Rezovo – the southernmost bank of the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast

Rezovo is the southernmost settlement on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and the border between Bulgaria and Turkey. Tourists visit it mostly because of curiosity to see the Turkish coast, which is just meters away from the Bulgarian coast. As a holiday destination, Rezovo is prefered by those vacationers that are seeking tranquillity, relax and quiet. Indeed, the village of Rezovo is a very modest and peaceful place for a vacation that has become a resort recently. It also has a small secluded beach.

In our estimation, the most interesting in Rezovo is its dramatic cliffs of the coast, as well as the preserved old wooden houses.

The best things to do in Rezovo – landmarks and beach on the map



USEFUL: For planning your visit to the place or accommodation in the nearby settlements, can use the collection of assistive tools – Google Road Map with calculator in km, flights to Bulgaria, rental cars, weather forecast, hotel search, timetables of buses in the region, see this link.

Rezovo is 93 km south of Bourgas and 12 km south of Sinemorets. It lays into the territory of Strandzha Nature Park. There is little choice as accommodation – small hotels and guest houses. The village also has several small restaurants. In case you intend to visit Rezovo, do not forget your ID – there are border guards at the entrance who are constantly checking.

It is good to keep in mind that section of the road Sinemorets – Rezovo has excellent asphalt, but it is quite narrow, and it isn’t very easy for opposing cars to pass each other.

Rezovo’s beach

It is a tiny beach that high cliffs surround. There are lifeguard as well as free umbrellas (summer 2019). Usually, it is quite calm with a few people only. Most of the tourists that chose Rezovo as a holiday destination visit the nearby Silistar Beach (6 km) and the wild Kastrich Bay (3 km), which are more extensive and have beautiful natural features.

Rezovo's beach
Rezovo’s beach

The border between Bulgaria and Turkey and Rezovska River

The Rezovska River, whose mouth is here, in fact, is the border itself between the two countries. There are beautiful views of the Turkish coast, where there is a very long and empty beach.

Crossing the river and visiting Turkish shores is completely forbidden! There are patrolling border guards on both sides, who strictly guard the area. There is no border crossing point here, so to go into Turkey. Photographing the Turkish coast is also prohibited.

The mouth of the Rezovska River - a border between Bulgaria and Turkey
The mouth of the Rezovska River – a border between Bulgaria and Turkey

The local fishers use the Bulgarian coast of Rezovska river as a mooring place for their boats. Here they are safe from sea waves and currents.

The Bulgarian coast of Rezovska River – a refuge for fishing boats

Steep abrasive banks of Rezovo

Along one of the streets of the village, walking northeast, we came out into large empty fields, near the sea. Here the shores are incredibly steep – their height reaches 15 m. They were the result of the streams of volcanic lava that had flowed in the distant past. Later, the resulting formations have been subjected to the erosion effects of the sea and winds for thousands of years. The rock formations here are even more massive than the cliffs along the Sinemorets – Silistar route.

The highly abrasive cliff coast of Rezovo
The highly abrasive cliff coast of Rezovo

Looking at them, and with a little imagination, one can see different figures. For example, we “saw” the tail of a giant dragon (the edges on the surface are much like dragon flakes).

The petrified tail of a giant dragon

What we learned from the locals is that here is where an eco-trail starts. The route follows the stunning coastline past impressive rock formations to Kastrich Bay. After it, one can continue to Silistar Beach. In terms of difficulty – the transition is more challenge than the similar Sinemorets – Silistar route.

dramatic cliffs of the coast
Other views of the Rezovo Coast
dramatic cliffs of the coast
dramatic cliffs of the coast

A brief history of Rezovo

According to researchers, the name of the village comes from Rezos, a mythical Thracian ruler that Homer mentioned in his “Iliad”. He fought on the side of the Trojans in the Trojan War (12th century BC). As a matter of fact, there is no specific evidence that Rezos truly had lived here, but traces of ancient Thracians were found. They are the Thracian mound necropolis in the field “Selski dol”, as well as the tones of slag in the field of ​​”Sgurii”. The scoria is a trace of ancient metallurgical activity. From what we have read from other guides, there is an eco-trail through the forest to those “Sgurii” locality.

In the late Middle Ages, while pirates were robbing along the Black Sea coast, the village changed its location. To protect themselves from the pirates, the locals moved to live in the Strandzha Mountain, about 10 km from the sea.

At its present location, people settled in 1903. In that time it was still under Ottoman rule. It was finally granted freedom in 1913 after the Balkan Wars, and as a result, new settlers began to flock here. The old houses we saw in Rezovo were probably built at that time.

 Old wooden house on the main street of Rezovo
Old wooden house on the main street of Rezovo
Other representatives of Strandzha architecture
Old wooden house in Rezovo

At the time of socialism in Bulgaria (1944-1989), Border police strictly guard the area, and access was severely restricted. For this reason, tourists didn’t visit Rezovo and no-one knew about its landmarks and surroundings.

Continue of the walk

Around the area in the north direction you can also visit:

  1. The fabulous Kastrich Bay (3 km) which is a peaceful place with beautiful nature.
  2. One of the most beautiful beaches on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast – the Silistar Beach ( 5 km in the north) that has attractive natural features.
  3. Sinemorets Resort (12 km) where there are also beautiful beaches and unusual rock formations (the Sphinx and the Ships)
  4. A small pier on the Veleka River (near Sinemorets) for a motorboat or kayak stroll
  5. The resorts Ahtopol (16 km), Varvara (22 km) or Tsarevo (31 km) for other beautiful beaches, landmarks and picturesque seascapes.и.

USEFUL: To get a quick and easy idea of ​​where these places are – see the destinations marked on our Google map. There all the landmarks we’ve written about, are marked as tags with links.

Also, to plan your trip to them, you can use the selection of assistive tools: Google Road Map with calculator in km, flights to Bulgaria, rental cars, weather forecast, hotel search, timetables of buses in the region.

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