Getting Ready To Ski in Bulgaria- Day 3 Part 1

Skiing. I love it. I love winter, to be honest, love the snow, and all winter sports that I've tried. Growing up, I went skiing a few times, and got pretty good at it pretty quickly. The first time I skied, I started off on the beginner slope, then went to level 1 and then level 2 slopes all in one day (with level 3 being the highest). Then I went skiing with a youth group again. But then didn't ski for years, until 2 years ago, when I went skiing with some family members for one day in my country.

When I bought tickets to Bulgaria with my family, I looked into what Bulgarian tourism is well known for, I found out that skiing is a common reason why people visit the country. (That and casinos.) That definitely piqued my interest, because skiing! But our visit was planned from December 9 to 16, and I could not find out if that was late enough in the season for there to be skiing.

I asked my kids if they'd be interested in skiing while in Bulgaria, and they all were.


However, I told them it would be a maybe, because I couldn't find out any information! I couldn't find out if the ski places were even open, and if they were how much they cost to rent equipment, to have lessons, to get a ski pass, etc. I searched the internet and sent so many emails to so many different places and posted in so many different groups and on different forums, and I really got no answer. The one place that I did manage to contact that said they were open only let you book more than a week in advance, and only for two days of lessons, and by the time I reached them it was too close to our trip, and I only wanted one day only. Oh, and they charged extra for lessons in English.

So I planned my trip with alternative plans. One set of plans and options for warmer weather, and one set of plans, namely skiing, but also winter fun, if it was cold enough.

And we left to Sofia without my even knowing whether skiing would be an option. Both financially and logistically.

But then we got to Sofia, and in the airport someone from our flight told us that they also came to ski, that the ski runs at Bansko were already mostly open and will be opening the rest of the way Sunday.

Today, after our failed attempt to find snow on Mt Vitosha right near Sofia yesterday, we decided to go drive the 2 hours to Bansko to play in the snow there, and maybe find out if skiing was an option. We didn't have winter sport insurance, though, and we needed to organize that through our insurance 24 hours in advance, so we couldn't ski today. But maybe we could still enjoy the snow?

We drove the two hours, and I must admit, when we getting close, I was pretty skeptical that we'd find snow, as we were driving further south, and within 20 minutes from the location I still saw no snow.

But then we saw patches of snow, and we started getting our hopes up, and then we arrived in the cute little town of Bansko, and I saw how bustling it was, saw snow in larger amounts, and saw the ski lift already in action.

And ski school after ski school, ski rental after ski rental.

I walked into them, trying to price compare.

And all of them were ridiculously overpriced, in my opinion.

And I didn't know if there was any insurance that I could purchase there that would cover any ski related medical care.

Someone told me to get more information from the ski lift operators, as they had insurance for skiers, and when I went to inquire, I met some people from another ski school, who told me their prices, and I turned it down, and then they lowered their prices, and quite frankly it was the best price I heard whatsoever, so I decided to go with it.

This is the owner, Bobi, and she is a sweetheart. 

This is her card, but to make it easier, I'll include the links here:
Their website:  www.sankiyskischool.com
Their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SankiySki.School/
Their email: ski@sankiyskischool.com
Telephone number: +359 888 262 769

The reason I'm posting this information is because first of all, if you also are planning on going to Bulgaria to ski, you should have the information of a nice and decently priced place to ski, and I know how impossible it is to .

But secondly, I also bargained with her and asked her to throw in our ski helmets for free in exchange for the post here. But to be honest, those were really cheap, she only charges 5 lev per helmet, which is a bargain, and I usually charge much more than $11 for an advertisement. That was just a perk for sharing information that I was happy to share anyhow, because it's a good deal.

If you don't need lessons, she charges 15 lev for ski rental for kids, and 20 lev for adults.

Private lessons for a group, in English, costs between 200-300 lev for a 2 hour lesson, depending on how many people.

She rents out snow pants and snow jackets for 10 lev each, and helmets for 5 each.

You do need to pay a separate fee for the ski lift service, as that isn't through her.

Bobi offered a 10% discount to anyone who says they found her through PennilessParenting.com.

Today while we were there we measured our ski equipment- boots all measured, skis adjusted, poles picked out, helmets and snow pants picked out, so that when we arrive back here on Sunday morning, we'll be ready to go, and can spend the whole day skiing.

If you want to find this place, here's a little map, but it's also right across the street from the ski lift, super easy to find!

Oh, but this day was not over yet! Still loads more fun! But that is for another post...

Have you ever been skiing before? Skiing with kids? I'd love tips on how to make skiing with kids work best. Also, since I never paid when I went skiing before, how much does skiing cost where you live? When does the season run?