Bulgaria?

themarcus

A couple of friends and I (all guys) are thinking of going to Bulgaria for a week or so in September and visiting Varna etc along the coast. I've a few questions about Bulgaria and the people....

- What are they really like? Tourist friendly or kinda xenophobic?

- Whats the price of drinking and eating these days? I imagine prices have shot up in the past couple years...

- What are the women like? (We're three guys after all )

- Would it be crazy to rent a car and drive down the coast for a few days?

- Whats the deal with accommodation? Is it really that cheap? If so is that cos its not very good?

- Are there many activities? You know the usual beach stuff - boat trips, diving and that kind of thing...

Any other info or tips would be much appreciated too

Thanks,
Marcus

kmick

Was there last year in Sunny Beach here are my answers from my experience.
- What are they really like? Tourist friendly or kinda xenophobic?
Don't bother either way - not pushy and not overly friendly. They have had Russian tourists in Bulgaria for decades so are used to tourists.

- Whats the price of drinking and eating these days? I imagine prices have shot up in the past couple years...
About 20-30% cheaper in resorts more outside.

- What are the women like? (We're three guys after all )
When they are good they are very very good when they are bad they are awful. Not as good as Ireland from what I saw.

- Would it be crazy to rent a car and drive down the coast for a few days?
Yes the roads are scary and bad and the drivers are MANIACS. We hired a car for two days and had to give it back after 1. Trucks overtaking on corners is not unusual. I saw three bad crashes in one day over 100 miles.

- Whats the deal with accommodation? Is it really that cheap? If so is that cos its not very good?
Dont stay in anything less than 4* that would be equivalent to our 3*

- Are there many activities? You know the usual beach stuff - boat trips,
diving and that kind of thing...
Its not as developed as other countries but there are trips etc. Just not to very interesting places in general. Some of the ones I saw were to Rocky Beach, Turtle Cove, Drinking trip etc.

Overall I liked the place but would not be rushing back.

themarcus

Thanks Kmick! Pretty much exactly what I was looking for. Lil disappointed - I presumed the women were incredible and the pints costed a euro!
Still, we'll prob give it a shot. Will def avoid the ol car rental idea then though.

Thanks

franklymydear

I went to Bulgaria a few years ago and it was terrible. It was like a third world country but without a genuine reason for the poverty.

The corruption of the police is ridiculous. When I passed through customs the guard said my bag had to be searched and then returned it to me - without the litre bottle of Vodka . I was too afraid to ask the guard of its whereabouts.

Most people in Bulgaria don't speak much English. If you don't speak Bulgarian I'd advise you to have a guide book/guide. Any of the English speaking locals I talked to were less than helpful. They all wanted to tell me how great their country was and how much they weren't like Romania. They repeatedly told me how they 'owned' Macedonia and how it wasn't a real country. Strange when all I wanted was to know where the supermarket was.

I don't mean to put you off though. These are just my experiences.. I'm sure yours won't be as bad. I also went to Romania on my travels which I found to be quite tranquil and picturesque. You should consider paying it a visit if you have time.

Don't know if this helped but I just thought I'd share my experiences...

themarcus

Thanks that was helpful. Can't believe they still think they own Macedonia!! :rolleyes:

A bulgarian friend of mine might be coming with, so he'd translate....