I'd originally intended a city break to Bucharest but my flights were cancelled so I transferred to flights to Bourgas as I had the golden opportunity to visit the Black sea coast on cheap air fares ( http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=40898&start=20 ).

I was unsure whether to hire a car as I'd read that it wasn't advisable to drive on Bulgarian roads due to poor driving standards and bad roads, but I'd read similar reports about the Baltics and have driven that area quite happily. Reports I was reading were suggesting that Sunny Beach may not be fully open at this time of year and also that the weather can be unpredictable so I decided on hiring a car which I booked through Holiday autos to collect at Bourgas airport and Hertz were the rental partner they used on this occasion. On collecting the car the Hertz rep took me out to it for me to inspect for any damage to the vehicle prior to rental, a couple of small dents in the doors were noted down on the rental agreement and he said that the minor scratches were to be ignored as he wouldn't be looking for such things upon return of the vehicle and he was true to his word when the car was returned.

Driving in Bulgaria really is death defying, with appalling displays of overtaking on unbroken white lines approaching blind bends in particular. Some road junctions were unmarked and although the general rule is to give way to drivers approaching from the right this was often ignored. Roundabouts terrified me as I was often unsure whether I was expected to give way to vehicles entering the roundabout or not. I did like the traffic lights with the countdown timers on them so you were well prepared for them when they changed colour.
I bought two road maps, one in English costing 3 lev, the other in Bulgarian costing 2.5 lev, as I didn't know what to expect in relation to direction signs as I prepared to drive from Sunny Beach to Kotel. I needn't have worried as all the major junctions had clear direction signs in both Bulgarian and English, the journey was about 140km and took approx 2hrs. There was an open air market taking place in Kotel which I wandered round but didn't take note of any prices of goods, coffee in a local Bulgarian cafe in Kotel cost 1 lev ( the one time I really needed my Bulgarian phrasebook and it didn't have "where's the toilet please ?" in it ). The one thing I really would have liked to see in Kotel was the school of folk music but I never found it. from Kotel I drove to Bourgas, a long stretch of this route was on recently constructed motorway with hardly any traffic on it. Returning to Sunny Beach I filled the car up with 95 grade petrol at 2.35 lev a litre.

Based on reports I read on this forum and the hotels review section I'd booked a room at the Iberostar Sunny Beach Resort directly on the Iberostar website and was happy with the hotel. The room was on the sixth floor and as well as a pool view there was a view of the sea across to Nessabar, lucky as there can't be many rooms in this hotel with a view of the sea. In the lift was a notice advising guests that a Prom was to be held in block A that evening and apologising for any disturbance it may cause.
It was mid evening so I went into the restaurant where one of the staff was carving a roast chicken, so this was my choice along with baked potatoes and crisp vegetables. the food was good, breakfast the following day included ham omlette freshly cooked as I watched.

As I was walking between the pools that evening to exit the hotel at the rear to walk towards the beach and then into town, "Also sprach Zarathustra" began blaring out from nowhere and I thought Wow I must be the millionth visitor or something, alas it was not to be. All the people from the restaurant in block A came out in their Prom attire to watch the impressive fireworks display that followed.

I had a wander around the area close to the hotel and saw an open air bar advertising big beer 1.50 lev so tried a couple, they were big ( about a pint ) and they were 1.50 lev and they were pleasant, the name I took from the menu on the bar was "restaurant pamporovo", it was opposite a large pizza restaurant on a side street leading from the rear of the iberostar to the main street.

Leaving this bar I headed toward the main street where I paused to look around, should I turn right towards the beach or left towards some bright lights ? Pausing was not a good idea. " 'ello darling fancy a good time", well maybe not the exact words but you get the idea, there were four of them surrounding me, I said no thanks but before I knew it one had linked arms with me and another had a hand on me but I had my wits about me, I felt other hands feeling my pockets but I knew the ones they had access to had only loose change in them, I did wonder later if my wrists and fingers had been checked for watches/jewellery during the arm linking. Having managed to disentangle myself I headed towards the bright lights though the arm linker was very persistent, walking alongside me and attempting to make physical contact, which I avoided. On reaching the bright lights I dived for cover, this turned out to be The Corner.

The Corner, to my surprise I really liked it, it was thumping loud dance music which normally bores me within a few minutes, but sat upstairs looking out across the main street from the open sided bar with a nice cold beer it was good.
A large local beer was 2.40 lev and a large Stella was 3.40 lev. The walk from the bar to hotel attracted more attention from the young women but I was still able to feel the gentle brush of their hands over my pockets as they used various means to distract me. I thought I had got away yet as I walked down the side street towards the hotel I was surprised to see the arm linker heading toward me as I turned a bend, I quickly dived into Restaurant Pamporova where I spent 30 mins or so having another 1.50 lev large beer. The short walk from here to the hotel was thankfully uneventfull.

Woke next morning, it's 9am the sun's shining people are already down by the pool and a few loungers have towels on them but there's still a wide choice of spaces for you to park your butt for the day should you choose to. Breakfast, Mmm, freshly cooked omlette, freshly griddled eggs over easy, but I think I've mentioned the food before, taken outside, sat by the pool.

10.30am stroll down to the beach, it's a big beach, it looks almost deserted initially but go down to the waters edge and there are plenty of people sunbathing and messing about in what looks to be a warm sea, This is ideal, loads of space yet plenty of people around having fun and the weather is hot enough to just lay back and bake.
early afternoon, it's hot, go for a stroll find a bar/cafe/restaurant with some shade and cool drinks. Slightly later, its still hot, have more cool drinks. Late afternoon, visit the beach again while it's still hot. Early eve at the hotel sit round the pool, it's 6pm and still hot, people in the pool don't want to get out but it's closing time.

8pm, dinner. Did I mention the food already ? No, surely not.

10pm, go for a beer or two, wander down to the pamporovo and have a couple then onto main street where several young women check my pockets for me, the young woman that liked to link arms saw me and headed towards me as I was about to enter the corner so I managed to avoid her, I had a few beers in the corner and it was time to head back to the hotel. Once again I was approached by several young women and I was getting really annoyed, a member of the local COT came to my rescue and let me on my way peacefully.

9am, it's cloudy and cooler, have breakfast then go for a drive to Kotel and Bourgas. The weather improved throughout the day and by mid afternoon it was very warm. Headed back towards Sunny Beach stopping off at various spots along the coast.

Had a good dinner in the hotel then later went out for a few beers, on this occasion the women kept their distance, maybe due to the intervention of the COT the previous evening. Tonight I had a good view of the main street while sitting upstairs in the corner and was watching how the women worked. They would approach a guy and make obvious physical contact to distract him as they gently checked his pockets, then either they would let the bloke on his way and nothing else would happen or they would let the bloke on his way and immediately make a call on their mobile I suspect to an accomplice further up the street. So guys beware, it looks like these women are there to frisk you and it will probably be someone else who picks your pocket later. I'd noticed a tout working on the street but he didn't seem to be doing much touting I don't know which venue he was working for, I was trying to work out how he was selecting the few people (all male) that he gave flyers to and eventually realised that it was in response to a sign from one of the women after they had frisked a guy.

9am, it's sunny and warm, plenty of people around the pool but still loads of space. After breakfast took a walk down towards the Victoria Palace, was tempted to hire an electric golf buggy at 20 lev for a half hour or 30 lev for the full hour but decided I needed the exercise. I don't recall seeing anywhere that was actually closed up though a very small number of shops/bars were being refurbished.

If the weather is good which it was then this is a great time of year to visit Sunny Beach if you like a place that's not crowded yet has a good number of people around in all age groups.

andy.