Hello All

We're thinking about doing the Inghams Bulgaria tour this September. Can anyone (Fiona??) give me a rough idea of what the weather might be like? I'm not worried about the language, food, insect life etc as I've lived in Russia before so should be able to muddle through but I wouldn't be too impressed if the weather was likely to be crap! Any other advice welcome - particularly to confirm our suspicion that we might be the youngest on the tour by a good few years (I've only just turned 30).

Thanks in advance!

Weather in September?

Have a look on the weather thread above, there are links to websites with stats.

September in Bulgaria can be a gamble, like in the UK. It can be what they call a 'gypsy summer' and quite hot, or wet.

Who knows, expecially with climate change?

Peter

They had great weather, infact too hot, but it was unusual temps for that time of year. There were definitely "younger" people there ie in their 30s but will check with parents if most were older.

Thanks for the help you two. I've been looking at various weather sites and it looks likely that it'll be as warm as here and hopefully a bit drier. Obviously climate change may alter this but I'll just have to leave the packing to the last minute. Fiona - do it take it that your parents enjoyed the tour overall and would recommend it?

the coach party they were in was very mixed age-wise- from 20s to 70s. They had a whale of a time on the coach. They loved the tour and said that not one on the bus did not enjoy it.
Two tips from them- a lot of the villages are on steep hills so a good pair of walking shoes is needed. The hotel food is not always all that great but ask your guide for a recommendation and go out if you don't fancy the menu that night- very cheap to do so.
DON'T miss out on the Granny Choir- it was everybodies highlight of the tour ( and yes- I know thats 3 tips!)

Hi my friend is still talking about her most beautifull vacation in her life.
And yes that choir is one of the highlights also staying in the Kempinski hotel in Bansko!
Visited that hotel in March -just the entrance- and I was a bit ashamed that I still had my skiclothes on together with my winterboots

I don't need any further convincing - it's booked! We're going on the 15th of Sept. I'll obviously be back with more questions nearer the time, but at the moment I'd be interested to know which of the optional excursions Fiona's parents went on and what they thought of them (apart from that choir).

Thanks for everyone's comments so far!

other optional trips
Koprivshtitsa- museum town- they liked it
Boyana church- they didn't go( dad decided that they would see enough of them in the itinery as it was! They can't remember if others liked it or not)
Todoroff Wine Cellars- mum said they liked it( or she thinks she did- she can't really remember after the first few wines:lol: )
Guided walk in Bansko mountain- yes and they liked it
Thessaloniki- they didn't go- thought it was too far.
and of course- the grannies choir was the highlight of the whole tour!

Only 30 days to go now!

Fiona - can your parents remember how much money they spent while they were there (excluding optional excursions)? I need to decide how much to take. How much is a bottle of water/ beer/ glass of wine at the moment?

Any advice gratefully received!

Hi, Fiona is away at the moment, but I can tell you that water, beer and wine are very cheap. Couldn't give you price for a glass of wine but I'd reckon you could buy a bottle in a restaurant for about £5, beer will be anything up to about £1 a pint max. Water is very cheap, but can't remember the cost.

Hope these give you some idea.

Patka

Ref Water. Inthe resort in June it was 1lev 50 for 2 litre bottle, in Varna it was 50 stotinki, in the village I visit it was 25 stotinki. Tonyt.

To translate Tony's post into Sterling

Water costs anywhere between 7p - 50p per 2 litre bottle depending where you are.

Patka

Gosh, that is cheap! Thanks for the info.

Corinne
all I know is that they couldn't spend all their money- despite buying loads of things.

We are going this Saturday - will post a report when we return!

Back at work now - had a great time. Will post a review in due course. The grannies were great!

I would love to hear it- and it will pass it on to my parents too

The trip report is finally finished - here it is!

Inghams Bulgarian Discovery Tour - September 2007

We spent 10 nights on the Inghams Bulgarian Discovery Tour during September 2007. Here follows an account of our trip - hope it is useful!

The Journey

We flew out from Heathrow Terminal 1 to Sofia with British Airways, which took less than 3 hrs each way. There were minimal delays in both directions and the in-flight service was quite good (a meal and drinks were included each way, but there were no movies shown). We had been led to believe that we would be able to check in online the day before departure - but this turned out not to be the case so we had to check in at a kiosk on arrival at T1 and then queue for quite a long time for the bag drop. The food prices at Sofia airport were on a par with UK airports, and the same restrictions about taking liquids through security applied. The terminal there was modern, but with only a few shops and cafes.

The Weather

August had seen temperatures of 40 degrees in most of Bulgaria, so we were hoping things would have cooled down by the time we flew out on September 15th. In Sofia, the weather was sunny with a cold wind, in Veliko Turnovo it was pretty hot and sunny, it was rainy and cold in Plovdiv and then was mainly sunny and hot whilst we were in Bansko - so all in all we did pretty well. It was definitely worth taking clothes for all types of weather though!

The Hotels

Crystal Palace, Sofia http://www.crystalpalace-sofia.com

We stayed here for 2 nights at the start of the tour. The reception area is very nicely done with a high ceiling and period furniture and our room was clean and comfortable with a safe in the wardrobe. The evening meal we had here was excellent and the staff were very attentive. Breakfast was a different story though and was rather chaotic with food running out and tables not being cleared. It wouldn't put us off staying there again though. The hotel is located slightly out of the main centre but close to the Alexander Nevskii church so was a good base for sightseeing.

Hotel Yantra, Veliko Turnovo http://www.picturesofbulgaria.com/hotel/yantra_hotel_683.html

This was the second hotel on our tour and we stayed here for 2 nights. The main reception area and cafe were nicely decorated but very smoky. The restaurant had lovely views of the fortress hill, but the food was not that great (lack of choice and served lukewarm). Our room was quite big but there were problems with road noise and the bathroom had an odd smell. The location was good though and it looked like one of the best places to stay in Veliko Turnovo. A few safes were available to hire at reception but these were expensive.

Novotel, Plovdiv http://www.bulgaria-hotels.com/en/hotel_info/38h-novotel_plovdiv-plovdiv.html

This was the third hotel on our tour and we stayed here for 2 nights. The 'official' rating is 5 stars, but we thought it barely deserved 3! Our room on the 9th floor looked like it was stuck in a 1960's timewarp - orange furniture, bed spreads and lamps, no ceiling lights and a bidet that came out of the side of the bath. We had dinner in the Evredica restaurant on the first night - which is reached by what can only be compared to a Metro station tunnel and which wouldn't look out of place as an Austin Powers film set. The food and the service were both poor. The Four Seasons restaurant, on the other hand, was lovely and the food and service were impeccable. Both meals were included in our tour so I don't know what the difference in price was. Breakfast was rather chaotic with food running out and tables not being cleared. The service at the lobby bar was good, but it wasn't always open, whereas the staff at the Cafe Vienna were quite rude and you couldn't buy wine by the glass, or get a cup of normal (black) tea, despite the fact that 'imported tea' was on the menu. The one saving grace was the bowling alley, where we had two games of bowling for 10 lev each (less than £4) - definitely our saviour from boredom on a wet afternoon. You had to pay to use the swimming pool and swimming hats were compulsory so we didn't use it. Our view was that the 5 star rating must be based on the flashy looking reception area; the reviewers obviously didn't see the rooms we stayed in and had better service from the staff. Allegedly this is the best hotel in Plovdiv though - I'd hate to see what the rest are like!

Park Hotel Gardenia http://www.bulgariaski.com/bansko/park_hotel_gardenia_en.html

This was the last hotel on our tour and we spent 4 nights here. First impressions were good as the reception is modern and well decorated with lots of comfy looking sofas. Our room also seemed well decorated and comfortable. Unfortunately, we later discovered that you could only sit in the reception area if you didn't mind being suffocated by smoke, and that we could only open the window in our room by a few inches and the air conditioning didn't work. It was unbearably hot in there the first night and thing didn't improve even after the hotel claimed to have fixed the problem. The instructions for using the safe were useless and one morning we woke up to find out there was no water. It wasn't all bad though - the food was generally quite nice, especially in the mehana, although the choice was often quite limited. The staff were also very accommodating when our group arrived 2 hrs late for dinner after getting stuck in traffic. The swimming pool was quite small, but nice enough for a quick swim and you can also use the Jacuzzi and sauna. The location in relation to the main square was good, but it is quite a long way from the ski lifts.

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