TESTIMONIALS
Bansko Sports from our first enquiry email, comms were great, advice and options for my friend’s stag week, I was organising was made super easy by Paul and his team.
His ski shop partnership went above and beyond, the lessons were super fun, yet very professional.
The big gun shooting range in Sofia blew the groom and guests away.
Would highly recommend anyone to book with them, for the ultimate bespoke snowy adventure/holiday or stag week/weekend.
Bansko is a beautiful little town in the Pirin National Park. The scenery is spectacular with tall snow capped mountains all around. We were not there in ski season and so it was quieter than usual but you could imagine the atmosphere once the skiers arrived. Cost of the gondola to the top of the mountain was 24 euros and it’s quite a spectacular trip on the way up. Was quite amused when I was asked if I needed a return but then realised that there is also a road going to the top so it is accessible by car. This area of Bulgaria is some of the most beautiful in the country and in Spring when the trees are green and the crystal clear waters are flowing through the rivers, it is sublime. Stop at the side of the road and buy some local black honey…large jar will cost 10 euros…absolutely delicious.
Bansko ski resort is the best winter resort in Bulgaria with the longest ski runs and the richest cultural history. The town of Bansko is situated at the foot of the Pirin mountain in the south-western Bulgaria, 160 km from Sofia The resort offers excellent ski and snowboard conditions and infrastructure. A lot of hotels of various standards and prices are available for booking on-line. Regarding Apres Ski – the resort offers hundreds of bars and traditional restaurants called ‘mehana’. Bansko mountain resort is an excellent choice for your ski and snowboard holiday in Bulgaria.
Loved the friendliness, great modern installations, mountain restaurants great food and prices!! Above all no crazy posers who think that buying the latest ski gear means they can ski!! Very little pushing and shoving!
Ok where do we start. Good 4 days skiing, cheap compared to a lot of places.
Skiing – ok but only really one mountain so after a couple of days it’s done and then can get a bit boring. Good for beginners to intermediate skiers but I wouldn’t of thought that brilliant for the better skier. One advantage it’s easy for large groups that split up to meet for drinks/meals.
The food and drink on the slopes are reasonably priced.
Resort – cheap with a good selection of bars and restaurants. You can easily have a good meal and plenty of drinks for around £25 per person.
Paul is a superb host exceeding our expectations – nothing was too much. He arranged our airport transfers, lift passes, an awesome jeep safari, recommended great restaurants – from the more traditional to a wine tasting and supper club evening to teppanyaki and fondue – a free tour of the old town and where to get a traditional massage.
With his snowboard instructor hat on, Paul also snowboarded with me, showing me the best places to board and giving me some top tips along the way!
His knowledge of the town, the slopes and the culture made our stay not only very enjoyable but also interesting.
I came to Bansko with my 77 year old mum and both of us really enjoyed our time here … mixing time on the slopes with relaxing in the sunshine and exploring the area.
The whole holiday was great value for money and both Paul and the locals make it a place we’d like to return to.
Wow thank you for a completely amazing holiday from start to finish, had first class service and total help advice and support from Paul Brown, Owner. This holiday was made special by his help and advice. If anyone sees this review I totally recommend this resort, staff and facilities all fantastic … def five star and beautiful snowy mountains to enjoy!!
Paul is an absolute legend and a true guy! Come to him with a problem with the boa system on my vans boots and the guy mooched all over town with me in different shops trying to help me fix my boots. He spent the best part of 3 hours trying to help me with no incentive, no financial gain, no promotional intention.
Have to say a massive thank you to Paul and Steven for an epic week! For showing us around the best spots on the mountain to shred and best places to eat and drink! Will definitely recommend to friends and be back next year 🙂
Just wanted to say thanks to winterfunman and good luck for his venture Bansko Sports in Bansko, Bulgaria. Helped out with a great apartment and rental gear for me, the missus and her brother. We had a great few days there and glad I had someone to sort things out for us. If you want to go to Bansko just look up winterfunman and he’ll look after you! He even showed me around the off-piste and came out a few nights for a drink. Cheers bud!
Paul, Martin, Vlad & his team were great.
They sorted out all our equipment hire, lift passes, private lessons & ferried us from our complex to the shop & then onto the gondola daily, both in the morning & afternoon.
Great prices & excellent communications before, during & after our holiday, and great all round service.
WE’LL BE BACK!
x
Hi Paul. The trip was amazing. The apartment was perfect. I know we went in the off season for that area but it was nice to just relax. The people at the other apartment complex where we went swimming they were very nice and helpful. Pavol was very nice and let us do some laundry there. We loved just taking a ride up the mountain and walked around there. The apartment was perfect and worked out great for us. Thank you so much for helping us with the apartment. If anyone asks for any references, I will be glad to give one. Thank You!
Just back from a week in Bansko with my mates. We’ve been going there for the last five years now, but this was the best one ever. Thanks, in no small part, to Paul aka Winterfunman.
He organised a four hour, one to one private snowboarding lesson for me through one of the local firms. He also went out of his way to meet up with me before the lesson and personally introduce me to my torturer….sorry, tutor for the day.
Having ascertained that I can just about stand up on a snowboard and wobble my way down the hill, my instructor for the morning followed me down the first slope and at the bottom he called out, “….but you’re a really good snowboarder!” (I can only assume this is another part of the service from Winterfunman) :thumbsup:
We then took the chair to the next slope and as I followed the guy down the piste, he popped into the powder between a few trees. Well, I thought “I’m having a bit of that as well!”. When the guy so me following him, he let out a whoop of glee, and that was it for the rest of the morning. Chasing him through the trees, chasing him down under the pylons, chasing him through every bit of deep powder he could find.
I have never been so far out of my comfort zone in my life. It was awesome! Cool
I did stuff on my snowboard on Monday that I’ve only ever seen the cool kids do as I’ve watched enviously from the side of the piste or the comfort of the chair. I might not have done it well, I certainly didn’t do it with style, but I did it, and kept on getting better at it as the week progressed.
A brilliant, brilliant holiday and thank you Winterfunman for making the process of hiring a tutor for the day so easy that I simply couldn’t refuse. I didn’t really learn anything about snowboarding from the guy….other than the harsh realities of an overweight 45yr old Scotsman trying to follow the same line as a guy 20 yrs his junior, but he gave me masses of confidence in my own snowboarding ability, and that was worth way more than being told to bend my knees more (25 yrs of mountainbiking, that’s as far as they go mate Wink).
I think it’ll take most of the spring and summer to wipe the grin off my face…..and then it’ll be time to start getting excited about 2016! Woohoo!
I have been very naughty/lucky this year and have had two snowboarding holidays, one in La Tania 3 Valleys France and one in Bansko Bulgaria so I would like to give you my thoughts on the two resorts.
Just so you know, I am a 45 year old snowboarder that acts 25 at best (I will always find farts funny) and my wife is a 42 year old skier that married me so she does have a sense of humour.
Costs – including flights, accommodation, passes, food and drinks for two people, we did not skimp on anything in Bulgaria but had to watch in France as some things can sting.
La Tania – £2,500 staying at the cheapest hotel (breakfast & evening meal) and La Tania is the cheapest area in the 3 valleys.
Bansko – £1,350 staying at a B & B that’s been awarded best B & B in Bansko for the last two years.
I’m not going to cover snow conditions as this is out of our hands.
The towns – La Tania has no character or heart and the bars in the main area are just awful.
Bansko has a mix of traditional and modern bars and restaurants, you can still get a pint for less than £1 and almost all of our meals (for 2) were about £20 for two courses including drinks and we did not have a bad one. There is a massive amount of character in the old town and a real party atmosphere that is easy to find.
THE IMPORTANT STUFF – ON PISTE AND OFF PISTE ACTION
La Tania – this is linked to the 3 valleys so the piste area is huge, I think it is the largest linked area in the world and it also offers loads of tree runs, bowls, powder fields, parks, drops, back country and other stuff. I can’t say anything other than awesome. Every night the piste bashers work their magic and every morning the runs are beautiful, again another thing I can’t question or criticise.
Bansko – no question that the area on offer is tiny in comparison but it is a great mix of everything any resort can offer and you will not get bored. One thing I found great was the amount of side action just off piste, my wife could do her ski turns all the way down while I could dodge in and out the trees, hit little lips and jumps just to the side and the tree runs next to ALL the pistes were fantastic although I can’t say I missed all the trees, there are a few dents on both me and the trees!
Getting around on lifts, 3 valleys – very good and very quick, no issues on this.
Bansko – only problem is the main gondola up to the mid station, if you hit the Bulgarian public holidays on the three times a year it is busy and if you don’t get there for 8-8:30 you will wait a bit but after you get to the mid station there are no issues, even at the busiest times all the other lifts have maybe ten people in front of you.
In conclusion and I think my thoughts are obvious, I won’t be going back to Les Trois Vallees but I am booking Bansko as soon as the flights are released for next year.
One other thing I have to say is that Winterfunman aka Paul is someone you need to talk to if you are going to Bansko, he really knows everything, we did spend some time with him and his lovely family so hopefully next year we can time our trip with theirs.