Sandy beaches stretching for kilometers, charming towns and larger resorts with monuments from ancient times. See all of this for yourself on Bulgarian Riviera!
The climate of the Bulgarian Riviera is favorable for relaxation, and the temperature of the water in the Black Sea encourages bathing. Today the Bulgarian coast offers everything that foreign tourists are looking for – full accommodation and catering infrastructure, discos and bars open until late at night, amusement parks and water parks for children, and facilities for all water sports.
All this attracts a large number of vacationers every year who want to spend their holidays on the Bulgarian Riviera.
Map of the Bulgarian Riviera
The following, current map of the Bulgarian Riviera will help you locate tourist attractions described in this guide that are worth visiting:
Let’s start exploring the Bulgarian Riviera with our guide. And we’ll start with the most important!
Temperature and weather on the Bulgarian Riviera
The weather on the Bulgarian Riviera is one of those favorable factors that attracts crowds of tourists. The climate on the coast is more humid (subtropical and continental) than in the central part of the country, which is influenced by the presence of the Black Sea.
Interestingly, the sea does not freeze even in winter.
Good weather conditions on the Bulgarian Riviera prevail throughout the summer, i.e. from May to September, when the temperature exceeds 20 degrees Celsius. In the warmest months the temperature reaches over 30 degrees – truly scalding!
From May to September, the sun keeps on shinning for majority of the day.
What about the sea?
The water in the sea heats up very quickly and retains its warmth until autumn. The average water temperature on the Bulgarian Riviera is 23 degrees, but in August it can reach up to over 26 degrees. However, high salinity makes the sea off the coast quite clean.
In summary, the weather on the Bulgarian coast is favorable. It is warm, or even hot in the middle of summer, but nicer than for example in Italy, about which we will write soon.
Going forward.
Sandy beaches and more
Beaches, wide, sandy, with plenty of space for sunbathing, together with weather are the main magnet for tourists visiting Bulgarian Riviera.
Generally speaking, the Bulgarian coastline is rather even and not very varied, but the beaches are wide with golden, soft sand and cover 130 kilometers from 373 kilometers of the entire waterfront. The longest is almost 12 kilometers long (Kamchija-Scorpio), and many of them received the prestigious Blue Flag award (for purity and quality of water and ecology).
Interestingly, the northern and southern parts of the coast are different.
In the north we have wide beaches, with a gentle entrance to the sea. The water here is quite shallow near shore, which is important for families with children, and there is a green belt next to the beach, where you can find temporary relief from the sun in the shade. It is in this part of the Bulgarian Riviera there are also healing springs. In turn, in the southern part of the Bulgarian coast, the beaches are surrounded by quite high dunes, and the waterfront itself is more varied with coves hidden between the rocks.
Below is a list of the most popular and best beaches on the Bulgarian Riviera:
Accommodation on the Bulgarian Riviera: hotels, apartments, lodgings
The Bulgarian Riviera is now a real bastion of accommodation and entertainment. In the most popular resorts, accommodation facilities literally stand next to each other.
In the south they are accumulated in well-known resorts. In the north, accommodation can be found in a much quieter area.
On the Bulgarian Riviera there is no shortage of luxury hotels with all amenities and entire resorts equipped with swimming pools and other pieces of tourist infrastructure. Of course, you can rent flats, apartments and private accommodation on your own.
The full range of accommodation is complemented by holiday homes, rooms for rent and numerous sanatoriums with SPA, benefiting from the healing properties of nearby springs.
Resorts and tourist attractions or what to see
The most famous resorts on the Bulgarian Riviera are Golden Sands (Zlatni Pyasatsi) and Sunny Beach (Slanchev Bryag). It is there that tourists usually come and the largest number of attractions are concentrated there. In addition to sandy, wide beaches, there are also great conditions for practicing all kinds of water sports.
Below is a map of Golden Sands:
After sunset, both resorts are still teeming with life, while bars, discos and pubs are open until dawn. An additional attribute of Golden Sands is the nearby healing springs that are utilized by various spas. In turn, Sunny Beach is distinguished by dunes up to 20 meters high and by the fact that in the summer numerous festivals take place here.
It’s a bit calmer in Sozopol, at least out of season. This small fishing village is known primarily from the old town, where there are characteristic stone and wooden buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries. Most of these buildings are national treasures. It is crowded in the season because the nearby sandy beaches tempt with their charm.
Primorsko is another typical tourist spot with nice beaches. The resort is located at the foot of the Strandja mountain range and is in the immediate vicinity of the Ropotamo river that flows into the sea. In the summer you can meet crowds of vacationers.
Pomorie is a less crowded holiday resort, which means that prices may be slightly lower here. It is located on a narrow and rocky peninsula. It is famous mainly for saline and healing mud. Although the beaches are not the prettiest, they are distinguished by a high iron content and favorable microclimate, which is why there are many sanatoriums in the area.
In turn, Albena is the youngest resort on the Bulgarian Riviera. It offers its guests a sandy, long beach, partly sheltered by a green belt. It’s a calmer place, ideal for families with children. In contrast to the loud and entertaining Golden Sands and Sunny Beach.
Prices on the Bulgarian Riviera
We devoted a completely separate article to prices in Bulgaria, which included the cities of the Bulgarian Riviera we mentioned. That is why we invite you to check the current prices in Bulgaria and see how much money you need to take with you to this country for your vacation!
Sightseeing and monuments
When it comes to sightseeing on the Bulgarian Riviera, Nessebar is undoubtedly the most interesting city. The town is practically an entire archaeological park, because all its monuments have been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
See on the map where exactly Nessebar is located:
It is worth walking here through the narrow, cobbled streets among the houses of stone and wood. In some of them there are souvenir shops, and on the first floor restaurants were opened. The church of St. Stefan from the 12th century with frescoes inside is also worth of visiting. However, in the new part of Neserbar there is a park with fountains and the largest aquapark on the Bulgarian Riviera – Aqua Paradise.
Varna is the largest city on the Bulgarian Riviera.
In addition to the city beach there is a nice green belt, called the Seaside Park, where you can spend a great time. There are also interesting museums to visit in Varna – the Archaeological Museum with a library and one of the oldest exhibits in the world, and the Retro Museum with collections since the 1960s. In the city, it is also worth visiting the Cathedral of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary from the nineteenth century, the remains of the Roman Baths or the aquarium in Varna.
Optional trips on the Bulgarian Riviera
Staying on the Bulgarian Riviera in addition to day-long sunbathing and partying at night, it is also worth going on trips to nearby attractions. One of them is undoubtedly the Stone Forest located near Varna (18 km), i.e. a rock formation resembling frozen trees. In fact, these are high columns formed from limestone infiltrates deep into the sandbanks and distributed over a large area (7 sq km).
Another idea for a day trip is the Ropotamo Nature Reserve located near Sozopol (12 km). Here, with cruises you can admire the wildlife: aquatic vegetation (water lilies) and animals living in the area (turtles, various species of fish, snakes). A fun way to spend time for the whole family.
It is also worth going to Cape Kaliakra. It is a two-kilometer promontory made of vertical rocks, built of red sandstone and pink limestone. A nature reserve was created in this area, protecting over 300 species of birds and 400 of plants. You can see a little hidden (in the rock) chapel of St. Nicholas (patron of sailors) and remains of the fortress of Tirisis. Entry to the reserve is paid.
You can also learn about the Bulgarian Riviera from the official website of Bulgarian tourism.
Opinions about the Bulgarian Riviera
Opinions of tourists who were on site and had the opportunity to visit the Bulgarian Riviera are invaluable. Therefore, we encourage you to add your opinions, reviews and comments to this post, as they provide practical knowledge about this place, which will help future and subsequent tourists going to this interesting region of the world.