After several days relaxing, it’s time to do some sightseeing in the ancient town of Nesebar. The free hotel shuttle bus was packed, so instead we decided to walk into town. We headed down to the beach and noted that there were more waves than on our last visit. We decided to catch the ferry across to Nesebar (15 lev each) so we could better appreciate the views of the Black Sea. There was a little bit of a swell which made the journey quite interesting, accompanied by whoops of excitement from the kids who were on board.

Nesebar itself is pretty, and there are plenty of ancient monuments and sites to check out (along with plenty of shops selling tourist tat). Some of the buildings and ruins are more than 1500 years old – and the foundations of the city walls are at least another 1000 years older…

A picture of Linda and Ben standing in front of the Hagia Sofia Church while sightseeing in Nesebar, Bulgaria
This church is older than the USA. By a considerable distance.

We took a leisurely stroll up the island and took the opportunity to grab two geocaches. Next to the Basilica of the Holy Mother of God Eleusa we stopped for lunch in Bistro Sezony, a little restaurant that looks out over the sea, back towards Sunny Beach. Lin had the grilled sea bream and I had deep fried goby – both were very good. Two mains and two beers cost ~£25. Probably a little over-priced but the food and view were good.

A picture of some deep fried goby I had for lunch while sightseeing in Nesebar
Deep fried goby

On the way back we decided to catch the road train, figuring we would get to see some sights on the way. The man selling tickets (5 lev per person) assured us the “train” went to Sunny Beach – but neglected to tell us that that was just the very edge of the town. When we reached the end of the line, we were still more than 2.5 miles from the city centre and the Aqua Nevis resort. We – and several other passengers – were caught out. 

After walking a few blocks we found a bus stop and were able to continue our journey to Flower Street – just as it began to rain. Tickets cost just 2 lev and it is possible to catch a bus all the way from Flower Street to Nesebar Old Town (or vice versa).

Back at Aqua Nevis there was a Bulgarian theme to dinner this evening, with several local delicacies to try. Kebabs, mish mash and goulash were on offer, along with national desserts. Everything was pretty good – definitely one of the better nights in the restaurant.

Evening entertainment came in the form of a quiz, won by a massive team who were very quick on their mobiles. Afterwards we enjoyed several drinks prepared by the ever-friendly team working the lobby bar.

Top tips:

  • Don’t catch the road train when sightseeing in Nesebar – it probably doesn’t go where you want it to.
  • Make sure you ask the bus driver if they are going to Flower Street – not just Sunny Beach. Otherwise you will probably end up at Sunny Beach bus station which is a slightly further walk back to the hotel.
  • The Aqua Nevis bar staff are happy to make stronger drinks – you just have to ask.