Mountain or Sea Property?
My knowledge of Bulgaria is very small and I’m just beginning to study it, but we are a family with small children and interested in a property in Bulgaria. We would like advice on locations. We love the sea, the countryside and skiing. Can you recommend to us an area which would have good access to all the above. Thank you very much. C.C. UK

BlackSeaEstates Ansewers: Dear Craig, A lot of clients ask this question and I am afraid there is no definite answer to it. It really depends how close you would like to be to the sea and how close to the slopes. It depends also what type of skiing you practice, on what level, how much are you going to spend, how many properties you are looking to buy, how far you want to be from major airport. One thing is certain near sea or mountain you will be in the countryside. There are plenty of inexpensive properties in the Bulgarian countryside close to the sea or mountain slopes. But there is some useful information and I will live the decision to you. There are only three winter resorts with proper skiing and snowboarding facilities: Pamporovo, Borovetz and Bansko. The last one is least popular in the UK but very popular among the Bulgarians. There are other ski-slopes and smaller resorts all around the country. They are not on that level and may not satisfy advanced skiers, but are perfect for beginners and intermediate. We have plenty of properties in the Gabrovo area (reference numbers A and J), the town is very picturesque and there are three ski slopes on 11 miles in the Balkan mountain. Gabrovo is on 2,5 hrs drive from the seaside and 2 hrs drive from Sofia airport. Bansko is furthest away from the sea, about 5-6 hrs drive; Pamporovo is on about 330km from the sea or about 4hs drive on good roads and Borovetz is on about 320km and about 3,5hrs drive. We currently have some properties on 5 miles from Borovetz, which is also very close to Sofia Airport (aprox.50 miles, most of it motorway).More about the resorts and the facilities they offer I would recommend Balkan Holidays brochure which you can order on line (see the link on our homepage) or pick from your local travel agent. Please, see also our Picture Gallery for some mountain photos. You would have more choice if you consider the other option buy in the countryside near the sea and travel to the mountain slopes. We have plenty of properties on a few miles form the sea and major towns. For example most of the properties with a reference V are close to the seaside, close to the City of Varna and its airport, which is linked to Gatwick airport all year around. Further inland you go lower price you will pay for land and property and there are some properties starting fro 7-8000 pounds. What I would recommend is to buy two cheaper properties in the countryside, one near the sea and one in the mountain.