Mali Karaman is perfect for practising parallel turns — the gradient is spot-on. Try Duboka too; it's wide and rarely crowded. Night skiing is on until 10pm but only Fridays and Saturdays.

Krcmar is a great choice, but be ready for crowds on weekends after 11am. Tip: start early and do a few laps on Mali Karaman before the rush.

Try the Dalbello Panterra 85 GW — it has a 103mm last and works brilliantly for wide feet. Three seasons in and I'm very happy with them. Get them custom-fitted at a proper bootfitter before first use.

Stara Planina, hands down, for young kids. Excellent children's play area, a tubing slope and the ski school is genuinely good for beginners. The resort is compact so everything is within walking distance.

Agree on Stara Planina. We took our 5-year-old last year — after 3 lessons he was skiing down the green run on his own. Slope-side accommodation is a big plus too.