More on Nessebar, Bulgaria

What can I summarize about Nessebar? I have visited the place more than once or twice in my visits back to Bulgaria. As far as I understand, the town used to be a fishing village in the 19th century….The history of the place dates back way back to the Roman and Byzantine Empires.

Today Nessebar is one of the well developed beach resorts in Bulgaria. You can find here both modern hotels as well as rent a room or a complete old house / villa.

If you rent a house/appartment, you can get deals in the range of US$50 (for 2 people renting an appartment in the new town) per day…or US$60 for 3 people for an appartment. So you can get a good deal.

Then, there is the new trend — buying a holiday property in Bulgaria. To give you some idea, a 2-bedroom appartment about 60 square meters / 600 square feet, will set you back about 40K euros.

At the same time a similar appartment further south along the Black Sea coast — in Sozopol (a place I like as well) will be slightly more pricey — at about 45K euros.

Then for a comparison you should consider a similar size appartment in one of he major cities of Northern Bulgaria - Pleven. There the prices are in the range of 20K to 30K euros (approximately)….So, the Black Sea coast is a desirable place…

Next step on our trip — 4 day stay in Nessebar, Bulgaria

After leaving Bansko my family and I headed to the Black Sea coast. The interesting thing about Bulgaria (in a very summary description form) is that you can experience the pleasure of hiking tall beautiful mountains and 5-6 hours drive later you could be at one of the many seaside resorts. Our trip took us to the resort town of Nessebar located in the central part of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast (please see the map in the previous post)

We had booked an all inclusive stay at the Nessebar IFA hotel (I believe this was a German hotel chain). The all inclusive meant meals and hotel rooms for all of us were included.

The hotel was located South of the old town of Nessebar in the newer section of town. Nevertheless it was not far away (within 10 minutes driving) from the ancient (what used to be B.C. era — as I understand approximately 550 B.C.) town. Here are some images from the town:

We stayed for 4 days and enjoyed both the sea beaches as well as the hotel pools and entertainment. One of the afternoons we visited the old town (where the photos are from) but more of the time we spent relaxing on the beach or at the pool area. Not bad after all…

Where in the world is Bulgaria

Here is a link to the a more detailed map of Bulgaria It should give you a better idea of cities and places in Bulgaria as well as which are the neighbouring countries…

Bulgaria trip — renewable energy

After leaving the Bansko region my family and I headed for the Black sea coast. The trip from the southwest corner of Bulgaria (where Bansko is located) to Nessebar (on the Black Sea coast) took about 7 hours of driving. It was an interesting drive - going through mountains, passing through mountain villages and observing life. You can see some photos here:

But the most interesting site probably was this –> energy generating wind farm located right next to a roadside gas station on one of the highways on the way to the Black Sea cost. During our drive through Bulgaria we saw a large number of these wind farms — obviously a number of investors believe in “green energy” — a nice thought and a very progressive step for a country which has a significant revenue generating tourism industry.

Travel to Melnik, Bulgaria

First let me give you an idea as to where we have traveled so far and where we will be going next. Here is a map of Bulgaria with our route (step 1 through 5) on this trip:

After staying in Bansko for two days, we decided that it is time to experience some more of the nature and sites Bulgaria has to offer. So we drove to the town of Melnik — according to government and provincial statistics (Melnik is located in the province of Blagoevgrad) - this is the smallest town in Bulgaria. Population: approximately 230.

The town is not that difficult to find. From Bansko, we first drove through the town of Razlog, to Simitli, where we got on the E79 highway (which leads also from Sofia to Greece). While on E79 watch out for the city of Sandanski (it will be about 40 minutes before you get close to the city). After you go through Sandanski, look for exit for Melnik. The road to Melnik after E79 is a tiny one with hardly any traffic… You will pass through several small villages before you reach Melnik. The long journey is well worth it. Melnik is a very old settlement (according to scholars dating back to Thrace and the Roman Empire). Later on in the middle ages, the Crusades passed through and currently the town is restoring a small chirch which dates from that time.

Melnik is famous for its sand piramides (limestone or porous stone formations in the mountains surrounding the town), interesting houses (see pictures in this posting) and very good wines. The climate is good and there are many wineries in the town.

Kristin and Sarah in Melnik (they enjoyed the trip)
With regard to timing, you can make the trip from Bansko to Melnik as a day visit. This will give you plenty of time to walk around the town, sample some of the wines, see the architecture, may be even do a short hike in the hills outside of the town. Enjoy!

Trip to Bansko, Bulgaria - part 1

Here is the first part of several postings about some interesting places to visit in Bulgaria. This Eastern European country is a good place to visit and enjoy both winter (skiing, hiking) and summer (hikinig, swimming) activities. This summer my family and I had a good visit to several nice resourts in Bulgaria and this is a quick write up about it.

Bansko is located in the Southwest part of Bulgaria Continue reading Trip to Bansko, Bulgaria - part 1…

The World is Becoming a really small place; Travel in Seoul

On a recent business trip to South Korea, I had an interesting experience. But first let’s set the stage. Once immigration and customs are cleared, the next task ahead of a business or pleasure traveler is getting to their destination in the city they are visiting. If you are traveling to Seoul, South Korea, most likely you will arrive at Incheon International Airport. The airport is a long way away from downtown Seoul so you need to figure out a way to get there. There are several options: Continue reading The World is Becoming a really small place; Travel in Seoul…