Travel & Accomodations

Hotel

Saint Thomas Holiday Village

You may book your stay directly via the St. Thomas Hotel website or via Booking.com & other third parties. The rate is approx. $100/night with breakfast included. Or we can reserve the room for you for $50 discounted rate with breakfast. If you would like the discounted rate through us, please indicate this when you RSVP and we’ll follow up with payment instructions. The property is also currently renovating all of the rooms! If you would like to stay elsewhere, there are many options nearby (Art Complex Anel, Green Life Beach Resort, etc.).

Flight

Sofia International Airport

We recommend booking through Lufthansa, LOT, Swiss or KLM. Chicago & STL have flights to Sofia, as well as Varna & Burgas. From Sofia, you can get to Saint Thomas Holiday Village by rental car (4 hr drive), a flight to Burgas (1.5 hr drive to hotel) or bus. If driving, we recommend sleeping one night in Sofia first. We will try to coordinate transportation depending on arrival/departure dates.

Flight

Burgas Airport

Sofia offers one hour flights to Burgas. Burgas Airport is a 30 min drive to Saint Thomas Holiday Village. Flights from Sofia to Burgas are typically $50-100. You can take a taxi from the airport to the hotel.

Flight

Varna Airport

Sofia offers one hour flights to Varna. Varna is a 2.5 hr drive from Saint Thomas Holiday Village. Flights from Sofia to Varna are typically $50-100 (we recommend SkyScanner). You can rent a car from Varna airport, where you will find many local and international chains like Hertz and Sixt. This will give you maximum flexibility to explore the area. We can also assist with bus arrangements.

Travel Note

Taxis

Taxis in Bulgaria are all painted bright yellow & are usually branded to a particular company. They charge by the kilometer, with an initial fee of anywhere up to 1 lev ($1 USD = 1.7 lev). If taxis are available, there will be a green light on the front shield at the left corner above the passenger’s seat. If the taxi is occupied, the light is red. In Sozopol & Sofia, there are a few taxi stands or you can stop a taxi by waving on the street. NOTE: Taxis in Bulgaria don’t take credit cards so be sure to have some cash on you. Tipping for taxis is rounding up to the nearest lev. Follow the meter rate & do make sure you have seen the price per kilometer. Make sure to keep your eye on how the price is going up as you are travelling. Your taxi driver is obliged to display his photo and ID on the dashboard as well as a number for you to call with any complaints. *Uber/Lyft is no longer available in Bulgaria*

Rental Car

Enterprise

The drive from the airport to Saint Thomas Holiday Village is approximately 4-4.5 hours. You can rent a car with some well known companies such as Enterprise, Budget or Hertz. Driving can be a little more hectic than in the USA because the roads are narrower and the other drivers are more aggressive. Although rare, if the police ever decide to pull you over they will just wave you down instead of chasing you and turning on the lights like they do in the USA. When using GPS keep in mind that it can sometimes get confused on the smaller streets.

Travel Note

Bus

There are several bus options from Sofia Airport to our venue. The bus has a few stops so it takes a bit longer than driving, approx. 6 hrs. We are happy to purchase the tickets for you.

Hotel

Best Western Premier Sofia Airport Hotel

The Best Western is an affordable hotel option near Sofia International Airport, it is a 5 minute drive (1.5 km) away.

Hotel

Hyatt Regency Sofia

Another option close to Sofia International Airport. It is a 10 minute drive away.