Sunny Beach holidays - D. Routley. Date of travel: Aug 2009
Sunny Beach - We have just returned from a first visit to Bulgaria, which we booked through Thomsons. My advice to anyone considering a holiday there would be to go somewhere else as Sunny Beach is just a very poor, tacky area. The restaurants are extremely poor with little difference in choice and they put cheese on everything, regardless of what the menu says - fine if you are a cheese lover! My second recommendation is to take a piece of 2x1 by 2ft timber in your case, plus a packet of wedges (available in any pound shop). This might sound odd but if you wedge this in the track of your sliding patio door, then push the settee tight to it, they will not be able to open the door from the outside! Do not wear a gold chain around you neck as it's possible that it may be ripped from you, even though you may be in a crowd. If you decide to go self-catering, forget it as there is very little choice in the supermarkets there! No veg, even in the so called restaurants everything is with raw cabbage, chips, onions & peppers. The vast majority of toilets are the pits; dirty, no paper! Would I holiday there again? Not for free!! The only thing that would get me to visit Bulgaria again would be the street artist to copy a portrait from a photo, and to fly back again and stay at the Grand Beach Barcelo, and leave on completion. Some of you will no doubt thing this can't be true, learn at your COST!!!

Sunny Beach was nice - Gail Price. Date of travel: Jul 2009
Sunny Beach - Enjoyed the location, the local food vendors got more of our business than they should so we got to know them and they were friendly. Nice local artists and plenty to do, but a bit like Blackpool but with nice weather.

I love Sunny Beach - Aisling. Date of travel: Jun 2009
Sunny Beach is the place to stay if you're going to Bulgaria!!! Cheap drink and good fun.

Sunny Beach not fun at all - Stephen Byrne. Date of travel: Sep 2008
Families may enjoy Sunny Beach as there are things to do to keep the children happy and if you're coming from Europe the exchange rate is quite good and if you are the type of person who just likes sitting on the beach drinking beer then this is the place for you but apart from that, Sunny Beach is boring if you are here with a few friends or just your partner and you are not into nightclubs you will be bored off your t*ts. There is very little to see in the area, There are no good pubs, if you come here towards the end of the season no live music, most of the people are rude. If you go into a shop pick up something look at it but you don't want to buy it the shop owner gets annoyed that you did not buy it. Every corner you turn there is a new person annoying you to come into their cafe and you have to say no about 3 times before they stop following you. The food as a whole is crap. Getting a good meal is not easy, most of the food is junk food, deep fried, pizzas etc. There are very little sites to see, the streets are not that clean and they are not lit up well at night. Be very careful do not get in the taxi carriages -the ones the guys pull you on as they give you a price but when you get to your destination they will ask for over triple on what you agreed on and if you do not pay they say they are going to call their Mafia Boss. Overall it is a dump but as I said at the start if you like the sun and the beach and cheap booze you will like it but be safe and careful at night - ME, I need more then that, give me a fine Central European city any day...Good Luck!

Beware of foreign exchange rates in Sunny Beach - Grainne Dunne. Date of travel: Sep 2008
I agree with the warning regarding the foreign exchange booths in Sunny Beach. I also got less than half of what they advertised. There is a screen between you and the cashier - lucky for them - so you cannot take your money back. I am not a violent person but I've never been in such a rage. The girl took my money and gave me a few levs, I pleaded with her to give me my money back but she refused. I threatened to get the police and she just shrugged (they are also corrupt). Really put a dampner on the holiday and my experience of Bulgarians.

I would go back to Sunny Beach - Kathleen. Date of travel: Aug 2008
Go to the old town of Nessiebar it's really lovely. Sunny beach central is also great very lively, good pubs and nightlife, was not impressed with the food in Bulgaria. The beach is great and the water warm.

Sunny beach - J and T. Date of travel: Aug 2008
Went on holiday to Suuny beach in August. Fab sun, sea and sand but the food was brutal, didnt find one good restaurant.

A sunny cheap trick at Sunny Beach - Teun. Date of travel: Aug 2008
As a tourist at Sunny Beach you need Bulgarian Lev's instead of Euro's An exchange office in the street with a yellow currency list offers the best price. EUR 1.96. The rate is fair. Handing over 100 Euro's I received 159 Lev's. “Not enough”, I replied, but the cashier said, “Can't you read? It's clearly written behind your back. And indeed, there was a sign showing: We sell EUR 1.96 We buy EUR 1.59. A sunny cheap trick.

Sunny Beach - Mr & Mrs Maddison. Date of travel: Jul 2008
Nice beaches, good shopping areas and plenty restaurants and bars, not as cheap as you would think. Myself and husband got food poisoning whilst there. We stayed in a bad hotel, needless to say you pay for what you get. Would not go again even if it was free.

Sunny beach/ Nessebar - Kirsty. Date of travel: Jun 2008
Nightlife was good and the whole family will enjoy Sunny Beach. Not loads of your typical drunken slobs running about. Nice to see! For younger ones, happy hour was every hour!!! :) Loads of cocktails beer was cheaper than water... Lev was 2.5 to the pound when we were there which was great!! Loads of water sports and a nice boat trip to Nessebar which was 15 lev each. Or just take the bus for one lev though hopefully you wont get a fat sweaty German sticking to you...haha not the best journey of my life. But enjoyable. Nessebar is a must see. Out of this world. The most beautiful place I have ever been!

We liked Sunny Beach - Julie and Ray. Date of travel: Jun 2008
Sunny Beach - Gorgeous beach and cleaned every night. Lovely relaxing beach bars. You can get a massage on the beach for a reasonable price. A nice stroll right down to the main part where all the night life is great. Bars and restaurants all along the way. Watch out for the rickshaw bikes, be very careful or they will rip you off. Don't wear gold jewelery on show or before you know it, it can be ripped off your neck in a flash. It happened to a lady that we met there. But that goes for anywhere you are I think. Just don't take it on holiday.

Love the resort - Debby. Date of travel: Sep 2007
Didn't really get to see much of Sunny Beach as when we arrived on 21st sept the resort is starting to close (something we were not told till we arrived!!) so if taking kids like us you are out of like for water sports or aqua parks all closed up 15th Sept (again not told we assured they would all still be open!!). Resturants and shops closed each day so that at the end of our holiday there was not a real choice of were to go it was more a case of what is still open. Would definately go back on holiday to Sunny Beach but no later than late August!!

Great modern comfortable hotel - Amy. Date of travel: Aug 2007
The Sunny Beach Hotel is situated just behind the main strip of bars/restaurants. Only a 5 minute walk across the street to the main promenade and the nearest McDonalds. About a 10/15min walk along this promenade to the resort centre although the strip is lined with bars shops and restaurants so you dont even notice the walk. Rooms are spacious, very clean and well airconditioned. Nice big balcony and bathroom. Maids come round every day quite early but we found that if we went out and got clean towels off them they would go away again and not come back to clean the room until you were out of it - even though we often said we didnt need it cleaned. 2 pools at the hotel - both of them freezing to get into but ok once you were in. Loads of sunbeds although many of them were in the shade in the late afternoon. Pool bar with music playing all day and kareoke at night although most people prefered to go into the main strip at night as really close by. Breakfast in hotel was ok but evening meals were repetitive and not really any British food on offer. Soup was often cold or weird stuff like venison soup, main course was often meat u didnt recognize along with chicken sqewers or a caserole thing which we werent sure what was in it. Def wouldnt recommend going All Inclusive or Half Board. The best bet for food is the Chinese restaurants or the pizza slices and baked potatoes along the promenade - cheaper and more tasty!! Overall - a good clean stylish hotel - we never had one problem with it - and its central enough!! Although if you are changing money change it along the main strip as the hotel gave us a much lower rate!!

Great Spot - Amy. Date of travel: Aug 2007
A large fun resort. Really warm through the day but I found it chilly at night. There's a breeze blowing through it as everything is based around the beach. So maybe take a small jacket!! Best restaurant - The Fat Cat - nice breakfasts and great friendly staff! The nicest food was from the stalls along the promenade - pizza slices, baked potatoes and kebabs!! The cocktails in the Chaika Beach bar mystique and the ship right outside it were outstanding - made with real fruit - especially the strawberry daqueris!! The Grand Hotel Sunny Beach kareoke bar was also great fun at night and had a really nice atmosphere!! Shopping is brilliant - don't take many clothes - buy them out there - Diesel, D&G, Replay, Energie, D Squared, G Star - all really nice stuff and really cheap!!

Flora Park, Sunny Beach - Great Hotel - Gary & Cheryl Taylor. Date of travel: Aug 2007
We have recently returned from the Flora Park, Sunny Beach. The hotel is great, and the family rooms are very spacious. The hotel was 95% German when we were there but that isn't a problem. The food in the restaurant & snack bar is excellent, the kids loved the pancakes for breakfast & the jacket potatoes & pizza for lunch. Although the food caters more for the Germans there is still plenty to choose from every meal with a choice of chicken, pork, veal & a fish dish on every evening. We all loved the resort of Sunny Beach - there is so much to do & see with plenty of shopping (lots of fake goods) and a wide choice of bars & restaurants. Within the hotel complex there is an open air theatre where the evening entertainment takes place. Most of the shows are based on English type music, Abba tribute, Queen tribute, etc and so although the audience is mainly German it really doesn't matter cause the music is in English. We all thought the hotel was great value for money and would go back tomorrow given the chance.

Sunny bach is the best place to go - Ellen Shaw. Date of travel: Aug 2007
Sunny beach is really great, you can get anything you want and the people are really very freindly.

Bar to avoid in Sunny Beach - James Tulloch. Date of travel: Aug 2007
I've just returned from a week in Sunny Beach where the bars are excellent, however I would warn people who are going there to avoid 'Fresh' which was the worst of the bars I went to. Not only do the cocktails taste worse than the ones in every other bar on the strip, the barman (or owner?) Miro is extremely rude. The time we were there, he told me and my girlfriend to "get up and move outside, this table is for more than two people" when the bar was half empty as we sat on a sofa in front of a table. Had he asked politely, we would have moved no problem but his manner was very disrespectful. When we told him that we just wanted to sit inside rather than outside, he said that he didn't care and that it wasn't his problem. Sunny Beach is full of great bars so don't waste your time or your money going to Fresh.

I hated Sunny Beach - Zoe Gregory. Date of travel: Aug 2007
Not nice, spent 20 mins in the central part before getting a busy bus to Nessebar as the shops were terrible in Sunny Beach.

Sunny Beach the pros and cons - Harry Plate. Date of travel: Jul 2007
Sunny Beach is very touristy, if you are into the all night partying it's fine. There is no Bulgarian culture in the place and were it not for the beach there would be little point in going to the place. It is close to saturation point in terms of hotels and apartments. However the beach is excellent, sand is on the whole clean, although not to sure about going into the water as signs around saying beware of "deep hole" not sure if this refers to where the sewage is dumped into the sea to be washed away, however the place has been awared "Blue Flag" by EU so cannot be all that bad. If you want the beach to yourself go after 5pm local time when everyone else is in the bars etc, beach becomes virtually deserted. Food and drink is definitely cheap, came back from holiday with the bulk of my Levas and Euros. Would I go again, possibly yes for a week at max and mostly likely early in the season or the end to avoid the crowds.

Sunny Beach - Annette, Brett, Gary and Rachel. Date of travel: Jul 2007
Sunny Beach is great beware pavements can be a bit loose and high curbs. Do not change money on the streets, only use crown booths or hotel or main banks, anyone else offering a good deal, you will get ripped off. As far as I am aware this was the only problems we found, so all in all a great place. Lifts do get busy around meal times. Just have to be patient or take the stairs, good exercise. You will need it if you eat as much as I did when we were there. The chicken kebabs are to die for, just opposite the hotel. The forest garden great place for food also done fish fingers for my son, but don't think they know how many to give you, he always had between 7 or 9. The white house good for Sunday roast and apple pie. Going back 4th July 2008 for a week this will be are fourth visit to Sunny Beach, 3rd at the Meridian Hotel. Don't forget to check out the water parks. There is one in Sunny Beach with a lazy river. Great if you have no energy left .

Sunny Beach - Hints and Tips - Tony Howard. Date of travel: Jun 2007
Along the main strip you will be accosted by everyone to eat and drink in their places. It takes a couple of days to get used to before you learn to say, 'Later', 'Tomorrow', etc. When in Bulgaria you have to respect the way they operate but it can come across as rude at times. This is also the case if you go to Sunny Beach Waterpark. The Lifeguards are rude and I even got nudged out of the way by one of them. This seems to be the way that they communicate. But overall they are very warm and friendly people. Ensure that you are very clear of the price before you buy. My personal belief is that they know that an odd Lev here or there won't bother the average tourist and therefore you may not see consistency on pricing throughout. If you have kids then be very careful of 'traffic' going down the main strip as it is driving by mainly tourists who have rented golf carts or scooters and they don't take that much care. To add to that, if someone offers you a free cherry out of their fruit basket and you take it, be prepared to buy! Some of the sellers use the 'not speak good English' line to sell to you for more money - don't be fooled. I was, but didn't accept it. Be firm with these people if you need to. The fruit sellers that come around the poolside try to give you change in bananas. Insist on cash for your change. That's the downside. The upside is that all cocktails are 2 for 1. If you go off the main street and a couple of blocks back that is where you get the better value for money. Plus there are places that if you stay and drink with them all night the proprietors can be generous. The nights in Sunny Beach are loud but friendly loud, great for families and couples alike. The nights are cool and not clammy and humid. The Sunny Beach resort is a tacky name with tacky merchandise but it's great fun. Would I go back? Not every year but Sunny Beach has not seen the last of me.

Could be better - Peter P.. Date of travel: Jun 2007
Too many buildings, but full of life resort with many night places to go! Especially the beach! Too Cheap to be true!

I loved Sunny Beach - Trish and Neil. Date of travel: May 2007
Visit Nessebar, a good day out and plenty of gift shops to browse. But don't go on the boat cost 15 levs and only 1 on the bus! Be careful of the beggers in the street. They pretend that they can't walk then later you see them walking around. Good entertainment in some of the restaurants and there was one with a stagecoach at the front that had can-can girls on as entertainment that was really good. Ciggies good price in town 200 for 11 levs about £6 the only thing you can only bring back 200 per person.

I loved Sunny Beach bars and clubs - Kelli, Georgie. Date of travel: Aug 2006
The bars and clubs at Sunny Beach were brilliant and really cheap, I recomend young people to come here or familes with older kids that may want to go off to the bars and meet new people! Club Orange is good and I recomend a visit! Fresh was a great bar I went to and played great music! Its worth a try, if you want a lively holiday that is cheap. This is the city that doesnt want to sleep, get in there quick! Tour Operator: First Choice

Commercialised - Rachel. Date of travel: Jul 2006
Over the years we have seen Sunny Beach change. The whole strip is full of bars and they seem to want to cater for a club 18 - 30 scene. All the stalls sell the same things at inflated prices. If you want to do shopping take a trip to Varna for better quality and cheaper prices. Battery scooters and golf buggies are a pain when trying to walk in the crowds in the evening, especially if you are going out with kids.

We loved Meridian - philip+kim williams. Date of travel: Jun 2006
A clean safe beach warm shallow waters,plentyof activities .very impressed. Tour Operator: thomas cook

Sunny Beach - Babs. Date of travel: Jun 2006
Sunny Beach is good plenty to do. lots of bars + resteraunts. lots of shops which was brill there are mini trains to take you round the resort. the beach is lovely play areas for the kids too not many toilets, but the the ones there is you have to pay for (they are stinking) .my daughter loved the bungee jumps. there's also a funfair next to the Rila hotel. there,s also 2 waterparks. If you are changing money go to the bank you get the best rates. your money goes really far in this resort. its so cheap! Tour Operator: Balkan

Sunny Beach - Jean. Date of travel: Jun 2006
Sunny Beach is lovely been 5 times now. Its really up and coming. there's lots of shops and afew markets, very cheap there is also a lacoste shop which is not bad. lots of bungee jumps for adults + kids. a few mini golfs a funfair and horrorwood there too. most entertainment are in different hotels .the floorshow at the Dolphin resteraunt is a must. the waterchutes at Hotel Kuban is ok if you are wanting a portrait take a foto with you they are brill. resteraunts food are ok lots of chinese.carribbys is great for cocktails bogof.very cheap. Tour Operator: Balkan

Beach holiday - David Deakin. Date of travel: Sep 2005
Have just returned from a 2-week holiday in Sunny Beach. If you’re into sun bathing, swimming, shopping, eating and drinking, providing the weather holds, then this is the place for you. If you like a bit of history or culture, then stay well away, there is nothing in the way of museums, churches or anything that would suggest you were in Bulgaria. We were very unlucky and had 4 consecutive bad days and that is when we discovered that there is absolutely nothing, and I do mean nothing, to do, as you can only walk around the stalls or pop in for a coffee or beer so many times in one day. As for the resort itself, it is over 3 miles from the north to the south and is very clean and flat, so suitable for anyone with walking difficulties. The only problem you might have is that the paving around the centre is very uneven and broken in places. The northern and central parts are the most commercial; we found the southern end to be best and cheapest for both shops and bars/restaurants. The beach is very safe and clean but we did see a lot of Jellyfish, but it didn’t deter anyone from swimming. We also saw on the promenade people with snakes, baby crocks and even a bear; the best thing to do is just keep walking and if every one did this it might put a stop to this cruelty. When choosing your hotel, don’t compare the star rating to that of European standards. For 2*, don’t think about it, for 3* think average 2*, for 4* think good 2* or average 3*, for 5* think good 3* or average 4*. The food at most of the hotels is very poor and would suggest going bed and breakfast and even then, eat out, as a full English will only set you back about £2 and an evening meal for 2 consisting of a couple of drinks, two courses and a bottle of good wine will only cost you about £10 to £15. If you live on burgers, fish & chips or pizza then you could very easily live on less than £10 a day (English Breakfast, lunch & evening meal). All the restaurants have entertainment in the way of a singer or band, but this plus a couple of discos is the only entertainment. The price of everything is very cheap and you will find it hard to spend your money. We usually spend (for 2) over £1000, on food, drink, car hire and trips; we struggled to spend £400. We enjoyed our holiday in Sunny Beach and are glad we’ve been, but will not be going back. Tour Operator: First Choice

Relaxing holiday - David & Barbara Deakin. Date of travel: Sep 2005
Have just returned from a 2-week holiday in Sunny Beach. If you're into sun bathing, swimming, shopping, eating and drinking, providing the weather holds, then this is the place for you. If you like a bit of history or culture, then stay well away, there is nothing in the way of museums, churches or anything that would suggest you were in Bulgaria. We were very unlucky and had 4 consecutive bad days and that is when we discovered that there is absolutely nothing and I do mean nothing to do, as you can only walk around the stalls or pop in for a coffee or beer so many times in one day. As for the resort itself, it is over 3 mile from the north to the south and is very clean and flat, so suitable for anyone with walking difficulties. The only problem you might have is that the paving around the centre is very uneven and broken in places. The northern and central parts are the most commercial; we found the southern end to be best and cheapest for both shops and bars/restaurants. The beach is very safe and clean but we did see a lot of Jellyfish, but it didn't deter anyone from swimming. We also saw on the promenade people with snakes, baby crocs and even a bear, the best thing to do is just keep walking and if every one did this it might put a stop to this cruelty. When choosing your hotel, don't compare the star rating to that of European standards. For 2*, don't think about it, for 3* think average 2*, for 4* think good 2* or average 3*, for 5* think good 3* or average 4*. The food at most of the hotels is very poor and would suggests going bed and breakfast and even then, eat out, as a full English will only set you back about £2 and an evening meal for 2 consisting of a couple of drinks, two courses and a bottle of good wine will only cost you about £10 to £15. If you live on burgers, fish & chips or pizza then you could very easily live on less than £10 a day (English Breakfast, lunch & evening meal). All the restaurants have entertainment in the way of a singer or band, but this plus a couple of discos is the only entertainment. The price of everything is very cheap and you will find it hard to spend your money. We usually spend (for 2) over £1000, on food, drink, car hire and trips; we struggled to spend £400. We have booked to return to Sunny Beach in September 2006 and staying at the Meridian. Tour Operator: First Choice

Lisa, Gareth & Georgia Hanlon. Date of travel: Aug 2005
Overall we had a fab time in Sunny Beach. You have to get used to the change if you're used to Spain etc. The locals are really friendly, the resort is buzzing at night. Local artists and craft makers line the promenade and there are shops galore selling everything from bags , shoes , clothes to jewellery. This beach itself is beautiful, cleaned each evening and sun loungers are cheap too. There are loads of watersports on offer. Eating out is very cheap, loads of restaurants trying to get you to come in! Just be polite and keep walking! A definite place to eat is the 'Arizona Steakhouse' on the left hand side of the prom and close to the Victoria Palace hotel, the food here is divine, and a live band play nightly. Another place to try is 'the Castle' restaurant which is right outside the Chaika Beach Hotel. The food here is lovely, and it has lovely views as well. There is loads to do for kids here, with bouncing castles and bungees along the prom. The nightly entertainment is lacking though especially for kids, its more geared towards couples and singles, happy hours everywhere if this is your thing you'll be in heaven!! A word of warning for anyone travelling to Sunny Beach resort is not to change money in the kiosks which are everywhere as they blatantly rip you off no matter what they advertise the exchange rate as. The only place that was trustworthy was the CROWN EXCHANGE: they gave you the best rates. At the moment its 1 euro-1.95 leva, or 1 gbp- 2.86 leva. you have been warned ! Bulgaria is an up and coming resort and its different than Spain etc but none the less a worthwhile holiday. It really is cheap there too: we ate out most nights even though we went half board at our hotel. On average we paid only 60levs for a starter, main course, dessert and drinks for the three of us: that's only 30 euros! You wouldn't get it cheaper elsewhere! We certainly enjoyed our holiday here and would definitely go back again. Tour Operator: Balkan tours

Dave and Wendy. Date of travel: Jul 2005
Sunny Beach - What a brilliant place to be if you want sun sand and drink. We stayed at the Meridian this is a lovely hotel that had just been refurbished when we got there. The resort was sound plenty of places to eat and drink and the prices were very cheap. In some bars you were getting to pints per one lev that cant be bad. The bulgarian people are very polite. You can get a bit browned of with the people outside bars trying to get you in but i guess that is all part of the holiday. I would recommened Bulgaria to anyone. Tour Operator: co-op travel

Sunny beach - Rachael. Date of travel: Jul 2005
Sunny Beach is a great place. There were a few shall we say ladies of the night walking round, they target mostly men on there own, but I did see them trying it one with fellas and his family was there. Apart from that it's great, the people are friendly and the beach is excellent! I wouldn't let anyone put me off going back!

Dick and Dom. Date of travel: Jun 2005
Sunny beach is great if you up for partying every night and drinking loads, the drink was cheap beer for 50p and buy 1 get 1 free cocktails. To us it seemed pretty safe cause we roamed about the streets till all hours drunk as skunks and never got abused. Beware of the fresh bar barman and hookers and druggies (ice-cream vans beware of them). The toilets are pretty much non existing except in hotels and the odd bars but you have to pay for ur toilet roll and they are disgusting so make sure you pack plenty nappies. Tour Operator: Thomson

Alison Gordon, James Gordon. Date of travel: May 2005
We went to Sunny Beach in May and had a nice break, weather was sunny and warm and some showers. We were in a The Sunrise Hotel and it was very nice rooms and staff were very friendly. It was cheap to eat out and some nice restaurants. Nesebar was full of sea food restaurants and very cheap good food, service. Lots of night life and young people partying in the centre of Sunny Beach. Lots of bargains to pick up with clothes and leather shoes, jeans etc., We enjoyed our week's stay in May so much we are going back this month end of August for two weeks. Can't Wait!!! Will report back to u again with a photo too!! Tour Operator: Balkan

Dan Hanney. Date of travel: Aug 2003
This was my 2nd holiday in Sunny Beach; I was also there in August 2001. There had been vast changes between the two visits, not only in the size of the Resort but in many other ways. When I was there in 2001, you could still see parts of the old Bulgaria. The shopping areas were mostly old market style, the transport was really dated, locals drove about in Lada's,Trabant's and Wartburg ( old Eastern European manufactured cars ) and you could still see part of the old Communist Regime in some of the Hotels and the locals' daily routine. The Taxis were dirt cheap, it was very cheap to eat, drink etc. However second time around what a difference: the Resort is much larger, more modern hotels, lovely Promenade beach front with plenty of eating places, ranging from hot dog stands to beutiful restaraunts, still very resonably priced. Tour Operator: Balkan Holidays