Bring some comfortable warm winter clothes, you want to wear layers. Also bring some waterproof shoes with traction. Bring warm hats, scarfs and some waterproof gloves.
If you go skiing you need a ski suit (coat and pants), goggles, and good ski socks.
Ski clothes we advise you not to buy in Bansko as the prices will be much higher. Look for ski clothes for example in Sofia at Decathlon, check on their website for prices.
Ski/snowboard equipment is best to buy in Bulgaria, for about 100 euro for skis and boots. We will send you more information after registration.
In December/January it gets the coldest. We’ve had a few days of about -20 C each year, but temperatures of around -5 C are more common. In February it tends to warm up, with below freezing temperatures in the nights and above 0 during the day. In March and April you find yourself skiing in the sun. However, march has the most snow every year. As Bansko is located in the valley, temperatures on the mountains will always be colder than in town. On the mountains tehre are also snow machines to ensure a certain level of snow for skiing.
Transportation to the gondola is included in your stay at the complex. However, we do have other outside activities, approx 4 times a week.
Families in the past years preferred to get their own rental car. Especially since they rent out very cheap in Sofia, for approx €200-€300 for a month. We can advise in this after booking.
For smaller families it is also possible to arrange a shared rental car with another family. We will arrange a communication platform in which such shares can be arranged amongst the families.
We also have the option to arrange community transportation to activities through a reliable transport company in Bansko. This transport is to be ordered during our weekly sign up. The price of the transport is charged per van and will be divided by the number of people in the van. Cancellations after sign up are not possible, as this will unexpectately raise the price for the other participants.
Please be aware that the transportation is not a service that we offer. We will book the transport for you as an intermediate, and divide the costs over the participants, but please note that we are not a party in the transport arrangement itself. In case of any difficulties with the transport, please reach out to the transport company directly. We can not be held responsible for any problems considering your transport in any circumstances.
Finding your own transport in Bansko can be tricky, as not everybody is reliable and in certain weeks the taxi and transport services are overloaded.
We have our own expenses to cover the program. The majority of these expenses are not refundable. For this reason it is impossible to grant any kind of cancellation fee. We expect families to have their insurances in place including health, travel, accidents, and cancelation insurance.
Participation in most of the activities is optional. Every participant joins only the activities that they like.
The only activities where participation is expected are the opening, closing, and the weekly feedback meetings.
We have a program that covers the ages 3-99. For every age group there are specific activities letting everyone enjoy themselves for the max. For babies we have a babysitting service available.
The activities per age group are specifically designed for these ages, and focused on community building within the age group. Therefore we strive to put all kids in their own age group. There are certain activities that overlap in age groups, and there are family activities for everyone to join, so the different age groups will come together anyways.
If there are special reasons why your kid should be in a different age group, we will assess this together with the team after arrival. Please be aware that by changing kids age groups it can be uncomfortable for other kids in the age groups. We will only change age groups after we agree that this is needed for the specific child and that the child fits in the new age group without any uncomfortable feelings from all parties.
If your kid has special needs we will see together with you as parents how we can make it work for your kid and everyone else in the program. An extra effort might be asked from you and your kid, depending on the situation.
In no case do we accept behavior that is disturbing to the rest of the community, and this might be reason for termination of the program. This also counts when a kid has special needs. It is the responsibility of the parents to assess if our program is suitable for their children.
Worldschooling Bansko is developed to create community. In our experience, by introducing six week sessions, the most meaningful community experience is created. When families were to arrive late or leave early, that community buiding would be disturbed. Therefore we only allow families to stay for the full session. We expect all families to be present at the opening and the closing.
Sometimes one of the parents has to stay home for work or other obligations, and cannot join the full term. We encourage all family members to join Worldschooling Bansko when possible. When one of the family members can only come for a shorter period of time, we will prorate the fee so that they can join also.
Since all our events are aimed to build a community between the participants, we will not allow any short stay visits. Also day visitors are not allowed at the complex without advising with us first.