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Visitor reviews for Mount Parnassos 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)
Top rated
February 08, 2011
Vangelis from
Greece
Vangelis from
Greece
Mount Parnassos is a magical mountain, home of the historical Oracle of Delphi and of mythical gods, demigods and creatures. A place of high energy and of beautiful surroundings at two hour’s drive from Athens, the capital of Greece.
General description of the resort:
The ski resort is divided into two areas, Kellaria and Fterolaka. Kellaria is a bit bigger, busier and generally preferred by snowboarders and the less skilled skiers. It also features the only modern chairlift in Greece. By modern we mean a fast four-seater that slows down for pick up and drop off. At some point in the season, a snowboard park is in operation, which is mostly badly maintained due to lack of funding (season riders offer their services as shapers in exchange for a season lift pass and the drivers of the grooming vehicles are rarely enthusiastic about spending hours ,that would otherwise be free time, in order to help build and maintain the park). Fterolaka features old school (tragically slow) chairlifts and higher difficulty runs. Each area has its own parking lot but the two areas are also connected by a chairlift which, unfortunately, does not work all days so beware. The side of Fterolaka features some very nice off-piste runs when the snow is good and plentiful. The resort is the busiest one in Greece, mainly due to its proximity to Athens, but also because it is supposed to be the biggest and best one in Greece, though the latter is debatable. On the quite frequent sunny days, the views all the way down to the sea are beautiful and its proximity to the sea side make it possible to ski in the morning and enjoy a swim in the sea and a fresh fish late lunch by the sea side in the afternoon, mostly at towards the end of the season. Link to the resort’s web site (only in Greek): parnassos-ski.gr
Around the resort:
There are a very wide selection of villages at distances between 20 to 45 minutes drive from the resort. The most famous one (and ridiculously expensive one for all services) is Arachova, which is the equivalent of Mykonos Island, for the winter season. All the other villages are reasonably priced and offer a wide range in budget and quality of services. There is no on-resort, car-free accommodation and there is no bus service from the villages to the resort, so you will definitely need your own transportation. Always get informed about road conditions before driving off and have with you snow chains or snow tires on your car.
Resort’s main pros:
1. Proximity to Athens
2. Beautiful surroundings
3. Lift-time to ride-time ratio, on week days, with the modern chairlift. Since this lift is fast and has practically no queues on weekdays, and the relevant slopes are not so long, you can ski/ride all day long without getting tired. You are on the limit of being tired by the time you are down (5-30 minutes depending on your level) and you are back up again in a long enough time for a quick rest, but short enough time to not get cold muscles (i.e. 5-6 minutes).
4. Wide range of difficulty level
5. Plenty of things to do and see around the resort (archaeological sites, various activities e.t.c.)
Resort’s main Cons:
1. Ridiculously expensive for the services offered. You do feel totally ripped off whenever you pay for anything on the resort (weekend and public holiday lift pass, refreshments, coffees, snacks).
2. Very old equipment, with the exception of the modern chairlift, though well maintained and safe to use.
3. Impossible to enjoy a good skiing day on weekends (especially the ones with good weather/snow conditions), due to incredible amounts of people and inadequacy of resort infrastructure (on all levels: parking, buying the lift pass, lift queues, restaurant e.t.c.) to accommodate such quantities people.
4. It belongs to the Greek public sector (for the ones that do not know what this means: employees with no motivation whatsoever to work since they cannot get fired, loss of income and increased expenses due to poor management and alleged -but believed by most- enormous kickbacks for any piece of equipment bought, general lack of motivation to enlarge and improve the resort due to endless bureaucratic procedures and constant changes of political parties in power - i.e. the typical corrupt public sector and government scenarios).
5. All the above 'cons' stress out people to the point where they are unable to enjoy what is supposed to be a fun day and an escape from the city and its problems. Unfortunately, the sight of arguments (sometimes even fist fights) at a queue is common and frequent (on weekends).
6. There are no 'all inclusive' weekly packages that you can take advantage of in order to save money. A week’s skiing in Mt Parnassos -all inclusive- will probably cost you about 50% more than if you travel abroad to go skiing for the same amount of days, including transport costs!
In a nutshell:
To have a good day’s skiing/riding, just go on any weekday and all is peachy fine (day pass is currently 15Euros for weekdays) and you will for sure enjoy your day, given good weather and snow conditions. If you want to avoid the other rip offs, just have your own snacks/water/refreshments/beer/tea with you and if staying overnight, avoid Arachova.
If you are planning to go on a weekend or public holiday, arm yourself with patience and be prepared to pay a lot of money for nothing in particular (day lift pass currently 30Euros). Make sure that you are the first person on the resort (max 08.00hrs) to avoid the traffic jams from cars stuck in the snow on the way up, the parking chaos and the lift pass queues and to enjoy 3-5 runs with few people. From 11.00hrs to around 15.00hrs be prepared for extremely long waiting times, a period to enjoy sunbathing, relaxing or back-country/off-piste exploring and then you are left with an hour of small queues again (until 16.00hs which is the normal closing time). Make also sure that you leave well after the masses to avoid traffic jams and frustration on the way down.
April 06, 2015
Ahmet Douas from
Greece
Ahmet Douas from
Greece
You know what? Not bad; I see an improvement. The new lift at Vakkos that opened 2014/15 changes things a lot. The mountain may still be small and easy, but at least you have some skiing 2 hours away from Athens and is a good place to practice your skills.
The resort, as a whole, seems better organized this year with the electronic ski passes, ability to charge them online, not to mention the fact that the parking is better organized.
Another big plus, it seems the billionaire prices in the ski resort cafeteria have become much more reasonable so you can actually have a snack there.
I went in early April and got the 20% off as only about half of the pistes were working. Keep it up!
January 26, 2009
skiersince88 from
United Kingdom
skiersince88 from
United Kingdom
Parnassos Ski Center (Mount Parnassos): we're talking about the biggest and the most organized resort in Greece about 1.5 hours from Athens. Usually with very good snow quantity and quality. As I know, in the last 2 years a new company has taken responsibility for safety and operations and lots of new projects are taking place at Mount Parnassos.
March 23, 2010
Panayotis from
Greece
Panayotis from
Greece
February 02, 2020
Gigi from
Greece
Gigi from
Greece
February 27, 2009
Chris Lappas from
Greece
Chris Lappas from
Greece
Mount Parnassos is the largest ski centre in Greece. It cannot compare with Alpine resorts, but what it lacks in facilities, it makes up in terms of annual snowfall due to its proximity to the sea.
The views from the top of lifts such as "Odysseas", "Iraklis" and "Ermis" can be truely breathtaking and the atmosphere is warm and friendly.
In the last few years there has been a marked effort to operate the centre at full capacity and it shows. The lifts may be in dire need of replacement and an extension to the more snow-sure area known as "Ano Kellaria" has been on the cards for longer than any skier in Greece remembers, but the staff appear determined to make the most of what is available under what can be very adverse weather conditions. As a result, queues have been greatly reduced despite a considerable increase in the number of skiers and snowboarders who visit Mount Parnassos resort.
The terrain at Mount Parnassos is varied and includes some gentle slopes in Kellaria as well as some very interesting steeps off-piste in Fterolaka. There is also some limited tree-skiing to be enjoyed, although, because it lies at a relatively low altitude, snow coverage there is far from guaranteed.
Unsurprisingly, there is a lot of nightlife, mainly in the picturesque village of Arachova and the surrounding area boasts one of the most important archaeological sites in the world: Delphi.
June 14, 2011
alex from
Greece
alex from
Greece
January 02, 2012
Tony from
Greece
Tony from
Greece
Avoid like the plague...
Went up with a friend on Tuesday 27th December, drive up the mountain from Amfiklia was interesting as the roads hadn't been cleared.
Arrived to be greated by dense cloud (visibility 2m or less) and strong winds. Staff were apologetic and said that due to the Christmas holidays, the weekend charge would be applicable...
Due to the visibility and wind only one lift (Aiolos) was open and they didn't know if the others would open...
Full price pass though (30 euro)! Take it or leave it.
We paid and we were lucky that the weather opened up and 15.00 (1 hour before the end) and we got a couple runs in the sun.
Parnassos is too damn expensive, and they (the management) do not care about customer satisfaction. Other local mountains have started providing offers, lowering lift prices and should be supported instead.
February 14, 2012
Jon Mines from
United Kingdom
Jon Mines from
United Kingdom
I haven't done any skiing in Greece for 30 years, but I spend a lot of time in Greece every year and finally decided to spend some time in Parnassos this year. The conditions have been really difficult this week, but that could happen in the Alps as well. I've seen a lot of comments about the cost versus other parts of Europe, but...if you can accept the "level" of the skiing, it's about half the price. A 4 star hotel in Arachova is about the same as a cupboard in Chamonix, a day's ski hire and lift pass is about 25 euros and eating out is about 15 euros per head with wine - what's not to like?
December 29, 2012
Kostis from
Greece
Kostis from
Greece
Parnassos resort can be seen as a broader reflection of the position of infrastructure in the Greek landscape. It entails some incredibly charming elements (sun, views, food, villages, archaeological sites, general sensorial feeling) along with various less-compelling ones, such as overcrowding, inflexibility of the staff as regards the prices (in days where the resort is half-closed), old lifts, high prices at the canteens, relatively high ticket-price and so on. It still represents the best option for those dwelling in Athens and there has been some signs of improvement (e.g. ticket discounts in the 2012-2013 season). Keep in mind that, essentially, we are dealing with one piste overall (Iraklis) which can become slightly tedious for those returning throughout the years.