A tourist voucher with or without meals?

When going on vacation to Bulgaria, many tourists think whether to take a trip with meals. And if it is worth taking, then what kind of it?

This article tries to detail, as possible, about the pros and cons of purchasing a tourist voucher with meals in Bulgaria, and will help you to decide whether or not is it worth it.

When to take a tourist voucher with meals?

It is worth to say at once, that choosing of a tourist voucher with meals or without primarily depends on your habits and preferences. For some people it is convenient to eat every day at the same place while some prefers diversity.

What are the types of tourist vouchers with meals?

In inexpensive tours, one of the common options is a tourist voucher, which includes breakfasts only.

It should be noted that breakfast in this case may be very modest – a couple of sandwiches, tea or coffee and some vegetables. For example: in hotel Vanini in Nessebar, where we stayed – see photo below/

Breakfasts in most medium-sized Bulgarian hotels are served quite early – from 8:00 am. It is convenient for those who are early risers and like diversity and want to visit as many as possible resorts and attractions. However, this would be disadvantageous to those who get accustomed to sleep till noon on vacation.

Another option is breakfast and dinner. At first glance, it seems like a perfect solution, but at night in romantic Nessebar or quiet Pomorie you get so eager to sit in a cozy restaurant with live music or to enjoy a walk along the coast, to visit the old town, or simply to watch a sunset from a pier.

And in noisy and cheerful Sunny Beach, you at this time, most likely, will be entertained at a disco or in a club.

As a result, it does not matter at what time you will be offered dinner. You will be missing some of them for one reason or another.

Options with breakfast, lunch and dinner or all Inclusive have exactly the same disadvantages – you have to eat in the same place at the same time. Not only it deprives you of choice, but it also binds to a hotel – it will be difficult to go on an excursion or just get on a bus (or rent a car) and visit a nearby resort.

Conclusion: in most cases, we recommend to buy a trip without meals or only with breakfasts. Such tour will be significantly cheaper, allowing you to easily buy products in a supermarket, to go to any of your favorite restaurants or to buy local fruits at a market.

When to stop on a tourist voucher with meals?

There are occasions, when it is better to choose all Inclusive. For instance, if your choice of vacation consists of a comfortable hotel and a chic beach, then go to Sunny Beach or Golden Sands. Restaurants there are quite expensive and prices in supermarkets are quite the same. In this case, is wiser to take a trip with meals and not worry about anything.

When is it better not to take a tourist voucher with meals?

In our trips we always try to choose tourist vouchers without meals. We always travel somewhere, walk or organize hikes, swim at wild beaches, or visit small, cozy restaurants.

As a result, if we bought a travel tour with meals, we could not even attend the third part of paid lunches (we would not have refused to travel for food). Why to pay for something, that you’re not going to use?

The second advantage of a tourist voucher without meals – an opportunity to enjoy national cuisine and local products. For example, food in Bulgaria is very tasty and satisfying, even if you just buy it in a supermarket.

Is food expensive in restaurants and supermarkets of Bulgaria?

In Bulgaria, prices of food from the supermarkets are quite low. Even cheap sausages and pates, all dairy products and pastries are above any praises, and we still remember fish preserves – surprisingly tasty, fragrant and nourishing. At markets sell cheap seasonal fruits, which always come fresh.

We advise to read: prices of products from a supermarket in Nessebar, quite expensive Bulgarian resort.

Even in low-cost hotels in the room there is a refrigerator, where you can easily store food products you have bought from the supermarket for a time until you consume them whenever you like.

If we talk about a typical dinner in a restaurant, then it will cost you about 30 levs per a very nourishing option or 20 levs per normal. This price is for 2 people, with meat, seafood, salads and alcohol.

We did an our article about prices in Bulgaria (see section: “Prices for food in Bulgarian restaurants”) where you can see the accurate count of the cost of lunch in a restaurant

Also, on our website there are prices from average restaurants (not the most expensive, but not eateries either) and prices for Bulgarian fruits. They can be explored in our article about prices in the town of Pomorie.