A modern and well designed purpose built centre with a good snow and sunshine record, popular wirth Western European skiers up to the Yugoslavian civil war - offering as it did the rare combination of high quality with low Eastern European prices. Runs include FIS approved 'super G' or downhill, giant slalom ("Duboka") and slalom ("Gobelja") courses. Much slope-side accommodation and ski bus (free) linking base stations. There is also floodlighting for night skiing.
Mountain
There are nearly 60 km of well-maintained ski-runs including three International Ski Federation (FIS) standard runs are served by 16 ski and chair lifts and a further four nursery lifts. The maximum vertical rise is 521 metres, while the longest run 3.5 km long (just over two miles). Kopaonik is very well suited to beginners with four nursery slopes with their own lifts, a well respected ski school and two thirds of the terrain graded easy for rapid progression. The fact that the lift ticket costs somewhere between a third and a half the equivalent Alpine resort price is a big help for many too, with Learn To Ski packages available including tuition and rentals. Most accommodation and facilities (for example, cafes to collapse in) are very convenient to the nursery slopes too. Intermediate standard skiers will find seven trails graded red, the longest the 2km long Krcmar run. Although there is not initially much to attract advanced skiers, the resort is in fact a regular host of many ski and snowboard competitions, there are the three FIS standard runs - for slalom, giant slalom and super G or downhill and off piste powder can be good if you're lucky with powder falls when you visit. Cross country skiers with about 20 km of marked trails.
Families
Children have their sport and games programmes, both outdoor and indoors. Parents can leave them in the hands of qualified instructors and relax. An ideal place to do that is the Grand and the ski school centre. The Ski School in Kopaonik is divides children in to classes according to age group (6-7, 7-10, 11-15, 16 and older) and experience.
Eating Out
In the restaurants you will find both international and traditional, local Serbian cuisine. Prices are very good compared to most ski resorts you will ever visit. There are around ten options to choose from all offering high value. Koala and Red Bull are both pizzerias, or for something a little more local try the Kopanièki Vajat or Zvrk restaurants.
Apres
Well known for its nightlife, all the action centres on the main square, where a circular arcade contains late-night bars including live music venues Prestige and Club Hardy. Other popular spots are the Cafe Andrea and Cafe Royal. The dolly Bell Bar is a popular meeting place when the lifts close and the Dancing Bar remains open (with dancing as its name suggests) in to the small hours.
Boarding
Snowboarding is popular in the resort with the young crowd that keep the resort buzzing at night taking to the slopes in the day. Although there's no terrain park there are plenty of natural hits in the trees. There can also be good off-piste powder when conditions are right. Given the high value for board rental, tuition and lift pass with some tour operators offering all inclusive 'learn to board' deals at even better rates, Kopaonik is quite a good choice for trying boarding for the first time without breaking the bank.
