Bourgas Region holidays

Beaches are the Bourgas region’s crowning glory. Strips of sand are runway-long in this part of the world – the most popular resorts have beaches that roll out for up to 8 kilometres. The facilities leave nothing to the imagination, either. Beaches tend to be accessorised with everything but the kitchen sink. Expect fun fairs, beach bars, restaurants, mini golf courses and market stalls.

At 8 kilometres long, Cacao Beach, in Sunny Beach, is the biggest beach in the Bourgas region by a long shot. Its size means it pulls in the crowds, so it gets busy, but the atmosphere is great. You’ll want for nothing when you’re here, either. A promenade runs parallel to the sand and it’s lined with everything from flight-simulators and bungee balls to henna tattoo stands and oxygen bars.

Thanks to their size, Bourgas region beaches are hard to hide. If you’re staying around Sunny Beach or Ozbor, you should be prepared to share your sand. But if you head an hour south, you’ll come to Zlatna Ribka, one of the least-busy beaches in the Bourgas region. There are sunloungers on the sand, but it’s backed by trees and greenery, rather than bars and restaurants.

Head to the market stalls in Sunny Beach and you’ll be knee-deep in novelty t-shirts. If you don’t see one you like, you can get your own printed while you wait. There are bargains to be had on Slavianska Street in Obzor, too.

The Royal Beach Mall in Sunny Beach is a one-stop shop for high street brands. There are more than 140 shops here, including Adidas, Lee Cooper and Asics. What’s more, there are a few restaurants and cocktail bars for when you need to recharge your batteries. If you’re staying in Obzor, you can catch a coach to Varna for a spree around Mall Varna. This multi-story shopping centre has more than 150 shops including big name brands like Miss Sixty and Levi.

Your bank manager can sleep soundly while you’re in the Bourgas region. Designer boutiques are few and far between. You’d have to make the 5-hour trip to Vitosha Boulevard in Sofia to find names like Versace and Armani. The best place to splash out in the Bourgas region is Nessebar Old Town. There are a few jewellery shops here, which sell platinum, gold and silver.

If you want to escape the neon lights of Sunny Beach, head to the old town in Nessebar. There are a cluster of quiet restaurants here, which serve fresh seafood, like trout and sea wolf. They’re easy to find, but if you need a point of reference, head to Mitropolitska Street. Buses from Sunny Beach to Nessebar run every 15 minutes. If you’re in Obzor, restaurants are dotted all over the centre of town. You’ll find some of the quirkier themed ones around Ivan Raykov street.

The party doesn’t stop in Sunny Beach. The beach bars serve beers from breakfast, happy hours run round the clock, bar crawls begin before sunset, and the clubs don’t close until sunrise. You can start your night off with live music in the restaurants on Flower Street before heading to the big clubs around Party Square to catch big name DJs.

This steamy, baked mincemeat dish is a usual suspect on restaurant menus all over the country. It differs from Greek mousakka because it doesn’t contain aubergines. It’s usually served with a side order of sour yoghurt

A terracotta pot swimming with kavarma is usually the nucleus of easy-going group suppers in Bulgaria. The saucy dish of chicken, peppers, mushrooms and tomatoes is the centre piece of the table, and friends dip pitta bread into it as conversation flows.

Cheverme is the Bulgarian equivalent of a hog roast. This roast pork dish is made by cooking a whole pig, on a spit, over embers for up to seven hours. The chargrilled meat is then served with a traditional shopska salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, roast peppers and sirine cheese.

Rakia is the national drink of Bulgaria. It’s made from fermented grapes or plums, and it tastes similar to brandy. Some Bulgarians brew this potent liquid at home and change its taste by adding herbs, honey and sour cherries to the mixture.

Bulgaria fathers quite a few different brands of national beer, and Zagorka is one of the most popular. It’s light, lemony and refreshing. It’s also budget friendly – some of the beach bars in Sunny Beach sell pints of it for the equivalent of a pound.