Russians were “pressed down” by prices in Bulgaria: an ordinary burger for 750 rubles

But this year, Bulgaria no longer seems comfortable: prices for goods and services have doubled. The Russians spoke about a significant rise in food prices, unaffordable rental housing and fears of swimming in the sea due to the Ukrainians blowing up the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station.

Russian tourists have not been seen in Bulgaria since last year. Now there come mostly property owners. And if last year the euro exchange rate fell below 60 rubles, which played into the hands of the Russians, then this year, with the growth of the European currency to 90 rubles and an increase in food prices, the situation has changed dramatically.

– Food prices have almost doubled, especially in resorts. Taking into account the high exchange rate, the euro decently hits the pocket, – says a Russian woman living in Sveti Vlas. – Recently I noticed a sign near the simplest street cafe, where they advertised a hamburger for 750 rubles. We have such prices in expensive restaurants in Moscow.

I went to a small supermarket near the beach, didn’t take anything significant, left 3,000 rubles. Even the price of water has gone up. Previously, a half-liter bottle could be bought for 80 stotinki, now more than a lev.

Sweet cherry – 400-500 rubles, a few pieces of jamon – 300 rubles. Carrots for 250! Chicken breast in a large supermarket – from 10 to 15 leva (500-750 rubles). But for 10 levs they don’t advise taking it, they say it’s slimy. The most expensive, yellow chicken costs almost 850 rubles.

In Burgas, I had a bite at McDonald’s: I paid 800 rubles for six nuggets and a small cola.

The price of taxis and public transport has almost doubled. It costs 100 rubles to drive a couple of stops on the bus, and 400 rubles from Sunny Beach to Burgas for half an hour.

Russian Elena with her husband and child arrived in Bulgaria a week ago. One trip to the store cost her almost 7,000 rubles. “We didn’t buy anything special,” the woman commented and listed the cost of the products in rubles to us.

– I have a check in front of me, I’ll read what we took. Mustard – 250 rubles, the most common Bulgarian cheese 400 grams – 500 rubles, so a kilogram costs around 1300. Six small beef cutlets (half a kilo) – 500 rubles, sliced ​​​​Lithuanian cheese – 250 rubles, kebabchichi – 350 rubles.

Chocolate – 250 rubles, here you can find one for 100. Herbal tea, which used to cost 50 rubles, has risen in price to 100. Bread last year cost 40 rubles, now 100. Alcohol also increased in price by 50 percent. According to rumors, from July 1, prices will rise even more.

Due to high prices, restaurants in the resort are also empty.

– Chicken soup has risen in price from 120 rubles to 350. Shopska salad – almost 500 rubles per 300 grams, – continues the woman. – A familiar Bulgarian got a job as a waitress in a cafe for the summer season. She says that the first day she stood for five hours, there was not a single visitor. In expensive restaurants, waiters sit idle all day. I think now all the locals will have a restaurant on the balcony. People prefer to go to Burgas for groceries, where prices are lower than in small resort towns.

Rare tourists who still planned to come to Bulgaria were surprised by housing prices. On booking sites, the cheapest apartments in Sunny Beach cost 80 thousand rubles a month. The cost of apartments near the sea starts from 140 thousand. Basically, housing prices are 2500-4500 euros.

“We are now looking for accommodation for friends who are planning to come in August,” says a local resident. But you can’t find budget apartments. Russians, who cannot get here for various reasons, last year rented apartments to Ukrainians at reasonable prices for a long time. What’s left is worth a lot of money.

According to the Russians, there are few tourists at the resort.

“Our five-story building is empty,” says Russian woman Svetlana. – In addition to us, there is a Ukrainian family with two children and a couple of pensioners from Odessa. There are no people on the beaches either. I noticed only Ukrainians who have been here since last year. There are many cars with Ukrainian numbers on the coast. There are no more clashes between Ukrainians and Russians. But we try to stay out of harm’s way not to talk about politics in public places. .

At the moment, Bulgarians and Russians are worried about the state of the Black Sea due to the undermining of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station. Dirty water from the flood zone approached Odessa. Water moves to the coast of Romania. It is possible that it will reach Bulgaria.

“Special laboratories have been opened at the resorts that monitor the situation at sea,” says Russian Denis. – The Ministry of Tourism of Bulgaria confirms that the beaches are safe. Local media write that specialists take water samples daily.

Our morning now begins with environmental reports. To date, all microbiological parameters are normal. But the other day there was information that some beaches in Romania are closed. Now in Bulgaria they are afraid that if problems arise here, the authorities may not report this so as not to disrupt the holiday season.

We still go to the sea, outwardly the water is clean. But we don’t swim much, we went in and out so that the water would not get into our mouths. We think that in connection with this situation, the Europeans are unlikely to reach Bulgaria, they will prefer the Mediterranean Sea to the Black Sea. So only Ukrainians and Russians will stay here.

Due to high prices and flight problems, some Russian citizens are thinking about selling apartments.

– I have property in Bulgaria since 2011. I feel comfortable here, despite not a huge number of Ukrainians, – shared one of the Russians. – We wanted to sell apartments and buy in our south. We studied the issue and realized that it is unrealistic to buy something decent for the money raised. We traveled all over the Crimea, further from Kerch to Adler, and did not find anything similar. Sadly…

Another owner of real estate in Bulgaria this year went to her friend, to see and compare Bulgaria with the resorts of the Krasnodar Territory.

– I have only reached Novorossiysk so far, so it’s too early to talk about the pros and cons, – says Anastasia. – Novorossiysk is clearly inferior to the resorts of Bulgaria.

There are two main beaches, they are very small. There are large and slippery stones at the bottom, it is inconvenient to enter the water. The sea does not smell like the sea. Coastal picture – barns, rusty garages, chaotic cement skeletons all over the sea. There is no feeling that you are at sea. Sunny Beach has 10 km of sandy beaches and a pleasant smell of sea water. I plan to drive to all the resorts of the Krasnodar Territory and compare where it is more comfortable.