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 and April 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. On the mountains tehre are also snow machines to ensure a certain level of snow for skiing.
Transportation is not included in our program, also no transportation to the activities. Arranging your transport to and in Bansko is your own responsibility. In Bansko it can be hard to find transportation, especially during the mornings. For this reason we advise people to use a rental car. There are some cheap options available in Sofia. 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.
Also we know a reliable transport company in Bansko that you can use. This transport company will hold vans available for our group, also in the mornings, if ordered the weekend in advance. We can organise group transport as a courtesy to the families, but please be aware we are not a party in this, we only have an intermediate role. We will take on any sign ups for the group transports and take your payments, so that the transport company will have to work with one party only. The price for the vans will be determined by the transport company and communicated in advance, but the price per person will depend on the number of sign ups for that van. The van price will be divided by the number of people who signed up. Cancellations after the sign up deadline can not be accepted for any reason, as this would mean a higher price for other families.
To see the transportation prices, check here.
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 feedback meetings.
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.
The activities per age group are specifically designed for this age. Also the social aspect of being together with other kids your own age. The age groups are small to make sure everyone feels comfortable in their own age group, there is an overlap in activities between certain age groups that kids can join if they feel comfortable with the other age group. 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.
We have very conciously chosen to split Worldschooling Bansko up in two sessions of 8 weeks each, as we have experienced throughout the years that 8 weeks is the perfect length to experience Worldschooling Bansko. We realise that 8 weeks is not an option for every family and therefore we have decided to also offer a 4 weeks stay.
In these 8 weeks a close community is being built, and that’s what Worldschooling Bansko is all about. When a new session starts, a complete new community is being formed, with new people, new energy, as great as the other, but different.
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.
