The time has come…winter is here... time to get all your kit out and try it all on, maybe even strap your board on in your lounge (we’ve all done it, haven’t we?!) and start dreaming of your immanent escape to the mountains. The problem is that given that the euro and pound are pretty much one for one the usual destinations seem a little out of reach this year. Time to broaden your horizons and try somewhere new. Ever thought of Poland?... neither had I!

Succumbing to the reality that a trip to the French Alps was highly unlikely this year I began to consider other alternatives. Until setting up Sunshine World as a discount partner with Snowboard Club UK Poland had never been on my radar, but with prices in the French Alps going through the roof and the fact your après ski beer will cost you less than £2 Poland definitely seemed worth a shot! Sunshine World offer all inclusive 7 night packages customised to your specifications from just £375 per person, and with return flights costing as little as £60 return a week’s holiday will cost you a credit card friendly £435!

With a flight to Krakow of just over 2 hours and the same again for the Sunshine World transfer we were in Zakopane in just over 4 hours. Despite its size Zakopane is a quaint, romantic town placed at the heart of the Tatra Mountains in the far south of Poland. It was a surprisingly large resort, probably the largest I’ve been to in fact, but still managed to have the alpine atmosphere of a smaller French resort. We were there in mid January but it still had all the charm and ambiance of the Christmas holidays, complete with Santa and his reindeer! The main stretch of town had a varied choice of restaurants, ranging from Pizza Hut and the Golden Arches (McDonalds) to quaint traditional polish restaurants complete with traditional 4 polish bands. Most menus have an English translation, although it’s not always the best idea to know you’re eating “grandma’s homemade lard”, just one of the traditional Polish dishes! The food is good hearty mountain food, although it consists mostly of meat there is still a selection of vegetarian dishes on most menus. Dinner costs an average of £20 for a two course meal, including drinks, for two people. If you not too full and fancy a night out there’s some good bars that stay open till around midnight and a few clubs that go till about 3/4am.

Sunshine World offers accommodation ranging from luxury 3* hotels, picturesque chalets to basic hostels. Our chalet was in a charming and quiet area approximately 20 minutes from the main stretch of town and although you can walk it a taxi will only cost around £2.50. The chalet was picturesque and as far as we could see the light switches, door handles and windows were the only things not crafted from wood. There was a small communal area with access to a computer and free internet (wifi is available in all the rooms at no extra cost) but not really anywhere to relax. However, the rooms were warm, cosy and clean and considering you are either out on the mountain during the day or at a restaurant in the evening this really didn’t prove to a problem at all. The owner of the Chalet was friendly and more than happy to answer any questions we had. Breakfast (which is included) was a traditional breakfast of cold meats, bread, cheese, yogurt, cereals and tea and coffee and available from 9-10.30.

The Sunshine World team picks you up every morning at 10am (the time can be arranged to suit you) and takes you to one of the skiing areas around Zakopane. Bania and Kotelnica, Bialka Tatrzanska, which is about a 40 minute drive from Zakopane was our first stop. I was half expecting to see dated, perilous lifts but instead found that the lifts were the same standard as any you’ll find in the more developed resorts in Europe. There are 5 chair lifts, 3 drag lifts and a few t-bars which accommodate all levels of rider, from beginner to intermediate. Although queues for the main lifts at the bottom were reasonable during the week they did get much busier over the weekend. There was a new Burton park being built whilst we were there, which was pretty small but still looked fun. There are a few bars and a canteen style restaurant as well as a highly recommended 3* hotel restaurant which serves traditional hearty, warming meals and cost on average £15-20 for food and drink for two. Bania is the largest ski area after the big mountain, Kasprowy Wierch, which was unfortunately closed whilst we there. Kasprowy is a national park so it won’t open unless there is 2 metres of snow. We also went to Szymoszkowa, which was a super small hill with only 2 chair lifts, a perfect opportunity to take advantage of the professional coaching Sunshine World offer. Having never had any professional lessons I was keen to get some coaching with one of the instructors. James, who was a level 3 CASI instructor, was an excellent, patient and passionate teacher who genuinely enjoyed seeing me improve on my technique throughout the day. Even if you don’t feel you need any lessons I would highly recommend taking advantage of this opportunity.

The whole Sunshine World team are young, enthusiastic and friendly and genuinely enjoy each other’s company. This made for a relaxed environment which felt more like riding with a group of mates than with ski reps. All the staff are professionally qualified, English speaking and very competent. The instructors have a true passion for their chosen sport which comes across in their individual teaching style. The staff at Sunshine World go out of their way to make it as hassle free as they can for you. I would recommend Poland and Sunshine World to anyone looking for a friendly, comfortable and cheap holiday. The slopes do get a little repetitive after a few hours but all in all I’d say that it’s great value for money and perfect for beginner to intermediate levels. Of course we didn’t get to see the big mountain, which we’re told is far more challenging for the more experienced rider. If the stories of the big mountain were true I would not hesitate in going back.

On top of the already dirt cheap prices Sunshine World offer SCUK members a further 10% discount!
View SCUK discount offer here.

Check out Sunshine World here www.sunshineworld.co.uk.

Jessica Prior - SCUK Membership Manager

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