Blogs we like

Cheap Backpacking: Random photo from my trip to Bulgaria. A real case of WTF??

This is a continuation from my last blog below on cheap backpacking in Varna / Golden Sands (Bulgaria). The last post covered topics such as the cheapest accomodation, the cheapest drinks (free), cheapest entry into night clubs, the cheapest accomodation, the cheapest transport, and scams to watch out for!

In this blog I will cover how to eat from an extensive all you eat buffet for 1 Euro, the cheapest place to exchange money, and plenty more!

By chance, me and my German friend were walking past the Grand International Casino recently and heard a promo from the loudspeakers telling us why we should come in and gamble our lives away.

But despite that, there was a diamond in the rough. The casino also invited us into its laire by promising 1 euro for an all you can eat buffet lunch and dinner.

Being experienced travellers, needless to say, we were a little skeptical.

But we thought, what the hell, its 1 Euro / 2 leva. Given that you have to spend a minimum 20-30 leva for a filling meal in Golden Sands we thought we may as well give it a go.

So we rocked up for lunch the first day – and boy where we in for a treat! Our cynicism was completely wasted on this place.

It was the biggest, most delicious buffet my eyes had ever landed on. I felt like I was in Asterix’s village feasting at one the banquets!!

It was all you cna eat and we had a choice of 7 salads, 4 different kinds of meat (chicken, beef, pork, rabbit) local dishes like mousaka, soups to choose from, sausages to choose from, fries, fruit, and of course desert cakes.

It was to put it bluntly, spectacular.

So how do they pay this you may ask? well the catch it that they hope that you will spend money afterwards or before and not leave the casino – just spend all your time there, living in their ohtel, losing your money at the casino, eating, smoking, whatever you want – they’ve got it.

But that didnt work on us, we just went in their every day and had lunch and dinner

What you need to know: You need to bring your passport, as with all Bulgarian casinos the first time you enter, so that they can give you a membership card. After that just bring your card. Lunch is between 1-3 pm and dinner is 10pm – 12am. The Casino is called Grand International and is on the beach. Writing about it makes my mouth water again…mmm….

You might think that that was the only good thing the Casino is good for, but you would be wrong!

They make so much money from the gamblers that they can also afford to give you the best exchange rate on your money.

You need to be especially careful in Bulgaria (Varna / Golden Sands) because there are a lot of dodgy going ons.

So let me tell you what to avoid before telling you the one place which is best because you may not always be near it when you need it.

In the city part of Varna, there is usually an exchange shop every few meters, in addition there are also old men who come up to you on the street and try to harrass you (and in some cases follow you) to try to get you to exchange money with them.

These people use two main tricks to screw you. First of all, they will give you an excellent rate – the problem is, that they money is the old Bulgarian currency which is absolutely useless!! The other trick they have is that they do give you a good rate but when they are counting out the money they do a funny bugger sleave trick and screw you sideways. This happened to a friend of mine, and despite the thought of being screwed side ways, he was quiet angry when he checke dhis money 2 days later and realised he couldn’t go back to that man.

The second group of hucksters call themselves an exchange office and advertise a high, seemingly fair rate. The problem is the fine print. The rate they advertise means absolutely nothing but they make it close enough to the usual exchange rate to make it seem realistic.

When you ask for an explanation of what the text with the asterix actually means, they point to a wall with even more confusing language in tiny print, which leads to most people to just be like ‘what the hell i’ll just trust them this is too hard to be bothered’.

Which is exactly what I did. But then when I gave over my US$50 and went to sign the form I saw the ACTUAL RATE which is was absolutely pitiful!!! So Isaid if this is the actual rate, im not signig this, but the pushy woman was like no its too late, you’ve already given me your money and the camera recorded it and i’m not giving you your money back.

I stupidly believed this and got 57 leva for US50 instead of US69. And I didnt realise how muych I should have gotten until I went to the exchange place next door and asked how muchbt ey would give me for US50.

Boy was I pissed, I was looking around for the police and asking the locals (most of whom were not interested in helping). Then I came back and another American guy justy got ripped off and wanted his money back. So we both just stood there for 5 minutes until we would get out money back. She wouldn’t budge but then this guy had to go so our little sit in collapsed (despite making the evil cow visibly uncomfortable).

I was fuming >:(

Any how, if you need to exchange money and the rate seems slightly better than the one next door – check – because they may be crooks!!

So if you are in Varna and not near the Casino I recommend Banks or exhcnage palces which have Western Union affiliated with them. Always ask how much they will give you for a set amount of money and shop around, before making the exchange.

Which brings me back to the Casino in house exchange.

The Casino is the only place that actually does not make a profit. It has no fees and gives you exactly what your currency is worth. They will even withdraw it from your credit card for no fee.

The only catch? it must be a minimum of 200 Euros, so best get it near the start of your trip.

In my next blog I will cover the cheapest backpacking tips for Sofia – capital of Bulgaria.

Got any hot backpacking on the cheap tips? share the love around and post them below