As a beginner in Bansko it can be difficult to get past those nursery slopes. 

Most complete beginner lessons start at the 2nd gondola station which means buying a full lift pass. 

2nd gondola station - there are 3 sections of nursery slopes that use 2 drag lifts and a escalated walkway. These are behind the restuarants that are directly opposite you as you exit the 2nd gondola station. These don't have ticket barriers but staff might ask for your full ski pass.

 Alternative is finding a ski school that will teach at the base gondola station. This doesn't require a full ski lift pass. There is a button drag lift at the bottom which you can get access too for 11EURO for the day and use the "baby drag". This is more than adequate if you are a complete beginner to get the basics. 

Once youve masters the nursey slopes then there is a few places you can head to. 

At the 2nd gondola station there are 2 slopes, one with a button drag and another with a escalator, these both need a full ski lift pass (especially the button drag as you can't access the button drag without scanning your pass). 

Alternatively you can jump off at the 1st gondola station and get the chairlift down to a nice easy "blue" slope. To get the chairlift down you need to go up the hill next to the gondola station (via an esclaated walkway). You'll just need to ask the staff at the chairlift to go down (not many people go down on the chairlifts but this is totally possible. Once off the chairlift to the left you will see a slope, ski over to there and slightly down the slope you will see a button drag lift (again barriered). The beauty of a button drag is you can get off when ever you want. For the 1st few runs I would jump off just opposite where you came out from the chairlift. This whole blue run is pretty shallow except for one small section which is near the top. So you can push yourself after you've got some confidence. The joy of this slope is that if you continue on past the start of the button drag you join the ski road back to the gondola base station. This section is super easy and pretty flat so great for beginners. Warning you do go across a road for cars (which you can easily ski across but there are some bumps) so just watch out for traffic. 

If you're thinking why not just do that section of the ski road as there is obviously a car road that takes you across the slope... well, yes you can but it can be difficult to get to. Trying to get a taxi there can be difficult as they only want to take people to the top which gets them a lot more money. An alternative is asking your hotel to drop you off if you get transfers to the gondola through them, they might, but be aware that the public aren't allowed on those roads past 9am. 

When you have your ski legs, take on the full ski road, from the 2nd gondola station. Just go to your right as you exit the gondola station. This road is lovely with some super easy sections but also has some steeper sections, something that are quite narraw for beginners. It can be quite busy as sometimes lessons happen on this road and especially towards the end of the day most people coming off the mountain will use it to get back to Bansko. I definitely wouldnt attempt this road until you are very comfortable with either the button drag at the 2nd  gondola station or the blue near the 1st gondola station. 

Just a warning when first attempting this as a beginner, there are some steaper sections (especially when the road is a bit narrow) that some beginners just take off their skis and walk down. So if you're feeling too far out of your comfort zone, don't be afraid to just take your ski's off and walk down sections. 

3 options for getting to the top of the ski road: 

• Get the gondola - either get a full lift pass or you can get the up and back gondola pass if you just want the ski road. 

• Get the bus to the 2nd gondola station - the bus is a lot cheaper and costs just over 6EUROs, this goes from next to the base gondola station. If you're just planning to do the ski road consider this as it will save you money. 

• Taxi - taxi will take you to the 2nd gondola station for approx 40EURO so if you're in a group/can grab a few people around the base gondola station this is another good option. 

There are also 2 bars on the ski road, the second is one of the cheapest on the mountain and you can actually get 5EURO pints. From 4pm they also have a live DJ so the apres vibes certainly do deliver (and it's a very easy flood lit ski back to the base gondola station).