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SKI POLAND MEDIA

The views expressed by the respected journalists on this page concerning skiing in Poland and snowboarding in Poland do not necessarily reflect Sunshine World LTD's own views. Sunshine World does not endorse any of the statements on this webpage as accurate at the time of reading (as some of the articles on this page were written a few years ago).

On this page

• Poland reveals its winter wonders
• The world's first all-inclusive instructional ski and snowboard holidays to Poland (Good Ski Guide)
• ATOL
• A Pole Lot of Fun (Daily Mirror)
• Zakopane Gets it Deep (World Snowboard Guide)
• Family Skiing in Poland (Handbag)
• Frolics in Poland (Jess About Town)
• Skiing in Poland (Snow Magazine)

Poland reveals its winter wonders

Ross Young, Independent Newspaper
Saturday, 8 November 2008

"What happens now?" I asked. "Now we take a romantic sleigh ride together," replied Alan Garcia.

I'd been in Zakopane for less than two hours and already I was a little nonplussed. I'd fully expected Poland's top ski resort to be a little less modern than its Alpine counterparts. What I hadn't expected was for my journey to the slopes to be Dobbin-powered. As the driver whispered sweet nothings into his horse's ear, I wondered whether this trip to test Poland's premier pistes had been such a bright idea after all.

I needn't have worried. The sleigh that Alan – managing director of an operation called Sunshine World, a specialist in ski packages in Zakopane – had commandeered was an optional throwback targeted squarely at tourists. Visitors can get around more swiftly on public transport or by taxi, and they'll need to: pretty as Zakopane is, with street after street lined with wooden chalets, it's far too big to walk around.

... more of the Independent Newspaper article about Skiing in Zakopane here »

"Great Team, Great product. You boys will go far"
John Hill, Editor and Publisher of the Good Ski Guide

The world's first all-inclusive instructional ski and snowboard holidays to Poland

A new contender is vying to be Europe’s best-value ski resort – the Polish mountain town of Zakopane in the Tatra Alps, with an incredible 51 ski areas on its doorstep.

Prices are as low as they go - £10 for a ski pass, £1 for a beer and a tenner buys a gourmet dinner with wine. Yet the standards are much higher than other eastern bloc ski countries like Bulgaria and Romania.

No hand-me-down rickety old chairlifts from Austria, but the best, state-of-the-art Doppelmayr quad lifts wit rolling mats.

For sure, most of the region’s skiing is mamma and pappa-style resorts like you find in the Eastern United States, with two or three short runs. But there are bigger areas, and when these are linked up they will give some of Austria’s linked ski areas a run for their money.

Zakopane has its own beginner/intermediate slope, Szyloschkowa, in the town, and an even larger mountain, Bialka, served by four chair lifts.

Best of all, just outside the town, is the Pope’s mountain – 2000 metre-high Kasprowy-Wierch.

This was Pope John Paul’s favourite ski mountain and he loved to take on its challenging runs every time he visited his birthplace nearby.

Kasprowy has some serious blacks and reds and couliour skiing at the summit and a five mile home run back to base.

This area will keep a good skier busy for few days sport. Really good skiers will struggle to get real challenges but for those who don’t need to ski endless pistes, and are happy with the same little mountain, Zakopane is ideal. And it’s perfect for first timers.

Poland was the first eastern bloc country to throw off the shackles of communism, although there is still plenty of mediocrity. However its standards are well up on other eastern European countries, particularly in bars, restaurants and hotels.

It’s the prices that appeal, Food and drinks are a third of prices in Britain. I stayed in a four-start luxury hotel for £80 a night bed and breakfast and dined like a king in the Hotel Belvedere (best in town) for £20 a head, including a bottle of Chilean Shiraz.

Zakopane is brought to the British market by Surry based tour operator Alan Garcia who toured the world looking for the ideal resort to start his Sunshine World operation.

He was particularly under whelmed with his native France for its chauvinistic attitude towards visitors, particularly the profit bringing Brits, but chose Poland because they welcome us with open arms.

Zakopane is a two-hour BA flight from Gatwick to ancient Krakow (return prices from around £100), then a further two hours on winding country roads. Krakow itself is well worth a visit and is starting to rival Prague for cultural tourism and stag and hen nights.

We stayed there in an apartment in a former imperial palace for the princely sum of £9 per head, including breakfast.

John Hill, Editor and Publisher of the Good Ski Guide

ATOL

May 2008: The CAA's David Clover is today carrying out radio broadcasts around the country highlighting the benefits of ATOL protection and the risks of so called DIY Holidays, where consumers build there own holidays using different suppliers.

David Clover said

"holidays are still a significant and important household purchase so we want consumers to make informed choices".

"We want DIY holidaymakers in particular to understand that they will not be protected and that ATOL provides complete holiday protection".

Sunshine World LTD is ATOL licence holder number 9004

3.03.07 "Alan Garcia, managing director of Sunshine World, whether he realises it or not, is a bit of a lefty too. In 2005 he set up his company to bring high-quality skiing at rock bottom prices ..." Download full story here Part 1 (432 KB pdf) Part 2 (570 KB pdf)

Zakopane Gets it Deep With a WSG team just returning from a snowbound fact finding mission to Zakopane Poland, there seams no end to the huge snowfalls hitting Eastern Euope. The team reported much powder off the pistes, that’s if you didn’t mind a bit of a walk along a sphincter clenching ridge next to a cornice. And with a further 21cm forecast for the upper slopes, over the next three days, 12cm of which is due to fall Friday, now’s a good time get your arse on a flight to Krakow. The WSG team stayed with www.sunshineworld.co.uk who will sort out transfers, hotel and a tour of the local night spots. Read on: click here.	Family skiing - in Poland by Andrea Wren Do the exorbitant prices of the well-known resorts make your credit card freeze? Read on for a wonderfully cheap alternative. Do not pull out the Majorca brochures and start packing your bikini instead of thermals just yet. Those snowy pistes are within your reach and come to you through the unexpected avenue of Poland. The beautiful town of Zakopane, set into the Tatra Mountains in the far south of the country, is renowned throughout Eastern Euope as being a gorgeous place to ski and snowboard. And it's a popular summer destination, too. In Britain though, perplexed faces told me people couldn't fathom why my son and I were travelling to Poland for winter sports. It wasn't surprising, considering that until now there have been no UK holiday companies operating from this resort. But in December 2005 Sunshine World was born (tel: 01932 242 707) - a new and unique tour operator offering customised holidays in Poland to your specifications and at non-exclusive prices. Managing director and our lovely and attentive instructor, Alan Garcia, is committed to sharing his enthusiasm for skiing with others and wants to make this exhilarating activity within the budget range of many families. Read on: click here.
		Jessica Huie Press and Public Relations Consultant Max Clifford Associates
Zakopane, Poland's winter capital and largest ski resort, is located in the Tatras Mountains ... article about Budget skiing alternatives in eastern Europe here Snow Magazine Please note that the article below was written in 2006 and some of the facts may have changed now. Article about Skiing in Zakopane, Poland's leading ski resort, with Sunshine World by Christine Ottery Being served a burger by a waitress in hotpants and a tiny Hooters vest top was not exactly how I'd envisioned my first meal in Poland. I get chatting to one of the waitresses and find out that she earns about £20 a week. No wonder holidays in Poland are so inexpensive. A three-course dinner with wine costs under a tenner. It's cheap, but is it any good? Zakopane is the winter capital of Poland in the Tatry Mountains, part of the Carpathian range which runs through Slovakia and Romania. The highest peak served by lifts, Kasprowy Wierch, rises to 1,987m. Zakopane has hosted three FIS World Ski Championships and numerous Ski Jump World Cups – so far, so credible. Skiing in Zakopane is spread out over a series of small satellite hills, which have a handful of lifts on them at most. Kasprowy remains the most serious skiing to be had, with even a few red and black runs and some decent off piste. 'It looks like the back bowls of Vail,' says my partner of the eastern face. We arc down, knee-high in barely-touched powder, and play slalom with trees lower down the mountain. We grin ear-to-ear as we stumble across powder stashes, several days after the last proper dusting. Because Kasprowy is on a nature reserve, only taxis and horse-drawn sleighs are allowed to transport people to and from the base of the mountain at Kuznice. We decide to take the traditional option, and barter with a whiskered old driver to take us to our hotel for 30 zlotys (about £5). Tucked up in blankets, we take in the romance of forests and timber chalets. You don't have to be skiing all week on Kasprowy, though, so it's as well that some of the other options – Gubalowka, Nosal and Bialka, are surprisingly good, old-fashioned fun. Hit that tree trunk rail, jump that fence, race to the base. A liftie waves his fists at us but it seems a mad waste not to mark the powder off the side of the gently-sloping slopes. For a more high-octane hit, we zip around the undulating terrain on snowmobiles. The snow twinkles, the engine roars beneath us, and we scare ourselves cornering wildly. In resort the adventure continues at restaurants with all the cultural bells and whistles you could want – regional costume, Goral (mountain man) music, and succulent grilled sausages or pierogi (stuffed dumplings.) I enjoy grilled oscypek (a smoked sheep's cheese textured like halloumi) with berry compote. At the swish four-star Hotel Belvedere there's a spa, swimming pools and a couple of classy restaurants if you fancy something lighter. Or if you're after something a bit more lively, Prestige disco has Eurotrash written all over it, there's even a pole in the middle of the dancefloor to swing yourself around if you've had one too many Zywiec (beer). Christine travelled with Sunshine World (www.sunshineworld.co.uk) which offers all-inclusive packages to suit various budgets. Getting there: Fly from the UK to Krakow with BA (www.ba.com) from £40 one way, easyJet (www.easyjet.com) from £14.99 one way, or BMI Baby (www.bmibaby.com) from £21.99. The road transfer to Zakopane takes two hours. TOUR OPS High-end: Sunshine World (www.sunshineworld.co.uk) is the only UK tour op offering skiing.