Last Summer in Levs? Bulgaria’s Seaside Vacation Costs and the Eurozone Transition

This may be the last seaside summer for Bulgarians in levs.

It is expected that we will remember the five days we might treat ourselves to for a family vacation — with an average nightly rate of 200 BGN per room, transport costs around 300 BGN, nearly 10 BGN for beach shade rental, and a dinner for two with a bottle of wine in a nice restaurant along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast costing around 87 BGN.

What will happen next euro summer is hard to predict, but it will certainly not be more expensive. This was stated in an interview for BTA by Rumen Draganov, Director of the Institute for Analysis and Assessment in Tourism, who was contacted for comment regarding the upcoming opening of this year’s summer season, which will take place in Pomorie on May 31.

The government expects in early June an evaluation of Bulgaria’s readiness to join the eurozone. If the country meets all the requirements, it may join the currency union on January 1, 2026. For Bulgaria, 2025 is yet another year in which tourism operates in euros, and in this sense, the sector has long been in the eurozone, since contracts with foreign tour operators are always signed in the relevant currency, including euros, Draganov reminded.

He was firm that we should not expect any change in tourism service prices next year simply due to the euro adoption. Large payments by foreigners in Bulgaria during their holidays are made via credit cards, and for them, the elimination of currency conversion and related banking fees will be a great relief, the expert noted.

This summer will be another one marked by ongoing military conflicts, but as experience from last year and previous ones has shown, people continue to travel and choose vacations in Bulgaria, he added. In 2024, the number of foreign visits to the country increased by nearly 600,000 compared to the pre-pandemic year of 2019, Draganov pointed out. His expectations are that 2025 will end with a significant rise in foreign visits, reaching around 13.8 million — or about 4–4.5% more than the previous year.