Then in 1959 all changed. The government stepped in and designated it a sun resort in the style of the Spanish resorts that were gathering pace in the west. Not for Bulgarians mind. For tourists. They called one of their resorts Golden Sands, to the north near Varna. This one became Sunny Beach.
It wasn’t pretty, in fact it was ugly, with box-like hotels scattered along what is a truly beautiful natural beach, but it worked. The Irish came in a small but regular number, thanks to Balkan Tours, set up by a Bulgarian émigré 32 years ago. After those famous soccer matches in the 1970s and 1980s, thousands of Irish went on to the resorts to see for themselves.
Communism came and went, like a dozen cultures previously on this coast, and the rising tide brought a lot of money to the local resorts.
The deal was we got Spanish hotel standards at €200 less than Spanish prices. The hotels sprang up with new standards, pools, waterslides, spas, massages (a tenner or less), 108 hotels next to the beach, 60 restaurants offering international cuisine, 24,000 beds in sunlit rooms, holiday villages and campsites offering every comfort, restaurants, entertainment spots and nightclubs.
They scatter along the shoreline, with air conditioning, tiered balconies and the sound of the sea never far away; the four-star Victoria Palace, Elienite all inclusive, Trakia Garden, Fiesta Beach, and Neptune. The Ibero Star is the plushest in the Falcon brochure. Budget launches a programme next summer.
A few ground rules apply. Hotels have been crowded out a little in the building splurge. The Fiesta Beach is officially four-star, but ranks as three-star in one brochure and three-star plus in another.
Beachfront hotels have smaller pools because of space strictures; those further from the beach have bigger pools. People have been using the Majestic pool this summer, as the hotel is unfinished but the pool was ready.
Six levs (€3) buys you a beach sun bed. At the Marvel Hotel - most popular with Falcon’s Irish customers - they charge for pool sun beds. The result has been impressive. The Irish arrived in ever increasing numbers and Sunny Beach was the fastest growing new destination in 2005. The bookings for 2006 are already up.
The most popular excursions for the Irish include an overnight trip to Istanbul and the array of local cabaret entertainment. The Bulgarians say three things made this coastline famous: Alexander the Great, Spartacus, and the fact that yoghurt was invented here. You can try hundreds of varieties at the breakfast buffet.
There is another jewel, although it is tucked down coast a little on an isthmus that tourists cross by the thousand past an uileann-pipe playing Bulgarian. Nesebur old town was a cluster of churches on the Black Sea coast. It started out life as the major Greek town of Mesembria, home to a major temple to Apollo, and the amphitheatre is still used for summer festivals.
Then the Roman Empire moved its capital east, and Nesebur became the Bray of Constantinople, or perhaps the Lucan, as the city slickers of the fourth and fifth centuries adjourned here to enjoy the spa, seek a cure and, as one does, build a church.
There were 42 in all, and a few of the most beautiful have survived. The oldest, the now-roofless Old Metropolitan Church, dates from the 6th century. Around the churches a nest of stalls sell sunglasses, postcards, antiques, and t-shirts saying ‘KGB still watching you’.
In the sunlight you can see the passenger sailboats criss cross the glistening sea (blue, not Black, must mention that to the trade descriptions people) as if nothing had changed since the days that communism and mosquitoes ruled this coast.
* Balkan Tours is the leading Irish operator to Sunny Beach, operating Saturday flights from Dublin, Cork and Belfast. The 2006 brochure is now available. Telephone (Dublin) 6773326 Belfast 028-90246795. www.balkan.co.uk
<http://www.balkan.co.uk/>
* Malev operates a scheduled service from Dublin to Bourgas airport via
Budapest.
Most popular excursions:
1. Khan’s tent cabaret night €30
2. Istanbul by bus two-day trip Friday and Sunday €89 (up to €180 with other operators)
3. Blue Mountains Zhervana chair lift ride to Blue Mountains crystal factory €38
4. Sozopol and Ropotamo river cruise €30
5. Jeep safari brandy making €43
6. Off road Cape Ermine experience €45
7. Bulgarian village evening €29
8. Varna dolphin show €29
