 | Flytrippers cofounder |
I’ve spent 1-2 months in Bansko, Bulgaria, most summers since 2022. It’s my cheap mountain base in Europe, and a full month here can cost what just 1-2 days (!!!) do in other more popular mountain towns. Western Europe is still the default choice for many people, but it is much more expensive (and more crowded).
If you love the mountains and think that a European summer in the mountains has to be expensive, Bansko is for sure worth a look, even if you’re not a digital nomad like me. It’s very affordable… and beautiful.
Spending more time in lesser-known destinations is one of the very best pro tricks. Flytrippers aims to help you travel for less through our 3 types of content, namely flight deals, travel rewards, and tips/inspiration/news.
Here’s what summer is like in Bansko.
How I ended up in Bansko in the summer
I first came to this part of Bulgaria in June 2022 for Bansko Nomad Fest. I had heard it was one of the world’s biggest gatherings for digital nomads and the remote work community, and figured I’d check it out.
I ended up staying almost 3 months that first year.
The city was nice, it was affordable, and I made friends quickly. I actually met my girlfriend Caroline here that summer, and we’ve been back every year since, despite our quest to visit every country in the world.
Some summers we return for about 1 month, some for closer to 2 months. The town is fully walkable; we can hike in the nearby mountains whenever we want, hang out with people we know, and catch the best mountain sunset right from home.
By the way, even after my 4th event, Bansko Nomad Fest is still a cool conference. You meet a lot of new people, and the topics are usually pretty interesting (marketing, SEO, AI, nomad taxes, community, etc.).
The ticket is pretty cheap given how long the event runs. Caroline and I already have our tickets for next year (June 20-27, 2027). Tickets are 225 EUR right now, and it would be great to see more Canadians there next year!
I came for the conference, but we keep coming back for the mountains, the friends, the food (Bulgaria neighbors Greece, after all), the wine, and the prices!
Bansko is usually one of the cheapest stretches of my whole year, which helps a lot to balance things out when other trips cost way more, like going to Somalia with a guide and 2 armed guards! 😅
Bansko vs the Alps
Bansko lies at the foot of the Pirin Mountains. As with so many other places, never having heard of it before certainly does not mean it’s not worth a visit.
It’s certainly not as well-known as the Alps, because as usual, richer countries get a lot more exposure. The Alps are also very beautiful.
They’re also most importantly a lot more expensive, and you feel that even more when you go right after a couple of months in Bulgaria. The prices for everything were higher pretty much across the board.
After Bansko last summer, Caroline and I spent 1 month in Northern Italy. Most of that time was in the Aosta Valley (the bilingual-ish French-Italian region), and we also visited Piedmont and Lombardy.
From there we did a quick loop through the French Alps, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Austria (I’ll share a trip overview post soon).
The vibe there is different as well. It’s way more crowded with tourists, even in September when we got there. Shoulder season was better than peak summer would have been, but it still felt a lot more like a tourist circuit than Bansko does even in the summer.
I know a lot of people assume mountains in Europe means the Alps, and that travel has to cost Alps-level money.
Bansko is a great counterexample to that. Same idea (mountains, hiking, good food and wine, a nice walkable European town), for a fraction of the price, and in my experience it’s as good or probably even better for a long summer stay.
What Bansko costs in the summer
My 1-bedroom apartment here was 460 EUR a month.
For a long stay, the best resource I’ve used is Bansko Nomad Apartments. There’s a ton of accommodation in town because Bansko is mostly a ski resort. So in the summer, much of that supply is still available, and prices are great if you’re staying a while.
A normal meal out for me is usually around 10 EUR to 15 EUR.
You can spend 40 EUR if you go to the more expensive spot and order duck with 1/2 liter of wine, a Shopska salad (an iconic Bulgarian dish), and French fries with cheese (almost a poutine, but they don’t have cheese curds or the sauce).
Groceries for 2 are usually around 60 EUR to 100 EUR a week.
Wine is one of the best deals in Europe. You can get a bottle for 2 EUR or 3 EUR. Great bottles start around 8 EUR.
Amazing ones, including older reserves, are often 20 EUR to 30 EUR. I’ve had 2016 reserves in that price range that would cost a lot more in Canada.
Bulgarian cheese (similar to feta cheese from neighboring Greece) is also amazing, and a 1kg brick of it is around 5 EUR. We usually buy 2 of those a week for our homemade Shopska, using the best tomatoes you’ve ever tasted (from the local market for a couple of euros too).
Add that up, and a month in Bansko can really cost as much as just a couple of days in a touristy and expensive European mountain town. Sometimes closer to a day, depending on where.
Even if you prefer hotels, it’s affordable.
This year, we finally did try the Marriott hotel, the Four Points by Sheraton Bansko.
It was nice, and it has a great location. During the winter, it’s a great redemption for the Marriott free night certificate, as cash prices are really high and the certificate covers it all (often a value of 245 EUR).
That certificate is one of the best credit card benefits in Canada, and now is the absolute best time to finally get it: the record-high offers on both Marriott cards (and you should have both) are back, only until September 22!
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Best credit cards for Marriott points |
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Card fee: $120
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make 1 purchase in month 15 Best for: 77,000 pts after welcome bonus
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Valuation (BONUS)(≈ 11.9% back on $10k)
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In the summer, cash prices are very low, often 60 EUR to 150 EUR. It’s a bad redemption of points or certificates, but we have 8 certificates, and we had 1 left that was about to expire, so we redeemed it rather than lose it.
Hiking, wine, food, and the view
If you like mountains, you’ll like Bansko in the summer.
The Pirin National Park (a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983) is right there in our backyard.
I’ve done great hikes up Todorka and Koncheto, and the overnight at Spano Pole hut (and Demyanitsa last year). The mountain huts are pretty comfortable, and they serve good food too.
Wine is a big part of why I like it here.
Every summer we organize a wine tour down to the Melnik region in Bulgarian wine country, and it’s always a hit with everyone who discovers the place for the first time.
Food has gotten more diversified every year I’ve been here. Shopska salads are always a yes.
For more Bulgarian food, we like restaurants like Zehtindjieva Kashta and Chevermeto Tavern. Four Directions was our go-to for a while; they were closed this summer, but hopefully not for good. Bistro 7 is a new international/Thai option too.
A lot of the best nights don’t even involve going out. We have an awesome balcony with a sunset view over the mountains. We like to have friends come over for wine and charcuterie, and that’s the photo I keep taking because it never gets old.
Stay long enough, and the walking street starts to feel small (in a good way). You run into people you know. It’s a small-ish town with a big accommodation footprint, so it doesn’t feel empty, but it also doesn’t feel like you’re floating through a resort town full of strangers.
I’ve never used any of the many coworking spaces here. People who like coworking seem to love them. There are social ones, or more heads-down ones.
I also haven’t done Bansko in winter yet, but it’s certainly very popular.
But if you’re ever here in the summer and you want to talk travel, say hi. I’m usually around.
Getting to Bansko from Sofia
The easiest way to get to Bansko is to fly first to the capital of Bulgaria, Sofia (SOF).
As for most of Europe, flights are often very cheap if you avoid booking the whole itinerary on a single ticket and instead use the self-transfer trick.
The price of Rome–Sofia flights can be as low as 17 EUR one-way, for example.
Then you head down to Bansko, about 2 hours away.
The bus is cheap, around 12 EUR to 15 EUR per person, with one transfer.
If you’re splitting the cost 3 or 4 ways, a taxi for the group is often about twice as much, but faster. That is what we did last time, and we paid 75 EUR for the car with 3 of us. That’s not my preferred or the cheapest way, but it’s faster and easier.
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Summary
Bansko is my cheap mountain destination in Europe in the summer, and it’s the place I keep coming back to when I want great mountains and great prices. If you think European travel has to be expensive, start here instead. Hike Pirin, eat Shopska, drink wine that costs less than it should, and enjoy a great sunset over the mountains.
What would you like to know about what summer is like in Bansko? Tell us in the comments below.
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Featured image: Summer in Bansko (photo credit: Kevin Gagnon/Flytrippers)
