Skip to content
The wooden windmill on the isthmus leading to old Nessebar, with the red roofs and a church bell tower of the old town behind, the harbour on the left and rocks and a stone promenade in front

Where to stay in Bulgaria

Photographed in 2012. Photo: Borislav krustev, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Places to stay in Bulgaria

Add your dates above to compare prices for your stay.

About Bulgaria

Varna in the north and Burgas in the south, about 132 km apart by road, each have an airport. Choose the airport first, then the town, because each town sets its own parking rules and tourist tax.

Bulgaria. Guide last checked .

Facts and rules

Last checked . Each fact links to its source.

Airports
Varna (VAR), 8 km west of Varna, and Burgas (BOJ), 11 km north-east of Burgas; rental desks in Terminal 2 arrivals at both. Source
Tourist tax
A local tax on each overnight stay, set by each municipal council and shown separately on the bill. Source
Tourist tax in Varna and Golden Sands
EUR 0.26 a night at 1 and 2 stars and in registered guest rooms and apartments, EUR 0.31 at 3 stars, EUR 0.46 at 4 stars, EUR 0.72 at 5 stars. Source
Tourist tax in Nesebar and Sunny Beach
EUR 0.33 a night up to 3 stars and in registered guest rooms and apartments, EUR 0.38 at 4 stars, EUR 0.61 at 5 stars. Source
Tourist tax in Burgas
EUR 0.51 a night in Burgas city for 1 and 2 star hotels, family hotels and guest houses up to 3 stars, and guest rooms and apartments; EUR 0.77 for 3-star hotels; EUR 1.02 for 4 and 5 stars; EUR 0.26 for the lower categories in the villages of the municipality. Source
Guest registration
Since 1 October 2019 every host, private guest rooms and guest apartments included, reports guests to the Unified Tourism Information System, with passport or ID details. Source
Schengen
Bulgaria joined the Schengen area on 1 January 2025 and uses the EU Entry/Exit System. Source
Currency
The euro since 1 January 2026, at EUR 1 = 1.95583 lev. Lev cash circulated until 31 January 2026; banks and post offices exchange leva to the end of 2026. Source
Parking in Nessebar
Municipal car parks EUR 1.50 an hour for up to 5 hours, EUR 7.50 for 5 to 24 hours; the old town has access control, and hosts register arriving guests in advance. Source
Monthly stays
Airbnb calls 28 nights or more a monthly stay. The tourist tax runs per night with no cap in the ordinances read. A month of motorway e-vignette costs EUR 19.90. Source
Emergency number
112 Source

Areas of Bulgaria

Waves breaking on the sandy city beach below the Sea Garden in Varna, with swimmers in the water and a wooded coastline stretching north under a blue sky
Photographed in 2018. Photo: Kritzolina, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Varna

The city of the northern coast, with the Sea Garden above its city beach, the cathedral and life all year, and the airport close by. It is the base for Golden Sands, Balchik and the Aladzha Monastery, and suits a city stay or a month more than a resort week.

Varna airport
about 9 km
Golden Sands
about 17 km

Car and parking

Varna's Blue zone costs EUR 0.51 an hour for up to 3 hours, 09:00 to 20:00, and the Green zone the same hourly price for up to 5 hours on weekdays. Paying by SMS works only on Bulgarian networks, so use the machines or the Mpark app with a foreign phone.

Rows of wooden sun loungers under straw umbrellas on the sand at Golden Sands, with the sea on the right and wooded hills in the distance
Photographed in 2012. Photo: Mister No, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Golden Sands

The resort north of Varna, with beach hotels behind a long sandy beach and the Aladzha rock monastery about 7 km away. It suits a summer beach holiday more than a city stay.

Varna airport
about 25 km
Varna centre
about 17 km

Car and parking

No official parking source for Golden Sands was found as of September 2026, so ask the hotel how parking works. Varna airport is about 25 km away by road.

The white Sea Casino building among the trees of the Sea Garden in Burgas, above a sandy city beach, seen across the water from the pier
Photographed in 2018. Photo: Alicia Fagerving, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Burgas

The city of the southern coast, with the Sea Garden above the city beach and the pier, life all year and the airport close by. It is the base for Sozopol, Pomorie and the far south, and suits a month by the sea in a city.

Burgas airport
about 12 km
Sozopol
about 34 km

Car and parking

Burgas charges a Blue zone at EUR 1 an hour on working days from 09:00 to 19:00, and a summer Green zone at EUR 1 an hour every day from 11:00 to 20:00 between May and September; unpaid cars can be clamped or towed. SMS payment works only on Bulgarian networks, so use a machine or the PayPark or Urbo app.

Blue and white wooden fishing boats in the harbour of Nessebar below the stone and timber houses of the old town and a fragment of the old fortress wall
Photographed in 2014. Photo: Julian Nyča, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Nessebar and Sunny Beach

Old Nessebar sits on its peninsula, with guesthouses and small hotels inside an access-controlled old town; Sunny Beach, next to it, is a resort of beach hotels. Old Nessebar suits couples and a short stay, Sunny Beach a beach week.

Burgas airport
about 27 km
Old Nessebar, from Sunny Beach
about 6 km

Car and parking

Leave the car outside old Nessebar. The municipal car parks cost EUR 1.50 an hour for up to 5 hours or EUR 7.50 for 5 to 24 hours, and hosts inside the old town register arriving guests in advance with the access control centre. Street zones cost EUR 1 an hour for up to 3 hours, every day from 09:00 to 20:00 between June and September. In Sunny Beach the western parking zone is municipal and the eastern one is run by the resort company.

The stone tower of the southern fortress wall in Sozopol beside wooden houses that line the rocky shore, with waves washing over the rocks under a blue sky
Photographed in 2011. Photo: EvelinaRibarova, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sozopol

An old town of stone and timber houses on a peninsula south of Burgas, with guesthouses and small hotels. It suits a quieter stay by the sea than the big resorts.

Burgas airport
about 44 km
Burgas
about 34 km

Car and parking

The old town is entered through a barrier with number-plate cameras, with the first 30 minutes free. The latest official prices, for summer 2025, were BGN 4 (about EUR 2.05) an hour in the old town and BGN 2 to 3 an hour in the car parks outside it, and tow trucks also take cars with foreign plates.

Guides

Questions

How much is the tourist tax on the Bulgarian coast?

Each municipality sets its own rate per overnight stay. In Varna, which includes Golden Sands, it runs from EUR 0.26 to EUR 0.72; in Nesebar, which includes Sunny Beach, from EUR 0.33 to EUR 0.61; in Burgas from EUR 0.26 to EUR 1.02, by category and location. The host must show it separately on the bill.

Which airport is closer to Sunny Beach?

Burgas. Sunny Beach is about 27 km by road from Burgas airport. Golden Sands, in the north, is about 25 km from Varna airport.

Does Bulgaria use the euro?

Yes, since 1 January 2026, at EUR 1 = 1.95583 lev. Lev cash circulated alongside the euro until 31 January 2026, and banks and post offices exchange leva until the end of 2026.

Will a guest in a private apartment in Bulgaria be registered?

Yes. Since 1 October 2019 every host, private guest rooms and guest apartments included, sends guest details to the Unified Tourism Information System, so expect to show a passport or ID card at check-in.