How to get to Obzor from Burgas, Varna and Sofia

Obzor has no airport and no railway station. That is not a flaw, it is the reason the town is what it is, but it does mean the last 60 kilometres are always your own problem. This article sorts the routes by starting point: Burgas airport, Varna airport, Sofia by car or coach, and Romania for those coming from the north. Timetables and fares change with the season, so there are no departure times here; there are distances, realistic journey times and the mistakes visitors make every summer.

The nearest airport is Burgas, about 60 km from Obzor; Varna airport is about 66 km. The difference is small and either way the drive is about an hour: from Burgas you come up from the south, from Varna down from the north. In practice, choose by the flight, not the distance: a better landing time and a cheaper fare are worth more than six kilometres. Both airports have shuttle taxis to Obzor, and some hotels run their own transfers in summer; ask the hotel when you book.

The airport is on the north-east edge of Burgas, by Sarafovo, which is already the Obzor side of town. By car or transfer you join the coastal E87 and drive north past Pomorie, Sunny Beach and Sveti Vlas; after Sunny Beach the road climbs into the hills and, past the Irakli turning, drops down into Obzor. About an hour without traffic. If you have no transfer booked, use the official taxi rank outside the terminal: unofficial cars hang around airports ready to ask double. Taxis in the region are yellow and run on the meter. By coach: to the Burgas central bus station, then a direct coach to Obzor, about an hour and a quarter.

Varna airport is on the western edge of the city, by Aksakovo. By car or transfer you skirt Varna and take the E87 south through Byala; from Byala, Obzor is fifteen minutes away. Again, about an hour. Public transport is entirely possible, with one change: bus 409 from the airport to the centre of Varna, then a scheduled coach to Obzor from the central bus station, about an hour and twenty minutes on the road. If you land late in the evening, a transfer is the safer choice: the last coaches are not timed to flights.

About 440 km: first along the Hemus motorway (A2), then the E87 along the coast. Hemus still has unfinished sections, so the realistic time is five to six hours, not the four the satnav promises on an empty road. Leave early and plan one stop. The last hour is the prettiest and the slowest: from Sunny Beach up, the road is two lanes and in July and August it clogs in the afternoon; locals avoid the afternoon peak, and so should you.

Direct coaches from Sofia take about six hours. There are also services from Plovdiv, Varna and Burgas. They arrive at the Obzor central bus station, directly opposite the post office and five minutes on foot from the beach, so with one suitcase you reach most hotels in the centre without a taxi. Tickets are bought online or at the station on the day. Timetables change with the season: the times you noted last summer may no longer hold this year, so check them before you set off.

For those coming from the north the nearest border crossing is Durankulak, on the coast. From there Obzor is about two and a half hours along the E87 through Kavarna, Balchik, Varna and Byala. The stretch around Varna is the slowest part, especially on Friday afternoons and Sunday evenings.

• Official taxis are yellow and run on the meter. Do not agree a fixed price in advance; if the driver will not switch the meter on, take the next car.
• At airports and bus stations stay at the official rank. The unofficial cars are the ones that approach you first.

Is there a train to Obzor? No. Obzor has no railway; the nearest stations are in Burgas and Varna, and from there you continue by bus or taxi.

Can I land in Sofia? You can, but that is 440 km and five to six hours on the road. If there is a flight to Burgas or Varna, it wins every time, even when it costs more.

What if the flight lands at night? Count on a taxi or a pre-arranged transfer, not on a bus. Arrange it before take-off, with the exact flight number.

How far are the neighbours? Sunny Beach is about twenty minutes south, Nesebar half an hour, Varna and Burgas about an hour in either direction.

Obzor is walked. The square, the bus station and the post office share a block, the beach is five minutes away, and the seaside alley under the pines is right behind it. You need a car only for Irakli, Cape Emine and the day trips. What moves inside the town, and who moves it, is gathered on the Transport page, and everything about the beaches is in the beach guide.