All Inclusive Bulgaria: Resorts, Kids and What's Included

This is not a package sales page. It helps you pick a resort area, understand what the price really covers, know what to check with children and get from the airport to your hotel. Details of the hotels we list come from their pages on our site; everything else was checked on official sites in October 2026. Prices are in euro, which Bulgaria has used since 1 January 2026.

What all inclusive covers in Bulgaria, and what ultra adds

There is no single Bulgarian standard for all inclusive. Each hotel publishes its own concept, and it is worth reading before you book. One example from Albena: at the resort's Arabella Beach hotel, the package covers breakfast, lunch and dinner, afternoon snacks with fruit and ice cream, and local alcoholic and soft drinks from 10:00 to 23:00. On the beach you get one umbrella and two sunbeds per room, but only from the third row back. Parking and laundry are extra.

Ultra all inclusive raises the bar. At Grifid Encanto, for instance, the lobby bar is open 24 hours with local and international drinks, the minibar is refilled daily with water, soft drinks and beer, and every room has an umbrella and two sunbeds on the hotel beach. Even there, medical spa treatments, the rooftop bar and dinner at the beach restaurant are charged separately. Ultra means more, not everything.

What usually costs extra, even on all inclusive:

• Imported spirits and bottled drinks on a standard all inclusive plan
• À la carte restaurants, or just one dinner on a longer stay
• Beach umbrellas and sunbeds when the hotel does not include them: Bulgarian beaches are leased to operators, who set their own prices
• Spa treatments, parking and airport transfers

One more line from the small print: Arabella Beach states that opening its restaurants, pools and sports facilities depends on occupancy and weather. Early and late in the season, not everything runs.

Bulgaria all inclusive holidays: the beach resorts

The coast splits in two by nearest airport: the south around Burgas and the north around Varna. Each resort has its own feel, so choose the area first and the hotel second.

Sunny Beach, Nessebar and Sveti Vlas

Sunny Beach is Bulgaria's largest seaside resort: a wide sandy beach, hundreds of hotels, many of them all inclusive, and loud summer nightlife. The old town of Nessebar sits on its peninsula at the southern end of the bay, and quieter Sveti Vlas at the northern end, with Marina Dinevi, the biggest marina in the country. Families after peace and quiet usually pick the ends of the strip rather than the middle. Burgas itself is a city with city and spa hotels on bed and breakfast, which is how all four of our Burgas hotels work.

One evening away from the buffet is worth it: a sunset cruise from Nessebar, about an hour at sea with views of Nessebar, Sunny Beach and Pomorie, from €78 per person.

Obzor

Obzor lies about 70 km north of Burgas, halfway to Varna, with a long and less crowded beach. It has all inclusive complexes too, but the town is small and the rest of the coast is a drive away. Without a car you will mostly stay put, so car rental for a few days makes a real difference.

Golden Sands and Albena

North of Varna are the two big northern resorts. Golden Sands is about 15 to 20 km from central Varna, a long beach backed by forest, calmer in its northern part. Albena, about 35 km north of Varna, was purpose built in the 1960s, with a wide beach and many hotels on all inclusive. It has a family, low key reputation, and its hotels close for the winter. Varna city and the nearby Sts. Constantine and Helena resort mostly offer city and spa hotels on bed and breakfast or half board.

All inclusive with kids: family friendly hotels

With children, all inclusive has a real upside: no hunting for a restaurant three times a day, and snacks, ice cream and drinks are already paid for. But hotels differ a lot. What we see at the coast hotels we list shows how much:

• Kids clubs: usually from age 3 or 4 up to 10 or 12. The mini club at Grifid Encanto takes ages 4 to 12, and one of our Burgas hotels has a playroom with an animator for ages 3 to 10. With younger children, parents are usually on their own, so ask about a toddler area.
• Child discounts: every hotel sets its own age bands. At one of our Burgas hotels babies under 2 stay free and children under 12 on an extra bed get a discount; at a Varna hotel the first child aged 2 to 11 on an extra bed with two adults stays free; at another, guests aged 12 and over pay as adults.
• What a free child gets: at Grifid Encanto, children staying free do not get their own beach set, and beach sunbeds cannot be reserved and can run short at busy times.
• Distance to the sand: "first line" means 10 metres from the sand at Grifid Encanto, while at other hotels it can include crossing a road. Check the map, not the description.
• Night noise: central Sunny Beach plays music late in summer. With small children, Sveti Vlas, northern Golden Sands or Albena are easier.

All inclusive hotels with a water park

"Hotel with a water park" can mean three very different things: a hotel with its own water park, tall slides and a lazy river; a hotel with a kids' pool and two or three small slides; or a hotel that gives access, sometimes only for certain room types, to a water park next door. Sunny Beach and Golden Sands both have all inclusive hotels with their own or an adjoining water park. Before booking, ask the hotel to confirm in writing:

• whether the park is inside the hotel or nearby, and how far
• whether entry is included for every guest or only some room types
• which months and hours it opens, since it is not always open for the hotel's full season
• height and age limits on the slides

Grifid Encanto has no water park: it has a children's pool with slides 50 metres from the hotel and a rooftop infinity pool. Enough for small children, less so for ten year olds after big slides. For a full day at a water park, the big resorts have stand alone parks open in summer.

When hotels open and when to book

All inclusive hotels on the coast are summer hotels. Most open roughly from mid May to the end of September; some open in early May and a few stay open into early October. July and August are the warmest months and also the busiest and most expensive. June and September are quieter and cheaper, but not every restaurant and pool is open. Dates change by hotel and by year, so check your hotel's opening dates before buying flights.

Early booking: coast hotels start selling next summer as early as the autumn, and early booking discounts usually appear over the winter and run roughly until spring. The size of the discount and the deadline vary by hotel, with no common calendar, so compare prices for exactly the same dates. And read the terms: at one Burgas hotel we list, early booking rates carry a non refundable prepayment of one night. A good discount is worth less when you cannot cancel.

In winter most coast all inclusive hotels are closed. A ski all inclusive holiday is a different story, covered in our guide to skiing in Bulgaria.

All inclusive, half board or book it yourself?

All inclusive pays off when you actually stay in: children who eat and drink all day, parents who want to rest rather than plan. If you plan to go out almost every day, you pay for lunches you will not eat, and half board or a city hotel with breakfast is the smarter choice.

Our coast hotels: which are really all inclusive

We currently list ten coast hotels: six in and around Varna and four in Burgas. Most are not all inclusive: they are spa and city hotels with breakfast, some with half board. The only all inclusive one is Grifid Encanto Beach.

Grifid Encanto Beach, Golden Sands: four stars and 266 rooms, 10 metres from the sand in the quiet northern part of Golden Sands, about 15 km from Varna. Ultra all inclusive with 3 restaurants and 4 bars, a beach set for every room, a large medical spa and a rooftop infinity pool. Good to know: parking is paid and cannot be reserved, men are asked to wear long trousers at the gala dinner and in the à la carte restaurant, and cancelling at least 7 days before arrival gets a full refund unless the rate says otherwise. The price for your dates and room is on the hotel page.

All our other hotels, in the mountains and cities too, are on our hotels page.

Getting from the airport to your hotel

Burgas Airport is closest to Sunny Beach, about half an hour by road. For Golden Sands and Albena, fly into Varna: about 25 km to Golden Sands and 40 km to Albena. A useful detail: in summer, Varna city bus 409 runs from the airport to Golden Sands in about 50 minutes, and a 90 minute ticket costs €1.30 from the machine. Outside the season the line does not go to Golden Sands.

From Burgas there is a private transfer from Burgas to Nessebar, at the southern end of Sunny Beach, from €39 per private car for up to 4, about 40 minutes. Landing in Sofia? A transfer from Sofia Airport to Burgas starts at €296 per car, about three and a half hours, and a transfer from Sofia Airport to Varna at €342 per car, about five and a quarter hours. Transfer prices change; the price shown when you book is the one that counts.

For the cities themselves and the drive from Sofia, see our guide to Varna, Burgas and the Black Sea coast and our Burgas guide.

What to ask before you book all inclusive

1. Which drinks are included, local only or imported too, and when is the bar open?
2. Are there à la carte restaurants, and how many dinners are included?
3. Beach umbrellas and sunbeds: included? From which row? Can you reserve?
4. The kids club: from what age, which hours and which days?
5. Child age bands for discounts, and what does a free child get?
6. Water park or slides: on site, included and open on your dates?
7. What is open on your dates if you travel in May, June or September?
8. Cancellation and prepayment terms, especially on early booking rates.
9. Evening dress code, parking and what costs extra at the spa.

Travelling with children and want days away from the pool too? Our family holiday in Bulgaria guide has full itineraries.