Golden Sands Things to do

Golden Sands Activities
The clean sand and warm, clear sea are made for beach holidays and water sports equipment can be hired all along the 21/2 mile long beach. Windsurfing is particularly popular and scuba diving is amongst the best in the Black Sea, with PADI and SSI instruction available. There are also facilities for tennis, including coaching, yachting, bowling, volleyball, basketball, mini-golf and archery. Would-be explorers can hire a jeep for a mud safari, see the sights from horseback or go hiking in the nature park. And there are balneotherapy centres and hot springs to help you recover from your exertions. There’s plenty to do in the evenings too with restaurants serving anything from pizzas to authentic Bulgarian fare, taverns, casinos, folklore shows, crowded nightclubs and romantic beach bars.

Aladzha Monastery
Just above the resort, the Aladzha monastery is literally hewn into the cliff. Caves nearby have been occupied since the Stone Age and this monastery probably dates back to the C12th. There’s a small museum and a chapel with frescoes painted by the silent order of Hesychast monks.

Neighbouring resorts
Golden Sands is bordered by the attractive resorts of Albena and St. Constantine and Elena. St Constantine and Elena is the oldest resort along the coast having been founded in 1908 as a balneology centre, while Albena has the largest number of mineral springs in Bulgaria. Beyond Albena lies Balchik, a picturesque town famous for its Summer Palace of Queen Marie of Romania and the Botanical Gardens.

Varna
Cosmopolitan university city, bustling naval and commercial port and the seaside capital of Bulgaria, Varna offers a great choice of shops, restaurants, bars and nightlife, as well as tree-lined avenues, elegant buildings and well-kept gardens. Attractions include Roman remains, hot springs, museums, galleries, a dolphinarium, and the former Royal Palace at Euxinograd Park.

Nessebur
The ancient city of Nessebur is best known for its numerous churches dating back to the 10th-14th centuries. Many still stand amongst a maze of cobbled streets and wooden houses in this UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Nature Parks and Reserves
There are many unspoiled areas nearby. Golden Sands is actually situated in the densely wooded Zlatni Piasatsi Nature Park (Zlatni Piasatsi being the Bulgarian name for Golden Sands resort), which is home to deer, wild boar and many species of birds, while at the mouth of the Kamchia River lies the Kamchia Nature Reserve, where climbing plants join the trees to give an almost tropical forest appearance.