Beach resorts near Varna, Bulgaria

North of Varna there is a cluster of seaside resorts all with fine - sandy beaches but differing in size and style.

Golden Sands
Golden sands is located 17 km north of Varna. It deserves to be called "the pearl" of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast thanks to its unique park, the cool freshness of the woods, the vast stretch of fine golden sand. It combines uniquely calm and clean sea, rich vegetation in a park of 8 000 ha and curative mineral springs. The beach strip is 3,5 km long and up to 100 m wide. Golden Sands offers excellent holiday conditions with lots of entertainment, sports and new encounters.
The hotels have been reconstructed and refurbished to create excellent conditions for rest and recreation in the summer. The hotels nestle in the magnificent forest sloping down to the very waterfront and offer excellent conditions. Golden Sands - breathtaking scenery, superb and picturesque beaches, clean sea, sun and mineral springs. The beach strip is 3.5 km long and up to 100 m wide. Bask in the sun from May through October. Summers are not too hot thanks to the mild sea breeze. The average air temperature in July and August is 27C, water temperature is 24C.

St.St.Constantine and Helena
Bulgaria's oldest seaside resort - St.Constantine and Helena is only 8 km north of Varna. It is small and secluded and offers excellent opportunities to rest and relax in peace and quiet.The little base and fine beaches of fine sand are ideal for underwater diving and fishing. Today there exists many reasons to visit this resort; the specific microclimate with a high concentration of soothing lightweight negative ions; the perfect harmony of the sea breeze at an altitude of 25 meters, cool, bracing air, the scent of century old fig, cypress and lime trees, and the abundance of mineral springs. The winter comes but what of it – the sea is charming even during this season.

Riviera
Situated 17 km north-east from Varna right on the shore. Peace and quiet reign over the beautiful parkland with rare plant species, calm bays with fine sand contribute to the atmosphere of coziness and immaculate luxury. The six hotels at the Riviera Holiday Club (Imperial, Oasis, Lotos, Nimpha, Rousalka and Romantica) can accommodate a total of 550 guests. The "pearl" of the complex is the 5-star Imperial hotel which is fully air-conditioned and open all the year round.Riviera offers ideal conditions for water sports, diverse touring events, animation events of mirth and laughter. Riviera is a renowned exclusive center of business tourism, which offers excellent environment for convention - and business meetings and enjoys an array of technical support and room facilities.

The Sunny Day Complex
Ten kilometers north of Varna, a quiet bay in the resort of St.St.Constantine and Helena has given shelter to the Sunny Day Complex. It meets all the requirements of the club type of tourism: luxury hotels, a wide beach strip of fine golden sand, a yachting marina, playgrounds, a tennis court, facilities for spa treatment and preventive medicine. Away from the hustle and bustle of large beach resorts, the Sunny Day Complex offers the best conditions for holiday makers to rest, relax and enjoy the sun and the sea. Sunny Day is a posh place for holiday and relaxation located at the far end of a secluded scenic bay with fine sand beaches just 10 km away from the Bulgarian town of Varna.

Albena
Albena is located in a picturesque bay in the north part of Bulgarian Black Sea Riviera. It is a fairy tale place where you will be in a full harmony with nature. The sea water here is crystal clean. The sea is with shallow bottom and the beach strip is 7 km long and 150 m wide.
Albena is surrounded by the deep vegetation of Baltata hill Preservation. The nature here has been preserved from the encroachments of the civilization and treasures some very rare plants and animals.One of Albena's latest acquisitions is the Maastricht Hotel, which houses the Dutch Hotel Management School.
Albena is a Blue Flag winning resort, located in a picturesque and ecologically clean gulf on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, famous for its flower gardens.

Kavarna
Population: 16 823
Territory: 483 000 decares
Settlements: 21
Administrative centre: Kavarna
Kavarna population: 11 588
KAVARNA is a legendary town with a peculiar fate full of years of rise and fall, decline and prosperity. It lies where the gentle slopes of the Dobrudzha Valley are cut by a deep picturesque gorge winding towards the Black Sea. The sheer slopes of the Gore Chirakman tower above the seacoast. There are remains from stronghold walls, moats, buildings, churches, necropolises, etc. on the flat plateau of the gore. At the foot of Chirakman there are fascinating caves, where vestiges of life from the New Stone Age, 7,000 - 3,000 BC, can be found. Kavarna is one of the ancient towns along the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. An old Thracian village lied in the place of the present-day town. In the 5th century BC Greek colonials were attracted by the convenient bay, the abundant springs, the fertile land and strategic location of the hills. They founded the colony Byzone on the Chirakman plateau, but a disastrous earthquake destroyed the frontal part of the gore and a great part of the town sunk into the sea. During the Roman Empire the town was restored under the same name and it quickly flourished. In the 7th century the Slavs and Proto-Bulgarians destroyed the town and founded the settlement of Karvuna on the Gore Chirakman. In the Middle Ages, Karvuna was already a popular town.The present-day name of the town was mentioned for the first time at the beginning of the 15th century. During the Turkish invasion the town was almost destroyed, but in the second half of the 17th century it was rebuilt.The town was a significant economic and cultural center in the Antiquity and the Middle Ages with rich and various cultural remains - stronghold walls, early-Christian basillica, mediaveal churches and public buildings. Interesting and splendorous works of art were found here - coins from different historical epochs, golden adornments, unique patterns of high art value, golden Thracian treasure of applications, etc.In the Middle Ages the town preserved its strategic role and in the 15th century Karvuna and Kaliakra were the major towns in the Karvuna Principality of despot Dobrotitsa. Vestiges of the ancient times along the coast of Kavarna point to the dynamics of life in the 3rd century BC till the mid of 17th century, when the population settled in the area of the present-day Kavarna. During the 15th - 19th century the medieval town became popular under the name Kavarna as a Christian settlement and port for grain. From that time remained a Turkish bath, a medieval necropolis, a bridge, fountains, Christian churches and many writings.In 1868 hieromonk Evstratiy of Rila founded the first Bulgarian school. In 1892 Saglasie Community Center was established. During the Russian-Turkish Liberation War (1877), the citizens of Kavarna rebelled against the hordes of Bashi Bazouks and Circassians. After the liberation, the town became part of the Principality of Bulgaria.After the beginning of the 20th century Kavarna achived a rapid progress as an economic and cultural center of the region, interrupted in 1913, when the town came under the Romanian rule. The Bulgarian population opposed to the assimilatory policy of the Romanian authorities by means of active cultural and social activities of the church, community centers and libraries. In 1940 the town again became part of Bulgaria. Nowadays Kavarna is the administrative center of the Kavarna municipality and it’s representative face.Kavarna is modern town with good infra-structure and well-developed service activities. It disposes of a resort complex, a spacious beach, sports hall, tennis courts and a fishing base.The town wonderfully combines the pastoral of one- and two- floor houses with pretty little yards and the stylistics of the contemporary architecture, the silent narrow lanes and the broad boulevards, the vestiges of the past and the features of the modern world.(phone: 0579 26 91, emergency 0579 24 42)The police station: 4 Ivan Vazov Str. (phone: 166)
Location and climate
This is one of the first environmentally protected areas in the country, listed as such in 1941, and the only natural reserve, covering some of the offshore water area. Due to its appealing location, it was called Kaliakra (beautiful land). The climate is typically mild and wet in the winter, and hot and dry in the summer. The Kaliakra Reserve lies on a seismic area. A very strong earthquake was registered here in 1901.
History
Cape Kaliakra is a precious historical monument. Its first name was Terisis. During the Byzantine era, the fortress carried the name of Akra. The name Kaliakra originated in the middle ages. There are several documented historical sites on Kaliakra and the surrounding area, including: 48 Thracian burial tomb, 28 antique and medieval settlements, 4 cemeteries of cave tomb, and over 300 cave dwellings. The first presence of humans dates back to the Neolith age.
Biodiversity
The Kaliakra Reserve includes 359 grass species, 17 bush and 18 tree species. The vegetation is predominantly steppe-like. On the Reserve territory have been established 40 rare, close to extinction, plant species, 8 of which are listed in the European list of rare species, threatened with extinction. Here we come across the small iris of different colours, the narrow leaf peony, the esparto (Stipa Tenacissima), the rue, the Crimean tea, the mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris), the sandy corn-flower, and the Bulgarian Commiphora erythaea.The fauna is characterised by a diversity of species. Life in the coastal area is a complex mixture of organisms, belonging to different system groups. There are a few rare species of birds nesting in the area such as the owl, the white-tailed buzzard, the Burhinus oedicnemus, and the Aristotle’s cormorant.It is only in this area that the European hamster and the Dobrudzha’s own Mesocricetus newtoni can be found. Two species of Sorex Araneus can be spotted in Chirakman, while near the village of Bulgarevo has been seen the rare species of Vormela peregusna (a multicoloured polecat).In the offshore waters of the Kaliakra Reserve have been identified 78 species of fish. There are 15 rare species among them - including the hausen, Russian sturgeon, Danube herring, Lychnis, etc., all included in the World book of vulnerable species. There are three species of dolphin identified among the sea mammals.
The mobile tour guide entitled
For a fare of 1.20 lev anyone can use the new tourist service of the mobile tour guide Bulgaria on the back of my hand.The project was designed by the theatre director Sunny Sunninski, who is one of the authors of the 3-dimensional theatrical exposition Bulgaria on the back of my hand, which was on display at the Hr. Gradechliev School of Arts in Kavarna.Visitors may listen to the text in Bulgarian language by dialling 1 300 005 or in English, dialling 1 300 006. By taking a journey back in time, you become acquainted with the legend of the 40 maids, and the diversity of vegetation and animal kingdom in the nature reserve.

Russalka (Mermaid) Resort

Roussalka Resort is located 20 km eastward from Kavarna in the unique reserve called Bird Bay. The region around Roussalka and the plateau surrounding it are the only preserved wild steppe on the continent.The extremely picaresque rocky coast, the little sand stripes, the venerable oaks, and the plants attract millions of birds and turn the bird bay into an oasis of the untouched nature. Multiple archaeological monuments, the oldest of which are 8,000 years old. They turn the seaside around Roussalka into a unique archaeological reserve. The antique and medieval fortresses, the rocky tombs, the caves, the oblation stones attract archaeologists from all over the world. Roussalka offers 500 houses with two beds each. Some of them are semi-attached and are meant for families.

Yaylata
Some ten kilometres east of Kaliakra, right by the sea shore, is the country of Yaylata - a fascinating natural phenomenon, transformed for centuries by the human hand into a unique archaeological complex.Yaylata represents a terrace, 1200 metres long and with an average width of approx. 200 m, which is separated from the Dobrudzha plateau by 50-60 metre solid cliffs, elevated at approx. 10 m above the sea level.The reserve holds ruins from an early Byzantium fortress. The walls were built in well-cut stone blocks and filled with mortar. Apart from the fortress, also visible are parts of buildings and premises. In the rock massif separating Yaylata from the Dobrudzha plateau have been preserved some artificial caves, which constitute part of the one of the richest found sections of a coastal formulation, among the so-called Dobrudzha coastal cave town-colonies.

Particularly fascinating are the dual chamber cave tombs and the Thracian cult facility. A subject of research are also the coastal underwater rock caves, strewing the area cliffs and facing the sea.

Kamen Briag
Kamen Briag is a combination of a sea with shading green and blue nuances, a beautiful panorama, and a crystal pure air. People have lived here for thousands of years in harmony with nature and they have preserved untouched beauties and amazing abundance of plants and animals in combination with cultural and historic heritage. The village has about 100 houses that remind one of the idyllic life with the green porches, the colourful flower gardens and the abundance of fruit and vegetables. The hosts will welcome you with sincere gaiety, their sense of humour and wit will warm you up. The village is known for its thick home-made wine and the rakia with a flavour of herbs and figs. The day in Kamen Briag might be short if you like fishing, climbing, diving, paragliding, or birdwatching, if you like archaeology or bioenergy.

Ikantalaka - The White Lagoon

The picturesque Ikantalaka spot is doomed to have a representative tourist future. Recently, the resort area rapidly develops: the camp of bungalows transforms into a separate holiday village Byalata laguna (The white lagoon) situated in the virgin bosom of nature. Nearby some of the most attractive golf playgrounds in this part of the world spread out.

Bulgarevo And Dulboka
The village of Balgarevo, famous for its vineyards, sweet melons and water melons, now covers itself with new glory; in the Dulboka place a mussel farm has been built and functioning. Its natural continuation is the two restaurants which dispose of more than hundred seats each and offer sea delicacies, romance and calm is the quite bay. Here the vestiges of a lost in the chronicles ancient town, supposed to be the glorious Tynum, are to make out. On the slope before the mussel farm ruins of an imposing settlement are buried. Part of the finds lay in the sea bottom at the foot of the slope, flung there by the strong earthquake which has ruined the neighbouring Bizone. On the virgin shore remains of an earlier settlement and a range of Thracian mounds could be seen.

Bolata

North of Kaliakra is situated the wet zone Bolata. Here interesting water birds like the little bittern, little grebe as well as many ducks nest. These places are unlimitedly rich during the migration when more than 150 species of birds stop here for break and to find food. The surrounding cliffs are haven for the eagle owl, long-legged buzzard and reptiles threatened with extinction, included in the Red Book of Bulgaria.

Pomorie

Pomorie is one of the prettiest seaside towns, a unique and attractive resort and spa. The ancient town of Anhiallo emerged over the 6th and 5th c. BC as a Hellenic colony on the Black Sea. Its good location with access to important routes ensured its prosperity, while its proximity to a salty lake determined the development of its population’s ages-old craft of salt production. The sea attributes the charm to another ancient custom - fishing, while vine-growing remains as a legacy of the Bakhus worshipers, though it is still not known for certain whether they were the original local Thracians or the later Hellenic settlers. Surviving through 25 centuries, burned down several times and rebuilt again, the town holds in the depths of its land the memories of Roman and Byzantine invasions as well as those of Crusaders and Turks. The exhibits in the archaeological collection are silent witnesses to its turbulent millennial past. Among the unique historical and cultural monuments today are the Thracian Dome Tomb, the Old Anhialo salt mines museum site, the churches of Christ and the Virgin Mary, the Monastery of St. George and the Old Pomorie homes architectural reserve, to name a few. Over the years after the Liberation from Ottoman rule Pomorie has preserved and rediscovered its traditional customs and crafts in lucrative activities, contributing to its new image of a prosperous commercial and resort center. Today an exceptional progress is marked by the production of new ranges of white and red wines, special and vintage rakias and brandies, winners of top awards at all international shows. The town has also become a center for medical tourism. At the spa center thousands of visitors from this country and abroad treat themselves to the healing powers of the famous Pomorie mud. The simple charm of its cobbled streets and the romanticism of the seaside walkways and pretty houses, the wide beach strip along with the modern mud treatment procedures have long turned Pomorie into a desired location for rest and recreation. To its numerous visitors the town offers a complete range of facilities for rest, sports and entertainment. Its summer cultural calendar features, above all, the events within the National Maritime Week and The Days of Yavorov - now a tradition, whose 40th anniversary edition was celebrated in August 1998. The relative humidity in Pomorie is 79%. By the Pomorie lake, it matches well the mild climate and has become an exclusive precondition to the medical tourism development. The sea temperature is moderate. It averages around 21°C between May and September. The water is quite pleasant for swimming until October.