Sunny Beach ( , ''Slanchev bryag'') is a seaside

resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that aims to provide most of a vacationer's needs. This includes food, drink, swimming, accommodation, sports, entertainment and shopping, on the premises. A hotel ...

on the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

coast of

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, north of

Burgas Burgas (, ), sometimes transliterated as Bourgas, is the second largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast in the region of Northern Thrace and the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, fourth-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia, Plovdiv, an ...

and south of

Varna Varna may refer to: Places Europe *Varna, Bulgaria, a city ** Varna Province ** Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna ** Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis * Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy * Varna (Šabac), a village in Serbia Asia * Var ...

. Created in 1958 as a weekend getaway for Bulgarian families, Sunny Beach has become the largest tourist and vacation spot in the country. Today, the area contributes a significant part of the province's annual

gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performanc ...

. Initially a small beachside resort, it has grown to include a large variety of recreational activities and services, gambling establishments as well as sports and music venues. Its rapid growth makes it the largest resort on the entire

coast; to the south, the complex has merged with the town of

Nesebar Nesebar (often transcribed as Nessebar and sometimes as Nesebur, , pronounced ) is an ancient city and one of the major seaside resorts on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, located in Burgas Province. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous ...

Tourism

Sunny Beach has a very small permanent population, but during the summer the resort is home to many thousands of

tourists Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

. The main strip of high-rise hotels backing onto the beach is long and extends along a wide bay between

Sveti Vlas Sveti Vlas (also known as St. Vlas; ; ), is a town and resort on the Black Sea coast in Nesebar municipality, Burgas Province, Bulgaria. In July, 2007 its population was 3,869. History The town is located at the foot of the southern slopes of t ...

and

Nessebar Nesebar (often transcribed as Nessebar and sometimes as Nesebur, , pronounced ) is an ancient city and one of the major seaside resorts on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, located in Burgas Province. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous ...

, soon to connect with the village of Tankovo.

History

The planning of Sunny Beach began in 1957, and construction began with decree No 120/30 June 1958 of the Council of Ministers of the

People's Republic of Bulgaria The People's Republic of Bulgaria (PRB; , NRB; ) was the official name of Bulgaria when it was a socialist republic from 1946 to 1990, ruled by the Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP; ) together with its coalition partner, the Bulgarian Agraria ...

. The construction of Sunny Beach began north of the

Nessebar Strait Nesebar (often transcribed as Nessebar and sometimes as Nesebur, , pronounced ) is an ancient city and one of the major seaside resorts on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, located in Burgas Province. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous ...

in an area that geographers have long called the small Nessebar desert - endless sands that form dunes, including two wells of geraniums. From these two wells, a kilometer away from the town, the inhabitants of the peninsula drank water. On June 1, 1959, the first restaurant, "Neptune", was opened. During the afforestation of Sunny Beach, 550,000 m³ of fertile soil were transferred to the territory of the complex, 300,000 coniferous and deciduous large-sized trees were planted, 770,000 ornamental shrubs, 100,000 roses, 200,000 dunes, with investments exceeding BGN 150 million. Sunny Beach is the first Bulgarian resort to be awarded the Blue Flag eco award, erected by a beach ritual in front of the Europe Hotel on July 4, 1995. The millionth tourist of the complex was registered on September 22, 1969. The two millionth tourist of the complex was registered on August 30, 1973. The five millionth tourist was registered on June 15, 1981. Official statistics show that for the period 1959 - 1988 7 699 100 people were vacationing in Sunny Beach, of which 5 162 600 were foreign tourists and 2 536 590 Bulgarian citizens. In 1989 it has 108 hotels with over 27,000 beds and over 130 restaurants, attractions and public places, night clubs, bars and discos, coffee shops and aperitifs. Sunny Beach EAD was a 100% state-owned joint-stock company until March 14, 1994, when it was announced for privatization by the Privatization Agency. On July 16, 1997, after the sale by the state of 25% of the company's capital through the first wave of mass privatization, the name of the issuer was changed to Sunny Beach AD. Sunny Beach was selected as one of the Top 100 Beaches in the world in 2024, according to the prestigious Golden Beach Award, which highlights destinations renowned for their beauty, vibrant atmosphere, inclusivity, community spirit, and cultural significance.

Transport

The airports serving Sunny Beach are

Burgas Airport Burgas Airport is an international airport in southeast Bulgaria and the second largest in the country. It is near the northern neighbourhood of Sarafovo approximately from the city centre. The airport principally serves Burgas and other seas ...

and

Varna Airport Varna Airport () is the airport of Varna, the historical maritime capital of Bulgaria. Varna Airport is the third largest airport in Bulgaria. It is located 10 kilometers from the center of Varna near the town of Aksakovo. The airport serves ...

. After the construction of the Black Sea highway, Sunny Beach has established itself as one of the largest socio-economic centers in Eastern Bulgaria. The resort is connected with the cities of

, and

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

through numerous bus lines.

Attractions

Attractions for tourists include the

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from Rock (geology), rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle beach, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological s ...

water sports Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms ...

, and the nearby historic site of

. There are two

water park A water park (also waterpark, water world, or aquapark) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming ...

s near the resort and third to be built soon near the exit to Kosharitca. The Decade of Symphonic Music, part of the International Folklore Festival, fashion shows, and various beach competitions are held in Sunny Beach. The

Golden Orpheus Golden Orpheus (, ''Zlatniyat Orfey'') was an international vocal competition and song contest, held annually from 1965 to 1999 in Sunny Beach, Bulgaria. The festival program included a Bulgarian song competition, an international vocal competi ...

song contest was held here until 1999.

Climate

Sunny Beach has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Cfa'';

Trewartha climate classification The Trewartha climate classification (TCC), or the Köppen–Trewartha climate classification (KTC), is a climate classification system first published by American geographer Glenn Thomas Trewartha in 1966. It is a modified version of the Köp ...

''Cf''). Average annual temperatures is around 14 °C. During the summer the sea temperatures stay around 26 °C. Winters are cool, windy and have moderate rainfall.

Media

The BBC has broadcast the programme ''Booze, Bar Crawls and Bulgaria: Stacey Dooley Investigates''. This focussed on the negative aspects of the Sunny Beach resort such as excessive drinking, overpriced private medical treatment and the availability of illegal drugs. The UK's

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

have commissioned

Dragonfly Film and Television Productions Dragonfly is a British television production company owned by Banijay Entertainment. It has produced factual programmes for BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Three, BBC Four, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Discovery Channel and National Geographic Channel. H ...

to film three episodes of the next series of ''What Happens in Sunny Beach, Bulgaria''. The show portrays the activities of Britons who escape their mundane lives to enjoy the lawlessness of Sunny Beach. In 2022, Channel 4 also commissioned Parable to produce the 6-part documentary series ''Emergency on Sunny Beach'', covering how local emergency services and frontline workers handle the summer peak in tourists, and what they think of the British tourists. The series was broadcast in 2023.

Gallery

File:Sunny Beach sea.jpg File:Hotel Imperial Bulgaria Sunny Beach.jpg File:Bulgaria-Sunny Beach-01.jpg File:Bulgaria-Sunny Beach-02.jpg File:Bulgaria-Sunny Beach-04.jpg File:Bulgaria-Sunny Beach-05.jpg File:Bulgaria-Sunny Beach-06.jpg File:Bulgaria-Sunny Beach-07.jpg File:Bulgaria-Sunny Beach-08.jpg File:Bulgaria-Sunny Beach-09.jpg File:Bulgaria-Sunny Beach-10.jpg

References

External links

Sunny Beach – PTZ web camera
* {{Authority control Geography of Burgas Province Tourist attractions in Burgas Province 1958 establishments in Bulgaria Populated places established in 1958