Tui Package Holiday

Date: 2024-07-31

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A Week's Stay at a Black Sea Resort in Burgas, Bulgaria

Date: Mid-May 2024 — 7 nights, 8 days

Burgas, known as the fourth largest city in Bulgaria, is a port city on the Black Sea. Blessed with a mild summer climate, it is a popular summer resort destination for Europeans and a thriving tourist town. It offers a wealth of attractions including water activities on the Black Sea, a historically rich old town with a UNESCO World Heritage site, museums, and local wine distilleries.

About Tui

Tui is a major travel company headquartered in Germany. It is one of the world's leading travel and tourism corporate groups, operating Tui-branded travel agencies as well as numerous subsidiaries across Europe including land operators, hotels, aircraft, sea and river cruise ships, and retail stores. It is a very convenient company for those living in Europe who want to take an easy holiday.

After we moved to a rural English town, our local airport changed from London Heathrow to Birmingham Airport. When we lived in London, we used to travel abroad mainly with BA (British Airways), but Birmingham Airport doesn't have BA flights. Instead, as befits a regional airport, travel companies and low-cost carriers fly to popular seasonal destinations.

In 2023, once the COVID situation had settled down, we tried Tui for the first time for a 5-night, 6-day short cruise. It was such a convenient and stress-free trip that this year we decided to try an all-inclusive holiday hotel stay with the same Tui group.

This trip was a holiday package that included everything in one price: return flights, bus transfers between the airport and hotel within Bulgaria, 7 nights at the hotel, all meals, and drinks including alcohol.

We chose the 'Blue Series' hotel from Tui's hotel list — a step up in quality (and slightly more expensive). There were several location options, but we chose the Black Sea area of Bulgaria, which sounded warm and somewhere we hadn't been before.

For European holiday package holidays, a one-week stay at a single hotel like this is the most popular option. Incidentally, cruise itineraries of 7 to 10 days are also the most popular choice, with many options available.

Outbound Flight

We took off from our local Birmingham Airport just before 4pm, arriving at Burgas Airport in Bulgaria at 9:20pm. Flight time approximately 3 hours 10 minutes. The time difference between the UK and Bulgaria is 2 hours. Check-in and boarding pass issuance are all done through the Tui app, so downloading the app to your phone in advance is essential. Both check-ins can be done easily through the app from 48 hours before departure. At the airport, you go to the Tui counter, where machines issue luggage tags — you follow the on-screen instructions to attach the tag to your suitcase yourself and then hand it in at the counter. That's it. After that, you go straight through security (the departure gate) and you're in the boarding area. With check-in now automated, waiting times have been greatly reduced.

Although it was a weekday Monday during summer time, Birmingham Airport was busy with holiday travellers. All three lounges told us we couldn't enter without a reservation. However, a kind member of staff at one lounge said they thought they could fit us in after 45 minutes, so we got 30 minutes in the lounge. We had a light snack and filled our water bottles for the flight. From now on, we'll be sure to book the lounge in advance through the app. Today's aircraft was a Boeing 737-800. Pushback started at 4:02pm, 7 minutes late. Took off at 4:18pm. We departed Birmingham Airport under cloudy skies.

Tui's Passengers

The majority were working-class British travellers, and there were many families with young children despite it being term time. The plane was almost full. In the UK, people get 4 to 5 weeks of paid holiday a year to use freely, so many book their next year's holiday a year in advance to get cheaper prices.

The Cabin

The cabin was a simple 3-3 seating layout with no individual monitors.

Food and drink on board were available for purchase. A sandwich and crisps with a drink combo was £8.50 (approximately 1,700 yen). Duty-free sales of alcohol and fragrances were also available.

Bulgaria — Burgas Airport

The baggage claim walls were covered entirely in Damask roses!

We landed at around 9:30pm local Bulgarian time. The luggage took a while to arrive, so the hotel bus didn't leave the airport until 10:35pm. It stopped at three hotels to drop off guests, and ours was the last. The town was so small that the roads and streets were completely dark — only occasional house lights here and there, and the only really bright thing we could see from the bus window was a 24-hour petrol station. We were lucky to get off the bus relatively early, so check-in went quickly and we were in our room before 11:30pm.

At check-in, we were given wristbands identifying us as hotel guests, which we wore throughout our stay. (They were designed not to come off easily, so we cut them off with scissors when we got home.)

Our Hotel: "Tui Blue Nevis"

A Tui Blue Series family hotel perched on a hill overlooking the Black Sea. The UNESCO World Heritage old town and the seafront are a 5 to 10 minute drive away.

There were 4 accommodation blocks with various room types to suit different group sizes. Facilities included 5 pools of various types including a water slide, plenty of sun loungers, chairs and seating on terraces and decks throughout, a kids' club (with staffed childcare), a gym, a paid spa and sauna, a children's play area, tennis courts, mini golf, an outdoor theatre with evening shows, a coffee shop, 1 paid restaurant, 3 bars, an all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, a snack corner open from 10am to 6pm with snacks and drinks, and drinks available from various bars at any time — with cocktails available from the bar next to the theatre in the evenings.

As Tui flights were arriving from various locations throughout the night, guests trickled into the hotel with their suitcases even after 1am — we could hear them wheeling their luggage through the resort village. For those checking in late, the restaurant had light refreshments available until 2am — we had bread filled with local ham, salami and cheese. True to Bulgaria, there was also a variety of yogurts, all delicious.

It seemed that flights arrived from different airports around the world every day, with new guests checking in each day and those who had completed their week boarding buses back to the airport.

The Room

Our room was a "Double Room with Balcony" — the most standard option. The bed was king-size and spacious, and there was also a double sofa bed (which we used as a sofa). The linen was clean, the mattress was firm and we slept well. In keeping with a seaside hotel, blue was the accent colour. The room was on the larger side, so it didn't feel cramped even for a week's stay. The bathroom had shower only. Amenities consisted of one combined body wash and shampoo bottle in the shower. Water pressure was good, drainage was fine, and the room was kept clean. The balcony had two chairs and a small table, and a convenient rack for hanging swimwear to dry.

We visited in mid-May, just before the high season that gets busy from June, so there weren't many guests and the large facilities were pleasantly quiet. The spacious lounge area with a bar alongside it was the kind of place you could easily spend all day, relaxing on the sofa with a drink in hand. The May sun in Burgas was gentle, and sitting outside in the warmth wasn't hot at all — perfect for topping up our vitamin D, something we rarely get in Britain. We applied UV protection only to our faces and enjoyed the rare warm sunshine.

Because this hotel sits on a hill set back from the beachfront hotel strip, the views are beautiful and the nights are peaceful. The sea is in front, and mountain ranges are visible behind.

Food at Tui Blue Nevis

The restaurant in the central building served breakfast from 7am to 10am, lunch from 12pm to 2pm, and dinner from 6pm to 9pm. There was a generous spread from starter salads to hot main dishes, desserts and fruit. A full range of drinks was also available including beer, red, white and rosé wine, and various soft drinks. There was even a baby food section with jarred food that could be heated in the microwave alongside it.

Bulgaria's famous comb honey — served as a whole slab at breakfast. The wax part is said to be full of propolis and very good for you.

Of course there was also a variety of Bulgarian dishes, so we could sample local cuisine without having to go out to a restaurant. Even the rice came in different preparations — paella-style, herb and lime flavour — which was fun to try. Bulgarian cuisine has a broadly Mediterranean feel, but you can also detect influences from Turkish and Ottoman-era cooking. The yogurt was absolutely delicious, and it was used in a remarkably versatile range of ways: eaten plain, as a salty herby dressing, and even in place of béchamel in Bulgarian moussaka — both cold and warm preparations. Truly a nation of yogurt! Bulgaria grows wheat and hops, so the local beer is excellent. There was also locally produced wine, and the bread and pastries made from local wheat were, according to locals, must-tries.

Even if you sleep in and miss breakfast, don't worry. The snack corner by the pool opens at 10am, just after breakfast ends. There you'll find freshly baked croissants, pancakes, hot dogs, fruit, muffins, sausages and more. Help yourself to a drink of your choice. The lunch items appear when it's time, so if you're playing at the pool or just want something light, this spot is very convenient. Open until 6pm.

Something we noticed about the food on this trip was how delicious the locally grown vegetables were — cucumbers, tomatoes, courgettes, aubergines, cabbage and more. Whether served raw or oven-grilled, the vegetables themselves were flavourful and sweet, and we ate plenty of them happily.

The variety of uses for yogurt was a revelation: plain, as a salt-and-herb dressing, or in warm dishes like Bulgarian moussaka in place of white sauce. We were genuinely impressed — what a country for yogurt! Even without eating lots of carbohydrates, we were full from vegetables, meat, fish and fruit. All-you-can-eat, yet healthy — we felt no guilt whatsoever and truly enjoyed the food.

Staff at Tui Blue Nevis

Housekeeping and general cleaning was handled mainly by local Bulgarian ladies, while front desk, childcare and restaurant service were mostly young English-speaking staff. The Bulgarian cleaning ladies struck us as incredibly house-proud. Our room was cleaned to perfection every day, and the communal areas inside and out were immaculate. Much of the hotel has marble flooring in the European style, which was swept and mopped thoroughly every single day. Even after a light shower, the wet marble was mopped up promptly, so there was never any danger of slipping. In the restaurant, after each table of guests finished eating, the staff not only wiped the table but also mopped the floor beneath it — a level of cleanliness we had never seen before in a hotel. We felt genuinely comfortable throughout our stay. The ladies didn't speak English, but whenever we spoke to them they always made every effort to respond. After seeing them every day for a week and exchanging greetings, we became familiar faces and they'd smile warmly whenever our eyes met. One of our favourite parts of travelling is those small moments of connection with local people. And for children, this place must be paradise. Mum and Dad are relaxed, happy, and free from work and chores — so they're in good spirits and play together. At the kids' club, kind young staff give children their undivided attention. The pools include slides and a water park. There are play structures, and at mealtimes there's a child-height buffet table stacked with all their favourites. After dinner, there's an outdoor show just for children. When we visited it was term time, so it was mainly younger children — but every single one was in the best of moods.

Excursion Tours from Tui Blue Nevis

Since this was our first time in Burgas, Bulgaria, we did quite a bit of online research into what to see and do. The region has a very long history — wine has apparently been made here for 6,000 years, and there's a UNESCO World Heritage old town among other highlights. We booked two tours that interested us: a dinner with traditional Bulgarian food, music and dance, and an English-guided walking tour of the UNESCO World Heritage town. We checked the details and booked both through the Tui app — the orders were confirmed immediately and PDF vouchers were emailed over straight away. Very quick and convenient.

Tour One: "Bulgarian Night Tour"

An evening at a traditional village about 30 minutes' drive inland from the city, dining on Bulgarian food while enjoying Bulgarian music and dance. A tour bus picked us up at the hotel at 6pm, with Peter — a Bulgarian guide who spoke English — on board. After stopping at about four hotels to collect guests, the bus headed out of town. After about 30 minutes, the scenery gradually became more rural, and at the end of a winding single-track road a cluster of traditional village buildings came into view.

Staff in Bulgarian folk costume came out to welcome us. To the sound of a bagpipe-like instrument playing welcome music, guests were invited to tear off a small piece of bread offered by a young woman in a red outfit and eat it before entering — a local custom, apparently. The dinner menu started with Shopska salad — a Bulgarian classic of cucumber, tomato, red onion and pepper topped generously with shredded white sheep's cheese. You dress it yourself with the salt, olive oil and vinegar on the table. Refreshing and delicious.

Next came a bean soup — tomato-based, the kind of comforting home-style flavour that warms the soul. Served with bread made from locally grown wheat. The main was grilled pork and chicken thighs served with cabbage and carrot salad and braised potatoes. The meat was simply seasoned with herbs and salt — easy to eat and very tasty.

Dessert was a sweet pastry — like short lengths of churro — soaked in syrup until moist and sticky. Local red and white wine was free-flowing, served from a large barrel beside us. We filled our jugs and drank as much as we liked, with water and juice bottles also on the tables. The people behind us got quite merry and lively.

The pre-event email had advised us to "dress warmly as it can get cold." The venue had a roof but open sides — a semi-outdoor space. We visited in May when mornings and evenings can still feel quite cold, so we had dressed up warmly, but it was still chilly. Everyone was saying "it's freezing — where did the warm weather go?!"

After 8:30pm, as the sun went down, the temperature dropped noticeably. After the starter and soup and as the main course arrived, a pair of clown performers came out to warm up the crowd with comedy, getting guests involved for some laughs before the main show.

When the clowns left, eight male and female dancers in beautiful folk costumes swept in and began dancing to traditional music. The women's folk costumes were richly embroidered and magnificent — the kind of thing the late Kenzo Takada would have loved, we thought.

When the dance show ended, we were directed to a bonfire area next to the theatre, and everyone shuffled over. The circular space had tiered seating around the edges, looking down into the centre. In the middle, an elderly man said a prayer before an icon of the Virgin Mary, then used an iron broom to break up and spread the glowing red embers of the fire. Then, to the sound of music played on a bagpipe-like instrument, a "fire dance" began — barefoot dancing on the embers. This is a Bulgarian traditional ceremony with meanings of health prayer and religious ritual. Everyone watching was astonished! But apparently, if done correctly, the fire dance can be performed safely without burns. It was a fascinating and uniquely Bulgarian evening.

Tour Two: "Nessebar Old Town Walking Tour"

Nessebar, located on the Black Sea coast, is a town with an extraordinarily long history. Having passed through many eras, the town of Nessebar was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 under the name "Ancient City of Nessebar."

The origins of Nessebar are said to date back approximately 3,000 years, to when the Thracians established a settlement here. Situated at the crossroads of Asia and Europe, this land has been ruled successively by the Ancient Greeks, the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Bulgarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire and others, leaving a layered legacy of Eastern and Western influences. It is a must-visit for anyone coming to Burgas.

A bus came to pick us up at the hotel after breakfast. Tui guests currently in Burgas gathered from several hotels. A group of about 10 people from Poland was also there that day, with a Polish-speaking guide in addition to Peter from the Bulgarian Night tour.

In a word, Nessebar is a small island with ancient church ruins and remains of an outdoor theatre alongside dozens of souvenir shops, restaurants and cafes. Though an island, it is now connected by a reclaimed road so you can drive straight in.

Most restaurants are on the outer edges of the island, where you can enjoy views of the Black Sea while you dine. The island is small enough to walk around in 30 minutes, and if you duck down side streets you always quickly emerge back onto the main shopping lane, so getting lost is virtually impossible. What particularly caught our eye was a style of building said to have first been built in the 19th century — Nessebar Renaissance style. These homes are described as typical of Nessebar's modern residential architecture, with a stone-built ground floor and a timber upper floor that protrudes outward, making the upper storey wider than the lower.

Many of the souvenir shops were housed in the ground floors of these Nessebar-style buildings. We bought Bulgarian rose sweets and rose-scented honey at a souvenir shop, and as a bonus were given a small jar of rose petal jam.

Souvenirs

Bulgaria is the world's leading producer of Damask roses, said to have the finest fragrance of any rose, and also produces rose oil extracted from them. Damask rose oil is considered the finest aromatic oil in the world — the reason the famous Chanel No. 5 is so expensive is said to be the large quantity of Damask rose oil it contains. Remarkably, just 1 kilogram of rose oil is obtained from 5,000 kilograms of rose blossoms by steam distillation.

Rose oil can be used for fragrance in perfumes and other products, and in small amounts it can even be consumed. Apparently regular ingestion of rose oil gradually makes your body scent bloom with rose fragrance — a very appealing effect for those of us now in our 60s.

We were keen to stock up on rose-scented products for ourselves and as gifts for friends, so we headed to a local supermarket where prices were lower than the souvenir shops. The hotel was only 5 to 7 minutes by taxi, but we walked both ways for exercise and to work off some of the all-inclusive calories — it took about 30 minutes each way at our leisurely pace. We'd looked it up online and found Janet Supermarket in the hotel district of Sunny Beach. The ground floor has food and alcohol; the second floor has a cosmetics section accessed through a gate. Items in the cosmetics section are paid for at a till inside the gated area — the staff put the receipt and products into a clear plastic bag. We think it's a measure to prevent shoplifting. We probably saved about 20 to 30% compared to the souvenir shops. The rose oil sweets we'd spotted online weren't available at Janet Supermarket and we were disappointed, but we later found them at a souvenir shop in Nessebar.

We also bought Bulgarian traditional sweet kroum. In Britain this is called Turkish Delight and is commonly seen in supermarkets around Christmas. It is made from a syrup of honey or sugar flavoured and scented, then set with starch, cut into small pieces, and dusted with icing sugar. Think of it as a firm jelly with icing sugar — served at room temperature. There was a rose-flavoured variety, and finding a rose-scented sweet was unusual enough to make it a must-buy. We also got one with local honey and pistachio. This type of sweet is commonly eaten in Turkey and nearby countries, which made us feel the lingering influence of the Ottoman era.

Return Flight

Checkout at the hotel was 11am. You can pay to extend checkout, but since you're free to use the restaurant, lounge and all the facilities until your bus departs, we checked out before 11am, stored our suitcases in the luggage room, and spent the rest of the day with just our carry-on bags.

We had lunch and dinner, and in between relaxed on the lounge sofas with coffee and drinks. The weather was good, so many families were spending the day by the pool.

Check-in and boarding pass issuance for the return flight can be done through the app from 48 hours before departure. At the same time, information about the bus pickup to the airport arrived. Our bus was scheduled to leave the hotel at 19:25 — bus number 17. We were to gather at the hotel entrance 15 minutes early. Our hotel was the first stop, and the bus would then call at four more hotels before heading to the airport. It was timed to arrive at the airport two hours before departure — perfect timing.

We arrived at the airport right on schedule, exactly two hours before the flight. As we got off the bus, Tui staff were stationed everywhere guiding passengers, and we were at the check-in counter almost immediately. Since check-in was already done through the app, we just needed to drop off our luggage at the counter. It was over in almost no time.

Burgas Airport has no lounge, but it's a small airport and the moment you pass through hand luggage security you're right in front of the departure gates. We browsed the limited duty-free shops and sat in our seats until boarding time.

For souvenirs we bought local cheese, salami and a spice set. We're always a little nervous about meat and cheese being flagged at security, so even though it's slightly more expensive, we always buy these kinds of items in the duty-free zone after clearing departure security.

Boarding began through the gate at around 9:55pm. It was a remote stand that day, so we bused out to the aircraft. Today's aircraft had no airline markings — just a small 'FLI4' written on a cream-white fuselage. Quite a new aircraft. We recalled news stories about plane shortages around the world — possibly a wet-lease aircraft.

After all passengers had boarded, the aircraft was already pointing towards the runway, so there was no pushback — it departed at 22:29 and took off at 22:33. No significant turbulence, smooth flight, and we touched down at Birmingham Airport at around 23:50 UK time. Considerably earlier than scheduled — perhaps due to noise restrictions preventing take-offs and landings past midnight in the airport area.

UK immigration now allows Japanese passport holders to use the automatic gates, so we cleared the border quickly and efficiently.

We had eaten delicious, healthy food, slept plenty, walked at a comfortable pace in pleasant surroundings, and came home with our energy fully recharged.

Overall Impressions

We tried the all-inclusive format on this trip and absolutely loved it. Once you get to the airport on departure day, Tui staff guide you all the way to the hotel, and after that you simply enjoy yourself. Travelling is wonderful, but it comes with its stresses — worrying about taxi touts ripping you off, struggling with menus in an unfamiliar language. This trip removed all of those stresses entirely, making it an excellent holiday format.

We'll definitely go again when we feel like a proper rest.

A stress-free Tui holiday — highly recommended for those living in Europe.