WHEN families are choosing a beach holiday they look for warm, sunny weather, sandy beaches, a good quality hotel with a swimming pool, reasonable prices for food and drink, departures from their local airport and the actual cost of the holiday must be value for money!

Well, Bulgaria and Balkan Holidays has all this and more, claims tour operator Balkan Holidays.

"We offer 170 hotels and apartments in 15 Bulgarian Black Sea resorts, plus 52 weekly flights to Bourgas and Varna from 22 UK departure airports, including Belfast," said a spokesperson.

"The weather during the summer is perfect for adults and children, with warm sunny days (from 20 degrees in May to 30 degrees in July and August), perfect for a day on the beach or by the pool."

The beaches in Bulgaria are beautiful, and perfect for all the family. The soft golden sand shelves gently into the warm Black Sea, making it ideal for children. Sunny Beach, Bulgaria's largest beach resort has a beach that is 8km long and 60 metres wide, so there is plenty of space for everyone.

The second largest resort is Golden Sand, a modern beach resort with a wide selection of a beautiful sandy beach, a wide range of modern hotels from 2 to 5 star, a great election of restaurants plus a new water park.

Balkan Holidays features a wide selection of hotels in all of Bulgaria's Black Sea coastal resorts, with even more new hotels in the Summer 2006 brochure.

The most popular category of hotels with with holidaymakers are the modern and spacious four and five star hotels with a swimming pool and situated on the beach.

Chris Rand, Sales and Marketing Manager of Balkan Holidays, said: "Bulgaria has everything you want from a beach holiday, great value with high quality holidays and some of the most beautiful beaches in Europe, and this is contributing to our high level of bookings for Summer 2006."

The cost of food and drinks in Bulgaria is also unbeatable, claims the tour operator. Lunch costs £2, a bottle of beer is 50p, a three-course dinner for a family of four with drinks costs no more than £15 in a beach-side restaurant