Bulgarian resorts enjoy the well-deserved love of Russians. So it was 30 and 40 years ago, this tourist destination is rightfully considered one of the most optimal for families with children today. The climatic features of the country, the pricing policy of hotels and resorts make Bulgaria affordable for most tourists, regardless of the state of the family budget.
Pros and cons
Holidays in Bulgaria are economically quite profitable. If you pick up a good offer, even with minor discounts, a vacation for the whole family at one of the resorts of this country will cost almost one and a half times cheaper than the same period on the beaches of Turkey or Egypt.
The flight to your destination from Russia does not take much time, and this is a definite plus for families who go on vacation with small children. It's no secret: the younger the child, the more painful his acclimatization is.
In Bulgaria, the climate is very similar to the Russian one, it is an improved version, and therefore the stress for the child's body will be minimized.
If we compare the beaches of the Black Sea inside Russia (Sochi, Adler) with the Bulgarian coast, then the advantages are also obvious: in Bulgaria the coastline is sandy, soft and comfortable for children, the descent is smooth and gradual, as a result of which the water warms up better, the bottom is clean.
Service in hotels is at a high European level, which, unfortunately, Russian resorts cannot yet boast of.
Bulgarians historically treat Russians very warmly; on vacation in this country there will be almost no problems with the language barrier. For children, a stunning infrastructure has been created - both on common beaches and in special children's camps where you can send a child.
Among the disadvantages, experienced tourists note a relatively short season, uncontrolled price increases due to the influx of tourists at the peak of the season, as well as a small amount of entertainment in cities, far from tourist areas. The beaches in some resorts in the country are not cleaned thoroughly enough, but this fact does not surprise a Russian tourist, accustomed to the polluted beach areas of Sochi.
A relative disadvantage can be considered the fact that tourists in Bulgaria are offered a not so wide list of possible educational excursions, so that rest in this country is more related to the beach. This is not always enough for a full vacation with a teenager who needs new experiences.
Best season
The best season in Bulgaria is from 10-15 June to 10 September.
In the summer months and the first ten days of September, there are usually almost no prolonged rains here, the weather is mostly sunny and favorable. If you have a flight with a small child, it is better to plan a vacation at the very beginning of the season or at its end, since the rest of the time the beaches are overcrowded, which is undesirable for children under 3 years old.
The water temperature in early June, of course, is insufficient for full-fledged water procedures - about 20 degrees, but in August the sea warms up to 27-28 degrees, and these are the maximum values. Starting from August 20, the water gradually cools down, by about 0.5 degrees in two to three days. Longer heat remains in the southern resorts of Bulgaria. The northern coast cools faster, where after a night storm, even in August, the water temperature can drop to 16-18 degrees. The tourist season on the southern coast lasts a little longer - until the third decade of September.
The fresh breeze that blows almost all summer will be useful for both adults and children. Nighttime cold snaps in Bulgaria begin in September.
The best resorts
As can be seen from the geographical location of Bulgaria, the coast is divided into southern and northern parts. Resorts are everywhere. The most popular for families are Albena, Nessebar, Sunny Beach, Dunes and Golden Sands.
Golden Sands
This resort is located in a picturesque place, on the territory of a national reserve, and therefore is perfect for families with young children. The holiday season is somewhat shorter here, as this is the northern part of Bulgaria.
If you plan to recuperate all family members on vacation, Golden Sands is the best place for these purposes. The largest and most famous Bulgarian health resorts and medical centers are located here.
You can also go here with teenagers, since on the territory of this particular resort is located one of the world's most famous water parks - "Aquapolis", recognized as the largest in Europe. Toddlers will love the outdoor pools that are right on the beach.
Albena
The most family-run of all Bulgarian resorts. Almost every hotel has its own beaches, and for children there are acceptable conditions for the most interesting rest - there are sports grounds, attractions, towns. In fairness, it should be noted that such entertainment will be interesting for children under 7-9 years old, older children will be bored.
Albena boasts fairly clean beaches, on which sun loungers are provided for free, and in some places also umbrellas. There are no food problems as cafes and small restaurants are located along the coast. Almost all have a special children's menu, in general the prices are quite affordable.
In Albena, tourists are usually not offered additional babysitting services, so there are almost no hotels with nannies, children's rooms and special animators for babies. Parents will have to entertain the child on their own.
Sunny Beach
Such a resort is well known even among those who have never been to Bulgaria. This is the place with the cleanest beaches in the country. However, the resort is not quite suitable for families with children, since during the season it is filled with noisy and numerous youth companies who come to practice water, beach sports and just relax in a big way.
If the choice still fell on Sunny Beach, it is better to settle with the kids somewhere further from the central part of the resort, where it is not so noisy.
Dunes
The southern Bulgarian resort, which is ideal for children. Hotels operate on an all-inclusive basis, usually restaurants offer an extended children's menu. The beaches are well equipped, but the beach equipment will have to be rented almost everywhere for a fee. This resort also has its own water park - not as big as in Golden Sands, but quite acceptable for an interesting vacation (with both a preschooler and a teenager).
Nessebar
This resort will appeal to those who like family sightseeing holidays. True, the range of excursions here is small and is limited mainly to sightseeing trips around the old city with perfectly preserved architecture. After an educational pastime, you can go to the beach. The resort also has a water park.
Hotels with kids clubs
As already mentioned, the choice of hotels in Bulgaria is quite large. If you have a family vacation, the selection criteria are tightened. So, many mums and dads want a kids club in the hotel. And there are such places:
- Sol Nessebar Bay (Nessebar). This hotel complex has not only a kids club, but also a small water park, an interesting multi-level swimming pool. This is an all inclusive hotel, however a range of amenities will be available at an additional cost. This is a SPA, Turkish bath (hammam), massage, the ability to visit the gym, tennis court. Free use of the outdoor pool, indoor heated pool, basketball, archery, aqua aerobics and water slides.
- Dit Evrika Beach Club Hotel 4 * (Sunny Beach). Parents will appreciate the umbrellas and sun loungers, which they will get for free, and the kids will find something to do in the club that exists especially for them. The territory has its own water park, you do not need to pay separately for visiting. Water sports are available here only for an additional fee. You will have to pay separately for using the Internet in the rooms. The children's club hosts face painting lessons, discos and contests for the youngest tourists. Meals - "all inclusive", the restaurant has a separate table for diet food, a separate large children's menu.
- Melia Grand Hermitage 5 * (Golden Sands). This hotel has a kids club for children aged 3 to 12 years old, a special children's pool with water slides, there is a special slide for very young tourists from 2 years old. This fully compensates for the lack of its own water park. There is a playground, mini-discos are held in the club. The restaurant does not cook to order for children, but dishes from the children's menu are presented on an equal basis with adults (on the same buffet).
- Sol Luna Bay 4 * (Golden Sands). Fun for the whole family can be found at this seaside hotel. Family rooms are quite comfortable, if necessary, an additional baby cot is provided free of charge, but you will have to pay for a baby stroller for hire. The hotel has its own water park with quite high and interesting slides. The kids' club is open all season, it is intended for children from 4 to 12 years old. There is a separate club for teenagers (from 12 years old) in July and August. There are playgrounds and trampolines on the beach.
The list of hotels with children's clubs does not end there. In almost every resort, you can find several offers that meet the stated requirements.
Entertainment
If you choose a quiet place for your vacation in a small hotel or rent a house, you will also have to plan your vacation yourself. To do this, you need to know what places in Bulgaria you can and should visit if you plan to have a rest with a little curious why. It is worth paying attention to water parks. There are several of them. Usually they are located at hotels, but everyone can visit them for an affordable fee. Among the rest of the entertainment, the following are the most noteworthy:
- Zoo (Varna). On an area of more than 30 thousand square meters, there are not only enclosures with animals, but also museums. In addition, you can visit the dolphinarium and the oceanarium, ride a child on a pony.
- Pirate ship (Nessebar). You can go on a sea voyage on it both from the pier of Nessebar and from Varna. The whole family will have fun for a few hours on the high seas in the company of pirates. A theatrical performance awaits everyone on board the ship, in which children play roles, participating in numerous competitions, quests and even in a real sea battle with an enemy ship. Everyone (both children and adults) on board will certainly be fed lunch and allowed to fish and swim in the open sea.
- Museum of Retro Things (Varna). As a reminder of the times when Bulgaria was actively building socialism, there is a museum in Varna that will make adults smile and arouse the interest of children who have never seen objects of Soviet use. The cars "Zhiguli" and "Moskvich" have been preserved here. The pearl of the collection is the Chaika car. It houses apparatus for demonstration of filmstrips, reel-to-reel tape recorders with recordings of songs by Vladimir Vysotsky and Anna German, typewriters and old cameras. There is also a large exhibition of photographs from the times of socialist Bulgaria.
- Game center Capella Play (Varna). A real children's town in an old Bulgarian town. The indoor play and entertainment center has an area of over 800 square meters. It will be quite interesting for a child to go through a two-story maze, shoot from air cannons and dabble with a pool with plastic balls. In the center there are playgrounds for playing mini-football, trampolines. Older children can spend time in the video games room. You can feed your child right here, because the play center has its own pizzeria, which offers a lot of tasty and healthy dishes, salads, snacks, desserts.
- Naval Museum (Varna). Teenagers, especially boys, will be interested in the unique museum, which contains samples of historical technology, anchors and equipment from real ships, submarines and destroyers. There are also examples of military uniforms of Bulgarian sailors from the 19th and 20th centuries. It is noteworthy that many of the exhibits can be touched with your hands and photographed with them, and rarely any little boy will refuse a photograph in which he himself is captured in the role of a fearless captain at the helm of the ship!
In addition, you can visit the Botanical Garden in the city of Balchik, Ecopark in Golden Sands, Aladzha Monastery in the same place, the marine zoo "Aquarium" in Varna and several amusement parks, including the largest in the country - Seaside Park, located in Varna.
Tips for choosing a hotel
When choosing a hotel, you should honestly answer yourself the question of what exactly your family expects from the rest in it. If you are interested in good infrastructure, the most comfortable rooms, then your possibilities may be limited only by finances, since hotels in Bulgaria always try to create the most convenient conditions. Please note the presence or absence of kids clubs. Remember that in most hotels you will have to pay separately for using the phone and the Internet.
Almost all hotels offer a standard set of services: the price includes swimming pools, gyms, sports grounds, visits to water slides. Courses on surfing, diving, yachting are a separate item of expenses, as well as visits to massage therapists, baths, saunas, SPA.
Most hotels offer all-inclusive meals. In some places it is possible to pay only for breakfast, which will significantly reduce the cost of living.
We rent private housing
Renting a private house in Bulgaria for a vacation without intermediaries allows you to save from 30 to 50% of the cost of your vacation. Today, online sites offer to do it yourself, but it is better to choose large international services for booking accommodation. Prepayment may be required. You can conduct it through your personal account, which becomes available after registration on the site.
An important detail: the owner of the house or apartment will receive his money, transferred by you through your personal account, only after you check in and report no claims to the landlord. If you arrived at the address, and the accommodation does not meet the owner's promises, the entire deposit will be returned to you in full back to your bank card. Such a service is available to Russians on the VPUT portal.
Children's camps
The child can be sent on vacation to one of the children's camps in Bulgaria. The most trusted parents are "Chavdar", "Olympium", "Matrix", "Kiten" and "Albatross". There are also language camps that offer teenagers to improve their knowledge of foreign languages.
In the "Chavdar" camp accept children from 6 to 21 years old, rooms are designed for four, there are air conditioners and TVs. The camp has its own beach, swimming pool, many sports and entertainment grounds.
Olympium"- a sports camp. Everything is provided for future champions: there is a gym for strength training, a swimming pool, halls for wrestling, karate training, a dance hall and much more. Classes are supervised by experienced sports instructors.
"Matrix" - a camp in a youth format, which annually updates the theme of shifts. Robots, nanotechnology, dance, fitness, cinema. The themes are different, but the embodiment is always praiseworthy.
Subtleties of visa processing
It is not difficult to get a visa to Bulgaria. You can use the services of travel agencies, or you can collect the necessary documents and send them to the visa center yourself. There are usually no problems with obtaining a visa.
If you and your child already have a valid Schengen visa, you will not need to apply for anything extra.
To obtain a visa, you need to fill out a form (it is presented on the website of the Bulgarian Embassy in Russia). In addition, adults must have valid passports, like a child from 14 years old. Up to this age, it can be entered in the passport of one of the parents, if they have an old document. At the visa center, you must provide photos of 3.5x4.5 cm, including a children's one, as well as apply for medical insurance (with a coverage amount of at least 30,000 euros).
It is necessary to present air tickets, proof of hotel reservation, a certificate from the parents' place of work indicating income and a certificate from the child's place of study. You will also need a bank statement on the state of the account.
Important nuances
Food in Bulgarian hotels is not very diverse. Experienced tourists and sanitary doctors recommend paying attention to the additional washing of vegetables and fruits, as there is a high risk of contracting an intestinal infection. Bulgarian chefs, like their Turkish colleagues, do not bother too much with a scrupulous approach to compliance with hygiene requirements.
Acclimatization should not take much time (due to a certain similarity of climatic conditions with Russia, more precisely, with its southern part). Even if the child has a pronounced acclimatization, all resorts have medical centers, and each hotel has a doctor, communication with whom the language barrier will not interfere. Medical insurance specially arranged in advance, before departure, will allow you to receive a full range of medical assistance, if necessary.
Reviews
In general, the reviews about family vacations in Bulgaria are positive. Parents note the beauty of nature, softness and comfort of the climatic conditions of the Bulgarian resorts. However, there are complaints about the unkemptness of some beaches, especially public ones. Food in restaurants serving national cuisine is expensive. Most parents consider the cost and quality of entertainment and excursions acceptable. Tourists with children rate the provision of medical services in Bulgaria as a solid “four”.
See the video below for a vacation in Bulgaria.
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