For me, the Black Sea always held a bit of a mysterious allure. I mean, for starters, there’s the name. If the Black Forest is home to Germany’s woodland folklore, then what could the Black Sea have in store? Then there’s the location. As one of the bodies of water separating eastern Europe from western Asia, it’s cross-continental and neighboured by Bulgaria, Romania, the Ukraine, Russia, Georgia and Turkey. If you drop a few nearby place names, it just reeks of the exotic, the romantic and the historic: Istanbul, the Bosporus strait, the Dardanelles, Odessa, Sevastopol, the Crimea, and the Sea of Azov – see what I mean? If that doesn’t inspire you to spiel off in florid nineteenth century exploratory verse, I don’t know what will!
Back to reality, and something more firm and solid like looking at a map of the region, I realise my “few” visits to the Black Sea have covered beach-side retreats in all the bordering countries except the Ukraine and Georgia. Many years ago, I checked out the beaches on offer in Bulgaria and Romania, then those along the Anatolian Peninsular of Turkey – and I have favourable reports of all! Most recently, I spent a summer drifting slowly down the coast from Novorossiysk to Sochi in Russia. I’d recommend it to anyone, especially the pristine beaches anywhere north of Sochi. For Russia with a Mediterranean feel, this area can’t be topped!
But even though I enjoyed the wine, sunshine and grapevines of southern Russia, my favourite places along the Black Sea are in Bulgaria and Romania. Like they say, first impressions last! I’ve even wondered about investing in property Bulgaria or property Romania ever since the two nations joined the European Union. With better access on European flight routes, increasing levels of tourist interest in these holiday hotspots, booming property investment markets and life at a fraction of UK and European costs – why not?
Other recommended investments are for Brazil property, Morocco property or for property in Dubai, but I just can't get my Black Sea dreams out of my head!
