Why visit Bansko, Bulgaria?
Situated in South-Western Bulgaria at the foot of the 2915m Mount Vihren in the Pirin mountains, Bansko is a beautiful medieval town and part of a UNESCO world heritage site. Bansko is an year-round destination for tourists who ski/snowboard during the winter and hike, mountain bike or relax with spa treatments in the summer. Bansko is just 60km from the Greek border and sits at 950m above sea level on a plain encircled by mountains.
A recent report by M&S Financial Services confirms that Bulgaria and Bansko in particular is the cheapest place for people looking to ski or snowboard on a budget and a great place for families and beginners.
The resort has received massive investment over recent years to develop into one of Eastern Europe's top ski resorts. It has a state of the art lift system, and many great restaurants and bars. Although there are plans to expand the mountain facilities further to open up more of the mountain, new developments in the town have now been halted.
The town of Bansko
The town of Bansko is steeped in history and tradition. It dates back to the 15th century and is split into two distinct areas:
- The old town with quiet squares, small cobbled streets and traditional stone built houses, local family run tavernas or "mexanas" and locals going about their business in traditional Bulgarian dress.
- The new town where the ski resort has grown, consisting of luxurious developments, hotels, modern bars and restaurants. This is also where the ski gondola is situated.
Kandahar is about 15 minutes walk from the Old Town and is just 150 metres away from the gondola lift.
A bit about Bulgaria
Bulgaria entered the EU in 2007 along with Romania and Poland and since then has received EU support to develop its infrastructure and economy.
The currency is currently the Lev and there are roughly 2.5 to the £. Although Bulgaria is still very much a cash economy, resorts such as Bansko have many cash machines and accept credit cards.
The locals speak Bulgarian, which is similar to Russian and uses the cyrillic alphabet.
Budget airlines such as Easyjet, Wizz air and scheduled carriers such as British Airways and Bulgarian Air have regular flights to the capital, Sofia. The transfer from Sofia to Bankso is about 2.5 hours and a new motorway is currently under construction to greatly reduce the transfer time between the capital,Sofia and Bansko.
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