Poiana Brasov Skiing & Practicalities

There is really only one way to get to Poiana Brasov, and that is by car. Driving the 12 kilometres from Brasov takes no more than 20 minutes, though it depends on traffic and the weather. Brasov’s taxi drivers will be happy to take you, but will charge you around 30 lei for their trouble. Getting a taxi back into Brasov is a far more troubling – and often far more expensive - experience.

It would be amiss of us not to mention that there is also a bus service to Poiana, which leaves every half an hour from the Livada Postei bus stop on the corner of B-dul Eroilor and Str. Dupa Ziduri, but we do not recommend it. There is another road to and from Poiana Brasov, from Rasnov.

Skiing

This year, Poiana Brasov has at last seen some serious investment in its skiing infrastructure, and things look set to change for the better. New pistes have been created and existing ones extended, while two new chair-lifts should help shorten some of the peak-time queues and ease congestion on the busy slopes. The resort’s administrators have also invested in snow making equipment and piste-maintenance machines in order to keep the pistes in better shape.

There are now 23km of pistes in Poiana, enough to keep a good skier happy for a day or two at a time. Though none of the runs are particularly difficult (the one black run, Lupului, will pose no major problems to a decent skier) some are quite steep, and given that the snow at Poiana can often be very icy, skiing here can sometimes offer something of a challenge. It is beginners who have the best of things at Poiana however, with a large wide nursery slope, and a long easy blue run that descends from the very top of the resort to the bottom. There are also a couple of excellent ski schools.

Lift passes remain relatively expensive given the limited skiing (around 135 lei per day). You can buy them at the gondola station or at the cable car. 

Cycling

If the snow is not so good (and it often is not) and you are still keen to get down the mountain in one from or another, you can hire mountain bikes from the Rossignol shop opposite the Kanzel cable car, or from Casa Vinga.

Bank

Poiana Brasov has plenty of ATMs, including one in the wall of the Police Station, one next to the ticket office of the gondola station, and one at the Sport Hotel. Most hotels will exchange money, though generally charge exorbitant commissions.

Chemist

There is a chemist in the now rather rundown Favorit complex, a short walk from the Sport Hotel, but it keeps short hours. In an emergency you will have to drive down to Brasov.