“Burgers for 1200 rubles”
“Damn, not the prices”, “What kind of game?”, “In Moscow it’s half the price” — such reviews are left in chats Russians who came to the resorts of Bulgaria.
Beaches of Bulgaria
Tourists told how much a holiday in Sunny Beach costs today.
— There are still few people, the beaches are empty, there is no one in the restaurants. They say that the influx of vacationers will begin in July,” says Muscovite Elena. — There are noticeably fewer Russians this year. Bulgaria joined Schengen, which made it difficult to obtain visas this year, so many did not make it. There is no longer the freebie that we are used to when receiving national visas. Now you need to collect a huge package of documents, it is difficult to get a slot to submit to the visa center, and the Bulgarians now issue visas for a short period. Ordinary tourists receive money strictly for the duration of the trip; property owners are given from six months to a year, whereas previously they were given for three years.
In general, the situation on the coast is calm.
— There are many Ukrainians – men, women, children. There are cars with Ukrainian license plates all around. They have no conflicts with the Russians. People just ignore each other. Apparently, now Ukrainians argue more with the Bulgarians than with us, says Mikhail from St. Petersburg. — I talked to the locals, they are not happy with the refugees. They complain that all of Ukraine has come to them. The saleswoman at the butcher shop, in response to my question: how do you live with the citizens of Ukraine, grimaced her face, saying, I don’t even want to talk about them, every day there are some incidents. She added that none of them are buyers, they are capricious and scandalous. It feels like the locals are tired of them. But the Bulgarians, on the contrary, are friendly towards us: they are always ready to help, give advice, in small shops they lend money if there is not enough money for something. I was recently given a jar of honey as a gift when I bought pate for 1000 rubles and meat sausages.
According to the man, Ukrainians have settled in Bulgaria seriously and for a long time: “They are everywhere: they work in shops, restaurants, beauty salons, as cleaners in residential complexes. I noticed that there were a lot of young people. In one cafe I saw very young waiters, they were 18-20 years old. They were even too polite with us, trying to please us in everything. We were surprised. They probably understand that we leave decent tips, unlike Europeans.”
This year, centers for protecting the rights of refugees appeared at the resort. “Apparently, things are not going well for them in Europe, since such organizations are needed,” suggests one of the interlocutors.
But the prices at the resorts are not pleasing to the eye.
— It's just a nightmare! For two plastic sun loungers and an umbrella you will have to pay from 24 to 34 leva (1130-1600 rubles). On elite beaches they ask for 160 levs (7,500 rubles), lists Russian woman Svetlana. — A burger in a regular cafe costs 1,200 rubles, the same as in an elite Moscow restaurant. In one establishment I took chicken schnitzel with potatoes, green salad and coffee — I paid 2,500 rubles. Prices for Shopska salad — cucumbers, tomatoes, cheese — 600-700 rubles. Where is this good? Our people enter the restaurant, look at the prices and leave. I went to the store, bought food and alcohol, and gave 13 thousand rubles. Cherries, strawberries for 500-600 rubles. A taxi is also not cheap; a 10-minute ride costs 500 rubles. Gasoline costs 130 rubles per liter. Traveling around the city on a broken-down bus costs 100 rubles. A trip by public transport from Sunny Beach to Burgas costs 400 rubles, the ride is only an hour. Bringing home Internet is also expensive — 2500 per month. They didn’t connect the TV; you had to pay 7,000 rubles for six months at once. Rental prices have soared — in the summer season it is difficult to find a studio for less than 10,000 rubles. Only very wealthy tourists can afford to live in hotels — the price tag is outrageous, for 2 weeks of vacation it comes out to about 200 thousand rubles.
Muscovite Evgenia visited a shopping center in Burgas and also expressed bewilderment: “I went to McDonald’s there — «Big Mac» for 500 rubles! So it turned out to be completely different from the Big Mac we remember, shrunk to the size of a cheeseburger. Now in Europe discounts have begun in stores, but in Bulgaria they have not heard about it. Prices for things in the mass market are prohibitive. But in Bulgaria you can buy cheap used cars. They offered me to buy a 2008 Volkswagen SUV for only 600 thousand rubles.”