Summer on the Black Sea coast with a holiday in Bulgaria.

With a rich history and strong sense of folk lore, Bulgaria is a small but picturesque country occupying the northeastern part of the Balkan peninsula and linking Eastern and Western Europe. There are mountains, lush green forests and with one border being the Black Sea, Bulgaria really can offer every type of holiday.

The beaches are beautiful with stunning coastlines and rugged outcrops. The weather is typically Mediterranean with many sunshine hours and year round warm temperatures at the lower levels. For skiing holidays the mountain resorts are perfect and a cheaper alternative to more well known European resorts.

There are daily flights from London and Manchester to Sofia. Easyjet is currently offering flights for around the £70 mark each way to fly from London over a weekend in the summer or around £90 to fly from Manchester at the same time. The airports of Bourgas and Varna are on the coast so if you are planning a beach holiday then you really need to book through a holiday company such as Thomson who will arrange flights to one of these airports as part of the package as it is very difficult to find direct flights from the UK to either Bourgas or Varna.

There are some great deals out there at the moment. We found costs starting at £380 per person flying out from Gatwick for seven nights in July and August, staying at the Hotel Slavyanski. This is with Thomson Holidays and includes flights and transfers.