25 October 2017

It's that time of year when I think about booking my ski trip and having had a couple of ski enquiries I thought I'd share my own experience from earlier this year in Borovets, situated in the Rila Mountains. A three hour flight from your local airport (Luton for us) and you land in Sofia. One of the great things about this trip is that it's only an hour from the airport to the resort so you can easily do a shorter break if you cannot take a whole week. I always book a private transfer for our group of eight. It’s extremely cheap and there’s no waiting around for buses or other flights to land. On arrival at the resort we checked in to the Rila Hotel on half board. We requested and were given rooms with a balcony and fabulous slope views. The Rila is at the bottom of the nursery and one of the main slopes so you can ski in/ski out of the depot situated underneath the hotel. The gondola is a 5-minute walk away. We had pre-booked our ski packs which, again, I requested to be at reception on arrival, so we could avoid the crowds the next morning in the ski room. We were kitted out in skis and boots and had lift passes that same afternoon and were all set to hit the slopes the following day, allowing us an extra hour in bed which was much needed after our first night out on the town! Of course, there is not just the skiing but the après ski too! There are many bars and restaurants and a couple of nightclubs all within a 10-minute walk, so you really are not short of choice. Many hotels have spas, swimming pools, saunas and steam rooms so you can soothe away the aches and pains of a hard day on the piste and in my case a few falls! There are also nearby hot springs if you wanted to take an afternoon off to visit. For a different après ski trip we took a horse ride into the beautiful Rila forest, through snow covered pine trees. After an hours trek (just walking so suitable for all abilities) we stopped at our campsite where we were cooked homemade local specialities on an open fire. Salads and accompanying dishes were served with some fairly strong homemade wine, beer and soft drinks (we did not ride the horses back for health and safety reasons!) This was my fifth time here and the main reason I chose this resort is that we have a mixed ability group from complete beginner to advanced and we have a budget to work to. To suit all of us this was by far the best value. If you have children, the ski kindergarten is great and there is tobogganing and skidoo's available also. Although it may not be the largest ski area there is enough for all of us and we see the same faces year after year, so it must be doing something right! I have skied in France and Austria with Mark Warner in previous years and had a great full-service chalet experience with them too so if skiing is your thing or you fancy giving it a try, get in touch and I'd be happy to help plan your next trip. Happy Skiing!