Skiing in the Balkans mountains - 5 ski resorts

It's almost winter, and you still haven't decided where to escape from your city. You want skiing, snowboarding or you just simply adore snow, read this post to find the best snowy destination for you and your family.

1.Zlatibor, western Serbia

Zlatibor is one of the most visited ski-resorts in Serbia. Daily you go skiing or snowboarding. Zlatibor is not just a ski resort, there are a center and a lake, so in the evening you can go for a walk around the lake. For those who love the nightlife, there are bars, restaurants, clubs and "kafanas". The prices for accommodation are very acceptable. It is very good because you have so many choices, from expensive hotels to rooms, apartments, villas, and studios. For all GOURMETS, you must taste zlatiborski kaymak, komplet lepinja, and the most famous zlatiborska prosciutto.
For the ones that are skiing a little bit, you can try skiing in the center of Zlatibor, but the main ski center is only 7km far from Zlatibor. "TORNIK" is one of the most famous ski centers in Serbia. Daily ticket for adults cost around 18eur and childrens tickets costs around 14eur. If you buy a ticket for 5 days, the price is around 65eur.
I have a really good experience of Zlatibor. Any recommendation.  

2. Borovets, Bulgaria

One of the biggest ski centers in Bulgaria is Borovets. It is situated on the northern side of the Rila mountain, 68km far from the capital city of Sofia. Borovets is apart from the Rila National Park. The Rila National Park is under UNESCO protection. It is a place only for relaxing, enjoying & breathing the mountain air. Just kidding, put your skis on, take the lift and start your journey from Yastrebets peak (2369m above sea level), the highest peak is actually Musala (2925m). From here you can start skiing, snowboarding, or simply go for a walk. When the sun goes down, relax your muscles in one of the spa centers. Most hotels have spa centers, swimming pools, and saunas. Regarding accommodation, exactly in the place Borovets, you can be accommodated in one of the hotels. 

Low Borovets, find a room, studio or apartment in the village Samokov. It is 10km from Borovets, so you can travel by car, or take the bus. Borovets, in the main area, you can find accommodation in some of the hotels (try booking.com or airbnb.com). And of course, there are hotels with 4* and 5* for luxury experiences.
For adults (23+) daily ski pass cost around 28eur, and if you buy a ticket for 5days, it will cost around 130eur. 

3. Kopaonik, Serbia

The most visited, the largest and luxury ski-resort in Serbia, and on the Balkans too, is Kopaonik. It is situated on the mountain Kopaonik, near the border Serbia- Kosovo. The Pancic peak (2017m above the sea level) is the highest point and the central part of Kopaonik is actually National Park. There are 25lifts and 62km ski slopes for everyone. So every day you can explore new slopes, and parts from this mountain. There are green-easy slopes for beginners, red and black slopes for skiers. Daily ski pass cost around 30eur, and a ticket for 5 days will cost around 115eur. In the central part of Kopaonik you can find, bars, restaurants, clubs, ''kafana''. Also, hotels with 4* and 5* are situated in the central part, so you can luxury enjoy the services that they are offering, like spa, saunas, massages, swimming pools, thermal baths. The weekend settlement is only 4-5km far from the ski center, where you have many choices for your accommodation. From hotels, villas, rooms, apartments for rent to all houses. You can use the buses or taxis to the ski lifts. 

4. Bansko, Bulgaria

Bansko, is a small touristic town in Bulgaria, at the foot of the Mountain Pirin. For accommodation here, you have a big choice. From luxury hotels to rooms, apartments, villas, rooms in hotels for low prices. Most of them are including a spa, swimming pool, saunas, thermal baths in the prices. In the town, you can find and buy everything you want. Also, there are bars, restaurants, clubs, nightlife, things for everyone and every age. There is a ski center, 12.5km from Bansko. You can go by car, or take the gondola. Travel duration is around 25minutes with the gondola. The price was around 25eur, and for 6days the price is around 135eur. 

Honestly, I prefer not to go skiing in Bansko, mostly because of the crowds, and the queue to wait for the gondola. You are wasting time waiting and traveling to the ski slopes. On the other side, there are hotels where you can relax and enjoy, for low and acceptable prices.

5. Pamporovo, Bulgaria

Not so famous to us, but a really old and big ski resort in south Bulgaria. From Skopje to Pamporovo, it is around 370km and 7hours traveling by car. But it pays off.

The ski pass cost around 30eur daily, and for 5 days the price is 130eur. But this ticket is not only for the Pamporovo ski center you can also use it for Mechi Chal ski- center. New ski resort close and near Pamporovo. Probably now, they are merged, so when you get bored from some slopes, you can change the lifts and take a ride on the other side of the mountain. There are ski slopes with a total length of 30km. When I was there, a few years ago, I know that we were skiing only in Pamporovo and the ticket for ski pass was cheaper. But I really have a good experience with this ski-resort. Accommodation is mostly in hotels. It is a perfect combination of breathing the mountain air, relaxing in a spa, skiing with a perfect view, and swimming in the inside pools.

I hope that this post will help you to decide where to travel this or next winter. I am skiing for almost 13 years. I can't say that I am a professional skier, but I really love this sport.
If you have any questions about this post, or you need suggestions or help with accommodation, contact me. 

With love, Vera

My Instagram is hydrogirlstories.vera
My mail is v_petrova96@yahoo.com