The wild beaches: Irakli, Perla and Chengene Skele
The beaches outside the resort — Irakli, Perla, Chengene Skele and Agalina. How to get to them and what to take.
Irakli, Perla, Cape Agalina and Chengene Skele are the places on this coast where there are no rows of parasols, no music from a beach bar and no promenade full of shops. All four can be done in a day from Sunny Beach — the nearest is about 25 kilometres away, the furthest about 90 — but for every one of them you will, in practice, need a car.
We are writing this from a hotel in the middle of the resort. The beach in front of us is wide, comfortable and has everything you need, but it is not wild. If wild is what you are after, here is where to go and what to expect — including the inconvenient parts.
In brief: which is where
| Beach | From Sunny Beach | What it is | Facilities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Irakli | ~25–30 km north | Long sandy beach with dunes in a protected area | Next to none |
| Chengene Skele | ~50 km south | Old fishing village in a bay, not really a beach | Places to eat, but the beach is modest |
| Cape Agalina | ~75 km south | Rocky headland with small coves and sandy strips | None |
| Perla | ~90 km south | Broad dune beach beside the former state residence | Partial and seasonal |
The distances are by road, not as the crow flies. For Perla and Agalina the route goes through Burgas and takes between an hour and a half and two hours each way — plan the day, not the morning.
Irakli beach
Irakli is the best known wild beach in Bulgaria and the closest to Sunny Beach. It lies between Obzor and the village of Emona, at the foot of the Balkan Mountains at precisely the point where the range drops into the sea. The beach is long and sandy, with genuine shifting dunes behind it and a small river running into the sea at one end.
The area is protected and falls within the European Natura 2000 network. That is why it has never been built on the way the rest of the coast has — Irakli became the emblem of an entire civic campaign against overdevelopment, and that argument is the reason the beach looks the way it does today.
What there is not: regular parasols and sunbeds, lifeguards, showers, a surfaced car park, a shop. In season there are usually one or two seasonal bars and a tent camp, but do not count on them and do not count on them taking cards.
Getting there: off the main Burgas–Varna road, between Obzor and Banya, a dirt track turns towards the sea — about two kilometres of dust and potholes. An ordinary car will manage it in summer, but slowly; after rain it turns unpleasant. Buses on the Obzor route stop on the main road, and you walk from there.
In July and August the sea daffodil flowers on the dunes — a protected species. Do not walk on the dunes and do not pick it. Cape Emine, the easternmost point of the Balkan range and the end of the Kom–Emine trail, is close by; if you have a car and half a day to spare, take the detour.
Chengene Skele
Chengene Skele is not a beach but a fishing village, and it is worth knowing that in advance so you do not arrive expecting a day on the sand. It lies south of Burgas, near Kraimorie, in a sheltered bay: a few dozen wooden fishermen’s huts on stilts above the water, rickety walkways, and boats painted in colours nobody would use on land.
The settlement has been restored and is maintained as an ethnographic complex — one of the few places on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast where you can see what the shore looked like before the hotels arrived. It also hosts a fish festival.
Honestly: the strip of sand nearby is small and unremarkable, and the water in the bay is not what you have come for. You come for the boats, the fish and the photographs. The bay and the neighbouring Poda protected area are an important bird site — in spring and autumn you can see herons, cormorants and pelicans on their way south.
Chengene Skele combines well with Burgas in a single day. For the Sea Garden and the rest of the city, see day trips from Sunny Beach.
Cape Agalina
Agalina is the rocky headland south of Sozopol, beyond Kavatsite and Smokinya beaches. Here the coast breaks up into small coves between rock terraces, with short sandy strips and dunes, and the silhouette of Sozopol visible to the north.
The place has been a favourite with campers and caravanners for decades. There is nothing at all: no tap, no shop, no bin. The nearest supplies are in Sozopol or at the neighbouring campsites. If you have children, bear in mind that in places you get into the sea over rocks — bring beach shoes.
The dunes here are protected. Driving and parking on them is forbidden and fined, and wild camping on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast is a grey area whose rules shift from one year to the next. Check what applies this season before you pitch a tent.
If you are doing Agalina, do the town as well — see the Sozopol guide.
Perla beach
Perla is the broad beach north of Primorsko, between the town and the mouth of the river Ropotamo. The name comes from the Perla residence — the state retreat of the socialist era, which was closed to outsiders for decades. That is exactly why the dunes and the pine woods behind the beach have survived: nothing was ever built on this part of the shore.
Today part of the complex operates as a hotel and the beach is open to all. The northern end, towards Ropotamo, is quiet and almost wild; the southern end, towards Primorsko, fills up at the height of August. The sand is fine, the dunes are high, and in places there are boardwalks — use them rather than the sand hills.
Honestly: access and parking are not obvious, and on the busiest days you will be driving in circles. Perla is the furthest of the four and only really makes sense if you combine it with something else — the Ropotamo reserve is literally across the way.
What to take
- Water, more than you think you need. There are no taps at Irakli or Agalina.
- Shade. A beach parasol or a sun shelter. There is effectively no natural shade on the sand.
- Food, if it is a full day. And a bag for your rubbish — there are no bins, you take everything out with you.
- Cash. If there is a seasonal bar, card payment is not a safe assumption.
- Beach shoes for Agalina, and insect repellent for the evening, especially near river mouths.
- A full tank. The petrol stations are on the main roads, not by the beaches.
- A first-aid kit. There is no lifeguard on any of these beaches. Get into the sea thinking about the waves and the currents, not about the photograph.
Honestly
Wild beaches sound more romantic than they are on the hottest days of August. There is no shade, there is no shower, sand gets into everything, and at the end of it there is an hour’s drive home in a car full of sand. With small children it makes for a long day.
In early June and in September, though, those same places are exceptional — the water is warm and there are thirty people spread along a kilometre of sand. If you have a free day and a car, this is the best thing the coast has to offer.
Before you set off, look at the weather and the wind: in a strong north-easterly, Irakli and Agalina turn unpleasant, while the beach at Sunny Beach stays calmer because of the shape of the bay.
Hotel Caesar Palace is in the centre of Sunny Beach, 20 metres from the beach. See the hotel or call us on +359 554 222 36.