Well I survived my 1st ever ski trip and even the FOUR HOURS we spent sitting on a broken down coach just outside Kop on the way back to Nis airport!!
Would I go again?? Yes!
Weather
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I think we saw every kind going with rather too much fog! The snow cover was dodgy at the start but midweek there was a good fall and following that there was one beautiful sunny day and then more fog. The temp went gently down to about -4/5 but on our last morning it was -15.
Lessons
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I am probably the most nervous middle-aged beginner ever known, but I managed to get confidence on the button lift and did Blue run 7 four times, even if I did need to be talked down a bit of it and only fell down once in the whole week!! This was all thanks to my superb instructor Sara who I would recommend to anyone.
I didn't book into a group because the only option was 4 hours a day which I knew would be too much for me to begin with and I also felt I would be likely to hold the group back and be unable to keep up. I therefore booked 1:1 sessions and was able to decide on a day-to-day basis if I wanted 1 or 2 hours. Both Sara and the Thomson rep were fantastic about it and so flexible. The cost was 21 Euros per hour for 1:1 and you could pay in sterling, Dinars, Euros or with credit cards - very reasonable compared with prices in the indoor Snow-dome I visited near Leeds.
Arrival/Departure
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Having paid to stay at the Grand (4*), I wasn't very impressed with being dumped on the road that the webcam overlooks and being expected to find our own way, with luggage, up a quite steep and very icy hill. I nearly fell several times and it was not a pleasant start for me. I told the rep I was very concerned about this and he said he would ensure there was help going back. On leaving, we were delighted to see a coach outside the Grand. However it was not ours - it was Coach no 1 and most of those who stayed at the Grand were allocated to it. We were to go on Coach 3 which served Konaci/Club A, and the best they could offer was to take our cases down the hill in a truck and we had to walk down. I do think they ought to pay more attention to the needs of older visitors, especially first-timers.
Ski Hire
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Last year Thomson/Crystal had this arranged in the Grand; this year it was in the Konaci appts which is quite a walk downhill - fine for all you agile youngsters, but we got lost on the way down there as I couldn't keep up, being scared of slipping over before I even got on my skis!!
Local Facilities
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These are pretty basic as it is a small resort - don't expect to go home souvenir-laden, but on the other hand it is a delight to go somewhere that is not over-comercialised. One thing I wanted was to get a ski t-shirt but there were none to be found.
Many people now speak enough English for the visitors' needs, but we found it was helpful to have learned a little Serbian.