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.
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 you find yourself skiing in the sun. As Bansko is located in the valley, temperatures on the mountains will always be colder than in town. We will have snow the whole pop up for sure.
In spring 2022 Bulgaria has released their state of emergency after 2 years. We can of course not give any guarantees for the future, but in comparison: Worldschooling Bansko 2022 and 2021 were held during lock down situations.
During the pop up, if you have symptoms please stay home or take a test to not get other sick.
Bansko is located more than 1.000 km from Odessa, the nearest big city in Ukraine. Bulgaria is not a neighbour of Ukraine. The country also does not have a hateful relation with Russia in the extent like some other European countries do. Bulgaria is not directly affected by the war. There are a fair share of Ukrainian refugees in Bulgaria and you might find quite some in Bansko.
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. However, in case of cancelation due to personal force majeure, we are wiling to look at options. We will review this based on the specific situation.
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 group meetings and any connecting activities. If you will not be able to join these activities, please discuss this with the program manager in advance.
The majority of the activities in the program is suitable for children from about 3 years old. Please look at the detailed program and make your own consideration if your child would enjoy the activities and if your child is able to behave in an appropriate way during the activities.
We have a program that covers all ages 0-99. For every age group there are specific activities letting everyone enjoy themselves for the max.
For kids 6 and 7 years old it depends on the interest level of the child which program suits best. The kids program is suitable for children this age, but some kids fit better in the Kids Club. Kids who find the Kids Club and it’s activities more appealing, who find the Kids Club and it’s activities more appealing, who prefer to hang out with younger kids, who would like to stay with their younger siblings, or who’s parents are specifically looking for drop off options are welcome to join the Kids Club. We will also advise in some cases, based on the dynamic of the kid in the group.
It is recommended to book the hours you will take in advance as we can not guarantee availability last minute. But you do not have to decide before you register. The amount of hours is only included in the calculator to give you a good indication of your total costs.
In our online meeting we will discuss the Kids Club hours and we will give you the option to block certain hours that you intent to take, without obligations.
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.
The Kids Club has a drop off set up for kids 0-7.
The Kids program is a walk in setup. Kids can walk in and out as they please. Since we are at a closed complex we expect kids to be able to go from home to the activities and back by themselves. If you do not want your kid to leave the activities without you, please discuss this with the program manager.
Worldschooling Bansko offers a month to month program. We do not offer shorter stay options.
Our program is designed in a specific way with the goal to create a community where life lasting friendships are built. For this reason we advise all participants to join from the opening until the farewell party. Joining later will give you and your children a disadvantage in bonding with the other participants. Leaving early will make you miss some of the most valuable moments with the community. In case you will have to join later or leave early, please take this up with us in advance, to discuss the impact that this will have on you and the community.
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.