Varna, the Pearl on the Bulgarian Riviera!

Advantages: beautiful town, much to offer from a cultural point, good shopping
Disadvantages: none

...Varna, the Pearl on the Bulgarian Riviera! Now that the summer holidays are approaching slowly, I thought it is about time to tell you a little more about my hometown Varna ? especially since Bulgaria is becoming more and more popular as a destination among British tourists! Varna is the biggest port town on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast and the third biggest town in Bulgaria with 350,000 inhabitants approximately. Varna does not only host a big port and an international airport, it is also a university town: There is a School of Economics, a tourism university, a technical university, a Med-school and a newly founded free university. Many of you might associate with Varna the beginning and the end of their vacation, since those who spend their holidays in one of the resorts on the Northern part of the Black Sea coast (i...

miss_varna 28.02.2004 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Varna

Varna

Advantages: Nightlife, shopping, bars, restaurants
Disadvantages: Money changers on streets, Cherne more hotel

...I've been to Varna twice now in 06 and enjoyed it immensely both times. From the airport it is about a 10-15 min ride so be careful not to get over charged it should cost no more than £10 but as I found out some taxi men don't seem interested in taking you for that amount, and quickly move on to their next victim. I was really lucky to find a taxi man called mikael who brought me to Varna free of charge and gave me his mobile no. in return for me using him for the rest of my stay .(I can give you his no. if you like). For the first few nights I stayed in the Black sea hotel (cherne more hotel) when I checked in I was told there were no singles rooms left and I had to pay for a double room.This cost about £30 which I thought was ok untill I saw it!, to be honest the room looked like a bomb had hit it but i was just happy to get my...

balders1305 15.04.2007 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Varna

One of the most interesting attractions in Varna, Bulgaria

Advantages: very interesting show
Disadvantages: the pool is small

... Varna - one of my favorites cities I like to go in Varna because of the pleasant atmosphere. There is a big pedestrian zone with a lot of shops, restaurants and attractions. The children like the pop-corns and the ice cream. There is a big and beautiful Sea Garden in Varna. There are small restaurants in the Garden near the Sea. You will have the pleasure to taste the fresh fish with beer and salad. About the Dolphinarium If you visit Varna, I recommend you that you spare the time for the interesting show in the Dolphinarium. The Dolphinarium is near the beautiful Varna's Sea Garden. So, after the show you may go for a walk and breathe the fresh sea air. You may drink a coffee in the Dolphinarium and observe the dolphins. One of the walls of the coffe is from transparent glass and the dolphins pass from time...

nadia71 26.10.2009 (30.10.2009) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Dolphinarium, Varna

Varna, a city to visit.

Advantages: Cheap, nice food.
Disadvantages: The pickpockets.

...I went to Bulgaria in July 2006, and stayed in a Villa in a town called Galata. It is a 15min bus ride to Varna. It costs about 30p to Varna town on the bus. It is so cheap in Bulgaria that we found it difficult to spend our money. We went for two weeks and there was my Husband, daughter and myself and we only spent £380 in total. Not bad considering we were in a villa so therefore had to buy everything. The town of Varna itself is an ok town, but BEWARE when getting on the buses, as the buses have a door at the front and in the middle, when they stop and there is quite a large crowd a group of young girls rush to the front and block the door asking the driver questions and then in the middle door someone else blocks that door so no-one can get on, while you are held up the other young girls pinch whatever they can get, wallets...

pvfc1876 11.09.2006 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Varna

A day in Varna

Advantages: Beautiful, Cheap
Disadvantages: Pickpockets

...A visit to Varna was one of the highlights of my holiday in Bulgaria this summer. There's something for everyone. For the young there is a Dolphinarium, which, unfortuneately I didn't find time to visit. Between the Dolphinarium and the town centre are the Sea Gardens. These gardens contain a 'Monument to Fighters Against Fascism' (they lost), a long tree lined avenue with wide, well tended flower beds down the middle and busts of figures from Bulgarias history along the sides, large sundial, nightclub and a museum. The shoping area itself is mainly along one straight road from the Sea Gardens to the Cathedral of the Assumption. Goods in the shops are reasonably priced but more expensive than other parts of Bulgaria (with the exception of Sofia). The only problem we had was that an English guy who runs anestate agents in the town...

karen42 06.09.2005 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Varna (VAR)

Varna

Advantages: Very cheap, great beaches
Disadvantages: expensive to get there

...Varna is the third largest city in Bulgaria and is very close to the major resorts of Golden Sands, Albena and Saint Constantine. I have been going to this city every year for the last 11 years and therefore I have seen the many changes which have taken place since the fall of Communism. Varna is spread along several miles of coastline which all have very good beaches. Along the coastal strip is the "sea garden" which is a public park which stretches for several kms. It is this park which forms the main focus of the city. Tourists when going to Varna rarely go beyond the city centre. This is perhaps just as well as the city centre is quite pleasant, but away from the centre are hundreds and hundreds of "blocks" - many of which are not in good condition. The city centre has been much improved in recent years with the arrival...

nikiup 16.09.2000 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of General: Bulgaria

A broken key is a dangerous weapon

Advantages: Great story and a blistering connection between Ladd and Lake
Disadvantages: If you like crime and Film Noir none at all

...The Glass Key is a hard boiled film noir from 1942 and is based upon a novel by the master of detective fiction? Dashiell Hammett. It tells the story of Paul Madvig (Brian Donlevy) a corrupt and quick to resort to his fists politician who, upon meeting a beautiful young woman, Janet Henry (Veronica Lake) decides that he is going to change his ways and shut down crime in his city. With the aid of his best friend Ed Beaumont (Alan Ladd) Madvig sets about aligning himself and his supporters with Janet?s father, Taylor, and his reform party, much to the dislike of his old ?friends?, especially one Nick Varna. When Harvey?s son, and Janet?s brother, is murdered suspicion immediately falls on Madvig. A prior argument about his relationship with Opal, Paul?s sister, being the main piece of evidence. When everyone except Ed seems to...

Ailran 23.09.2009 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of The Glass Key (DVD)

A Great Present for Those With the Travel Bug!

Advantages: The pictures, information and price.
Disadvantages: The order of the cities in the book.

...about the city, it's history, it's culture and things to do whilst you're there. The information 'box' tells you the population of the city, when to go, what you shouldn't miss and an interesting fact about it (such as Varna, Bulgaria was the point of origin for the ship Dementer in Bram Stoker's Dracula). -Where to Get It and For How Much- It has a price of £25 inside the cover although it's available on Amazon for £5.43 at the moment, although I have seen it in Asda and Tesco in the past for £5. I have also bought a copy in The Works for £5. -What's Good About It?- *It's cheap! To be able to get a reference book for under £10 is a bargain. *It has some beautiful pictures of the cities it talks about, many of the architecture of the city, which gives you a great feel for the place - particularly good for daydreaming...

dkm1981 05.12.2009 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of 501 Must Visit Cities - D. Brown

Mixed Feelings

Advantages: Good value, great hotel
Disadvantages: poor rep, lost ski equipment

...In this review I will tell you about my ski holiday in 2009 with Balkan Holidays London Balkan holidays was originally formed in 1966 by the state of Bulgaria and was privatized in 1999 The company do Scheduled flights to Bourgas, Sofia, Varna, Dubrovnik, Split, Pula, Rijeka, Tivat, Ljubljana, Bucharest from various airports around the UK, they also do charter flights under the name of BH. They also sell summer and winter holidays to Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia, although I note Montenegro has been dropped from their winter destinations for 09/10. Holidays sold direct as well as through various travel agents, They also sell golf holidays, mini breaks and things like car hire, travel insurance Balkan are members of ABTA, ATOL and IATA I first came across the company in 2007 and was going to book a holiday in mid...

mark203 27.08.2009 (28.08.2009) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Balkan Holidays

A week in Albena

Advantages: Fantastic Beach, great bars and friendly people
Disadvantages: Probably very noisy/busy in high season

...Because of various work commitments we had very limited search criteria to get a week away during September 06. However, a direct flight from Bristol to Varna swayed the decision and we chose the Hotel Druzba in the resort of Albena - partly on price but also location - right in the heart of the main street. Albena, like other coastal resorts in Bulgaria is not exactly what you'd call pretty. Some of the hotels are in fact, pretty ugly but this is made up for by the gorgeous beach. In addition, our hotel didn't have a pool but arrangements are there to use a pool just down the way at a minimum price (less than £1 each). There are plenty of bars and restaurants along the main road and also along the beachside which serve large portions for a small amount of money. Add to this the fact that beer is approximately £1 per pint...

BristolBud 23.09.2007 (05.02.2007) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Albena, Bulgaria