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Travel to Uludag with ski insurance from Essential Travel

Uludag is a family-friendly ski resort that has a unique location to the south of the Sea of Marmara and Bursa, not far from Istanbul. Uludag is a well-designed ski resort, with excellent snow quality and accommodation options, while also featuring an array of slopes mostly suited to beginner and intermediate skiers and snowboarders.

The resort village at Uludag ski resort resides at just less than 6,562 feet above sea level. Essential ski and snowboard facilities here include qualified instructors, rentable equipment, a number of shops with ski and snowboard essentials and accessories, first-aid station and a clinic.

Uludag ski resort mainly has short, tree-lined, beginner and intermediate slopes that include slalom and giant slalom courses over a vertical of 1,820 feet and rising to altitudes in excess of 8,202 feet. There are 14 ski lift systems including a cable car, chairlifts and t-bars, with a total lift capacity of over 8,000 people per hour.

The accommodation options at Uludag ski resort are very good, with 6,000 beds available at many hotels and chalets, which are loaded with skier-friendly facilities including saunas and heated swimming pools; pre-booking in the high season and during holidays is essential. Après-ski entertainment is also something worth noting at Uludag, with its numerous hotels and chalets offering evening activities.

There are no immediate alternative ski resorts in the region, but nearby Bursa offers some sightseeing options. The town is known for its silk and textiles production and its striking early Osman architecture, while to the northeast of Lake Iznik is Iznik, which also has some note worthy monuments.

Uludag ski resort enjoys its best ski conditions between January and March, while the beginning and end of the season, between November and April, are the cheapest months. Flying to Bursa from Istanbul and transferring to the resort by bus is the most convenient way to get to Uludag.

Skiing in Uludag

Located in northwest Turkey near Bursa and the Sea of Marmara, Uludag ski resort is one of Turkey’s favourites, not only for its close proximity with Istanbul, but also for its excellent facilities and many pisted slopes. Snow conditions in the high season are near perfect and the atmosphere is electric.

Uludag ski resort lies within the beautiful Uludag National Park and the runs are thus engulfed by forests of pine, making for a unique and wind-free slide. Uludag appeals mainly to beginners and intermediates, with its short, shallow pistes, while there is also some quality off-piste skiing for the more experienced skier. There are 12.5 miles of cross-country trails here and fourteen ski lifts provide access to the slopes.

For those who fancy a break from the busy pistes, there is also ski touring, heli-skiing and Alpine skiing available at Uludag ski resort, while hotel wellness facilities are also good and include Turkish baths, saunas, fitness centres and heated indoor swimming pools. Numerous restaurants, bars and discos provide lively après-ski.

Essential ski facilities, such as rentals and accessory shops, are good at Uludag ski resort and you will also find well-trained instructors and a clinic offering first-aid. With over 6,000 beds available at hotels and chalets in Uludag, finding accommodation here is not a problem as long as you book ahead.

The ski season at Uludag ski resort runs from November to April and you can enjoy the best rates in November and April, while perfect snow conditions are common from mid-January to mid-March. In getting to and from Uludag ski resort, your most practical travel option is to fly to Istanbul and hire a car for the four-hour drive to the resort, or alternatively fly to Bursa and take the bus.

Transportation to Uludag

Located in the Uludag National Park in the south Marmara region of Turkey, 161 miles south of Istanbul by road, Uludag ski resort is directly accessible by sealed road or cable car from Bursa. Driving from Istanbul is the most straightforward travel option, while flying to Bursa and taking the bus or a combination of bus and cable car from Bursa are also feasible transport options.

Driving from the UK to Uludag ski resort is a four-day or 1,864-mile journey and not recommended, while flying to Istanbul and driving from Atatürk International Airport is more convenient. From the airport, you can drive all the way to Uludag ski resort via Izmit, a 170 mile or three-hour journey along the O4 motorway and highways D-130 and D-575. Alternatively, you can drive to Bostanci and take the ferry to Yalova, shaving 80 miles off the journey.

Four trains leave daily from London’s Waterloo Station to Istanbul, a 60-hour journey passing through Paris, Munich, Wien Westbahnhof and Bucharest. However, trains don’t run to Bursa or Uludag ski resort, so you would have to take a bus the remainder of the journey if you are on a budget.

Istanbul is Turkey’s biggest air hub and flights arrive here daily from London and other European and world cities; from where there are frequent departures for Bursa. Bursa Airport is just northwest of Bursa city centre and buses and taxis run to town and direct to Uludag ski resort. If you head into town, you can make use of the cable car to the ski resort. The road from Bursa Airport heads towards the city before veering off right onto the D-575 for Uludag.

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