A one-day trip to the northern Bulgarian seaside

Nature in Bulgaria offers a lot to every traveler and nature lover. It is difficult to choose one place to visit from the many lakes, mountain ranges, beaches and nature parks. As the summer is approaching, I want to make it easier for you by suggesting you an itinerary for a one-day trip to the northern Bulgarian seaside.

The Palace in Balchik

The Palace in Balchik

Balchik Palace, Kurortna zona Dvoretsa 1, 9600 Dvoretsa, Balchik, Bulgaria

Your trip is about to begin. The starting point in this itinerary is the beautiful Palace in Balchik. You can either stay in Balchik the night before or choose a hotel in Varna or in Albena, which is a family-friendly resort north of Varna. The Palace in Balchik offers not only a great place to have a walk and see amazing botanical gardens but also learn a bit more about the history of the area and sink into the atmosphere of the early 20th century. The palace was built in 1927, and the gardens were added 10 years later. The woman who initiated this beautiful project was the Romanian queen Marie Alexandra Victoria. She first visited this small coastal town in 1921, as it was then part of the Romanian kingdom. She immediately fell in love with the place and decided to spend the last years of her life there. In the complex, besides the gardens and palace, there are statues, fountains and a small pool. Here, you can see the reflection of the light in the water and wonder what the queen was thinking when she was walking around the alleys of her garden.

It depends on what you want to see and how much time you have, but in my opinion, if you are there by 10h in the morning, two hours would be enough to see most of the complex, and you will have time for lunch somewhere in the picturesque town of Balchik.

Cape Kaliakra

Cape Kaliakra

Cape Kaliakra, 9660 Kavarna, Bulgaria

The next stop in today's trip is located 40 km from the Palace in Balchik. You have two options of roads to take to reach cape Kaliakra. The shorter one (33 km) goes along the coastline, so you will have a great view, but the road is in bad condition, and therefore takes longer than the other that is 40 km long. Anyways, about 40-50 minutes after you leave Balchik, you will approach Kaliakra. There, you will need about an hour to go to the end and visit the small temple, dedicated to St. George. If you think about it, this place is connected to both Bulgaria`s folklore and its Orthodox religious heritage. The legends about the cape talk about the bravery of the Bulgarian nation, so it is an important part of this itinerary.

Krapets & Durankulak

Krapets Beach, northern Bulgaria

9674 Krapets, Bulgaria

Durankulak Beach, northern Bulgaria

9670 Shabla, Bulgaria

If you are still not that tired after visiting the palace and cape, I want to add just one more thing to the trip. Or two things, to be precise. So, if the weather is nice, a great way to end your day in nature would be to visit one of the two most beautiful, secluded beaches in northern Bulgaria – Krapets and Durankulak. Krapets is located 45-50 km from the Cape Kaliakra. There is a village of the same name, so you can rent a house or book a hotel room and just stay there for one night. If you start the itinerary from Balchik at around 10h in the morning, you will be in Krapets at around 16h. If you ask me, this is the best time to be at the beach, because it would not be too hot to enjoy the sunshine and get tan without harming your skin. And if you are still up for an adventure after you get to Krapets, you can take a walk to Durankulak Beach – just walk along the coastline for about an hour – the distance is 6-7 km.

So, this is my suggestion on how to organize a one-day trip to the northern Bulgarian seaside, but feel free to change it according to your personal taste. You just have to decide how much time you want to spend at each place. All of them are more or less unique and symbolic for Bulgaria, so they are definitely a must for every traveler!