Pamporovo Ski Resort Bulgaria in the Rhodolpe Mountains.

Pamporovo is set in the Rhodolpe Mountains of Southern Bulgaria 85 km South of the City of Plovdiv and 260 km from the Capital Sofia. It is a 4 hour transfer from Sofia Airport.

Generally you wouldn't usually think of Bulgaria for a Skiing holiday. Usually you'd consider the Alps, Canada or the USA however Bulgaria has 3 main resorts Bansko, Borovets and Pamporovo.

The main resort is set at 1650 metres above sea level. Accommodation can be found close to the ski stations however the main resort is a short and regular bus trip from the slopes. The ski slopes are from 1450 metres up to the top of the Snejanka peak at 1926 metres.

Pamporovo encounters snow around 150-200 days per year however has a very sunny climate which is good to ensure you come away from the slopes with a great tan.

The resort is well known for its ski school with large numbers of highly qualified instructors speaking a plethora of foreign languages with many speaking excellent English

Value for money is a big element to skiing in Bulgaria. We were able to book package deal including Flights, Transfers, Half Board Hotel Accommodation, Ski and Boot Hire, Bus transfer to the slopes, Lift Pass and Ski School for 6x4 hour lessons for less than £500 per person. While in resort and on the piste everything was reasonably priced and we could get a large beer of an evening for much less than UK prices.

The resort is ideal for beginners who are new to skiing with runs up to 4 km in length. Most runs drop from the top of the Snejanka Mountain. There are a host of piste of all colours to develop your technique. There are 5 main chair lifts including a newly installed 6 man chair lift from Stoikite on the North side of the Mountain. Pamporovo has over 25 km of runs to keep every level of skier occupied.

There are plenty of options for après-ski activities. The resort has a bowling alley, ice skating rink, casino's nightclubs and plenty of bars to keep everyone happy. We went at the end of the season and the resort was not full.

We found that most of the nightlife revolved around the White Hart pub in the middle of the resort. The White Hart offers a lively pub atmosphere, an evening band and televised sports for the football fans too!

Holiday Company representatives contribute to the atmosphere by running a weekly bar crawl for those that want to meet other skiers and socialise with a beer, a cocktail and maybe a shot in each bar too!

We would recommend a Ski-doo excursion (Snowmobile driving) as a sideline to the skiing for the petrol heads amongst you. For around £60 per person this sounds a little expensive however you never know when you'll get to experience such an activity again so well worth a trial.

Bulgarian food is hearty and has an earthy theme. Dishes are usually relatively simple and we found hotel found was warm, not piping hot. Hotel buffets were often rather repetitive however the value of the holiday meant we were able to venture out to other restaurants to try something different. There are plenty of restaurants in resort to try anything from local Rhodolpe cuisine, to Italian, to Chinese. Or the White Heart for good old British Favourites.

I would fully recommend Bulgaria as a great place to begin skiing. Pamporovo lit my passion for skiing and hopefully I'll be back there next year for some more skiing fun.

Pamporovo is due to host a round of the Ski World Cup on their 'Wall' run in 2012

We travelled with Crystal Ski March 2011

Click the link to the right to see the Pamporovo Web Cam. The Pamporovo Web Cam is from the top of the hotel Murgavets in the resort and looks out to the top of the Snezhanka Peak