Where to spend the summer vacation? In a glossy luxury tourist complex on the Black Sea coast in Northern Bulgaria or in a romantic village on the beach somewhere to the South?People fond of nature and alternative tourism, who relax every summer at local camping sites, villas and family hotels, would definitely recommend the South. Beaches there are better, seawater is always warmer, sunny days are more and prices are relatively lower too.  

 Tsarevo is the Southernmost coastal municipality. Part of its territory is occupied by the Stranja mountain whose mild slopes gently touch upon the Black Sea. And there stand a number of small settlements and vacation villages overhanging the rocks. Lozenets, Tsarevo, Varvara, Ahtopol, Sinemorets and Rezovo – for the people spending their summer there, these names are synonyms of carefree days, the endless blue of the sea and contacts with wild nature. “What makes us a specific destination for vacationers is the combination of sea and mountain,” says Angelina Puleva from Tsarevo municipality. “In the last few years big investments were made in this region for improving infrastructure and for the building of new tourist centers.

The “Butamyata” beach near the village of Sinemorets, still further to the south, also gained a luxury hotel complex recently. It is visited mainly by tourists who have signed with the German TUI concern. Enhanced construction works have quite changed the vision of the southern coast. Ecologists claim that oversdevelopment endangers the nature of Stranja mountain. However, this is not the opinion of investors and local people who have for years been running a successful tourist business. According to Angelina Puleva large investments in the region are already yielding their positive results. There is a considerable growth in the number of guests from Scandinavian countries, from Germany and the Czech Republic who prefer the higher-class hotels with the all-inclusive packages. Over 90% of accommodation in such Tsarevo hotels are booked. In Ahtopol, and the other smaller settlements you can also settle in a small family hotel or rent a room or two at someone’s house. Prices there are more than reasonable, besides you will be quite close to the beaches of yellow sand as fine as stardust. In the evenings the streets fill with the happy bustle of vacationers and partygoers and local pubs and restaurants tempt at every step with all kinds of sea delicacies.

 The small village of Varvara, on the other hand, has preserved its spirit of an old fishermen settlement with its old boats in the small safely tucked bay and the small, low-roof houses scattered around it. In recent years guesthouses, villas and small family hotels have appeared there, too. The Stranja mountain with its large deciduous woodlands and remote old villages and several nature reserves is a true challenge for the explorer-type of tourist.

 It offers exploration hikes along the Veleka River, which winds across the localities of the fire-dancers’ villages of Kosti and Brodilovo that have preserved their 19th century atmosphere.

Local people run boat trips along the river, which flows into the sea near the village of Sinemorets. Another attraction is a sea outing and fishing in a motorboat. Tsarevo municipality is also taking good care of the entertainment of its guests, organizing summer festivals of folk concerts and a special week of the sea in August. Horse riding in the Stranja mountain is another favorite pastime for tourists.

 Another one could be the scuba diving school at Oasis camping site. Tour operators also offer off road safari in Stranja with old Soviet-made jeeps. Yachting tourism is gaining grounds in the region as well. The beautiful nature and the opportunities for recreation and entertainment are the reasons for a growing number of well off Bulgarians and foreigners to buy a vacation house at the southern coast.They can chose between different vacation villages offering luxury apartments advertised on large billboards in many places along the coast.