ATTENTION BUDGET TRAVELLERS AND SKI LOVERS!
We knew that Bulgaria was cheap, but we would never believe it would be the cheapest holidays we ever had until now.
Our Bulgarian colleague told us about one ski resort close to Sofia so we decided to give it a try as we have many direct flights from Berlin to Sofia every day.
HOW TO GET THERE?
Now, what we are about to tell you, might sound ridiculous but it is TRUE. We are sure it was just some CRAZY promotion but we rented a car for 4 EUR/day! Apparently there is a way to get there with the bus or also with the taxi (which shouldn’t be so expensive either) but if we wouldn’t rent this insanely cheap car for 4 EUR/day it would be a crime! 😀
The ski resort Borovets is located around 70 km from the airport but the road is not the best so it takes around 1h20min. For the fuel during the entire trip (4 days) we spent only 14 EUR.
ACCOMMODATION
There are a lot of hotels around the area. Some are directly in Borovets (Hotel Rila is even directly on the slope) or then there is even a cheaper option that is a small town called Samokov. This town is located around 10 min car drive away from the lifts. As we had a car it was not a problem for us. There is also a bus going from the town to the lifts a few times per day.
We found a guesthouse on booking (Aleks guesthouse Samokov) for 14 euros/room/night and we couldn’t be happier! The guesthouse is owned by the nicest old guy and his wife. He was so kind and friendly to help us with everything and we really appreciate people like that. Obviously it was not a luxury place but it was perfectly clean and cheap and that’s what we were looking for! And the friendly owner just made everything better so we highly recommend this place if you are travelling on a budget. We also met some people that were staying there for more than a month as you can use the common areas like kitchen, dining room, living room or washing machine it is convenient for long term stays too.
SKI/SNOWBOARD RENTAL
We rented a snowboard and skis in Ski & Board TRAVENTURIA that was directly on the slope and the price was 10 euros a day per snowboard/skis. You can drop off your skis there overnight so you do not have to bring them with you to the hotel and just pick them up the following day which we think is very convenient.
WELLNESS & SPA
We also love to go to wellness and SPA after all day on the slopes. You should go to the Hotel Rila which is directly on the slope. For only 15 euros you have an entrance to the pool, jacuzzi and saunas. They also offer massages that we couldn’t resist. It was totally worth it for its price.
FOOD
The restaurants on the slopes are also very affordable. We were eating there every day and they have a lot of choices so you won’t get tired of it even if you eat there a couple of days in a row.
WHAT ABOUT THE RESORT ITSELF?
There are 12 lifts and 27 trials in total (8 green 6 blue 9 red and 4 black slopes). The adult ski pass costs around 30 EUR/day but as we were still under the age of 23 it cost us 23 EUR/day. If you take 2 or more day ski pass it’s even less.
You cannot expect views like in the Alps or Dolomites but for that price it’s amazing. Let’s say you will get what you paid for! Because usually places in Alps or Dolomites are really overpriced.
WHO IS IT SUITABLE FOR?
It is a great place for families, groups of friends, couples, older people, beginners and others.. If you are a real PRO who wants to do all the freestyle skiing, jumping and a lot of tricks then it obviously is not the BEST option for you but as we mentioned before, there are also 4 black slopes so you can definitely have some fun and adrenaline over there.
People were really nice everywhere so we were really impressed by the entire trip and happy to prove that ski holidays are not ALWAYS expensive!
WHERE ELSE?
If you get tired of skiing or you have some spare time you should definitely visit the beautiful capital city of Sofia. Dominika visited it with her school when she was younger but we are definitely going back there together.
If you can stretch your budget long enough and want to ski in one of the best ski resorts in the world and under the highest peak in Europe, check out our Chamonix – Mont Blanc travel guide 🙂 http://borntotraveldiaries.com/chamonix-mont-blanc-travel-guide-ski-trip/
We hope this blog post was helpful to you and it encouraged you to visit the area. For more pictures and videos check our story highlight (Borovets). If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to comment bellow or contact us via email or even better via Instagram @borntotraveldiaries Thank you for your time and stay tuned for our next diary page 🙂 .
