Anyone been to Zakopane?

jamieh

Hey all,

I'm going sking to Zakopane in Poland for New Years.

Has anyone ever been there.....what's it like etc etc??

skibum

One of the guys who works with me is from near the area and has gone skiing there several times, he says that it is regarded as the best ski area in Poland. I was toying with the idea of going in late january, did a bit of googling etc, getting mixed reviews, old equipment, big q's at peak times etc, but it is cheap and cheerful, different, bit of an adventure, off the beaten Irish / british track....
Also one of my neighbours went skiing for a day there a few years ago while over there for a wedding, but it was their first time skiing so couldn't compare it with any other resort.

Probably like Bulgaria 10 years ago, very cheap, basic equipment, but had a fantastic time...

kodzik

''Probably like Bulgaria 10 years ago, very cheap, basic equipment, but had a fantastic time...''

visit the place first, then write

Zakopane - good place for people who likes to walk around the city just to show how expensive skiing equipment they've got
but also nice place for New Year's Eve , great atmosphere and scenery.
As a person who really like skiing I would recommended other places in Poland or Czech Rep. (eg. Szczyrk,Szklarska Poreba,Karpacz...)
cheers

Jacob

skibum

kodzik wrote:

''Probably like Bulgaria 10 years ago, very cheap, basic equipment, but had a fantastic time...''

visit the place first, then write

Jacob

Notice the "probably" bit, and I based my post on what people who have been there have told me

I'm aware that there better areas for skiing in Poland, God knows I've pestered enough Polish staff about the topic but I still hope to go there in January.

kevthecelt

Me and my girlfriend(who is polish) went there last year, its a beautiful little town, great atomosphere, great restaurants and the tatra mountains are nearby too which i would definitely recommend, however the slopes are pretty bad imo. I have been snowboarding for years and have been to the alps etc and there is just no comparison, i think their longest run takes less than 5 minutes to get down and is not challenging at all, but it is worth a trip for sure for the beginner

jamieh

Cheers lads

hefty_langer

was there a year ago also in Feb skiing with a gang of about 7... as previously said the ski lifts are something out of the 1950s and there can be mad queues... none of us had a word of polish and found it very difficult ordering food as nothing is in english (not complaining about that as such, but we couldn't make head nor tail of polish even after 10days, very diff language)
The booze was very cheap and we had a ball with all the poles we met... only met 3 other english speaking people the whole trip, not complaining about that either )
Good points: great value for money - skiing only for beginners, nice lively town, good social scene
Bad points: food, accommodation is very basic, ski equip is ancient, poor slopes, etc

go for yourself and see, its a nice off-the-beaten-track little adventure

skibum

Pretty much confirms what I was told about the place

biko

I went with friends to snowboard. Slopes mixed, some good and some bad (bad prep). Lots of people that will put their skies across your board in the lift queue
I had a great time though, this because the town has so much more to offer, clubs, food, girls etc. Drink Goral tea!

Also take the time to go to Auschwitz-Birkenau (day trip). Well worth it.

cailinoBAC

I haven´t been skiing but I was there last May and enjoyed it. Would like to go back in February. I remember the night we arrived, we ended up staying in this hostel that cost about 4 euro a night and looked like the hotel in the Shining. It was fine though. And when we were walking into the centre to get something to eat a man walked by with a lamb on his shoulder and none of us made any comment. Until we were all seated in the restaurant somebody eventually mentioned ´did nobody see that guy with the lamb on his shoulder?´and we kind of agreed that it just didn´t seem out of place...