Bansko

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.

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Bansko Resort

Location

Bansko is a ski and mountain resort located in the south-western part of Bulgaria. The town is situated 6 km from the town of Razlog and 160 km from the capital of Sofia. Bansko lies on the two banks of the Glazne river at the foot of the Pirin mountain, right bellow the highest part of it. The Pirin mountain is an Alpine type mountain with its highest peak - Vihren (2914 m). The town of Bansko is located 925 m above the sea level whereas its ski area - at an altitude of 2000 - 2600 m.

Resort information

Bansko ski resort is attractive in all seasons. It provides excellent ski and snowboard facilities, as well as a unique history and architecture of an old and new part of the town. Thanks to these features Bansko is a favorite ski and snowboard destination.

During the recent years a multimillion Euros investment in a brand new skiing area has been made by Yulen, the company that runs the skiing area of Bansko. Numerous new luxury hotels and facilities in the area of the Gondola lift station have been constructed.

Bansko mountain rescue service

(+359) 887 100 241, (+359) 88 1474, (+359) 749 8 8132.

Medical & dental services

Ambulance, first aid on the ski slopes and clinic as well as 24h a day emergency ski patrol service are available. Fully equipped hospitals, pharmacies and dentists are available in the town of Bansko.

All dental services and some medical services must be paid in cash to the doctors or clinics. They should provide the necessary receipts, bills and invoices describing the cost and the service, so that you can claim back the expense to your insurance company. In case of injury you should inform your insurance company and follow its instructions.

How to reach Bansko

Bansko is located 160 km south of Sofia, 60 km southeast of Blagoevgrad, 6 km south of Razlog and about 50 km north of Gotse Delchev.

By plane
Sofia Airport (around 160 km away) and Plovdiv Airport (around 180 km away) serve Bansko.

Book a ticket at the best rate for charter or regular flight to Bulgaria: http://bulgariaflights.com

By car/ private transfer
The most comfortable, reliable and quickest way to reach Bansko is by car or private transfer.

Book a private transfer at a reasonable price here: Private transfer to Bansko or rent a car.

The driver will wait you at the airport and will a private vehicle will take you to Bansko.

By bus
Bansko is well connected to the major cities of West Bulgaria by buses. Buses from Sofia to Bansko departing from either the Central Bus Station located on Maria Louisa Blvd. or from the Ovcha Kupel Bus Station located on Tsar Boris III Blvd.

Transfer time from Sofia to Bansko is about 3 hours by bus. The town's bus station is located on the Patriarh Evtimii road, about 5 minutes walk north of the centre. It is served by regular buses from Sofia and less regularly from Plovdiv about 3 times a day.

By train
Traveling from Sofia to Bansko by train is a very beautiful journey. But it takes twice the amount of time than by car/ bus (about 7 hours). The journey takes you through the highest train station in the Balkans. There are four trains a day in each direction. You have to change trains at Septemvri, so there's plenty of time to grab sandwiches and beer for the ride. Traveling from Plovdiv to Bansko takes about 5.5 hours.

Bansko ski slopes

The ski pistes of Bansko resort are located on the northern slopes of the Pirin mountain in 2 main ski centres: CHALIN VALOG (1100-1600 m) and SHILIGARNIKA (1700-2500 m).

The ski centres are situated about 10 km above the town. They are easily accessible from Bansko for approximately 25 minutes ride on the Gondola lift. The total length of the marked pistes is 70 km.

The snow conditions in the resort are excellent. The snow cover remains from December till April. The ski season lasts longer thanks to the 44 Technoalpine snow cannons that cover most of the slopes. There are 12 Kassbohrer slope maintenance vehicles as well.

For the snowboarders there is an extreme fun park – the first one on the Balkans. The snowboarders can build jumps according to their abilities and taste. Snow sport lovers can take part in different competitions organized on the new piste on Shiligarnika.

The total length of the lift equipment in Bansko is 26 km. 8-seats Gondola cabin lift and 5 high speed quads by Dopplemayer, one 3-seat lift by Poma, 7 drags and 10 baby drags operate in Bansko. The ski and snowboard equipment can be used by a chip-card from SkiData.

Big monitors are based on the first station of the Gondola lift. The monitors inform for wind and temperature conditions on different pistes.

The ski centres of Bansko offer ski runs for all type of skiers, a 5 km cross-country track, a 3 km Rollbahn ski run, slalom and giant slalom ski runs, etc.

For more information follow the links: Bansko ski runs and Bansko ski lifts.

Ski run Difficulty Length [m] Inclination [m]
Tomba Difficult ski run 2567 925
Shiligarnik 1 Beginners 2047 487
Plato 1 Beginners 1730 0
Todorka Medium 1690 470
Chalin Valog 2 Medium 1429 310
Stara pista (Old piste) Medium 970 205
Chalin Valog 1 Medium 775 75
Balkaniada Medium 0 0
Bunderitsa Light piste 0 0
Kolarski Cross country 0 0
Bansko Light piste 0 0
Ski way 1 Cross country 0 0
Ski way 2 Cross country 0 0
Ulen Medium 0 0
Strajite Medium 0 0
Shiligarnik 2 Beginners 0 0
Plato 2 Cross country 0 0
Tsarna Mogila Cross country 0 0

Apres ski

Bansko ski resort is remarkable regarding bars, restaurants and nightlife. Several aprиs ski bars offer snacks and refreshments on the ski zone and in the resort. Local clubs and clubs usually close early in the morning.

High class restaurants with sophisticated menus are part of various five and four star hotels.

More than 200 traditional Bansko taverns (called "Mehana") offer cozy atmosphere, dishes from traditional Bulgarian cuisine, local specialties and selected Bulgarian wines. Most of the mehanas provide entertaining program with live folk music.

    Recommended hotels

    BulgariaSki team highly recommends some of the top hotels in Bansko resort. Check out the list of hotels we have prepared for your convenience, choose the one that suit your requirements, fill in the booking form and a representative of BulgariaSki.com will be in touch with you shortly.

    • Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena Bansko      

      Resort: Bansko Show map

      Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena Bansko is situated opposite the Gondola lift station in Bansko. The hotel offers luxury furnished rooms and suites, several restaurants and bars, conference facilities, SPA centre with indoor and outdoor swimming...

      4.8/5
      Book now
    • Early booking
      Price from 91€ Single Room Check all prices

      Lucky Bansko Spa & Relax Aparthotel      

      Resort: Bansko Show map

      Lucky Bansko Spa & Relax Aparthotel is located at the entrance of Bansko, at the foot of the Pirin Mountain. The hotel offers free transport to the ski lift every 30 minutes. The hotel features luxurious studios and the apartments,...

      4.5/5
      Book now
    • Early booking
      Price from 73€ Single smart room - mountain Check all prices

      Premier Luxury Mountain Resort      

      Resort: Bansko Show map

      Hotel Premier Luxury Mountain resort is located at walking distance from the gondola ski lift station and Bansko's centre. The complex offers fully furnished apartments, SPA centre, conference facilities and restaurants with international...

      3.9/5
      Book now
    • Best deal
      Price from 123€ Single Room Check all prices

      Regnum Aparthotel      

      Resort: Bansko Show map

      Regnum Aparthotel is located 400 m from the lifts and 900 m from the center of Bansko. The hotel offers apartments, conference and spa facilities, restaurant with Bulgarian, European and Turkish...

      3.3/5
      Book now
    • Early booking
      Price from 50€ Single Room Check all prices

      Bansko Spa and Holidays     

      Resort: Bansko Show map

      Bansko Spa & Holidays hotel is situated 15 minutes away from the gondola lift in Bansko mountain resort. The hotel features different types of rooms and suites, a restaurant and a tavern with Bulgarian cuisine, SPA centre, two conference...

      0.0/5
      Book now
    View more recommended hotels

    Places to go near Bansko

    There's a lot to see in the town of Bansko itself, with around 120 cultural and historical monuments and a lot to explore. Various souvenir shops offer the creations of the local artists and smiths.

    South of Bansko is situated the National Park Pirin included in the UNESCO list for cultural and natural sightseeings. The park is rich with its lakes, waterfalls, caves and venerable trees. Part of the National Park Pirin are Popovi lakes and Nature Reserve Yulen.

    - Popovi lakes are the biggest group of lakes located in the northern Pirin Mountain approximately 2200 m above sea level. The group consists of 16 lakes that are situated in the circus of Popovi Lakes (the Papazgyolski circus) – the Popovo Lake, the Samodivski Lakes, the Polejanski Lakes, the Banski Lakes and these, which are located along the upper course of Retije river. The origin of the lakes is glacial. They drain into the Retije river. The temperature of the water during the summer is 11-14°C.

    - The Popovo Lake is the largest and the deepest in the Pirin Mountain - 480 m in length, 223 m in width, 29.5 m in depth and its volume is 1.27 million m3. It covers an area of 123.6 decares and is the second largest lake in Bulgaria and on the Balkan Peninsula. The lake is situated to the west of the Djengal peak (Samodivski peak) at an altitude of 2234 m above sea level. There is a small island in its northwestern part.

    - The two lakes called Banski Lakes are situated to the northeast of the Djengal peak at about 2210 m above sea level. The larger of the lakes is 125 m long and 120 m wide. The other lake is 50 m long, 25 m wide and it covers an area of 1.2 decares.

    The lakes, which are situated along the upper course of the Retije river, are situated terrace-like one below another.

    - Nature Reserve Yulen is located at an altitude of 165 – 2851m. It includes the following lake groups: Vasilashkite, Tipitskite, Strazhishkite, Polezhanskite and Disilishkite. The Reserve Yulen is intended to preserve forests and endemic animals and plant species. There are pine forests and over 700 species of higher plants, 44 out of which are included in the Red Book of Bulgaria.

    - Dobrinishte is a popular summer and winter resort with its mineral springs, ski tracks and virgin nature. It is situated at the foot of the Pirin Mountain just 6 km south of Bansko ski resort. Dobrinishte is a spa and balneological resort with 17 mineral springs. The town provides open-air mineral water swimming pool as well as two lifts to “Bezbog” chalet situated on the northern part of Bezbog Lake in the Pirin mountain.

    - Banya is a village with hot mineral springs, open-air swimming pool with olympic sizes, many hotels with SPA and Wellness centres, cultural and historical landmarks. It is situated 6 km from Bansko in a lowland surrounded by 3 mountains - Pirin, Rila and Rhodopi.

    Comments Bansko

       
    • Tony From Wales
      Sent on 13 February 2013
      Great place, great people and fantastic skiing. Just wondering if Dimitry is still a ski instructor there... Looks like I am going back to find out..
    • serge From Russia
      Sent on 01 August 2012
      Wonderful world of Bansko. February 2012. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYbKJvsbPHU
    • jonathan ellul From malta
      Sent on 09 July 2012
      my friend and i went to bulgaria last april and we stayed there for two weeks. We stayed at family hotel bisser 16 el tepe street 2770 bansko. We would like to thank the staff and especially mamma and her daughter velina too for their help and excellent service i would recommand that hotel coz its cozy,clean,staff really cheerful and helpful and breakfast was wonderful. During the day we go eat at momini dvori restaurant. Food there was wonderful and service thanks to our waiter dimitri and his crew we enjoyed being there everyday and welcomed like kings. The rest bulgaria is a wonderful place which i recommend for a relaxing holiday.
    • Erik Rooze From Netherlands/Greece
      Sent on 28 January 2012
      We have spend this winter (2011/2012) holidays in Bansko and where really delighted. It is so nice and friendly and clean. Normally we go to the Alpes, but for our young daughter (7 years) this is really nice. Because I'm 60 years and the wife 35 years we do not care that there is not much of after ski. The resort is really cheap, which I like as a Dutch man. I could not spend all my hard earned monies in Bansko. As we live in Greece now, on the island of Aegina near Athens, it it a nice drive by car. I can reccomment this area to you all!
    • Erik Rooze From Netherlands/Greece
      Sent on 28 January 2012
      We have spend this winter (2011/2012)hollidays in Bansko and where really delighted. Is is so nice and friendly and clean. Normally we go to the Alpes, but for our young doughter (7years) this is really nice. Because I'm 60 years and the wife 35 years we do not care that there is not much of after ski. The resort is really cheap, which I like as a Dutch man. I could not spend all my hard earned monies in Bansko. As we live in Greece now, on the island of Aegina near Athens, it it a nice drive by car. I can recomment this area to you all!
    • josh brown From belfast
      Sent on 28 March 2011
      skiing was good brailliant loved it!But fel a couple of times but it was amazing. loved to come back.
    • carl jones From wales
      Sent on 16 March 2011
      Just got back from a weeks skiing in Bansko the weather was hot but we had a dump of snow on the Monday grate skiing i wasn't sure about going there but glad I did, I have skied for 8 years some of the slopes were testing its not a vast area you could ski the lot in 2 days but the scenery made up that beautiful, I stayed in the Lion Hotel I would recommend staying there the rooms were big and the food was very good very friendly people. there was a mini bus from the hotel to the lifts and back every day no walking, the hotel is a 5 minute walk to the lifts if you wanted to walk, if you wanted to eat out i would go down to the old town very cheap 55p a pint and 35p for a glass of wine or Ј1.50 for a bottle of wine there was 4 of us we had 4 big meals wine and beer for 3 hours it cost us Ј34.00 total if you want to party stay top end prices Ј1.60 a pint up there I had no problem with the lifts passes i read that they stopped working after a few days the passes were fine I will be going back next year holiday 8 out of 10 only 1 thing you need to get to the lifts early or you will have a wait for 30 minuets other than that grate holiday PS Got 2 sets of skis fully serviced for Ј37.00 nice and cheap don't worry about going there you will have a good hoilday.
    • kezdevil From UK
      Sent on 16 March 2011
      Went to Bansko 7-14 March 2011 - had a fantastic time. Snowed on first day so had powder to play on though by the end of the week conditions were not quite as good. Had to work hard to avoid goggle tan as it was so sunny! We had read worrying comments about gondola queues but really didn't see any when we were there. Weekend was a bit busier on the lifts than the weeks but nothing major. We got up and out early. The gondola starts at 8.30am and we were on it by 8.40 most days. We stayed at Eagles Nest Apartments and would stay there again. Good facilities, well equipped kitchen (we did self cater a couple of nights).
    • Jacob From Israel
      Sent on 10 March 2011
      Don't go to the "Pirin" hotel, Bansko ski resort, Bulgaria My family and I stayed at the "Pirin" hotel in Bansko, Bulgaria from the 28th of February till the 6th of March. We enjoyed the mountain resort and had great time skiing and snowboarding. One of our rooms had only one bathrobe, but we didn't pay much attention to this, and used only one bathrobe when we went to the pool. As we were leaving the hotel, the receptionist told us that we are missing a bathrobe. We told her that we didn't have two bathrobes to begin with, and we absolutely don't need to take a bathrobe with us home. At this moment she told us that she wouldn't give my sisters' passport back unless we pay 70 lv( which is approximately 35 euros) We tried to explain that we didn't hide or burn or do anything with the bathrobe, and we didn't even use it because we didn't have it in our room. "You should have reported it as soon as you got the room", well, it's not my job to count various objects in the room, and report my findings to the receptionist, I told her. "It is impossible to have only one bathrobe" was the only answer I got, and after threatening us by calling the police, and showing off their security thugs, I had no choice but to pay for the bathrobe I never even used. It was a very embarrassing experience, and a very bad way to end a great vacation, needless to say 35 euros were stolen from me with nothing I could do about it. But the most amazing part was that I spoke to another couple, on the way to the airport, who stayed in this hotel, and they said that the hotel staff did the exact thing to them! I really enjoyed Bansko, the atmosphere there is amazing, the ski slopes are great and the people are very friendly, but if you ever go there DO NOT stay and the Pirin hotel! They lied and stole my money.
    • Tibi From Romania
      Sent on 08 February 2011
      Hey there guys, Just got back from Bansko ski resort.We were there for 7 nights and here are some facts: --the waiting line at the Gondola is at least 30 minutes...we stood there 1 hour and a half... --very big and boring waiting time to get your ski-pass.... --the apres-ski almost doesn`t have music at all and there`s no fun happening there.... --the slopes were pretty bad at 12 o`clock even though they had been prepared....(it did not snow at all one week, only snowguns) --too many injured people....a lot of idiots on the slopes --people there speak english just a little... --I RECOMMEND Friendly PUB!!!!! Great place --don`t go to Panorama hotel....they don`t speak english and it really ain`t a 4 star hotel.... Not what i expected from this ski resort...last year i was in Borovets and had lots of fun there!!!!!
      •  
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