Big D's Travel Blog

A small mountain town surrounded by mountains covered in a blanket of snow. Bansko sits at the bottom of a ski lift, 2.5 hours from the capital, Sofia. I am asked time and time again, why Bulgaria?? My google search was “cheap ski resorts with a Digital Nomad community.” And that’s exactly what I found. I’m a beginner skier and I wanted to find a place to practice the sport while not spending an arm and a leg like you would in Lake Tahoe.

Bansko is a huge travel destination for Israelis and Europeans. A great place to make new friends and drink a lot LOL.

Things to do in Bansko in the winter:

1. Ski/Snowboard!
   • The mountain is a great place for beginners. Almost all groomers. From the peak of the mountain, you can always find a blue run to go down. Which was really nice for me.
   • My favorite part of the day was Ski Road. Instead of taking the gondola down, you can ski a very flat route back down to town. The most peaceful 7km I’ve ever experienced.
   • Skiing off-piste near the runs were SO fun. You can hop in and out of the trees as you please. A friend of mine ended up off a cliff and walked two hours back to town though, so be careful 🙂

1. Snowmobile
   • A group of us rented the snowmobiles at the bottom of the ski resort in Dobrinishte. It was $70 USD total for two-person snowmobile for about 1.5 hours.
2. Hot springs
   • A short taxi away. Put on your swimsuit and be sure to grab a beer when you get there.
3. Eat all the Bulgarian treats
   • Bansko, specifically, is only a couple hours from Greece. This means that there is a Mediterranean climate! So they have amazing wine and my favorite fruit, tomatoes.
   • Don’t skip the Bulgarian cheese. Trust me.
   • Try Bulgarian Rakia. This is their locally distilled liquor made from grape and sometimes plum.
   • If you want to eat with the locals for about $4 USD, go to баба Вуна. I ate here almost once a day.
   • For my favorite roasted lamb dish, you have to try Барякова механа.

Living and working:

• Coworking Bansko!! One of the big reasons I ended up in Bansko was to experience a real nomad community. The coworking group had an event happening EVERY night. And plenty to do no matter what you like.
• My apartment was very modern and had a balcony with a view of the majestic mountains. It felt like waking up in a winter wonderland.

• There are a lot of touristy grocery stores with limited produce. For actual grocery shopping, my favorite was Billa. It’s near old town, so a little bit of a walk if you’re near the Gondola but worth it!  
• This was my first time working +7 hours to Eastern Standard Time. This worked really well in Bansko because skiing in the morning is the best. But it was really hard to join any of the social events happening throughout the week when I was working until midnight everyday. I still had an amazing experience though!

Covid

There are plenty of places to get Covid tested for your travels

I went to the Megalab which is near the Gondola but some more information can be found here.

Skiing

If your in Bansko for at least a month, get a 20-day ski pass. With that pass you can usually get away with going through the season pass line (and cutting the 2-hour wait on pow days) since the 20-day and season pass cards look almost identical.

Download the Bansko Blog app for live information on what lifts are open and more. The app is kept up to date and has a map of the mountain. Since I started traveling, Facebook groups have been a surprisingly huge source of information but in Bansko, even more so. Join all the Bansko Facebook groups to see what people are doing or to ask questions yourself. They are super active. I lost my phone on the slopes and was able to find it through these groups so it’s WORTH.

For rentals, I would suggest popping into 5 or so different places and see which one offers you the lowest price. I rented from a place right near the ski lift because I didn’t want to carry my ski and boots home everyday. So I would just pick them up and drop them off before heading home for the day! You can also rent snow clothes if you can’t fit them in your luggage.

The signs on the mountain are sub-par so I found myself getting lost almost daily until I remembered all the runs I did.

Finally, you did not visit Bansko successfully if you don’t go to the bar Happy End at the end of the day. It was absolutely my favorite part of every Saturday. Thank you Happy End for taking my liver.

$$$$

MONEY MONEY MONEY

Bulgaria has been the cheapest country I’ve been to so far. I paid around $400 USD/Month for my apartment AND the coworking space.

The 20 day ski pass costs around $600 USD. And the full season pass is close to $1000 USD. The ski passes themselves are almost on par with US prices. However, renting gear (skis, boots, poles, helmet) costs me about $100 USD for the entire month. Now that is unheard of.

If your eating at SUPER local places, eating out is outrageously cheap. Max $5 USD for an entire meal. Near the ski lift, the prices inevitably go up. Expect around $15-$20 USD for a full meal out.

Transportation

Transportation: You can walk the entire town. To get to the hot springs or other near by locations, private taxis are probably the easiest. If you’re going to the other ski resort near Bansko or other destinations, some people would rent a car which might make sense!  

There are three options to get to/from Bansko:

1. Shared transfer
   1. Bansko Express and Traventuria are two different options. I liked Bansko Express because they pick you up based on your flight schedule
2. Public Bus
3. Private transfer

All in all. Bansko was a huge success. Skiing in the mornings and working the evenings. Followed by a weekend of après Ski, new friends and vibes. I’ll be waiting for my next hot cocoa with Baileys on the slopes. Maybe next time I’ll try the blacks LOL