Description
Orphans' Christmas & Legends' NYE
A pair of festive season weeks in the Pirin Mountains for those far from home (or those who want to be). In-house chef, daily wine pairings, hosts, parties and a house full of legends. Oh and maybe some skiing too.
Indicative pricing, held while we confirm the chalet. Flights and lift pass not included.
What this actually is
A warm fireplace in a cozy private chalet. Our in-house chef roasting something that smells delicious. Bottles of Bulgaria's finest plonk opened and at the ready. A crew of absolute legends in really, really bad Christmas sweaters talking about the day's falls... sounds wholesome until someone pulls out the rakia. The most festive of festive seasons for those far from home and those who want to be, sticking to our unbreakable formula of skiing and boarding, apres, great food, better wine and unbeatable company.
Two weeks, book either or both
Pick your festival
Christmas week
Christmas Day falls on a Friday this year so let's fill the week with festive cheer and eggnog and mistletoe and all those things we learned from movies but never got to experience (because White Christmases are hard to come by).
New Year week
The Festive Season doesn't end on Boxing Day, in fact some say it just gets going. Keep the good times rolling through the festive Gooch* and culminate in a New Year's Eve bender and start 2027 with recovery food, hilarious company and some beers on the mountain.
*Taint, notcha, whatever you call that area between the Xmas and the NYE
Both weeks
You wanna do both weeks? We love you, you beautiful degenerate. Let's pop some bubbles.
The bit that matters
In the price
- Sole use of the chalet - our group, nobody else's
- Your own bed. Solo travellers never share one
- Breakfast every day
- Six hosted dinners plus a Christmas Day feast, wine paired every night
- A day in the Struma Valley - wineries, tasting, a long lunch
- Christmas Eve and Christmas Day programming
- Return Sofia airport transfers
- Daily shuttle to the gondola
- Sauna and ski locker
- An SDSW host with you all week
Not in the price
- Flights
- Lift pass - deliberately separate
- Ski or board hire, and lessons
- Lunches on the mountain
We don't include the passes because we don't know how much you want to ski. Reckon on around €50 a day - and we're working on a group discount.
Six questions - about two minutes
Help us build it, take €100 off
Fill out this questionnaire and we'll give you €100 off at launch - about 60 beers in Bulgaria. This isn't an obligation to book, just your chance to save some coin and our chance to get to know what you dig and a chance to book before we open it up to the heathens.
Before you ask
The obvious questions
Do I need to ski?
Not even slightly. Plenty of the crew never clip in. There's the sauna, a town full of very cheap long lunches, a full day in the Struma Valley wineries, and a spot by the fire with your name on it. The mountain is optional. The dinner table isn't.
I'm coming on my own. Is that weird?
It's the norm, not the exception - most of our crew book solo and leave with a group chat they can't get out of. You get your own bed (solos never share one), a seat at the same long table as everyone else, and a host whose entire job is making sure nobody's standing in a corner.
Where is it, exactly?
Bansko, in Bulgaria's Pirin Mountains - about two hours from Sofia, and we handle that transfer both ways. Proper ski town, UNESCO national park on the doorstep. Fair warning: a beer runs about €2, which has historically been a problem for some of you.
What about flights?
You sort your own into Sofia, we take care of everything from the airport onwards. Once the group's set we'll share an arrival window so you can line your flights up with everyone else's and land mob-handed.
When does it go on sale?
Early September, and this list gets first look. We're waiting on final confirmations from the chalet before we take anybody's money - which is exactly why we're asking what you want first.
Can I pay in instalments?
Course. Same as the rest of our trips - 1% deposit holds your spot, then a monthly plan that clears before you fly. Nobody should be paying for Christmas in one hit.
