Hi claireg,

Credit Cards aren't widely accepted, especially in the resorts - you are better off taking Sterling in clean, unmarked & untorn notes and changing it in hotels or banks (NOT in the street or exchange booths - or you will be 'ripped off) or using a Debit Card to withdraw up to 400 Leva per day from Bank ATMs.

If I don't use cash or my Bulgarian ATM Card, I use a Nationwide Flex Account Debit Card - no charges for withdrawals and a very good interbank rate of exchange.

Baldur

Hi Claire,
You should be able to use credit cards for booking excursions if you're going with Balkan. Our friends did it last year , although they did pay a small surcharge.
I would suggest you ask your travel agent to find out from whoever you have booked with.

The Toonman

In Golden Sands Balkan will accept credit cards as payment if you book your excursions in their office in the Sirena hotel.

Patka

Hi, In the Welcome to Bulgaria booklet issued to Balkan Customers in Sept it does state credit cards will be accepted for booking excursions but subject to, up to 10 per cent processing charge. Tonyt.

You will find some advice concerning Credit Cards, ATMs, etc., HERE (under the headings "Crime" and "Special Circumstances", issued by the US State Department for the information of its citizens.

The general advice probably holds good for anyone , US citizen or otherwise, visiting Bulgaria.

As a regular visitor since just after the end of communism (1989) to the present day, I don't recognise that US State Department description of Bulgaria, any more than I do my part of the UK from this write up - UK

Wonder what they would say if they took a close look at parts of their own country?

Whilst many of the problems mentioned do exist in both Bulgaria and the UK, the whole tone of these reports is exaggerated and frankly over the top.

Very little in the report is ever going to affect tourists, any more than they would in the UK.

It's just a matter of taking the same care in Bulgaria as you do at home, but in all honesty, I feel safer walking around Varna than I do York at certain times!

In a sense we are digressing, re credit cards, Bulgaria is essentially a cash only society, with very few places accepting them, and Balkan Holidays only if you do the transaction at their resort main office.

ATMs carry the same risks of card cloning as they do here, with the added complication that getting a replacement card if the machine eats it is likely to be one devil of a job.

Peter

Hi Peter,

To clarify what I meant by "The general advice probably holds good for anyone , US citizen or otherwise, visiting Bulgaria" - I was referring to the general advice regarding Credit Cards, ATMs etc., under the specific headings that I mentioned, rather than the document in its 'Hollywood-script-like' entirety.

thanks for all your replies. We are going with first choice so I will have to check with them. On previous holidays (to other places) I have always booked any trips with shops in the resort rather than going with the tour operator as it works out so much cheaper. Are there any of these sorts of places we could use in Albena?

Hi claireg,

Can't recall specifically seeing any in Albena but there are usually many (either shops or at the roadside) in the other resorts, so I certainly expect that you will find them there - cash is almost definitely going to be the order of the day with local operators.

Baldur

Hi Claireg,

A minor word of warning, about four years ago we went on an excursion which was not one offered by our travel company.

Big mistake, it's a long way from Golden Sands to Veliko Tarnovo and back, with a guide who refused point blank to give a commentary in other than French and German, although we were assured at the time of booking we would be catered for.

Good job we can read signs in Cyrillic, because otherwise it would have been a real mystery tour!

Peter

There is a Holiday booking kiosk at the entrance to the main street in Albena, but as Peter states beware when booking away from your Tour operator, I was once on a Coach with four nationalalities on and by the time he explained in English we were some 10 miles up the Road, I go in June will let you all know if Kiosk is still there. Tonyt.