Pomorie – Visiting the Black Sea Coast of Bulgaria
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Bulgaria is a country that can offer a lot more than you probably think. It has such beautiful natural scenery and has everything from the snowy mountains to golden beaches. In this post, I want to show you the attractions to visit in Pomorie. Answer the question about what to do on a weekend in Pomorie when visiting the Black Sea town during colder months and where to stay to have the best spa experience.
I’ve never thought about visiting the sea coast of Bulgaria during the winter season. However, believe me, even if the warmer summer months are over visiting the east part of the country should still be on your list. For sure, most of the places will be closed and all of the tourists gone but that’s exactly the main reason you should go. There is just something magical happening when you’re standing on the beach alone surrounded by solitude and you can hear nothing but the sound of the waves. This trip that we took with my boyfriend recharged me and gave me the necessary time that I needed to press the “restart” button. Pomorie is not as popular among tourists as Sunny Beach or the Golden Sands, so I hope I can put it on your list when you finish reading this blog post.
Pomorie – its location and what to do in Pomorie
Pomorie is ideal for your visit if you want more of a relaxed holiday and want to get away from the business of its nearby neighbors. Because of its unique natural benefits and the famous healing mud of the Pomorie Salt Lake, it’s the perfect destination for a spa and wellness vacation all year round. Pomorie is located on the east coast of Bulgaria, between Burgas and Sunny Beach (Slantchev Briag).
- Burgas – 11 miles / 18 km (20 min)
- Sunny Beach – 13 miles / 21 km (21 min)
- Varna – 87 miles / 141 km (1 h 49 min)
- Plovdiv – 165 miles / 267 km (2 h 42 min)
- Sofia – 247 miles / 398 km (3 h 54 min)
There are plenty of things that you can do in Pomorie. Going to the beach, eating at a variety of traditional or seafood restaurants, choosing from numerous water activities like yachting, parasailing, and jet-skiing, or visiting several attractions. You can also go on a day trip to nearby cities like Nessebar or Sozopol.
The beach in Pomorie is about 5 km long and it has been awarded the prestigious EU Blue Flag.
How to get to Pomorie?
You have several options on how to reach Pomorie and it will depend on from which city you’re leaving. The most obvious one will be renting a car. You can easily find an affordable option online and drive there yourself. The roads are in good condition and there are plenty of road signs so you won’t get lost.
There are also public buses available that you can hop on to get to Pomorie. The prices for buses in Bulgaria, in general, are very cheap and the ticket from Burgas to Pomorie will cost you no more than $2.
Attractions to visit in Pomorie
Thracian Tumulus
Its name can be translated in English as “Hollow mound/grave”. This Ancient tomb located near Pomorie dates back to II-IV c. and it’s the biggest tholus and one of the best-preserved archeological monuments of the late Roman Empire in Bulgaria.
In the middle of the chamber, you will find a huge hollow, mushroom-shaped column which is 18 feet / 5,5 m high and has a diameter of 10 feet / 3 m. The scientists say that it served as a mausoleum of a rich Thracian family, in which religious rituals were performed.
The place itself is very interesting and worth stopping by. You can find its location by putting “Thracian Tumulus Pomorie” in your Google Maps.
St. Georgi Monastery
This beautiful monastery is another peaceful place that you should stop by to take in the healing magic of Pomorie. But to truly appreciate this place it’s good if you know the legend surrounding it.
According to the legend, at the end of the 17th century, the Turkish bey Selim settled in this place and founded his estate there – a farm. He suffered from a severe and incurable disease. One night he dreamed that there was miraculous water in the yard of his house. When he dug at the place indicated in the dream, Selim Bey found a marble plate, a relief of St. George, and below it – a holy spring. With the water from the spring, he was healed and as a sign of gratitude, he built a chapel in this place and together with his whole family accepted the Christian faith. After his wife died, Selim Bey donated his 3,800-acre farmland to monastery land.
The new church was built in 1858 on the foundations of the old chapel.
Nowadays, you can still get that healing water from the fountain under the dome of the monastery.
Old Town Pomorie
There is no “old town” in Pomorie like you can find in Plovdiv or Nessebar but there is a small architectural reserve consisting of a few beautiful, old Pomorian houses which you can take a look at.
It’s located close to the seashore in the east end of Pomorie. You can admire the typical architecture of houses built in the 19th century. The houses here are privately owned so they are not available for visiting but you can learn more about them in the Historical Museum of Pomorie.
The price of the ticket for the museum is only 4 BGN ($2,5).
Salt museum
The Salt Museum in Pomorie is the only specialized museum in Bulgaria and in Eastern Europe for the production of salt by solar evaporation of the seawater. The museum consists of an exhibition hall and 20 decares of open-air salt pans, where salt is still mined to this day.
Where to stay in Pomorie
Grand Hotel Pomorie
If you’re looking for a great place to relax, restore, eat delicious food, and benefit from amazing medical spa facilities while you’re in Pomorie I know the right place for you.
The hotel is located right on the seashore between the Black Sea and the Salt Lake of Pomorie. There is even a long bridge that connects the hotel with the beach which makes it easily accessible to its guests.
Everything in this hotel and its facilities pleasantly surprised us during our stay.
Starting with its rooms which offer the most beautiful sea view to its guests. My favorite part of each day was waking up early to watch how the sun rose over the water right from our balcony.
However, its spa center was the part that impressed me the most. The hotel has 3 outdoor pools and 2 indoor pools. The highlight of the spa center was the huge indoor salt swimming pool with water coming from the spring in Pomorie.
The water temperature in the swimming pool was 89 F / 32 C degrees! How amazing is that?
It comes from the spring located 70 m under the ground so the water in the pool has a lot of healing and medical benefits.
There are also so many other water facilities in their spa center that you can benefit from. Including some that I’ve never seen before.
It has things like a jacuzzi, steam bath, Finnish sauna, infrared sauna, herbal sauna, and Turkish bath. Steam bath, Egyptian bath (which was closed when we were there), bucket shower, ice cabin, shock pool, Kneipp path, salt room, rain cave, rain path, and a small gym.
You definitely won’t be bored in a spa as such.
Breakfast and dinner were included during our stay and we ordered lunch two times from their menu. All I can say is that everything that we tried was unbelievably delicious. The variety of foods on the buffet was huge.
They even had 5 different kinds of vegan cheese and even more vegan milk alternatives! Which I haven’t seen in any other hotel in Bulgaria for sure.
There is also a library and two pool tables to relax/have fun on the first floor. If you’ve had enough of other relaxing activities the library is definitely a place where you can enjoy some quiet time.
As you can see from my photos above the hotel and its facilities are truly excellent. The staff was very kind, professional, polite, and helpful. I honestly can’t find anything negative to say about this place.
I’m confident that you will enjoy your time at Grand Hotel Pomorie as much as I did. And I honestly can’t wait to return there again because it for sure is the place which I will choose from now on for my stay in Pomorie.
Final Word
If you’re planning on visiting Pomorie, I would highly suggest you visit some more stunning places in Bulgaria that not a lot of people know about! I have several Bulgaria Travel guides on my blog that I created for you including all of the must-visit places!
Have you ever been to Bulgaria? Let me know in the comments below!
