Sunny Beach
Encyclopedia
Resort
A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishment operated by a single company....
on the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
coast of Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, located approximately 35 km north of Burgas
Burgas
-History:During the rule of the Ancient Romans, near Burgas, Debeltum was established as a military colony for veterans by Vespasian. In the Middle Ages, a small fortress called Pyrgos was erected where Burgas is today and was most probably used as a watchtower...
in Nessebar municipality, Burgas Province
Burgas Province
-Municipalities:The Burgas province contains 13 municipalities . The following table shows the names of each municipality in English and Cyrillic, the main town or village , and the population of each as of 2009.-Demography:The Burgas province had a population of 423,608 -Municipalities:The Burgas...
. It is the biggest and most popular holiday resort
Resort
A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishment operated by a single company....
in Bulgaria, and is home to over 800 hotels with more than 300 000 beds. There are also 130 restaurants and numerous live music bars, pubs, nightclubs, discos, cafes. It has been undergoing continuous expansion for many years. In recent years almost the whole hotel base has been renovated and several new luxurious hotels have been built as well as many apartment complexes. It is widely believed in Bulgaria that Sunny Beach was heavily overdeveloped in the 2000s to the detriment of its greenery, former serenity, safety, and the quality of public services.
Sunny Beach has a very small permanent population, but during the summer the resort is home to many thousands of tourists
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
. The main strip of high-rise hotels backing onto the beach is several kilometers long and extends along a wide bay
Headlands and bays
Headlands and bays are two related features of the coastal environment.- Geology and geography :Headlands and bays are often found on the same coastline. A bay is surrounded by land on three sides, whereas a headland is surrounded by water on three sides. Headlands are characterized by high,...
between Sveti Vlas
Sveti Vlas
Sveti Vlas is a town and seaside resort on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria, located in Nesebar municipality, Burgas Province. As of July 2007, it has a population of 3,869....
and Nessebar.
Transport
The airports serving Sunny Beach are Burgas AirportBurgas Airport
Burgas International Airport , is the airport of Burgas , Bulgaria.In 2009, the airport handled 1,683,786 passengers. In 2010, it handled 1,872,618 passengers, a 11.2% increase compared to 2009.-Future plans and expansion:...
(around 25 km and 50 Leva
Bulgarian lev
The lev is the currency of Bulgaria. It is divided in 100 stotinki . In archaic Bulgarian the word "lev" meant "lion".It is speculated that Bulgaria, as a member of the European Union will adopt the Euro in 2015 .- First lev, 1881–1952 :...
by taxi, August 2010) and Varna Airport
Varna Airport
-Seasonal Charter flights:-Passenger statistic:-See also:* List of airports in Bulgaria* List of airlines of Bulgaria* List of the busiest airports in Europe by passenger traffic-External links:* *...
(around 100 km and 100 - 120 Leva
Bulgarian lev
The lev is the currency of Bulgaria. It is divided in 100 stotinki . In archaic Bulgarian the word "lev" meant "lion".It is speculated that Bulgaria, as a member of the European Union will adopt the Euro in 2015 .- First lev, 1881–1952 :...
by taxi, August 2010).
Sunny Beach (Sunny Beach Bus station) is well connected by bus with all larger bulgarian Cities. Price example: Sunny Beach to Varna costs 10 Leva
Bulgarian lev
The lev is the currency of Bulgaria. It is divided in 100 stotinki . In archaic Bulgarian the word "lev" meant "lion".It is speculated that Bulgaria, as a member of the European Union will adopt the Euro in 2015 .- First lev, 1881–1952 :...
(5 Euro) as of August 2010.
There is no direct connection with train. The next passenger train station is Burgas
Burgas
-History:During the rule of the Ancient Romans, near Burgas, Debeltum was established as a military colony for veterans by Vespasian. In the Middle Ages, a small fortress called Pyrgos was erected where Burgas is today and was most probably used as a watchtower...
.
History
The resort's construction began back in Communist times, in 1958. Construction works began at a site, where two old wells supplying Nessebar with water in ancient times and during the Middle Ages, had been located.The climate of the area is Mediterranean
Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...
, explaining Sunny Beach's popularity with tourists since the Soviet Union existed. Since that time the resort's popularity has grown among German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
holidaymakers, who add to the already large numbers of Russian
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
visitors. More recently, Sunny Beach has begun to attract the attention of the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n and Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
for which it is a more affordable alternative to the established Mediterranean resorts.
Attractions
Attractions for tourists include the sunning at the beachBeach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
, water sports and the nearby historical site of Nessebar. There are two new Aqua Parks near the resort. Sunny Beach is mainly popular amongst young people for its nightlife.
The Golden Orpheus International Festival
Golden Orpheus
The Golden Orpheus, is an international and Bulgarian song contest. It has been held annually between 1965 till 1999 in different concert halls located on the Sunny Beach.-External links:* *...
of Popular Song, the Decade of Symphonic Music, part of the International Folklore Festival, fashion-shows and various beach competitions are held there. In 2008, the VIth Stranski-Kaischew Surface Science Workshop, a prestigious triennial international conference sponsored by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and named in honor of two prominent Bulgarian scientists of the 20th century, was held in Sunny Beach.