What's on in Burgas (Sunny Beach), Bulgaria through the year

Quiet — school holidays in 7 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Coast off-season (10 Oct – 15 May (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Coast off-season (10 Oct – 15 May (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Coast off-season (10 Oct – 15 May (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Coast off-season (10 Oct – 15 May (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Coast off-season (10 Oct – 15 May (usually))

Busy — Beach season opens, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Beach season opens

  1 Jun – 20 Sep · usuallySummer season opensCrowded

  Lifeguards, sunbed concessions and the beach bars under the Sea Garden come back for the summer, and the central beach is a short walk from the station rather than a drive. Weekends belong to Bulgarians from Plovdiv and Sofia. Source ↗

• Season

  Atanasovsko salt harvest

  15 Jun – 15 Sep · usually

  The salt pans on the north edge of town work through the summer, turning the water pink, and people wade in for the lye and black mud that comes with it. It is a functioning industry with a visitor centre attached, not a spa. Source ↗

Busy — Beach season opens, school holidays in 7 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Sand sculpture festival

  1 Jul – 30 Sep · usuallyMajor festival

  Carvers build a themed set of sculptures in the Ezero park at the start of July and they stay up, weathering, until the end of September. Half an hour, not an afternoon, and best before the sun is overhead. Source ↗

• Festival

  Burgas and the Sea

  25 Jul – 10 Aug · usuallyMajor festival

  The city's pop song competition has run at the Summer Theatre since the 1970s, with breaks, and is the closest thing the Bulgarian coast has to a national songbook. Tickets are cheap and the audience sings along. Source ↗

Still on: Beach season opens (1 Jun – 20 Sep (usually)), Atanasovsko salt harvest (15 Jun – 15 Sep (usually))

Busy — Beach season opens, school holidays in 7 of the markets that fill it

• Nature

  Via Pontica autumn migration

  15 Aug – 31 Oct · usuallyBirdlife season

  The Black Sea flyway funnels storks, pelicans and raptors straight over the lakes ringing the city each autumn, in thousands on the good days. Poda, south of the port, is the hide to sit in. Source ↗

Still on: Beach season opens (1 Jun – 20 Sep (usually)), Atanasovsko salt harvest (15 Jun – 15 Sep (usually)), Sand sculpture festival (1 Jul – 30 Sep (usually)), Burgas and the Sea (25 Jul – 10 Aug (usually))

Busy — Beach season opens, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Beach season opens (1 Jun – 20 Sep (usually)), Atanasovsko salt harvest (15 Jun – 15 Sep (usually)), Sand sculpture festival (1 Jul – 30 Sep (usually)), Via Pontica autumn migration (15 Aug – 31 Oct (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Season

  Coast off-season

  10 Oct – 15 May · usuallyOff-season shutdownClosures

  Burgas is a working port and keeps going, but the beach bars, the Sea Garden kiosks and the resort strips north towards Sunny Beach board up entirely. Out of season the city is Bulgarian rather than seasonal. Source ↗

Still on: Via Pontica autumn migration (15 Aug – 31 Oct (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Coast off-season (10 Oct – 15 May (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 7 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Coast off-season (10 Oct – 15 May (usually))