Top 6 May 1 break destinations

Many still waiting for the last minute bargain

According to infoturism.ro, topping the list is Bulgaria, with 1,027 offers, followed by Romania with 418 offers. Turkey and Egypt are in a tie, with around 140 offers for the May 1 break.

According to booking stats available on infoturism.ro for April the most popular destinations are: Golden Sands, Kusadasi, Hurghada, Albena, Mamaia.

Travel agencies sold around 50% of the May 1 packages and expect the last week of April to bring the biggest share of the sales, because Romanians are getting familiar with the ‘last-minute’ discounts and wait to take advantage of them.

Mamaia - �22/3-nights package

“In Romania, the best-selling packages are for seaside locations in the country, and in some cases the mountainous locations in Valea Prahovei”, said Madalina Pacuraru, managing partner of HasHas Travel agency.

For a 3-nights stay at a two-star hotel in Mamaia resort, prices start from €22. For a two-night stay at a three-star hotel, prices are up to €40, breakfast included.

4-star hotels in Mamaia offer room rates of up to €65 for a three-night stay.

In Costinesti resort, room rates start from 30 lei/night at two-star hotels, and from 360 lei/night at three-star hotels.

In the Delta, a three-nights stay costs around €230. “The package includes three-nights accommodation, three meals a day, day cruises, speed boats cruises, fishing gear, water ski, clubbing and karaoke”, said the representatives of infoturism.ro.

At Moeciu, inn room rates range between 70 and 100 lei per night/double room.

Bulgaria, all inclusive from �40

“As for external destinations, the best selling-packages were the 3-4/nights packages for Bulgarian seaside locations, where prices are low, and compared to Romania, tourists can enjoy clean beaches, recently refitted hotels with indoor and outdoor pool, all-inclusive offers, and excellent amenities”, said the representative of HasHas Travel.

Topping Romanians’ preference list are Albena and Golden Sands, according to infoturism.ro.

For an all-inclusive three-night stay during April 30 – May 3, rates start from €50 and reach €100, depending on accommodation units and stars.

At the Golden Sands, a 3-4 night-stay at four-star hotels, rates vary between €40 and €70.

Egypt, starting from �200

A classic destination for all-inclusive packages, perfect also for a May 1 getaway is Egypt, Hurghada resort in particular.

At local travel agencies, a travel package with eight-night accommodation ranges between €200 and €300 with two meals included.

In 2009, around 60,000 Romanians spent their vacation in Egypt. For this year, Egyptian authorities plan to double the number of Romanians choosing Egypt as vacation destination.

Turkey � from �280

Turkey has earned its reputation as the travel destination of choice for Romanian tourists.

An all-inclusive package for Antalya resort costs around €320. For Istanbul, a package with four-night accommodation during April 30 – May 3 costs €280, the package also including the plane ticket.

European cities

According to travel agencies, European cities such as Rome, Prague or Amsterdam crept in Romanians’ to-visit list for 1 May break, despite higher prices.

A travel package that includes four-night accommodation (breakfast included) in a four-star hotel in Amsterdam, and transportation costs is around €600.