Bansko is a small mountain town in Bulgaria. Most popular in the winter as a ski resort, there's also a great nomad scene in the summer with plenty of nature to explore.

Bansko also hosts the SEO optimised named "Nomad Fest" which I've written about here.

Positives 👍

• Great social scene. Plenty of nomads and events.
• Easy access to nature for hiking, cycling, running, etc.
• Very affordable by European standards.
• Chilled, walkable town. No crazy traffic.
• Small enough that everyone knows everyone.

Negatives 👎

• Not a working from cafe culture. You’ve either got to join a coworking space or work from home.
• Not much variety of food. You’d better like Bulgarian cuisine (mostly meat and salad).
• A lot of places are cash only or strongly prefer cash. Not a huge issue but worth being aware of.
• Small enough that everyone knows everyone.

Coworking 👩‍💻

All the coworking spaces offer a free trial day.

Coworking Bansko

If you're new to Bansko and keen to meet people then Coworking Bansko is a no-brainer. While it might not have the best facilities, it's unrivaled in the number of events and the social attitude of its members.

One downside is that outside of the trial day non-members aren't welcome to events. A friend described it as a private members club that happens to offer coworking. It's the most popular one and it put Bansko on the nomad map so in a way it's fair enough, but it still didn't gel with my hippie traveller side.

Nestwork

Possibly the best facilities but not very social. This is the place to go if you really want to get work done without all that meeting people nonsense. With great views of the mountains it feels like a proper office for grownups.

Altspace

I found Altspace to be a happy medium. The facilities are professional without feeling too officy. They have a few social events each week (although nothing compared to Coworking Bansko) which are open to non-members.

BanskoLab

BanskoLab is a community run cafe bar thingy... OK I'm not really sure what BanskoLab is, but you're welcome to work from there and they have various events.

You could go for brunch in the morning, attend a content creators meet up in the afternoon and skank out at a techno night in the evening.

Accommodation 🏘

When I looked airbnb was double the price you could find by asking around. I found a decent apartment a little far out for €350 after posting on a facebook group.

Some popular options are:

• Four Leaf Clover
• Valentina Heights Hotel

There's also lots of small scale landlords and nomads looking to sublet for the odd month.

Co-living 👯

Four Leaf Clover classes itself as co-living but this claim is debatable. The only true co-living experience is to be found at Avalon. They have regular curry nights where you can meet the owner James if you want to check the vibe out before committing.

I stayed at Avalon for my second month and loved it. There's a great community feel, the best coffee in Bansko, and a dangerously well stocked bar. James is happy to recommend hikes, mountain biking trails and give impromptu mixology lessons.

Avalon also provides coworking and a nice outdoor area. It doesn't have all the facilities of the dedicated coworking spaces but it was handy nipping up to my room for calls rather than having to book a meeting room.

Areas 🗺

I don't have a great sense of direction but broadly speaking you've got:

• Downtown: The north of the town is busier in the summer with lots of outdoor seating for cafes and restaurants.
• Gondola: The south is busier in the winter being closer to the gondola for skiing and snowboarding.
• Old town: Between downtown and gondola is the old town. It's a bit more touristy and prices are higher but there's still some nice restaurants and very few places in Bansko will really break the bank.
• Over the river: I'm not sure what the proper name for this area is, but to the west over the river is a lot more accommodation but not many restaurants and bars. You're a bit further out but it's still walkable and very quick to get around if you have a bike.

Meet Ups 🍻

Coworking Bansko has the most meet ups but all the coworking spaces have some events. Message them on Facebook or Instagram to find the latest info and consider having your trial day when something's on (normally Friday).

There are various WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger groups for running, hiking, mountain biking, etc that you can find from talking to people once you're in town.

Hub 360 is large bar with various events Hub 360 facebook page

BanskoLab: BanskoLab facebook page

Some more Facebook groups in order of popularity:

• The Bansko Notice Board
• Who’s Up Bansko
• Bansko Social - Digital Nomads, Coworkers & Friends

Dating 😘

Bansko is small enough that dating apps aren't as necessary as bigger cities and be aware that if you do some swiping you're going to run into these people.

Men outnumber women but it's not as imbalanced as some nomad spots. Expect the normal level of gossip from a small and at times incestuous community.

Supermarkets 🍅

The biggest supermarkets are Billa and the slightly more down market Grosh. Both are fine but check out the Sunday market near the main square for great value seasonal veg and local produce.

Transport 🚐

Getting to Bansko from Sofia airport takes a little over 2 hours by taxi and bit longer by bus. Bus tickets can be booked at tickets.union-ivkoni.com and busexpress.bg.

For taxi numbers ask in the Facebook groups. Expect to pay around €70 / €80 but also check in the Facebook groups if anyone wants to share.

Restaurants 🍽

The best value are the local "Mehanas". There are too many good restaurants to name but a few stand-outs are:

• Damyanitza Great value and service with a smile (not an easy thing to find in Bulgaria).
• Yanitza Great value if not mind-blowing local food. Very popular with Coworking Bansko for lunch.
• Smokey mountain Home smoked meat, need I say more?
• The House Upmarket Bulgarian food. I'm not convinced it's better than some cheaper Mehanas but many would disagree.
• Station Greek fast food done well.
• Casa di Papi Good Italian restaurant with at times laughably bad service.
• Five M Upmarket Bulgarian and international food. Similar to The House.
• Tanne A little out of the way but very nice Mehana.

Outdoors and Nature ⛰

You can get the gondola up the mountain or even just walk up from town. The best apps for hiking are maps.me and komoot, and trailforks for mountain biking.

For Wim Hof aficionados (AKA masochists) you can practice your cold exposure at the infinity pool. Stay away from the downstream edge as rumour has it people have been sucked in before.

Exercise 💪

Fitbox is a well-rounded gym near the main square with some nice mountain views. It's 50 lev (€25) for the month.

Fenix Fitness is more of a meathead gym with grubby weights and not much cardio equipment. It's 45 lev (€23) and open 24 hours.

Aerial Yoga at Club Lotus was fun to try.

There's also a free outdoor exercise area in the park where guys like to take their shirts off and occasionally do pull-ups.

Nightlife 🍸

• Pirin 75 - nice bar with regular and craft beers, wine and cocktails.
• Pivoteka Craft Beer Mountain Base - craft beer shop with some seating. It passes the hipster test that the proprietors are happy to nerd out and recommend beers based on your tastes. They even have a pizza flavoured beer but I'm not sure who this is for.
• Hub 360 - large clubby bar at the top of town. Good vibes and bad cocktails. Check out their facebook page for events. The owner Chris has been known to drive round and pick up groups so you may want to try your luck if it's not too late in the evening.
• Le Club - a truly Bulgarian night club open later than Hub 360. It can be tricky to get in if you're a large group but if you do you'll be greeted by thumping Chalga (Bulgarian electro-folk music), balloons of laughing gas, local VIPs flaunting table service and when it's really popping off, a napkin gun carpet-bombs the dance floor. It's an experience you'll never want to have again... until you do.

Conclusion 🏁

Bansko was the perfect place to restart my nomad journey. Everywhere I've been since I've seen a familiar face or found out that someone I meet has a Bansko connection.

If you want to connect with a community it's one of the top locations on the planet. It reminds me of Chiang Mai but being slightly more expensive than Asia you meet a lot of more successful entrepreneurs, freelancers, etc.

It does feel very small after a while so it won't be for everyone long term. But if the things I've said appeal I'd strongly suggest you check it out.