Bulgarian Black Sea Coast - geographical object

Bulgarian Black Sea Coast is in Bulgaria, forming eastern edge of the country.

Cities

• Burgas (Бургас) – Although known for its commercial port (Port of Burgas) and oil refinery, the city has a picturesque waterfront, nearby downtown and rich shopping areas that make it popular with tourists. The city hosts the popular music festival "Spirit of Burgas", and the Bulgarian Dead Sea can be found here.
• Balchik (Балчик) – A small town combining the entertainments of a modern beach resort with the magnificence of a sense of prestige due to the royal palace, besides a beautiful botanical garden. A few kilometres further along the coast you can find a semi-warm hot spring and the Tuzlata Mud Baths, similar procedure as the Dead Sea.
• Kavarna (Каварна) – The town called the rock capital of Bulgaria is famous for the rock festivals it holds. In 2010, after the death of rock legend Ronnie James Dio, a monument was opened in Kavarna in his honour. The town is also famous for its golf courses.
• Nesebar (Несебър) – One of the UNESCO World Heritage sites in Bulgaria is part of the town that is an hour north of Burgas. Nesebar is a mix of ancient history and modern summer resort.
• Primorsko (Приморско) – A resort town on a cape jutting out towards the Black Sea, mostly frequented by Eastern Europeans, Primorsko has two of the best natural beaches in Bulgaria with a pleasant long fine-sand coastline to the north and to the south of the cape. The town is a popular destination for the young generation because of the abundance of accommodation offers and night clubs and bars.
• Rezovo (Резово) – Situated in Strandzha Nature Park and lying at the mouth of the Rezovo River in the Black Sea, Rezovo is the southernmost point of the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and the southeastern-most inhabited place in Bulgaria and the European Union mainland. Rezovo directly overlooks the Turkish bank of the river and the Turkish village of Beğendik.
• Sozopol (Созопол) – Together with Nesebar these are two archaeological towns with traditional houses and ancient dig sites. Sozopol is another perfect mix of ancient history and contemporary beach resort.
• Tsarevo (Царево) – A coastal town on the edge of the Strandzha mountain a few hours south of Burgas, combing the freshness of the mountain with the beach opportunities of the coast.
• Varna (Варна) – The nation's third largest city, primarily a beach resort with a notorious nightlife, especially during the summer season.

Other destinations

Towns:

• Kiten – Another tourist town with nice beach and lots of hotels, if you are in search for a bargain. But probably not much else.
• Lozenets (Лозенец) – A village and seaside resort in the south, preferred by famous Bulgarians for spending their holidays with the nearby Lalov Egrek watersports centre which has one of the largest diving centres in Europe.
• Obzor (Обзор) – Another fusion of mountain and beach resort this time on the edge of Stara Planina, the town of Obzor is the home of the largest night club on the Balkans.
• Pomorie – 20 km north of Burgas. Buses to there run regularly from the Burgas bus station. The Pomorie Thracian Tomb is located near the village of Pomorie, open for visitors only in summer.
• Sinemorets – In the far south and quite touristic, with very good beaches and an interesting lagune for windsurfing and kayaking.
• Sveti Vlas (St. Vlas) – A town at the foot of the southern slopes of the Balkan Mountains. Even though heavily developed in the 2000's it is a pretty quiet and calm down place, making it good place to have a rest.
• Varvara – Swim, rest and play at the beach, which is small and peaceful, but not crowded (i.e. when travelling with kids). Delphin beach (with camping), some 2 km off the village, is apparently good for diving. Some express buses daily leave Burgas southern bus station and pass Varvara on the way, 1 hr and 10 лв.

Resorts:

• Albena – 30 km north of Varna. An old style resort, with an architecture from the Communist times. Peaceful area though. Since the whole resort is owned by a single private company, it is one of the very few places on Bulgaria's Black Sea coast that does not suffer from overbuilding.
• Golden Sands – 17 km north of Varna. Similar to Ballermann and Lloret de Mar—restaurants are more expensive to the rest of Bulgaria, but some good hotel bargains can be found if you like the beach.
• Kamen Bryag (Камен бряг, literally: Rocky Coast) – 82 km north of Varna. The high rocky coast near the small village has been popular among Bulgarian hippies.
• Sarafovo – Basically a suburb of Burgas, known as the Beverly Hills of Burgas. Excellent combination of sea, sun and convenient transport connections.
• Sunny Beach – The largest beach resort in Bulgaria, in the southern part of the Bulgarian Black Sea Riviera stretching along a beautiful semicircular bay facing east. It feels more like a fairground than a city.

Nature:

• Ropotamo Reserve – 50 km south of Burgas. Visitors can see wild sand dunes, rocky formations and authentic flora and wildlife, and can also enjoy water lilies. You can take a boat trip up or down the river. To get there the best will be to take a car. Alternatively you can try to reach the town of Primorsko and take some public transport or travel agency from there.
• Cape Emine and Irakli – 54 km south of Burgas. It divides geographically the Bulgarian Black Sea coast to South and North. The cape is the most eastern part of the Balkans (Stara planina) mountain chain and end of the European hiking route E-H, the Bulgarian part of which is the route Kom - Emine. The cape is a vertical 60-m cliff, surrounded by hundreds and underwater rocks. North of the cape is Irakli Protected Area.

Understand

• You should be wary as there are some premises on the coastline that are restricted but, as in normal Bulgarian fashion lack the necessary signs stating that trespassers will be penalized.
• If you are doing any kind of sea voyage on the Black Sea, on the Bulgarian side, have in mind that while its littered with small villages, many of the locals are not well acquainted with English or any international languages.

Get in

The coast region can be accessed through two airports: Varna International Airport and Burgas Airport. However, as there are not many flights to either airports, an easier option is landing in Sofia first, and then taking a bus to the coast.

Get around

The best way to get around the entire coast area is by bus. To avoid being ripped off by ticket cashiers, which is common although illegal, either try speaking to them in Bulgarian or let your Bulgarian friends, if you have any, buy your tickets. Or just find out the price ahead and pay the correct fare. Starting from a bus station, for tickets at the counter you will receive a slip. Also, often prices are advertised inside the bus.

See

Aladzha Manastir (Аладжа Манастир) outside Varna is a beautiful monastery, which is dug in a giant rock. The entrance fee is quite low, and it's a very beautiful, and quite weird thing to see.

Pobiti Kamani (Побити Камъни), literally "the rocks which got hit", also outside Varna, are a bunch of gigantic rocks, standing up, in the middle of nowhere. The rocks are said to radiate energy and a lot of hippies stop by.

Another beautiful place is the Cape Kaliakra. This cape has a long bloody history, starting with 40 virgins jumping off, so they won't have to marry invading Turks, and ending with a bloody sea battle.

Do

• Arkutino Beach, 42.3328°, 27.7325°. Remote, not busy and clean. 2021-12-08

Eat

• Fish soups – The traditional fish soup in Shabla for example features some 12 kinds of fish.
• Cheverme – The traditional whole-animal grill. Can be made with everything from chickens to entire cows.
• "Tarator" - This is a drinkable/edible mixture of yogurt+water+cucumbers+onions which is incredibly refreshing and is colloquially called "Cold Summer Soup".
• "Shkembe Chorba" - Is a traditional, more often than not spicy meal, which consists of some type of innards of any type of animal and has a unique flavor.

Sleep

Camping

The Southern Black Sea coastal line has suffered heavily from the construction boom of holiday resorts and complexes from the 2000–2008 period. As alternative to the traditional summer vacation there are a few campsites situated on picturesque beaches in the Burgas region. For travelers without cars, most of them are accessible by public transport to the main village and then by walk or hitchhike.

From north to south:

• Zora (near the town of Obzor)
• Nesebar bungalows (near Nesebar)
• Bolyarski stan (near Ravda)
• Aheloy campsite (near the village Aheloy)
• Villas Mariana (near Pomorie)
• VTEPS Chernomorets (Chernomorets)

The following two are very famous among windsurfers and other water and wind sport fans. A few surf schools are open there from May–October. Equipment is available for rent.

• Gradina (Chernomorets)
• Zlatna ribka ("Golden Fish") (Sozopol)
• Kavatsi (Sozopol)
• Kiten campsite (Kiten)
• Camping Yug (Kiten)
• Camping Koral (Lozentez)
• Pipilota (Lozenetz)
• Oasis (Lozenetz)
• Arapya campsite (Tzarevo)
• Morski briz (Tzarevo)
• Nestinarka (Tzarevo)
• Zelenika (Ahtopol)
• Slunchev den/Sunny Day (Ahtopol)
• Siniya laguna/Blue lagoon (Ahtopol)
• Zafo bungalows (Sinemoretz)
• Silistar (also a town, less than 1 km from the Bulgarian-Turkish border)

Go next

• Strandzha mountains – The region around the mountains Strandzha and Sakar to the south of the Black Sea Coast region. A world-famous attraction are the authentic fire dancers, called nestinari (нестинари). The mountains are good for biking and hiking.