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Popova Sapka resort snow
Lat Long: 41.98° N 20.91° E
Ski Rep. of N. Macedonia

Popova Sapka Resort Reviews

Weather Forecast for Popova Sapka at 2035 m altitude

Issued: 1 am 23 Apr 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Next snow in Popova Sapka: 0.2 cm on Thu 23rd  (after 8 AM)

Visitor reviews for Popova Sapka Ski Resort

Popova Sapka Ratings

Overall: 3.7. Based on 36 votes and 15 reviews.

Rate this resort

Snowsure: 4.2

  • 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
  • Popova Sapka 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
  • Popova Sapka has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain

Off-piste: 4.7

  • 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: 4.5

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

Access: 4.6

  • 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 Popova Sapka

Public Transport: 3.6

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

Accommodation: 4.0

  • No places to stay in/near Popova Sapka
  • 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: 3.0

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

Ski in/Ski out: 4.2

  • 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: 3.0

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

Snowmaking: 2.3

  • Popova Sapka 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 Popova Sapka
  • Occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state
  • All the runs at Popova Sapka are groomed daily

Shelter: 3.3

  • 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
  • Popova Sapka is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close

Nearby options: 3.5

  • If snow conditions are poor at Popova Sapka, 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: 4.3

  • Popova Sapka 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: 3.5

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

Crowds/Queues: 3.3

  • 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: 3.5

  • 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: 3.6

  • 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: 4.2

  • 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: 4.5

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

Advanced: 4.6

  • 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: 2.5

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

Cross-country: 3.5

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

Luge/Toboggan: 2.5

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

Mountain Dining: 3.8

  • 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: 3.8

  • 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: 3.3

  • 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: 2.8

  • 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: 3.0

  • 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: 3.3

  • 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: 3.8

  • 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): 4.0

  • Overall, Popova Sapka 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): 4.2

  • Overall, Popova Sapka 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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February 27, 2025
Tommy from Ski France France
This mountain bascially sums up all the negative aspects of this country. Totally disorganized shitshow. Nobody gives a shit about anything. They open when they want and if they want. Trash all over the place and 100's of people in civilian clothes sledding down the hills at the end of the mountain running into random people. Off-piste is good but the people running it are thieves and will overcharge and change the prices after the fact to try to shake down their guests. That's why nobody comes back. It couldn't be a more unfriendly tourist atmosphere. The off-piste companies are half bankrupt and are always trying to extort extra money from their guests, even after charging super high prices. Prices may be cheaper than the Alps but you get less then you pay for nonetheless. The extra savings are not worth the extra hassles and undependability of the staff and local companies. There is zero apres-ski so don't expect anything at all unless you bring a big group.
February 19, 2025
Local
I'm skiing at Popova Shapka for more that 20 years. I am disgusted by this place. Garbage absolutely everywhere! Your skis can catch some tin can or some bottle and you can get hurt. Loud music totally destroys our skiing enjoyment. The visitors are not polite, skipping their place in the lift line. And the ski patrol, that's a whole other story. They don't do absolutely anything, just like the previous ski patrol. They're smoking weed during the day and are stoned for more than half of the day. They're getting drunk during the evening and always show up hung over in the morning. One guy was riding a snowmobile on a blue ski slope, and crashed with the snowmobile, turned 5 times. Watch out for your own safety when you're skiing at Shapka! No one is caring for no one other. Save you money and go somewhere else.
March 01, 2012
Agron
This resort has good slope for beginners and intermediate. Short slopes which are quite ok when you don't have to wait much. The big lift to the mountain (for advanced skiers) works only on weekends (and not always). Only 1 or 2 places for coffee rests. Don't ever go on Sundays, the queue is so long that you have to wait too much. After skiing, 3.30pm and even less, you will have to climb up and this is torture at the end of the day. Sometimes I hate the place, sometimes I am in love with the place.
January 28, 2012
Sofi
It is Balkan's St Moritz. Don't miss it!
October 19, 2010
Miki S.
Popova Sapka is simply the best and the worst! Best-nature Worst-ski resort
March 23, 2010
zarko
Best place for free ride and I recommend to everybody who can, to come and visit our mountain (Popova Sapka)...100% satisfaction guaranteed.
February 18, 2010
Vancoski from Ski Iceland Iceland
Sapka (Popova Sapka) is wonderful! You need to learn to use the equipment, and after that to make complaints. For trye, the equipment is a "little bit" old, and staff don't take care for the terrains, but at this moment, it gives you best value for your money. If you like better equipment go to Mavrovo, with unhealthy prices, which are maybe 40% higher then on Sapka (Popova Sapka).
November 07, 2009
Nickey
Popova Sapka is the best ski resort that Macedonia has at the moment. Kozuf is still not developed that much. Current snow in P. Sapka is 5cm.
February 18, 2009
maja
Popova Shapka is great.
February 11, 2009
Ivo
Popova Shapka is the best ski resort in Macedonia. Although much of the mountain's tough terrain and potential is unused, it offers better skiing than any other ski resort in the country as well as more snow. The employees there are polite and kind, offering assistance to everyone. Popova Shapka provides good value for your money but more restaurants are needed.