SUNNY BEACH Sunny Beach is perched at 36 km North of Bourgas city and about 90 km to the South of Varna and is the largest holiday resort on the Black Sea coast. The resort is naturally set in a large bay, protected by the slopes of the Balkan Mountain to the North and its beach reaches as far as Nessebur to the South. The wide semi-circular bay, facing east forms the beach strip, which is over 8 km long and 30-60 m wide and covered with fine golden sand and natural dunes. The mild transitional Mediterranean climate of the resort provides for the average daily air temperatures of 27-30°C and sea water temperatures of 25-28°C in the summer. The estimated sun hours per day are 11 and 1700 for the period May to September. There are over 150 – 3, 4 and 5-stars hotels in Sunny Beach, erected among long and wide alleys, surrounded by green and shady parks. More than 200 restaurants and numerous live music bars, folk-style spots, pubs, nightclubs, discos and cafes ensure the excellent - lively holiday atmosphere until late at night. The innumerable sports facilities like: surfing, water skis and parachutes, hang-gliding and banana, sailing, yachts, paddle boats, cutters, scooters, rowboats, tennis courts, beach volleyball, playing grounds, mini-golf, skittle alley, bowling, riding ground, fitness halls and sports tournaments for amateurs, as well as a variety of excursions tempt the active traveller. The numerous attractions and the aquaparks offer a lot of entertainment for the children as well. Sunny Beach is only 3km away from Nessebar, one of the most ancient towns in Europe. The closest airport is Burgas Airport.   NESSEBAR Nessebar - a small piece of land embraced by the sea, tied with a narrow rope-like neck to the quay of the continent. The time and waves were merciful and have left  the descendants, this marvelous creation of nature, together with the ruins built by their Bulgarian ancestors architectural inheritance. The town is situated southwards of the last branches of the ancient Hemus Mountain (today’s Stara Planina), which gradually lower to the Black Sea and at Cape Emine their rocks touch the water. The old town is long only 850 m and is 350 m wide. During the different periods of its existence it has lost 1/3 of its territory, which sank into the sea. Under the water, 80 meters away from the coast still can be seen remains of the fortress’s walls. At present is preserved only the western wall with the gate, which defended the town from the mainland. The Nesebur Peninsula - the ancient Mesambria, which was called Mesemvria in the Early Middle Ages and later - Nesebur, was populated more than three millenniums ago, at the end of the Bronze Age. The ancient Thracians named it Melsambria, what in their language means “the town of Melsa” - the legendary founder of the settlement. Melsambria has had two convenient harbours - a northern and a southern one, in which still are being found remains of the ancient ships’ equipment. About the end of the 6th B.C. century, the first Greek colonizers arrived in the settlement - they were Dorians by origin. The settlement was gradually fortified; temples, gymnasium and theater were built. The settlement transformed itself in a classical polis - a town with the respective structure, functions and administration. In the town were built ships, a number of handicrafts was developed - mainly processing of metal. Mesambria began making own coins around 440 B.C. The town has reached its boom during the 3rd-2nd B.C. centuries when also gold coins were emitted. It maintained busy trade relations with the towns along the Black and Aegean Seas, as well as those on the Mediterranean coast. The numerous findings from that period, exhibited in the town’s Archeological Museum, are material expression of the rich economic, cultural and spiritual life of the town. In 72 B.C. the town was conquered without resistance by the Roman army. After a short period of occupation, about the beginning of the 1st A.D. century, it was permanently included in the Roman Empire. Mesembria, as it was called at this time, has preserved untouched its fortress walls and the big public buildings. It kept making own bronze coins and remained an important commercial and cultural center on the Black Sea coast of the Roman Thrace. The high cultural level reached by the town is visible from findings as the base of the bronze statue of Emperor Claudius, preserved parts of marble embossments, inscriptions and statues. After the capital of the Roman Empire was moved to Constantinople and Christianity was adopted as an official religion, favourable conditions for the revival of the Black-Sea towns were created. In Mesemvria were built new Christian temples -basilicas; fortress walls were erected, new water-supply system and town’s termas were built. All that construction work was performed under the supervision of leading empire’s architects and builders, following the pattern of the capital’s prototypes. The central church of Mesemvria bears the name Sveta Sofia (St. Sofia), as it is in Constantinople. The impressive building still rises in a central place of the town, giving shelter to summer cultural appearances and providing exhibition area to many artists. During the time of the first Bulgarian state Mesemvria is a town often mentioned in the medieval sources as a cross-point of the Bulgarian-Byzantine relationships. For example, Emperor Constantine, who was completely defeated in the battle at Ongula by the Bulgarian Khan Asparouh, arrived in the town to cure his gout. Most probably he was taking water cure in the recently found by the archeologists termas. In A.D. 705 the future Byzantine emperor Leo the Syrian, traveling to Constantinople, meets in Mesemvria the Bulgarian Khan Tervel and his army. For the first time the town was included in the borders of the Bulgarian state in A.D. 812, when Khan Kroum conquered the town by assault. Slavs and Bulgarians populated the settlement. The town was controlled again by Bulgarians and for a longer period in the reign of Tsar Simeon the Great. During the 12th and 13th centuries the town developed active trade relations with the lands of the Mediterranean and Adriatic, as well as with the principalities situated to the north of Danube River. The churches “Sveti Stefan” (St. Stefan) -11th century and “Sveti Yoan Krustitel” (St. John the Baptist) - 12th century, were built and mural-painted. They became prototypes of the later masterpiece Nesebur churches of the 13th-14th c. In the course of 62 years, from 1201 till 1263, the towns along the Black Sea coast, situated to the south of Balkan Mountain, including Nesebur, were lastingly included in the borders of the Bulgarian state. The town had a significant role in the political history of Bulgaria and Byzantium during the time when on the throne were sitting the Bulgarian Tsars Kaloyan, Ivan Asen II and Konstantin Tih. During this time were built the churches “Sveta Petka” (Paraskeva) - 13th century, “Sveti Todor” - 14th century, “Sveti Archangeli Mihail and Gavrail” (St. Archangels Mihail and Gavrail) - 14th century, which have direct ana­logues in the architecture of the capital Turnovo. Nesebur has main­tained active trade relations with Constantinople, Venice, Genoa, Pisa, Ancona, Dubrovnik and other towns. After a period of about 40 years, during which Nesebur was ruled by Byzantium, it was again integrated with the Bulgarian state by Tsar Todor Svetoslav. The town enjoyed espe­cial boom during the reign of Tsar Ivan Alexander. New churches were built - “Hristos Pantokrator” (Christ Almighty) - 13th century, “Sveti Yoan Neosveteni” (St. John Undedicated) - 14th cen­tury; many monasteries carried on active spiritual activities in the surround­ings of the town - “Sveta Bogoroditsa” (Holy Virgin), “Hristos Akropolit”, “Sveti Petar”, “Sveti Andrei”, “Sveti Iliya”, “Sveti Vlasii”, “Sveti Nikola Emonski”, which were centres of the hesychasm in Bulgaria. Here were educated also the future Bulgarian patri­archs. The family of the Tsar, and the Tsar himself, granted a series of privi­leges to the Nesebur monasteries and gave them rich donations. According the leg­ends, during his exis­tence Nesebur had about 40 churches. At present are available data for 26 of them. Now, owing to the big number of well pre­served churches, especially from the period 13th-14th cen­turies, the town is called by our and for­eign researchers the Bulgarian Ravenna. During almost the entire history of the town, Nesebur was the seat of a bishop. Owing to this, two of the churches in Nesebur - “Sveta Sofia” and “Sveti Stefan” are more known as the Old Metropolis and New Metropolis. In 1366 the town was conquered by the knights of Count Amedei of Savoya and later turned over to the Byzantine Emperor. For the first time the town was conquered by the Ottomans in 1396. It has fall­en completely under the Ottoman rule, together with the capital Constantinople, in 1453. Representatives of highborn families remained to live in Nesebur. From that time - year 1441 - is the exhibited in the Archeological Museum gravestone of the Byzantine princess Mataisa, descendant of two emperor families - the Palaeologs and the Kantakouzens. This plate was the lid of a sarcophagus placed in a tomb, which was built in one of the arches of the “Old Metropolis”. During the cen­turies of the Ottoman rule the economic and spiritual life did not stop. Churches were constructed and mural-painted; icons were pre­pared. The Nesebur’s harbour contin­ued to be a main import and export center on the Black Sea coast. Until the 17th-19th centuries some of the Nesebur’s monasteries and their scriptoria were still opera­tive. From the epoch of the Bulgarian Renaissance in Nesebur remained quite many houses, typical representatives of the Black-Sea house and some of the windmills that have worked earlier in the town, a public bath and fountains for drinking water. Since the end of the last century Nesebur is a small town, the main means of living being fishing and agri­culture - mainly vine-growing and flax-grow­ing. After 1959, when the resort complex “Slunchev Bryag” (Sunny Beach) was built, international tourism is being developed in the town and the surroundings. The cultural inheritance of the ancient town is presented in four museum expo­sitions: - The Archeological Museum, which presents the rich material culture of Mesambria - Mesemvria - Nesebur, from the Antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. - The Ethnographic Museum - the “Moskoyani” house. - The church “Sveti Stefan” - 11th cen­tury - 16th century frescoes and an iconostasis from the 17th century. KAVARNA Kavarna is a small port town which has a broad outlet on the Black Sea to the Eastern and Southern sides. The coast is varied and there are cliffs combined with beaches and abrasive formations such as caves, fissures, etc. The area lacks surface running water and irrigation is most valuable. There is a steep cape called Kaliakra near the town, famous for the romantic legend about forty ‘maidens’ committing suicide in the name of Christianity. It is also famous for the caves - once the habitat of the extremely rare Black Sea monk seal. Kavarna is one of the ancient towns on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. First it was situated nearer to the sea but after an eartquake in I c. B.C. the old town Byzone has been partly drowned into the sea and later, in Roman times, it was rebuilt at a new place, 3 km inland. During the times of the First and Second Bulgarian Kingdom it was the administrative centre of Dobrudja. Economy There are mechanical engineering, electrical, food and other industrial enterprises, but agriculture has the leasing position in the local economy thanks to the rich resources of fertile, arable land. The structural specialization is mainly in grain, animal fodder and technical crops. The geographical location of Kavarna, together with the inheritance of the ancient seaport fortress of Bisone makes the resort a must to visit. Kavarna is also famous for its ecological clean area with preserved marvellous nature and beautiful sea coast. It is a resort with perfect conditions for enjoyable and relaxing summer vacation and for great hunting tourism in the autumn.       VARNA Varna is a district town, situated on Varna Bay on the Black Sea, 469 km north-east of Sofia; a seaside resort. Population of over 350 000. Third in population after Sofia and Plovdiv, called the seaside capital of Bulgaria. Terminal station on the railway lines Sofia-Varna and Rouse-Varna, a sea port, an international airport, second in traffic after Sofia. Long sand-covered beach strips. The gem of the Bulgarian Black Sea is situated at the end of the big Varna Bay, with a convenient and well conserved water area. The city's peculiar sea charm is sublime and moving. Ancient, medieval, renaissance and modern cultures mingle and coexist throughout the city. Varna lies on the same latitude of the famous Atlantic resorts Bayonne and Biarritz in France, on a large, flat and high terrace on the northwestern most curve of the bay which juts some 7 km inland. During the holiday season, July and August, the sunshine allows 10-11 hours of sunbathing. There is nothing of the cold Baltic wind or the summer Riviera heat. The sea is amazingly calm and free of dangerous tides. Apart from being a beach resort, Varna rivals the great cities of Sofia and Plovdiv, in its offering of cultural attractions and historical buildings, museums and art galleries. It also provides access to some of the quieter scenic spots along the coast, including the nature reserve of Kamchiya, the royal palace of Balchik. Varna is an 'around-the-year' holiday destination. Beyond the high Season its balneotherapy facilities can help you unwind and enjoy the many sights and sounds in peace. Seaside Park - the biggest park of Varna, situated by the beach. Its construction begins in 1878. Within the park area one can find the Seaside Baths, the Navy Museum, the Museum of Natural History, the Aquarium (unique exposition of water organisms - Black Sea, freshwater, tropical fishes), the Astronomical Observatory and the Planetarium which organizes observation seances for visitors, Dolphinarium with an amusing show, etc. The Church of the Assumption - this church is second in scale after St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia. Erected in 1884-1886 by the master builder Gencho Kunev in honour of the Liberation from Ottoman yoke. Modern Byzantine architecture. Spacious interior, woodcarver iconostasis by masters belonging to the school of Debur, stained glass. The church is painted in 1949-1950. Declared monument of culture. Evksinograd - a small palace in the vicinity of Varna built for a summer residence of Knyaz Alexander of Battenberg, later used by tzars Ferdinand and Boris III, nowadays - a residence of the government. The construction, started in 1886, the accomplished with the participation of the Viennese architect Rumpelmeyer, the Swiss architect H. Meyer and architect N. Lazarov. The architectural design reminds of the French 18th-century palaces. The building is situated amidst a beautiful park with rare exotic plants. Varna halocline necropolis In 1972 on the northern bank of Varna lake was discovered the Varna halocline necropolis, dated from the second part of the fifth millennium BC. The discovered finds prove the existence of a developed civilization in south Eastern Europe. Potter masks with golden applications, ceramic tools, copper decorations and etc were found in the excavated over 200 burial mounts. Over 3000 golden tools with total weight of 6, 5 kilograms were found there and they are considered to be the oldest cultivated gold in the world. SOZOPOL Location: 34 km south of Bourgas Ground: Rocky peninsula. Beaches: In the town there are 2 beaches - 1) Central beach and 2) Harmani beach. On 3 km north from Sozopol we recommend the Golden Fish beach. Bussiest months: July and August. Accommodation: Old town only private rooms. New town few nice hotels and private rooms. For the available accommodations, please browse the left table of this page. For safety and comfort reasons we recommend you choose a hotel. General impressions: Very popular resort. Gets very busy during the summer. Good variety of restaurants, cafes, night clubs, 2 cinemas, shops, etc. In general the prices are lower than the international resorts (Albena, Golden Sands, Sunny beach, etc.), but higher than the resorts of Kiten, Varna, etc. Sozopol can be compared to Nessebar and Primorsko. What to do: Everything is available here, but the most interesting thing is probably the old town with its interesting old-style wooden houses (some of them are national monuments). Internet access: Widely available in the new town Internet cafes on the main street. The cheapest Internet cafe is the one in the building of Central Post office in the new town (BTC). Transport to the resort: Many public buses go from Bourgas and the neighbor resorts to Sozopol. The easiest way is to catch a bus from the Bourgas central railway station or the bus station. If you are coming by car from the city of Bourgas take the road going to the south and the resorts of Chernomorets, Primorsko, Kiten. The distance from Bourgas is 34 km and road is very good. Follow the signs to Sozopol. Reaching the town turn right for the New town and left for the Old town. The access by car to the old town is limited. There are no restrictions to enter the New town by car. Be careful, during July and August (the busiest time) the traffic is quite hard and it is very difficult to find place for parking in Sozopol. We recommend you leave your car on one of the guarded parking lots in the new town. The price for 24 h is around 2 $ per car. Any type of the standard fuels are widely available in Bulgaria and the area of Sozopol - petrol, unleaded petrol, diesel, LPG, etc. Medical and dental services: Get a tourist health insurance for Bulgaria from your local insurance company to make sure that any medical expenses will be covered. First aid and standard medical help in Bulgaria are free of charge. Dental services are not free of charge in Bulgaria. You can get dental service from both private and state clinic/dentists in Sozopol. For more information, please ask on the reception desk in your hotel. Located 34 km south of Bourgas on a slender rocky peninsula, Sozopol is one of the oldest Bulgarian coastal towns. Founded in 610 BC by Miletian Greeks. Today this charming place is a popular beach resort best known for its casual ambience, 2 sandy beaches, and distinctive 19th-century stone and wood houses, some 45 of which are national cultural monuments. While Sozopol is extremely busy during July and August, in the off-season it reverts back to a sleepy fishing village and is a favored stop of artists and writers. A stroll along the old town's twisting, narrow cobblestone lanes reveals a host of National Revival-era houses, their stone foundations and overhanging upper stories of weathered wood topped by Mediterranean-style red-tiled roofs. Sea-facing Morski Skali and Milet streets are lined with small restaurants and cafes, ideal for taking in the views while digging into a plate of tasty locally-raised midi (mussels). The small harbor is a good place to watch fishermen off-load their catches to waiting buyers from area restaurants. There are 2 beaches in Sozopol, but the best beach the area is at Dyuni, an upscale Austrian-designed resort village complex, 6 km south of Sozopol. Past Dyuni, the coast road passes by the Arkutino swamp, a 62 hectare area of floating water lilies, irises and creeping liana vines. A few kilometers further south is the Ropotamo river nature reserve. During summer, private vans and public buses provide regular transport service to and from Bourgas and the other resorts around. The small bus station is opposite the seaside park and there is a taxi stand in front. Private vans depart from a turn-around 50 meters west. Private "boat-taxis" go to Bourgas, Nessebar, Varna, or practically anywhere. From Sofia there are many bus companies offering regular comfortable coaches to Sozopol, cost around 15 $ return. ST VLAS Sveti Vlas (also known as St. Vlas) is a beautiful coastal village of approx. 3000 inhabitants, situated just 5 kilometers north of Sunny Beach and 9 kilometers from Nessebar. This magnificent resort is a great combination of beautiful seaside at the foot of the Balkan mountain range. It has been developed into a modern beach destination during the recent years, with brand new hotels and tourist infrastructure. This makes it a preferred destination for holidaymakers, who want to enjoy the spectacular views of the mountain while having fun on the beach. The natural conditions- mountain, forest, sea and southern exposure of the mountain slopes, are extremely healthy and appropriate for a full relaxation. The beaches at st Vlas are three with a total length of 1, 5 kilometers- the central beach is the longest one, south of it is the small “Camping” beach and the third one is the beach nearby the new yacht port Marina. The town is also famous for its brand new and beautiful yacht port, which is being developed close to the water base of the local fishermen. Marina yacht port offers everything needed for a yacht lover to enjoy unforgettable summer holiday. People can hire and even buy yachts there. The professional team of consultants will provide you great service and a real value of money. Sveti Vlas is a sprawling local village whose spruced-up environs attest to lucrative spill-over business from Sunny Beach. Private enterprise is in full swing with a rash of spiffy-looking small hotels, new holiday apartments, holiday villas and restaurants springing up all over town. The explosive growth in Vlas translates into an ever- increasing number of diversions for tourists who opt to stay there. Visitors can also avail themselves of the varied amenities and busy night life at Sunny Beach, just 5 kilometers down the road. Sveti Vlas is a more quiet resort that will mostly suit families with kids or people who wish to escape from the noisy resorts. History Sveti Vlas has a rich history that dates back to the 2th century BC. It was then when the Thracian tribe Larisi founded the town Larisa. During the 14th century AC the town was renamed to “Sveti Vlas” after a patron saint of cattle growers and merchants. During the Ottoman rule the village was known as “Manastir”, because of the five monasteries in the vicinity of the site. It restored its name of Sveti Vlas after the reunification of the Bulgarian state in 1886. Transport There is regular bus transport from Nessebar, Sunny Beach and Bourgas to Sveti Vlas, and plenty of private minibuses, route and ordinary taxis. There is also water transport to and from Nessebar and Bourgas to Sunny Beach. The international airport of Burgas is a 20 to 30 minute drive away and is served by international carriers and charter airlines from throughout Europe. RAVDA Ravda (Bulgarian: 0240) is a coastal village in southeastern Bulgaria, situated in Nesebar municipality, Burgas Province. Ravda is a small seaside resort on the Black Sea, located 3 km from Nesebar and 5 km from Sunny Beach. The position on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast provides for the nice weather, quietness and calmness of a country village and the proximity to the attractive resorts Nesebar and Sunny Beach offers plenty of attractions and entertainment possibilities. Ravda has ecologically clean air and water because the resort is far from the big cities and industrial zones. There are no dangerous species such as sharks, poisonous jelly-fish, scorpions, killer snakes, poisonous spiders, or flies. The average monthly temperature during the summer is 22°C (71°F). Ravda's beaches have fine sand, sunshades are provided for the tourists and there are qualified lifeguards on duty. The cafes and bars near the seaside offer refreshing drinks. There are several big hotels in Ravda and many private rooms and small family hotels, as well as a great number of restaurants, taverns, and disco clubs. There are regular bus lines to the other resorts in the area — every 30 minutes to Burgas and every 20 minutes to Sunny Beach and Nesebar. Ravda's postal code is 8238, the telephone area code is +(359) 554, where (359) is the country code.