Bulgaria: The Pros and Cons of Vacationing: The Golden Mean of the Black Sea Coast

Hello everyone. Today, at my readers' request, we're visiting a small resort town called Obzor. After reading this article, will you know if Obzor is worth a vacation? We'll also evaluate the resort based on all the key criteria. You can also participate in our assessment by leaving your rating at the end of the article.
If you're interested in a vacation in the resort town of Obzor in Bulgaria, you might be wondering: How do I get there? What accommodations should I choose? How much does it cost? 
General information
According to the latest data, the city's population is just over 2,000. The resort town of Obzor is the "golden mean" of the Bulgarian coast.
The city's history began over 3,000 years ago. Initially, the Thracians established their settlement. Then, Greek settlers founded the city.

Photos Review

The city was later conquered by the Romans. The remains of these buildings survive to this day. After the division of the Roman Empire into Western and Eastern (Byzantine) Empires, the city became the summer residence of the Byzantine emperors. 

Climate in Obzor

The warmest month in Obzor is July, with an average air temperature of 22.6°C. The average sea temperature in May is 15.6°C, rising to 21.6°C in June, and the warmest sea temperature in August is 25.8°C.  

Location of the Review

The city of Obzor is located on the Black Sea coast between the cities Varna and Burgas, roughly in the middle. It is located in a bay that begins north of Cape St. Atanas and extends south to Mount Eminska. The Obzor resort is located on a panoramic road connecting the southern and northern coasts of the Black Sea. The Dvoynitsa River divides the large beach into two parts: the northern part, home to the beaches of four- and five-star hotels, and the southern part, home to the city beach and other hotel beaches.

How to get there?

The nearest airport is Varna (distance 68 km). To the airport in Burgas The distance is 60 km, but the road goes through a mountain pass, where traffic jams are common in the summer.

Obzor has a bus station that serves buses from Varna and Burgas. Buy the cheapest bus tickets You can do it here. A minibus within the city costs 0.75 euro cents. Parking is 1 euro per hour. You can book a private transfer to Obzor. here.

Beach in the city of Obzor

Obzor boasts one of the longest beaches in Bulgaria, stretching almost 9 km in total. A street runs along the beach, which is within the city limits.

The entry into the sea is gentle, with water initially reaching waist-deep for adults, then becoming shallower. Access to the beaches is free. However, it's important to note that this is an open sea and strong, high waves are common.

The beach is divided into paid areas where you can rent umbrellas and sun loungers, and free areas where you can bring your own beach gear. Lifeguards are on duty at the beaches. 

Accommodation in Obzor

Obzor hotels on the map:

What about housing and hotels? 

Although the city of Obzor is a small resort town, housing prices turned out to be higher than in the same Sunny Beach.

But while prices aren't low, demand is still high. In pre-coronavirus times, the best hotels in Obzor were already selling out in the winter. Now availability is a little better, but you're likely to run out of rooms at the best hotels if you book a week in advance. That's how demand works.

We found the cheapest offer, a room in a guest house. Pink Guest House Priced at 22 euros per night for a double room, the booking rating is 9.1. It's located 200 meters from the sea. There are cheaper options, but they're more than 700 meters away. 

Are there any options with stars? Yes, of course. We found a hotel option. Reina del Mar — 5 stars, all inclusive.

A double room costs €334 per night! And that's with the 10% Genius discount. Among the hotel's highlights are five swimming pools, one of which is indoor. Reviews on Booking.com are 9.3, which is a very high number. While walking around the hotel, we noticed that guests are mostly from Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, and Germany.

Nutrition in Review

There are some restaurants in Obzor, but the selection is limited.

There are hotels that offer full board or all-inclusive meals. However, prices are generally high. If you prefer to cater for yourself, you can buy groceries in small shops, but at significantly higher prices.

To research grocery prices, we visited a large store in the heart of the city, Aldo. We'd visited this store about 10 years ago, and it was full of goods, but now it was a sad sight. Lots of half-empty shelves and just plain empty space. But even more surprising were the prices. We knew they'd be high, but not that high.

Some items are priced 100-150% higher than in Varna stores. Some are more than 175% higher! Dumplings are marked up to over 100%. Milka chocolate is sold with a resort markup of over 100%. Milk and egg prices aren't significantly higher than normal, with a price difference of only 20-30%. And "cheap" bread is practically gone, even though it's twice as expensive.

But we found a place in Obzor with reasonable prices for food products; it's a small market that's open all day. 

Resort infrastructure: Overview and entertainment. 

There's a small Lunapark for children at the entrance to the city. There's also a small park in the city center, not far from the beach. The park has several children's rides and an exercise area.

There's a football field and tennis courts. The sea offers the usual array of water attractions: parasailing, banana boats, waterslides, and jet skis.

There are car rental agencies in Obzor. For hikers, the forest adjacent to the town offers the Koleto eco-trail.

Advantages of the resort Review

Cons of the resort town Review

Conclusions

This review is perfect for those seeking a truly relaxing seaside holiday in a small resort town.

Have you been to the Review and what did you like? Please let us know in the comments.

Sea water temperature in Monthly overview

Weather in Obzor today

WEATHER REVIEW

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