Hi Dave,

Suggestions please for places to stay, hotel/apartment suggestions, places to visit, good/bad points about Bulgaria and will it still be open in late september?

You'll find that, like most countries, Bulgaria is open all year round.....
On a more serious note, the weather can be somewhat unpredictable in late September.

I see, from your previous posts, that you are familiar with Greece & Turkey, both of which border Bulgaria - indeed you'll find a not insignificant Turkish population in many areas of Bulgaria, with frequent public transport facilities between the two countries.

Most coastal resorts start winding down for the winter around mid-September and are generally fully closed by mid-October but, of course, the towns & cities will still have accommodation available and the mountain resorts tend to have a year-round attraction for tourists, from climbing/hillwalking through to skiing.

Baldur

Hi, Arbnassi may be quite good to visit that time of year, there are some very reasonable places to stay but I would combine it with a stay somewhere else. Nels

I assume that Nels means Arbanasi (Арбанаси), which is near the old Bulgarian capital of Veliko Tarnovo (Ð'елико Търново).

Thanks for these suggestions.

Baldur, my OH has broken both ankles in the last 3 years - please keep skiing suggestions to yourself!!!!

Virtually all my previous holidays have been booked through "On the Beach", but they only appear to list Bourgas as an option. Who else books to Bulgaria??

Also - is Istanbul a feasible daytrip from Bulgarian resorts?

Dave

tutor52 wrote:

Baldur, my OH has broken both ankles in the last 3 years - please keep skiing suggestions to yourself!!!!

Was that one year fracture-free?

Virtually all my previous holidays have been booked through "On the Beach", but they only appear to list Bourgas as an option. Who else books to Bulgaria?

Balkan Holidays probably offers the widest range of venues & accommodation in Bulgaria - most of the other large UK tour operators have been lured to fly into Burgas over the past couple of seasons. You will find both negative & positive comments about Balkan, if you browse the forum.

Also - is Istanbul a feasible daytrip from Bulgarian resorts?

Not really - most operators offer it as a two-day coach excursion. There are daily buses from Burgas to Istanbul and the Marine Princess operates a two-day cruise from Nesebar to Istanbul.

<Edit> The Marine Princess also operates a one day cruise, on further investigation of their website.

Baldur is correct I did mean Arbanasi (Арбанаси), we travelled by coach from Varna and a Bulgarian friend booked the hotel for us - it was a good way to see more of the country without the stress of driving - although hubby did have forty fits when the driver answered one of his 3 mobile phones each time one of them rang - and the coach and hotel were reasonably priced. Varna has some interesting churches - the one opposite the Georgian restaurant in particular with photographic history and they were very pleased to talk (mixture of Bulgarian/French and English) although as you can imagine it took some time. If you do visit Varna I will ask for the exact address if you need it. Nels.