Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast has been mentioned in foreign press reports in June extolling the virtues of holidaying in Bulgaria.

Bulgaria was becoming an increasingly popular destination “for curious Brits”, the Sunday Sun newspaper, which covers the north-east of England, reported on June 15.

“Affordable, welcoming and varied in the scale of activities on offer for beach bums, skiers and all types in between, it [Bulgaria] is attracting holiday-makers and investors by the plane-load,” the newspaper said.

Bulgaria had a “blooming” real estate market for holiday property and was a “burgeoning golf scene”. While describing her experience at Golden Sands coastal resorts, author Vicky Anderson notes that the prices were “so ludicrously cheap” that she “actually felt guilty”.

“Wherever you go along the coast, fresh fish is available in abundance, in more shapes, sizes and species than a cod-reared Brit could dream of,” Anderson said.

Some of the biggest names in metal loved to play in the town of Kavarna, the Sunday Sun said, as the town mayor was a “devoted metal-head”.

Bulgaria’s second biggest city, Varna, was an “intriguing (...) mix of ancient and modern.

“Often our party’s eyes would be drawn to stalls full of historic tat alongside the usual postcards and keyring malarkey, only to find an array of authentic Nazi memorabilia for sale. Pretty odd in itself (...) but especially so when one of the stalls is selling the stuff outside a cathedral! We wondered why anyone would want to try and smuggle an SS death’s head ring through customs and politely moved on, but these curious stalls were to be found everywhere,” the article said.

The five things to do at the Bulgarian coastline were to visit the Sea Garden at Varna; the medieval Aladzha rock monastery, a few km south of Golden Sands; the summer palace and beautiful Botanic Garden of Balchik; to go to neighbouring Kranevo and to the Evksinograd government residence at SS Konstantin and Elena resort.

A report by SmarterTravel.com on June 9 that included Bulgaria in its “Five European Destinations That Won’t Kill Your Budget” quoted Kristine Dimitrova, a Bulgarian-born Boston lawyer who makes regular return trips to the country, as listing Varna among recommended destinations in Bulgaria.

“Varna is essentially a major destination beach resort for all of Western Europe,” said Dimitrova. “It has natural hot mineral springs and modern spas with all the amenities and treatments you’d find in other places, but for a lot less.” Varna, the article said, also had an excellent Archaeological Museum which displays artifacts like intricately made Thracian gold jewellery from the fourth century BCE and 100 000-year-old stone tools.

Canadian newspaper The Expositor, in an article on the weekend of June 14-15, said: “Bulgaria is easy to get to (though it’s less easy to get around once you’re here), beautiful, sophisticated and -- for the moment, anyway - cheap”.

This article appeared as part of The Black Sea Echo supplement, June 20 2008