The building has a sauna, 24-hour security, and parking spaces for residents. There is a supermarket immediately across the street.
Sofia Airport has direct low-cost flights from: Dublin, Gatwick, Heathrow, Luton, Manchester and other airports in Belgium, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland. It takes 2.5 hours by car from Sofia Airport to Bansko (we can arrange transfers). Long distance buses operate between Sofia and Bansko (these are cheaper but slower than by car and less direct). Local taxis are available in Bansko at reasonable cost and can be chartered for sightseeing well beyond Bansko.
Choose from hunting, fishing, hiking, mountain biking, and excursions in summer. The Bansko Jazz Festival takes place in August. Bansko station is served by a scenic narrow-gauge mountain railway, which operates all year round and stops at all the villages between Septemvri and Dobrinishte. It is possible to take a local excursion or even to go all the way to or from Sofia (by changing at Septemvri). Fares are very cheap (about £4 to/from Sofia) but the total journey time would be about 7 hours, much longer than that by car or coach. The village of Banya, located only 5 km from Bansko, is renowned for its 27 thermal mineral springs. The town of Razlog is also a few minutes’ drive from Bansko, but has a completely different atmosphere. If you wish to travel further afield, by hiring a car or chartering a taxi, Melnik is renowned for its wine. Greece lies a little to the south of Bansko and the Former Yugoslav Republic (FYR) of Macedonia a little to the west.
English is widely spoken and included on many restaurant menus in Bansko. A basic lunch for two can be had for around £13, including a bottle of local wine. Wine has been made for thousands of years in Bulgaria and some it is very good indeed, as is the local lager. Local fruit, vegetables, meat, fish and herbal teas are also of excellent quality.
Bansko Town is around 925m above sea level. From the southwest corner of town (400m from the apartment) the new gondola lift, built in 2003, takes you directly up the mountain to Bunderishka Polyana, at 1630m above sea level. Altogether Bansko boasts 65km of ski slopes in winter, for all ages and abilities, mostly between altitudes of 1800m and 2500m. The ski season normally lasts from mid-December until mid-April, sometimes as late as mid-May. 130 million euro was spent on the ski-lift system, which continues to be developed. Queues are relatively rare and the slopes are surprisingly uncrowded.
