For many years Bulgaria has been attracting travelers with its extraordinary flavor, excellent service and a variety of entertainment options. At the same time, prices for tours remain affordable, and the quality of recreation is only improving every year.
What time to choose for the trip?
The central and northern parts of the country are characterized by a continental climate, while the southern part of Bulgaria is dominated by the Mediterranean. In winter months, the temperature in mountainous areas can drop from -2 o to -30 o. And in summer and early autumn it varies from +18 o to +28 o.
In summer, travelers prefer a measured vacation on the Bulgarian beaches, and by December they are planning to select a tour to visit the local ski resorts.
Flight features
You can get to the country quite quickly - daily direct flights to Bulgaria are made from St. Petersburg (about 3 hours) or Moscow (about 2.5 hours). Also in summer and winter time you can fly to charter flight in about 3 hours.
Should Russians apply for a visa?
For holidays in Bulgaria, Russian citizens need to have a national visa. Receiving it usually does not cause problems and requires only a standard package of documents. At the same time, holders of a Schengen visa can freely enter the country. As a bonus, sometimes for Russian travelers who have “clean” passports, the Bulgarian consulate immediately issues a multi- or double-entry visa.
Bulgaria beaches
The beaches of this amazing country they are distinguished by gentle slopes, yellow sand, safe bottom, rather wide coastline and have a "shallow sea" which is perfect for small children.
Absolutely all beaches are free and public, which is why they are crowded. According to reviews of tourists, most of the tourists there are observed on weekends. Sun loungers and umbrellas must be paid separately.
The beaches are clean, many of them have a Blue Flag. The longest and noisiest beaches can be called Golden Sands, the widest and ideal for water sports Albena beach is considered. A place for a relaxing holiday is the territory of the beaches of Varna.
Bulgaria hotels
The country is dominated by hotels with 3 stars. Apartments of higher stars appear every year, but there are still quite a few of them. However, tourists expecting a high level of service will also be able to choose from a wide range of accommodation options. Bulgarian health resorts are also popular. Every year, every building is redecorated.
Tourists are usually offered buffet meals, mainly breakfast. But there are hotels that work on the all-inclusive system and on half board (breakfast + dinner).
Major resorts
Before buying a tour to Bulgaria, you should decide what you want to get from your vacation and what it should be like. There are several types of resorts:
- Medical and beach. Here tourists have access to thermal and mineral springs, curative mud. Such resorts are located either on the coast or in the mountains. These are Chaika, Saint Vlas, Elenite, Duni, Sozopol, Nessebar, Sunny Beach, Obzor, St. Constantine and Helena, Golden Sands, Pomorie and Kranevo.
- Excursion. The resorts are aimed at the maximum familiarization of travelers with the sights of the country. For convenience and frequent trips, they are usually located in the center. Sofia, Burgas, Varna are in high demand.
- Ski. Every year, these resorts are becoming more and more popular due to good understanding with local residents, low cost (even travelers with a limited budget will be able to get vouchers) and the availability of slopes of varying difficulty. Among such resorts tour operator TEZ TOUR recommends Chepelare, Pamporovo, Vitosha Mountain, Bansko.
Excursions and entertainment
You can supplement your beach vacation with acquaintance with the most interesting Bulgarian sights. Among them deserve special attention:
- statue of Alexander II;
- church of St. Sophia, St. George, Boyanskaya;
- Tsar's palace with beautiful caves;
- Rila Monastery;
- Trimontium;
- a. Nevsky Cathedral with the Museum of Icons in the crypt;
- rocks "Melnik pyramids";
- the gate of Hisar Kapiya;
- national park Belogradchishki rocks;
- amphitheater of Philip II;
- the Roman fortress of Calais;
- aqua Paradise water park, built in the form of a palace;
- Stone forest.
In addition to exploring the monuments, holidays in Bulgaria with TEZ TOUR can be diversified by diving (there are several diving centers in the country), water skiing or surfing, horseback riding.
For gourmets
You should definitely get acquainted with local cuisine... It is distinguished by a large number of hot spices, the use of pottery, cooking in open fires, and the consumption of many vegetables.
Here are just some of the traditional dishes: lutenitsa (spicy pasta), stuffed peppers, banitsa (pies), kebab and kebabche meat, gyuvech, kavarma, tarator soup, shopska salad.
Souvenirs and shopping
In local shops you can buy very cheap linen fabric, carpets, embroidered clothing, perfumery and cosmetics from the Valley of the Rose, silver, copper and leather items. Alcoholic drinks (vodka "rakiya" and "mastic") are also often brought from Bulgaria.
If you prefer a comfortable stay and want to enjoy the forest landscapes without unnecessary difficulties, clean beaches, medical and ski resorts, saving a little, last minute tours to Bulgaria from TEZ TOUR will be an excellent solution. We will help you arrange required documents, we will organize a transfer and check you in one of the comfortable hotels. You just have to call us!
Amazing combination excellent climate, hospitality local residents and high service today attracts tourists to rest in this friendly and charming country. In the summer she welcomes couples with great pleasure, offering excellent conditions for leisure with children, and in winter she invites everyone who is looking for thrills to the best ski resorts. People come here to strengthen their health in balneological centers and unique mountain hospitals, and young people tend to the famous Sunny Beach, where merry parties do not subside until morning.
Whenever you go on a tour in Bulgaria, you will have first-class hotels available for reasonable prices, great service and interesting excursion programs. You can visit the famous Rose Valley and see the enchanting Sofia, visit beautiful cities Sozopol and Nessebar, which have preserved ancient buildings and the spirit of romance. Amazing nature, numerous attractions, excellent local food and entertainment for every budget and taste will make your vacation in Bulgaria unforgettable.
Seasonality and climate. When is it better to go to rest in Bulgaria
Main tourist season countries - summer, when the bulk of guests prefer to enjoy the warm gentle sun and the azure sky on seaside resorts... From June to September, the sea warms up to 24-25 degrees and is as comfortable as possible for water procedures, while, according to reviews, there is practically no strong sweltering heat in Bulgaria due to the constant refreshing sea breeze. The ski season is open from December to February.
Prices for tours to Bulgaria
The peak prices for tours to Bulgaria in 2019 fall on summer timewhen a week's stay for two in a 3-4-star hotel will cost at least 42-50 thousand rubles. But even in July and August, you can find profitable options in budget 2-3 star hotels in small resorts where there is not a lot of entertainment options. Life in them is measured and calm, ideal for a family. For example, small cozy hotels in Obzor, Kranevo or Ravda offer their services from 18 thousand rubles per person for the same period.
If you are not interested in a beach vacation, but would like to go on vacation to Bulgaria to get to know her cultural property and the historical past, choose the autumn-winter period, when the weather is mild and the prices for accommodation are much lower. The system also allows serious savings. early booking... Having bought a tour 3-4 months before the expected vacation, you can reduce the cost of the tour by at least 20%.
Types of recreation. What to do in Bulgaria?
Invariably welcoming and diverse Bulgaria all year round hospitably opens its doors to everyone who wants to relax on the beautiful Black Sea beaches, to join the amazing culture of the original people and improve health at first-class balneological resorts.
Beach vacation
There are about 30 seaside resorts in Bulgaria with excellent wide beaches, a third of which have been awarded the prestigious Blue Flag award for sustainability and cleanliness. The gently sloping seabed and gentle water are highly prized by vacationers with babies. Most popular resorts with developed infrastructure and extensive park areas - Sunny Beach, Golden Sands, Nessebar and Albena. An unforgettable experience will be given by visiting modern water parks on the Black Sea coast: Aqua Paradise, Aqua Planet, Akavapolis and Action, where you can go even with little ones.
Saturated excursion programs await those who intend to go on educational tours to Bulgaria. The country is rich in famous sights, nine of which are protected by UNESCO. You can visit the unique Rose Valley and ancient cities full of romance, numerous Orthodox churches and unapproachable rock monasteries, magnificent national reserves and parks.
Healing rest
Rest at one of the balneological resorts - the best way restore health and vitality, preserve beauty and youth. Unique hydrothermal deposits, artesian wells and mineral springs with a temperature of 20-100 ° C will help to replenish energy, recharge with cheerfulness and optimism. Most requested health resorts the coast - St. Constantine and Helena and Pomorie, the mountain health resorts Devin, Velingrad, Sandanski and Hisar also receive guests.
Ski tours
The excellent ski resorts Borovets, Pamporovo and Bansko await fans of active leisure from December to February. Both beginners and professionals will be pleased with perfectly equipped tracks of varying difficulty. And the nearby mineral springs and numerous cultural attractions will help you combine skiing with an educational vacation.
Sights of Bulgaria
Bulgaria is a country of lost civilizations and unsolved secrets, where the past is respected and traditions are respected. This blessed land, which finds itself at the intersection of different peoples and cultures, is rich in bright sights that are of extraordinary interest to all connoisseurs of Slavic history.
Natural resources
No other country in Europe can boast as many nature reserves and parks as Bulgaria. The most famous of them is the Valley of Roses, as if the artist's painting that has turned into reality. It is impossible to take your eyes off the endless field of flowers, and the aromas of roses, mint and lavender hovering in the air make you drunk more than fine wine. Trips to the Pirin, Rila and Stara Planina mountains and other national reserves are also interesting.
Monuments of ancient civilizations
Guarded World heritage there are famous Thracian tombs on the territory of the Madara National Historical and Archaeological Reserve. Created around the 3rd century. BC. and perfectly preserved. Particularly curious are the rock frescoes and stone-carved figures in Sveshtari. The capital of the Thracian state, Sevtopol, was once located not far from them. Another legacy of a different culture that existed on the territory of Bulgaria is the Madara Horseman, dating back to the 8th century AD.
Monasteries, churches and mosques
Numerous Orthodox churches and monasteries erected throughout the country amaze with their exquisite beauty. The Rila Monastery located in the mountains, as well as the second largest after him - Bachkovo Monastery, are especially recommended for visiting. Interesting is the medieval monastery of Aladzha carved into the rock not far from Varna, as well as the medieval mosque Banya Bashi in Sofia, one of the oldest in Europe, and the most big mosque Tombul in Shumen in the Balkans.
My husband and I bought a tour to Greece "In the footsteps of Alexander the Great", it included 5 days of excursions and 5 days beach holiday at the Hanioti Grand Hotel in Halkidiki. The employees of the Moscow office were friendly and helpful, they completed everything on time and were ready to answer all questions. In a word, nothing foreshadowed troubles ... And they began upon arrival. We had an overnight flight and arrived at the hotel at 09:30 am. And the employee Vilar Tours cheerfully announced that check-in is at 14.00, all cafes are closed until 12, but you need to see the positive in everything. We can change at the hotel and wait for check-in. Great, huh? A great start to your vacation, for which you have paid quite a decent amount! What prevented us from arranging an early check-in or at least warning us that we would arrive 5 hours earlier than check-in, so if we want to check-in right away, we need to pay extra? And we would have paid extra .. Instead of waiting on the bench. In general, I was so exhausted after the flight that I fell asleep. By the way, on the last day we had to vacate the room at 10, and check-out at 15.00. We asked the Vilar Tours employee on the spot to help us arrange a late check-out, and we were ready to pay extra. But the employee refused to help us and sent us to the reception. We were charged 20 euros for a late check-out. The information that all cafes work from 12 also turned out to be incorrect. There were several inexpensive cafes within a 10 minute walk from the hotel, which were open in the morning. Another very strange thing was that we bought the tour from the Vilar Tours company, and we had air tickets from the Mouzenidis company, and the excursion program "Classic" - from the Ambotis tours company. Vilar Tours gave us vouchers for accommodation, so all the vouchers for the excursion program were invalid. We were also lucky that we were not deceived as tourists Natalie Tours. The excursion program Ambotis tours coincided with the program of Vilar tours, but it was still strange that we were transferred to a third company.
Hotels from the Vilar Tours company are also of disgusting quality. The first Grand Victoria is declared as 3 stars, in fact - 1-2 stars. And for what we paid money at the Haniotis Grand Hotel, it is not at all clear! More precisely, we thought we were paying for a 4-star vacation. Yes, we were warned that the rooms are not new, tired) but everything works and the food is delicious. In fact, the rooms are very old, the air conditioner does not cool at all in the heat, during the day it is impossible to stay in the room because of the heat and stuffiness. There is a refrigerator, but it freezes too weak. Our main complaint is about the air conditioner, because in such a hot country like Greece, it is very important! But in each room an alarm goes off if you hesitate a little with the card. Another point is food. We took "all inclusive" and it was a mistake .. It cannot be said that the food is always the same, but it is very simple and not very tasty. And yes .. not very diverse. Eternal Greek salad and next to it chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, cabbage .. 2 types of cheese .. hot pork, chicken, beef, sausages, pizza, french fries, pasta. There were also kebabs. Fish sometimes. They try to alternate dishes, but everything is not very tasty. Few of fruits. Typically a dish with apples and watermelon. Or watermelon and peaches. Or melon and some of the above. A couple more mousses and jellies. It can be seen that all products and ingredients for dishes are as cheap as possible. Special claim for drinks. There are no normal juices, even packaged ones. These are some divorced Yuppi and Zuko from the 90s. And a cheap version of Sprite, Coca-Cola and Fanta. Ordinary water is distilled, everything that is possible has been killed in it. Absolutely tasteless. The hotel has a beach bar and offers all-inclusive free coffee, lipton tea and brandy. Again .. the cheapest everything. The husband once ordered a frappe and did not immediately show the bracelet. So the bartender went out of his way, made coffee, happily named the price of 2 euros .. and then the husband shows an all-inclusive bracelet, they say, the frappe should be free. The bartender's face was already stretched out. "Why didn't they show the bracelet right away?" Although what difference does it make to him?)) Apparently, paid frappe and frappe for all-inclusive guests are different .. Not far from the hotel there are cafes, in many of them Georgians also work, but not in all. You can find tasty and not very expensive food.
Only two hotels from Vilar Tours have paid wi-fi (1 euro per day). When we arrived on a beach vacation in Hanioti, for some reason they gave us a password for free ... maybe because we have everything included, or maybe it worked that my husband knows Georgian and was accepted as his own ..
Only a high-quality excursion program from Ambotis Tours and the Greek sea somehow brightened up our impression of the rest.
The bottom line is this: do not buy tours with Vilar Tours if you do not want to spoil your vacation.
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Bulgaria: make yourself at home!
Perhaps it is difficult to imagine a more welcoming and hospitable country than Bulgaria. Here they will always keep up the conversation, smile at the child, tell you where to go. The almost complete absence of a language barrier helps to quickly establish contact and enjoy your vacation, day after day discovering new facets of this amazing country. By the way, Bulgaria is in any season: it is good both on a July day, when the sea sparkles in the sun, and on a January morning, when the snow glistens on the peaks ... It remains only to find out which Bulgaria is to your liking.
Climate
The main territory of Bulgaria has a continental climate with cold winters and hot summers. Closer to the Black Sea, it turns into the Mediterranean, so it is always warmer here. Summer seaside resorts Bulgaria will delight you with sunny days and temperatures in the region of 25-30 ° C. The swimming season starts in June and ends in September, the water temperature at this time is 22-28 ° C.
The weather in Bulgaria in winter depends on the region. If the coast is damp at this time and there are often storms, then in the mountainous area it snows and many sunny days. The air temperature from December to February in the mountains fluctuates from 0 to -10 ° C, although jumps in one direction or another are not excluded.
Beach
The main summer dignity of the country is its golden sandy beaches... They are free and public in all resorts, and you have to pay to rent sun loungers and umbrellas (except for some hotels). The length of the beaches is 130 km, while there is a division into the northern coast (the resorts of Varna, Albena, Golden Sands, St. Constantine and Elena) and the hotter southern coast (Sunny Beach, Burgas, Sozopol, Nessebar).
Holidays with children in Bulgaria are ideal - there is a convenient shallow entrance to the sea almost everywhere. Large resorts Sunny Beach and Golden Sands are suitable for both families and youth companies - there are many opportunities for active pastime and nightlife... Those who are counting on a relaxing holiday in Bulgaria will surely enjoy Sozopol, democratic Obzor, romantic Nessebar, cozy Tsarevo, as well as all hotels Inclusive in Albena.
Thanks to the unique mineral springs on black Sea resorts there are possibilities for balneological treatment. Wellness baths, relaxation procedures, mud therapy, SPA procedures are waiting for you in first-class hotels in Pomorie, Burgas, Golden Sands, St. Constantine and Elena resort.
Ski slopes
Winter resorts in Bulgaria are suitable for family tourists and skiers with different levels of skiing, and affordable prices and hospitality of local residents make them one of the best options for active rest. Ski season lasts from early December to April.
There are three main skiing regions in the country - Borovets, Bansko, Pamporovo. Borovets is located at the highest peak in the Balkans, Musala, and its tracks (58 km) are located at an altitude of 1350-2560 m.This resort in Bulgaria is distinguished by its attention to snowboarders: it has a snowboard park and 18 km of trails for boarding.
In Bansko, the total length of the tracks is 75 km, they are located at an altitude of 990-2600 m. Competitions in alpine skiing and snowboarding, and this puts Bansko on a par with the best European resorts. Pamporovo, on the other hand, boasts a large number of sunny days. There are 37 km of slopes here, as well as the best fun park in Bulgaria, which is supported at the state level.
Each resort has skiing and snowboarding lessons, and the ski school in Pamporovo is recognized as one of the best in Europe. Mineral springs close to resorts allow you to supplement your winter holidays in Bulgaria with SPA-procedures and wellness-rest and make it truly unforgettable.
Currency
Bulgarian lev. If you are planning a vacation in Bulgaria, take the euro with you - it is more convenient to exchange this currency for leva. It is better to do this in banks, since additional commissions may be charged at exchange offices, so check the final amount in advance. The resorts have ATM machines and many establishments accept credit cards for payment. But you cannot do without cashless: cash will be needed, for example, to leave a tip in a cafe (10% of the bill) or to thank the hotel staff for services (1-2 levs).
The shops
Bulgarian resorts offer a traditional tourist assortment - beach accessories, colorful ceramic bowls and plates, local wine and kashkaval cheese, and leather goods. Cosmetics based on rose oil are very popular - from handmade soaps to creams and oil perfumes. Also, jam is also made from the petals of the Bulgarian rose, and this delicacy can also be an excellent gift. Have free time: shops in resorts and large shopping centers are usually open from 9.00 to 22.00.
Kitchen
Arriving on vacation in Bulgaria, you should try the famous Shopska salad with fresh vegetables and feta cheese, hot bean soup and cold soup "tarator" raw smoked sausage and, of course, dairy products. Restaurants serving Bulgarian cuisine in an authentic setting are called “mehana”.
Among alcoholic beverages in Bulgaria, various varieties of brandy, liqueur with a refreshing taste “Menta Cave”, anise “mastic” and local wines are popular. Among sweets, Turkish delight, sweets made in Plovdiv, ice cream and frozen yoghurt with local honey or jam are especially good.
Transport
You can get from one city to another in Bulgaria by trains or, which is cheaper, by buses. You can buy tickets both at the bus station and on the bus itself. The timetable is usually available at stops. In order to avoid cheating in a taxi, it is better to use official services (as a rule, they have yellow cars) and monitor the meter from the moment of landing. AT large cities and the resorts also have internal bus routes... The fare is 0.6-1 Bulgarian lev.
To rent a car, you need an international driver's license. The driver must be over 21 years old. There are severe penalties for drunk driving.
Resorts of Bulgaria:
The picturesque town of Bansko is located at the foot mountain range Pirin. Everything here breathes with peace and comfort: pretty stone houses, forged lattices on the windows, cobblestone streets. And Bansko is also the most prestigious ski resort not only Bulgaria, but all of Eastern Europe. The total length of the tracks is 75 km.
Borovets is the oldest and largest ski resort in Bulgaria. Here is everything you need for winter holiday: varied trails, excellent service, exciting day and night activities. In Borovets every week a night ski carnival "Descent with torches" is held.
