goes down, while the other tries to figure out whether the pain stems from a simple bruise or fractured bone. If you are an able bodied man and your skiing skills are reasonably good - you can risk it. If you are with children or loved ones, better not.
- queues. If you move to some remote lifts and stay there you might be able to avoid waiting times. However, be prepared to wait 15-20 minutes if you go to some of junction stations.
- traffic problem. While no popular resort is free of it, still be ready to cover 10 km of road in an hour amid exhaust fumes if you go in or out during 'rush hour'. Very little public transport is available.
- prices. A bit lower than in Switzerland, France or Austria but quite comparable. Ski passes can be bought half price in summer or early morning, while lifts are closed. Accommodation, in Bukovel itself, is very expensive (Aspen, Kitzbuehel or Val Thorens look shy in comparison), better to stay in a nearby village a couple of kilometers away.
- to cope with parking problem and trying to accommodate as many visitors as possible, a number of new parking places / hotels were built. As a result, previously picturesque landscape looks overbuilt and a bit dull. Some construction is still in progress.
If you happened to be nearby, love skiing, have an adventurous streak and want just to spend a weekend somewhere, without expecting too much, you can try it. If you are looking for a place to spend a vacation or go with children - better look somewhere else.
January 23, 2013
Guillaume from
France
Guillaume from
France
This is the worst ski resort I have ever seen:
- ski passes are very expensive - 110 euros per week for 50 kilometers of slopes for downhill skiing and 850 metres for Nordic ski. In France, for instance, in Les Saisies, you pay 180 euros per week for 250kms of downhill skiing and 120kms of Nordic ski. Bukovel is much more expensive - 2,2 euro per km vs 0,5 euro per km in France - 4.4 times more expensive than in the Alps!
- nature is ugly: they built too many hotels, parkings, and the air smelled pollution just like in a big city. In addition they keep playing loud music everywhere, so you really don't feel you are in the mountains. The Main Street in Kiev is quieter!
- because they built too many hotels all over the place, the resort is overly crowded.
- low safety: the level of skiers is very low, which makes skiing in Bukovel very dangerous. In the 3 hours I was there, I saw four people 'rescued' by medical staff and carried in stretchers. That's because skiers have low skills but believe they are great and ski too fast for their level. I also saw, twice, people bumping into other skiers. All this in 3 hours!
- water infection: I drank water there, from the hotel (of course not from tap) and had some infection because of this and stayed in bed for 3 days! After checking local websites in Ukrainian / Russian, I learnt that there is an infection in water, and this has been going on already for a few years! Visitors in Bukovel regularly get infected, locals and foreigners alike (I live in Kiev, and never got such a problem). Of course, everyone in Bukovel know it but authorities do not do anything.
- horrible service: staff, on average, are not helpful at all. They don't care, they don't know and don't try to help.
All in all, don't go there! it is very expensive, of very low quality and dangerous for health. A lot of people see that there are more slopes in Bukovel than in other resorts in the area and decide to go there, but this is really not worth it! It is the worst ski resort I have seen in the world (skied until then in France, Spain, Canada, Japan, Romania, Ukraine). In Ukraine, Dragobrat is much better, nature more beautiful, less crowded, better service, and no water infection.
September 10, 2012
Oles from
Ukraine
Oles from
Ukraine
Best lifts and good choice of trails. Some opportunities for skiing free--ride under lifts when it is allowed from mid-season. Real value for money if you buy ski-passes and book accommodation in advance. For permanent visitors the discount cards are available offering -50% for skipass and -20% discounts for accommodation.
Still the stuff must be trained. Anyway - best choice in Carpathians, incl Poland, Romania and Ukraine.
March 23, 2012
Yuri from
Ukraine
Yuri from
Ukraine
January 05, 2012
Björn from
France
Björn from
France
Have been going to Bukovel (and Slavske) a couple of times and I do not fully agree with another review.
*First off all, I have a positive attitude. I like travelling and like to experience new things, meet new people, see the culture. etc. I understand the some things are different in other parts of Europe.
* The Skiing is good. The lifts are all fast 4 seats 'Doppelmayer'. Last week there wasn't much snow between Catholic Xmas and New Year but thanks to the good snow making machines all the lifts were working, and the snow on the slopes was good. I am a good and fast skier and there is enough to keep me interested for a couple of days. The colours of the slopes are same as in Austria, although some reds are little easier. There are two very easy runs for beginners (7&14) and a couple of blues, red, and a few pretty steep black. Although the runs are not as long as in the Alps. The slopes are groomed very well. I didn't have to wait more than 2 minutes for the lifts, only lift 7 was busy sometimes, but maybe in Ukrainian holidays this could be different. Check the Ukrainian Bukovel website for new ski map! (on the official English and Russian site is an old map! ) There are no T-bars at all anymore.
* There is a difference between the resort itself (around Lift 2) and all the houses, chalets, B&B, local restaurants etc just outside of the resort. These are located from lift 1R down the road. I stayed at the local places and the people there are very friendly and the food/drinks is great and cheap. (for 100 UAH each you have a good few courses meal with a couple of beers). My Chalet was 10 min walk to lift R1 which is fine for me. You can rent your gear next to the slopes and leave it there after a day of skiing.
*Some staff could be rude but really, most are ok! Especially just outside the resort.
*Some visitors are the 'nouveau riche' which aren't always the most friendly people. But there are many families etc as well. I don't care actually.
*Transport: It's far! From Kyiv it's pretty comfortable. Take a night train, sleep good, and arrive early morning in Ivano Frankivsk. If you have the money: take a full coupé (4 beds). The beds are ± 150 UAH (14 Euro) each. Then you have to take a bus for 1,5h to Bukovel which isn't that comfortable, but you can be on the slopes around 10 AM. The last day you can ski all day and then take the bus + night train back to Kyiv and be there the next morning. Comfortable in my opinion.
The bus from Lviv takes 4-5h!
There is a train track almost to Bukovel... but no train seems to run there..... I can't see why.
With a couple of friends we rented our own van with driver from Lviv Airport last year.
Bukovel is the only serious ski resort in Ukraine and together with Jasna in Slowakia the only serious ones in Eastern Europe.
Apres-ski is nothing like Austria. Even not like France. It's more a diner with some drinks. There is one club near lift 7.
Conclusion: if you wanna ski, Ukraine is something new. It's visa free for EU nationalities. The Carpats are nice mountains. And compare to the Alps it's very cheap! 0,5L pint of lager for around 1 Euro (12 UAH), a room for 300-500 UAH (25-50 euro) and a ski pass for 20 Euro a day. Ski rent was 80 UAH/day for good, although not the latest, material. All good value for money in my opinion.
Maybe I will go there next year again...
January 02, 2012
Mike from
United Kingdom
Mike from
United Kingdom
Have been going to Bukovel for 4 or 5 years, often multiple times per year. Why? Because it's relatively nearby (3 hours) when I go to visit my wife's family for the holidays. If it were not for that, I'd say, frankly, stay away. The skiing is "ok" and the lifts are of good quality, but there are many more reasons why you should spend your money elsewhere:
1. The staff at Bukovel are drawn from the local population. They are chronically rude, inept, and totally clueless. I was physically assaulted (actually hit) by the on-piste ski patrol without warning for conducting "un-authorized instruction" because I was helping a friend of mine step into skis for the first time. I have seen food vendors yell at foreign guests and threaten to cancel their ski-passes since they could not understand the menu quickly enough to the servers satisfaction. I have seen parking lot security in their paramilitary uniforms openly taking bribes for better parking spaces. Don't get me wrong - many of the staff are fine - such as the ski instructors. However, there are enough bad apples that it can be really miserable. The 'security' staff should be fired immediately.
2. Other guests: Bukovel is a place where people with more money than class aggregate. While in some sense this is true for many resort areas, it is especially true in Bukovel where you have the chintzy boorishness of the Russian and Kievan 'biznes' types and their usual sins of tacky conspicuous consumption. There's a reason why the first thing people do when checking out Tripadvisor for, say, Egypt is to see whether their resort is a Russian package resort destination. Bukovel is kind of like that, many times over.
3. Access: Bukovel is far from everywhere. And, just when you think you've made it, you get stuck in a traffic jam at the resort's one road. To put things in perspective, it is far, far quicker, from Kiev or Moscow to go to Chamonix (plane to Geneva, then 2 hour bus) than to Bukovel. Amazingly, in all the years the resort has been open, the geniuses who run the place have not thought to make a dedicated ski train from Lviv or Kiev to as near the resort as the train can go (a little past Yaremche). However, if you like riding in dilapidated 'marshritkas', then, well Bukovel is the place for you! I'm lucky in that I have my own vehicle in Ukraine, but even so, it's not pretty.
Accomodation and prices are overall ok by western standards, though extortionate by local standards. I have heard myriad stories of opportunism by local accommodation owners - such as kicking people out of their rooms while they were away skiing because others sauntered in offering to pay more.
Overall, if you are compelled to be in the area, you can get some ok skiing at Bukovel and the mountains can be nice and there are always some nice times there. However, despite any pretenses to modernity, this is still Ukraine. There is absolutely no reason to come here from abroad. You can get similar quality skiing for similar prices in, say, poland, where you will find nicer people and none of the post-soviet / nouveau-riche nonsense of Ukraine. I've come to navigate the place ok, but suggest that others don't bother making a special trip. Even if you are taking a trip to say, Lviv, it is simply too far and too much hassle to be worth the effort.
October 07, 2011
Yaroslav from
Ukraine
Yaroslav from
Ukraine
Bukovel info on fb.com/bukovel: 50 km+ of ski pistes for beginners, advanced riders and experts, fast lifts, summer and winter fun-parks, comfortable hotels, lodges and apartments, spa-centres, souvenir and equipment shops, kid centers, night clubs, bowling and much more for comfort, pleasure and health!
And it`s true for 100%!
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