Bulgaria Seaside Tourism

Nowadays, the Black Sea resorts account for sixty-six per cent of all hotel beds in Bulgaria. The bigger part of these sea resorts are well laid out and attractive, some with human-made gardens and walks and other near natural wooded parks. The main international hotel chains, such as Sheraton, Kempinski and Princess has already won their firm place on the Bulgarian tourist market, including the new modern Hilton complex.

Since November 1998, a new secure hotel reservations system has started operating on the web. This will extremely help most hotels in Bulgaria to present themselves more effectively to all international guests by making it easier to send preliminary reservations as well as final payments by credit card. Participating in this online presenting package hotels offer discounts from ten to forty per cent from their basic rates.

Some of the well-known and beloved sea resorts in Bulgaria include Albena with forty hotels, Golden Sands with 61 hotels and one convenient camping, St Constantine and Elena resort with seventeen hotels and forty-one villas, Sunny Beach with 107 hotels, the comparatively smaller than the previous tourist centers and holiday villages such as Elenite, Dyuni, Riviera, and Roussalka, and the picturesque towns of Pomorie, Neseber and Sozopol. A great diversity of yacht clubs and marinas in these holiday places along Black Sea today offer a wide range of marine sports. There are 6 yacht clubs in Albena and the same number in Sunny Beach and St Constantine and Elena Resort. Golden Sands Marina possesses more than hundred yacht slips, rental yachts, a yacht shop, refueling, battery recharging and water-recharge equipment. The resorts also support many other sports facilities for their guests, including bowling alleys, horse-riding bases, tennis courts, swimming pools, squash courts, and mini-sport complexes for children. Most indoor sports complexes also have tennis tables, billiards, and fitness centers.

The different Black Sea resorts offer excellent holiday conditions for their foreign guests, and lots of inexhaustible opportunities for having fun and exciting challenges. The sea water has comparatively low content of salt because the whole Black Sea is surrounded by land and the only salt water that comes in it is from the Bosphorus, which is the only connection with the Mediterranean Sea. It is typically turquoise blue and has a temperature of twenty-four degrees in the summer which makes it especially perfect for swimming and bathing. If you have luck, you can see dolphins swimming a long the coast. The Black Sea gradually goes deeper, there are no dangerous animals living in it or water plants that could be any threat to the health and life of the tourists. Although, when on vacation at the seaside, it will be better for you not to risk swimming in unknown and risky places, and not to dive or ride a jet or motorboat near the shore. You should choose places with more people, which could ensure you that the sea is safe enough there.

Seaside tourism is traditionally present in the tourist destination image of the country in the rest part of Europe. Thus, around seventy per cent of the whole tourist flow here are concentrated on the Bulgarian Black-sea coast. The seaside resorts and the coastline towns offer various options for pleasant family holidays and pro-active sporting. Supply generally includes practising of surfing, water ski, diving, underwater fishing, underwater archaeology, and other aquatic sport. The main yacht ports in Balchik, Varna, Nessebar, and Bourgas offer a great variety of opportunities for yachting with the necessary servicing for the tourists and vessels. Many interesting routes have been designed for pedestrian, biking and horseback tourism, photo- and eco-tourism, visiting natural, archaeological and cultural landmarks, trips in Bulgaria and abroad. The following Bulgarian Black-sea resorts were recently awarded a "Blue Flag" - Albena - branch International Youth Center - Primorsko, Zlatni Pyassatsi, Sunny day, Riviera, Nessebar - south beach, Pomorie - central beach and south beach, Primorsko - central beach and south beach, Kiten - central beach and south beach.