Balkan Holidays
Easy Guide to Booking
Skiing and Snowboarding Holidays
If you don’t know much about skiing then booking a skiing holiday can be confusing, but don’t worry, Balkan Holidays are here to help! We’ve put together this easy guide to booking our skiing holidays.
First, there are ski resorts in Europe, North America and Japan. Ski resorts are located in mountain ranges and on the mountains are what we called ski runs or pistes, these are what skiers ski down! There are different types of ski runs depending on how steep they are, a steep ski run is called a ‘black run’, a medium ski run is called a ‘red run’, and easy ski run is a ‘blue’ run and a beginner ski run is called a ‘green run’. When you look at a piste map of a ski resort you will see lots of green, blue, red and black lines, these are the different ski runs plus you’ll see straight lines, these are the lifts that skiers use to get to the top of a ski run or the mountain itself.
An experienced or advanced skier or snowboarder will ski ‘black’ ski runs or even go off piste (where they are no marked ski runs), a medium or intermediate skier or snowboarder will ski ‘red’ runs and a beginner skier or snowboarder will ski ‘green’ ski runs first and then move up to a ‘blue’ ski run.
Skiers and Snowboarders also want to know how high a ski resort is and how many ‘marked runs’ it has. How high a ski resort is will affect how much it snows, the more the better! And the amount of ski runs means there is varied skiing.
Here are the details for Bulgaria’s ski resorts:
from £443pp
BANSKO
Bansko, a modern winter sports resort offering an alternative to the Alps.
Height: 936metres
Highest ski run: 2560 metres
Marked runs: 75kms
from £468pp
BOROVETS
Borovets, the lively resort with great skiing and fantastic après-ski.
Height: 1320 metres
Highest ski run: 2560 metres
Marked runs: 58kms
from £534pp
PAMPOROVO
Enjoy the excellent ski conditions in the sunniest ski resort in Europe.
Height: 1650 metres
Highest ski run: 1926 metres
Marked runs: 38kms
Bulgaria is popular with beginner and intermediate skiers as there are plenty of nursery slopes. Plus, Bulgaria’s ski instructors are used to teaching people to ski and are very friendly and patient. Bulgaria also has black runs so it is also suitable for advanced skiers.
What also makes Bulgaria popular with all skiers and snowboarders is the exceptional value for money of both skiing holidays and ski facilities such as lift passes and ski packs plus the cost of living in the ski resorts is so much cheaper than other resorts. Resorts in France and some other European countries are very expensive whereas Bulgaria has maintained low local prices which makes it a popular skiing choice.
What Do Skiers and Snowboarders Need?
A skier or snowboarder will book their holiday which is just like any other holiday (our package holidays include flights, transfers and accommodation) – The difference is they also need to book ski facilities such as a lift pass or ski packs (our guide to ski facilities is below). Our charter flights are on a Saturday and they fly into Sofia. They are then transferred by coach to the ski resorts and on a Sunday our clients go to the ski resort’s ski depot where they will be measured for the ski boots and then given skis and poles.
If they book a ski pack, these include tuition for four hours a day for six days. In the depot they are put into groups depending on their skiing ability, each group will be allocated their own instructor for the week and then they are ready to hit the slopes!
They then catch the lifts up the mountain. Bansko and Borovets have gondola lifts, these are the large bubble like lifts that hold up to six or eight skiers and they transfer skiers up the mountain quickly. There are other lifts such as chair and drag lifts, depending on the length of a ski run.
Quick Guide to Ski Packs and Services
As we have said most people who book a skiing or snowboarding holiday will need to book ski packs and services, here is our simple guide to these:
Lift Pass
A lift pass is like a bus pass! You buy one and then you can use all the different lifts around the resorts to get to the top of a ski run or the mountain itself.
Ski or Snowboard Pack
A skier or snowboard pack has everything you can want and are best suited to beginner and intermediate/medium level skiers. You can choose between a ‘First Time’ ski or snowboard pack for beginners, these are a bit cheaper or a ‘Full’ ski or snowboard pack for experienced skiers.
A ski pack includes a lift pass, skis, poles and boots and tuition for 4 hours a day, 6 days a week for skiers and 2 hours a day for snowboarders .
Skiers and snowboarders can also hire equipment such as skis or snowboards, boots, helmets plus they can also book tuition. This is all clearly set out on our website.
So now you know the basics it’s much easier to book a skiing holiday with us… here’s our 3 step easy guide:
1 – Book The Holiday!
Login to our travel agents website and start with the holiday itself which is just like any other holiday - our package holidays include flights, transfers and accommodation.
2 – Ask your client which ski services they require
These can be just a lift pass, or a ski pack which includes a lift pass, their skis, boots and ski pole and tuition for 4 hours a day tuition for 6 days (below is an easy to follow guide to our ski facilities). These are listed on our website at the same time as you book the holiday so it’s nice and simple.
3 – That’s it!
We should have called this 2 easy steps to book a skiing holiday!
That’s our easy ski guide, we hope it helped make things a bit clearer for you, but if you do have any questions please contact our call centre who will be very pleased to help. You can check availability and book via our travel agents website, www.balkanholidays/agents or call us on 020 7543 5555 (option 1) – If you would like your viewdata password please email agency sales on sales@balkanholidays.co.uk.
Thanks for reading our easy guide to booking ski and snowboarding holidays, we hope it has helped.
Why book with us?
Balkan Holidays has 58 years of experience in providing great value summer and
winter holidays
and since 1966 we have sold millions of holidays.
