Skiing in Poland

In february 2011 the Myslopes-team, inlcuding one advanced skier and one beginning skier went to Zakopane in Poland, the Ski area in Poland.  

On the way
Zakopane is situated in the High Tatras, in the soucth of Poland close to the Slovakian border. You can of course drive here from accross Europe, but we chose to fly here. LOT Polish Airlines has direct flights from amongst other London Heathrow to Krakow (with a stop-over in Warsaw). Birmingham has a similar connection from the UK. From Krakow Balice Airport you can take the train (4,5 hours) or bus (Through Krakow city centre) to Zakopane, or you could rent a car. The last part of this journey will take you about 1,5 hours.

Piste map Bialka

On your way to Zakopane you pass the ski area of Bialka Tatrzanska that was opened in 2001. The wide-stretched slopes are popular with the locals, because the ski slopes are lit until 22:00 at night. At the end of the working week a lot of Polish wintersport enthusiasts come to ski or snowboard here. The ski lifts are modern however, and slopes are nices and wide so there is plenty of space here. Bialke has a lot of blue slopes, ideal for beginning skiers. After an afternoon of skiing we drove onwards into the Tatra to Zakopane. We also had our first experience with some of the smokes cheeses from the region, which we would see much more of.
 

Zakopane

Zakopane is a historic town at about 800 meters altitude in a region called Podhale. Zakopane gained fame around 1850 and attracted artists and writers from across Poland to this authentic mountain village for inspiration. Today the village has some 30,000 inhabitants. Everywhere in Zakopane you'll find wooden buildings in style of the góraly (mountain people).

In the middle of the village lies the old cemetery, where all people who have meant a lot to Zakopane are buried. It may sound strange, but a visit to the cemetery is certainly recommended. All graves are completely in style of the deceased. This makes the whole place into an interesting visit.

Not far away is the pedestrian street "Ulica Krupowki. With many shops, cafes and traditional restaurants (including Staro Izba) where you can purchase local dishes such as beetroot soup with a boiled egg, sauerkraut soup and much more ... :)

The Slopes

Piste map Zymoszkowa

Zakopane is both full of and surrounded by beautiful trails with stunning views over the High Tatras. Although you should not expect hundreds of kilometers of downhill runs, there is enough variety to entertain you very well for a week. You can buy a ski pass for one day or several days in Zakopane at the ski lift (around twelve euro per person per day). Ski equipment can be hired at all slopes; for about twenty Euro per day you will have well prepared skis and good quality boots.

Szymoszkowa piste

We first went to the Szymoszkowa slopes, where  blue / red runs awaited us. Even though there had not been a lot of snow in the last few days, the snow canons and grooming made sure that the ski slopes were all in perfect condition. We were prepared for some crowds as it was Saturday and the spring holiday started in Poland. This turned out not to be an issue at all, the waiting times at the ski lifts were negligible and the slopes were not busy at all.

Later that day we moved to the Harenda ski slopes, a few challenging  downhill runs, even for experienced skiers. Good to know about Harenda is that the slopes are groomed by the Piste Bulleys between three and four in the afternoon. They make sure the slopes are in perfect condition for the rest of the day.

If you prefer 'groomed' slopes, make sure you hit the slopes at Harenda right after 16:00 :)

Visit to Krakaw

On the way back we spent a morning in Krakow, a beautiful old city on the UNESCO World Heritage List. If you travel past Krakow we would definately recommend spending some time visiting this city. .

All in all we though Zakopane was a very nice ski holiday destination. Perfect for budget conscious skiers that also like to enjoy a beautiful village where there is more to do besides 'just' skiing and boarding. If you are considereing a visit, end of December is usually busy with Russian visitors. Would you prefer a ski holiday a bit more quiet, then a trip between January and March is optimal.

General information about Poland: www.polen.travel
For more information on Zakopane see: www.zakopane.pl