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15 winter ski seasons done, on to the next!

by gaz

White Side Holidays’ 15th ski season in Poland has come to an end. Not the snowiest of winters to put it kindly but still packed with days on the slopes and fun. Thanks to a snowier that usual early December and the superb snow making capabilities at the ski areas in and around Zakopane and Bialka we skied through the whole winter with guests despite a few too many dull, grey days.

As always, a big thank you to all of our guests who came to ski and snowboard with White Side Holidays this winter. To Staszel Transport company, who have been with us since day 1 in Zakopane transporting guests back and forth from the airport and the slopes, and to all of the wonderful instructors for their hard work throughout the winter.

It’s not quite time for rest, we are going to be in and around the Tatra Mountains enjoying the last couple of weeks of snow and some sunny spring weather. We are of course making plans for next winter already as well, people have started getting in touch and booking trips for winter 2024/25 so the excitement to do it all again can start building!

Thanks to everyone who came to ski with us this winter in our 15th season in Zakopane and Bialka. We look forward to welcoming some of you back next year and meeting lots of new faces as well. If you or anyone you know would be interested in joining White Side Holidays Poland for a ski trip anytime soon, then please get in touch and start planning.

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February Half Term Skiing with White Side Holidays Poland!

by gaz

Our favourite/busiest/craziest time of the year is in full swing, the UK February half term school holidays. We love skiing and snowboarding with all the families, watching kids flying down the hill sides of Zakopane and Bialka and most of all being able to enjoy people progressing and getting so much fun out of snow sports.

This may not be the snowiest half term period we’ve ever had, to be honest it’s probably up there in the top 3 of the least snowy school holidays we’ve ever had! Still, that hasn’t stopped people having a good time and whilst there may not be heaps of snow on the slopes, all the runs have been open and the sun has made a few appearances to brighten most days.

The second of 2 half term weeks begins tomorrow, which is a quieter week for us but hopefully with just as much fun to come. As our ski guests from the first holiday week start flying back to the UK this weekend we will inevitably start getting booking enquiries through for February half term ski holidays in 2025. With that in mind we’re ready and waiting to start planning and taking bookings for next year’s ski trips with White Side Holidays Poland. Drop us an e-mail now to start planning your ski package for next winter!

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New Years Eve 2023 - Here's to a snowy 2024!
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Here’s to a snowy new year!

by gaz

We had a lot of snow in Zakopane and Southern Poland in early December this year, which meant all ski areas opened earlier than they have for a long time this winter. Even Kasprowy, which is in a national park and relies on natural snow fall to set the base level to open was able to open fully by mid December, as opposed to the smaller private resorts which are able to use snow cannons to build up a base.

The exciting early season snow and cold weather has been a blessing as the Christmas period has been a mix of warm, windy days and lots of sunshine. Thankfully we still have all ski areas up and running but it’s definitely time for some more snow. Looking at the forecast we may have to wait another week or so.

It’s great to be back skiing in Zakopane again and to have got the season started, we hope 2024 brings more snow, more fun and lots of skiing! Coming to join us?

December 2023, early season snow in Zakopane, Poland
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White Side Holidays Poland’s 15th Winter Season in Zakopane!

by gaz

This time back in 2009 we were all set up in Zakopane with a new website online, a van signed up ready to shuttle people about, but worryingly still no guests booked in. A few contacts, friends, people who had randomly found us online slowly trickled in and White Side Holidays’ first season in Zakopane, 2009/2010 was in full swing. A winter full of fun, laughter, pride and new friendships, the agonising wait for guests to book in had been worth it.

The number of guests we entertained across our whole first winter had seemed a lot at the time, the responsibility, scheduling, worrying about what might go wrong, but as spring came around and the snow melted we looked back and were happy with how it had gone. The number of guests doubled the following winter, it doubled the winter after that and again a couple of years later to a level that we never would have expected where we had to eventually cap numbers to keep providing the ski holidays we wanted to provide.

White Side Holidays Poland started as a way to enjoy winters skiing and being outside a lot ourselves, it quickly grew in to something more. Groups of guests come back winter after winter; we have people coming out this 2023/2024 season who first skied with us back in 2009, kids that we taught as 4/5 year olds now coming back alone as adults and families that have skied with us 10+ times. We thought there would be a few people from the UK coming over to Poland to ski with us, we’ve had guests flying in from around the world, the current list of countries people have actually flown in from stands at 27, from as far as Burkina Faso, Puerto Rico, Brazil, New Zealand and Mexico.

Staff wise White Side Holidays Poland has grown from an idea and a couple of people doing everything to winters that involve Staszel Transport company managing the endless ski transfers and airport transfers, 15-20 people working in busy weeks and even people volunteering to help in return for a free lift pass. The list of names of people who have helped us grow is way too long to write out but thank you to everyone who has been and continue to be involved.

2023/2024 will be our 15th winter season in Zakopane, a quieter time post covid and lots of changes in and around Zakopane since we set up originally but we’re still here and still have the same aim as always, which is to provide fun and professional ski holidays.

If you’d like to ski with us this winter or next then feel free to get in touch or keep an eye on our Facebook page for updates from Zakopane. Only 3 months until we’re back on the slopes!

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Winter 22/23 wrapped up!

by gaz

Today we said goodbye to our final guests of the winter 2022/2023 ski season in Zakopane. Another winter full of smiles, laughter, and after a slow start, some great snow! We’ve again enjoyed welcoming back so many old faces and introducing new ones to the slopes and skiing in Poland. It really does still amaze us how many people return year after year, we love seeing you all come back to Zakopane, thank you.

We still have plenty of snow up in the mountains in Zakopane and will be enjoying some sunny days up there through the spring, hiking and ski touring. The ski areas around town however are now starting to close down for the season so our attention will be turning already to next winter. The 2023/2024 winter season will be White Side Holidays Poland’s 15th winter running ski holiday packages in Zakopane!

We already have people re-booking and new guests booking in for next winter so we are ready to take enquiries and start your ski and snowboard holiday planning whenever you are, just drop us an e-mail. We look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you to everyone who came out to ski this winter, we hope to see you all again next year!

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Winter has returned!

by gaz

Thankfully this week winter has started to return to Zakopane, Poland and indeed a lot of European ski resorts. We’ve been skiing since Christmas mainly thanks to the extensive snow making that was done in mid December when winter had started as expected. Since then we’ve had temperatures of up to +10 in the day, +4 at night and some horrible rainy, stormy periods. This week we have enjoyed colder temperatures and fresh snow beginning to fall again, the town and surrounding areas have been transformed in to the winter wonderland we usually have at this time of year as you can see from the photo below (Image from @bogdan_bafia_fotografia).

There’s more snow on the forecast this week so we’ll be keeping fingers crossed that this recent change is not a short term thing and that a good week or 2 of cold, snowy weather will set us up for February and the upcoming school holiday weeks. If anyone is still looking to ski this winter we have availability in Zakopane from now through to the 9th February and then from 18th February to 12th March. Give us a shout and come and enjoy skiing in Poland!

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Ski Season 2022/2023 in Poland is here!

by gaz

A cold and snowy start to winter and we’re back skiing in Zakopane! Snow cannons have been blasting away the last couple of weeks and some steady snowfalls in the last few days are setting things up nicely.

The first ski lifts opened at Bialka Kotelnica this weekend and reports from other ski areas early this week are promising. Witow, Jurgow, Suche and Szymoszkowa will all start spinning lifts this Friday, 16th December. The Polish ski season for 2022/2023 is officially here. The forecast this week is for a little more snow, hopefully by New Year most lifts will be in operation.

As always we can’t wait to be back skiing with guests this winter, White Side Holidays’ 14th winter season in Zakopane. Our first guests fly in just before New Year so we’ll enjoy Christmas and then it’s back to work/skiing.

We look forward to seeing you all out in the snow! There is still availability through to mid March, so please contact us if you would like to find out more about our holiday packages this season.

Happy Christmas!

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3 Months until Ski Season 2022/23!

by gaz

Winter may have ended 4 months ago but it’s now only 3 months until we start skiing again in Zakopane, Poland and the start of the winter season. The summer has flown by and we’re on the road towards the new ski season beginning and will be waiting eagerly for the first snowfall. As kids will be back in school this week why not use the quiet time in the day for planning a ski holiday with White Side Holidays Poland? Think cold snowy days sliding down a hill, warm fires, mulled wine and plenty of smiles and fun.

We’ll be operating ski trips again this winter season from 26th December through to mid March 2023 and have availability still through all of those weeks. Bring your family, friends or come alone, we can cater for everyone. If you’re not sure on the best month of the season for you to ski or if you’ve never skied before then just ask. We’ll be happy to help and get you out on the snow soon!

Drop us an e-mail or give us a call and start the ball rolling on your winter 2022/23 ski holiday package in Poland.

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Thanks for a great winter!

by gaz

As spring comes around, confirmed by the bears being sighted lower down in the mountains this week, we’re happy to be able to look back on a fun filled, snowy winter just gone in Zakopane. White Side Holidays have had an absolute blast being back on the slopes skiing with guests on their holidays again after the delays, cancellations and issues with covid over the last couple of years.


There have been a few changes in Zakopane in that time, which were nice to be able to get out and enjoy this winter, new restaurants in town, new bars and on the ski slopes; new lifts, new beginner areas and improved snow making facilities.


After such a long enforced break before this winter, our time on snow this year seemed to fly by and be over in a flash. We can’t wait to get back to it next winter and hopefully enjoy an uninterrupted winter in 2022/23!
If you’re interested in joining us for a winter ski holiday package over in Poland and seeing what Zakopane has to offer then get in touch now to start planning, only 7 months until winter begins again!

Thank you to everyone who came out to ski this winter, so good to enjoy time on the snow with you all, see you next season!

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Jabs, Testing and Passenger Locator Forms

by gaz

Jabs, tests and passenger locator forms! Nobody wants to have to worry about these things but if you’re going to take a holiday then chances are you’re going to have to and it’s best to be organised and sort these things out early. We start skiing again in Zakopane in around a months time so now is a good time to start preparing what you may need if you’re coming to ski with us in Poland for what will hopefully be a fun filled, Covid free winter!

Poland is no exception and there are a few simple steps to take to make sure you’ve done what needs doing before you come and join White Side Holidays in Zakopane. We’re not experts on the Covid travel rules and with everyone having their own choice to make regarding what vaccines they have or don’t have, the information here is simply to help you in making sure you’ve done what you need to do before you come skiing.

TESTS – Depending on which country you fly to Poland from, how many jabs you’ve had, how old you are and a few other factors you may or may not need to take lateral flow tests or PCR tests both before, during and after your trip. We do not sell these and we do not organise these. You can’t use the free tests you get in the chemist for travel purposes so you will need to go online, check for your countries government approved test providers and then pay and order what you need. The websites are clear and easy and will help you find which tests you will need. They will then post test kits to you that have specific test numbers on, which you will need for filling out passenger locator forms as you arrive and depart Poland.

PASSENGER LOCATOR FORM FOR ARRIVAL IN POLAND – Go online here (Fill in the Passenger Locator Form – Gov.pl – Portal Gov.pl (www.gov.pl)) and fill out your personal details up to 48 hours before your trip. THERE IS ONLY THIS ONE FORM FOR ALL NATIONALITIES TO USE FOR ARRIVAL IN TO POLAND. You will need information about your vaccines and dates you had them, addresses of where you are staying in Poland, flight details etc. Don’t leave this until you get to the airport. It is only a quick form to fill out but it has to be done for each person in the group and you may need information that you don’t have to hand. We will be e-mailing to provide you with your chosen accommodations address shortly.

PASSENGER LOCATOR FORMS FOR RETURNING HOME. Again you will need to fill out a passenger locator form for each person in your group no more than 48 hours before you fly home. Again we recommend doing this before you get to the airport. The form you will need to fill out will depend on which country you are flying back to, check your government website for specific forms. As most of our guests are UK or Ireland based here are the 2 links to those forms.

UK RETURN PASSENGER LOCATOR FORM – Fill in your passenger locator form – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

IRELAND RETURN PASSENGER LOCATOR FORM – gov.ie – COVID-19 Passenger Locator Form (www.gov.ie)

As mentioned we are not experts on all of these rules and find our information out by going through the official government channels. We are happy to help where we can but if you have any doubts about what you need to do then check with official sources.

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