We headed south of Burgas where friends had told us we could find pristine beaches and clear water, something unheard of at Sunny Beach for, I suppose, many years. Our friends were not exactly right.
We rented a car and after a considerable amount of beach-hunting (all of them seem to have beach umbrellas and plastic chairs installed), we settled at a relatively empty beach near the oil terminal in Rosenets (beautiful views of a small island called, I am told, Bolshevik).
We sat down near some beach umbrellas, but a thick-set man came up immediately and demanded money. We told him we would only stay for an hour and did not want to use his umbrellas, but he ordered us out of the beach.
Is this the right thing to do in Bulgaria?
Jennifer S.
UK
VAGABOND: As everything else where the Bulgarian administration is involved, things are so complicated that even the Bulgarians hardly understand them. According to the Constitution, all beaches and the whole Bulgarian coastline (375 kilometres of it) are the exclusive property of the state, which mean no one can deny you right of way. Local authorities rent out beaches to entrepreneurs who are supposed to manage them. They are usually required to have a life guard, a medical centre and other facilities. Obviously, to make money, they install bars, parasols etc.
Parasols and deck chairs in Bulgaria are more expensive than they are on the best beaches of Greece.
Strictly speaking, no one should charge you anything unless you are using their property. In reality, there is no one to complain to. Try writing a letter in Bulgarian to the local municipal authority.
If anyone becomes threatening, threaten them back by telling them you will call the police. That will usually do.
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