To get a good idea about Bulgaria, get a Balkan Holidays brochure from a travel agent. It contains a lot information about Bulgaria, as well as offering the best choice of hotels.

When you've narrowed things down a bit, come back to us with more specific questions.

Peter

this is the brochure i have been looking through this morning. we were looking and the goldens sands resort but having read a few reviews about the number of prostitutes there this has put me off a lot! obviously things like this are not included in brochures which is why i would prefer users of this forums advice. i'd prefer to talk to people who are going to be honest about resorts rather than just look at brochures and talk to travel agents who are just trying to sell a holiday.

Hi Laura

we prefer Sunny Beach, there are plenty of bars and resturants, a fantastic Beach and plenty to do. There are 2 waterparks, one in SUnny Beach and one in Nessabur. We stayed at the Ibersostar Hotel in Sunny Beach the 1st year and thought it was fantastic

Don't worry about the prostitutes Laura, you probably won't notice them. There's not a holiday resort in the world that doesn't have them, nor any medium sized town in the UK. They are a fact of life but not a problem in Golden Sands. It has a great Aquapark.

We know Golden Sands very well and it's lively enough for your age group. Reports coming in from Sunny Beach this year on other forums, indicate it is deteriorating into an 18-30 resort, which is not everyone's cup of tea.

Bulgaria is similar to Turkey, but minus most of the hassle and haggle. Prices probably around the same.

Peter

Thanks both of you for your help.

We definetly do not want to stay in a 18-30 type resort. Although we want to stay in a lively place, drinking is not all we're bothered about. We prefer bars to clubs and don't want to be somewhere full of rowdy drunks. The way we see it, we can go out here whenever we want so we're not that bothered about doing it while we're away.

One of the hotels we thought looked nice was the Pliska hotel. I went to look at reviews of this and thats when I came across all the comments about prostitutes. It wasn't just a one or two comments, every review mentioned them. I think I read something about hotel rooms there can be paid for by the hour so a lot of prostitutes use it. It's a shame 'cos from the pictures and description it sounds like a really nice hotel but I wouldn't want to stay somewhere were that was going on.

golden sands would be perfect i think we always thought that sunny beach was for the young and lively but have seen some bad reports about sunny beach on other sites and anyway its far too big so i would say golden sands try the hotel bonita in the south of the resort,not too far from the party street and only yards from the beach its in the balkan brochure.
go you will love golden sands great beaches nice people great weather
what more could you want
AND ITS CHEAP!

we do have a thread which you might find reassuring re how much money to take- have a look here.
I'm assuming you have found our hotel reviews. You are right to research other peoples' views on hotel- they will tell you things the brochures won't
Have a look at this thread on Golden Sands and if you have a specific question not answered just ask away

Just a note on the Pliska

In my opinion, The Pliska is a fine hotel, It is cheap and I think you get excellent value for money. It's quite an old hotel and suffers from noise (ear plugs recommended) There are much nicer places to stay in GS but for me it was just somewhere to sleep and fitted the bill just right.
I was staying there alone and had absolutely no problem with prostitutes in the Hotel. I did see guests bringing ladies back at reception where they hand over their i.d. before retiring to a bedroom. ( invariably the same girl would leave the hotel 15 minutes later.)
I only noticed this a couple of times, It's all quite amusing to watch really .

The resort is lovely, there's plenty of bars, live music, karaoke, and clubs. everywhere is very clean (hotel Incl)., There are more restaurants than you can shake a stick at catering for all tastes and the beach is fab.

Please don't let the Prossies cloud your opinion, yes they are there but only in a couple of places and even then only about 15 or so girls. It really will not be a problem for you. Also I'm pretty sure things have improved from previous years, there was no grabbing of mens arms etc ( or maybe I looked to cheap )

Go on
Enjoy your holiday in Golden Sands

Cham