Black Sea Route - Romania, Bulgaria, Türkiye

Tourist route for cycling and hiking along the Black Sea coast from Constanta, through Durankulak, Balchik, Varna, Nessebar, Burgas, Primorsko, Rezovo to Istanbul. What do we aim for with the "Black Sea Route" tourist route: The aim of our initiative is to attract the attention of the tourist and sports community, business and state institutions to the creation of a tourist route along the Black sea coast of Romania, Bulgaria and Türkiye, similar to the international transcontinental hiking routes E3, E4 and E8 (passing through the territory of Bulgaria), as well as the system of trans-European cycle routes EuroVelo. In its overall form, the route will connect Constanta, Varna, Burgas and Istanbul, and in this way it will also be a link between the EuroVelo 6 and EuroVelo 13 cycling routes. Our intention is the "Black Sea Route” to be developed as a separate route in the system of European long-distance paths and in the EuroVelo system, being established in the form of shared use by pedestrians and cyclists, and in a future stage of development to provide an opportunity for its passage also by disadvantaged people. The route we chose goes as close as possible to the sea and using mainly dirt and forest paths and trails (also asphalt where there are no other options), connects small and large settlements with the main tourist centers and resort areas along the sea coast. How does the idea begin? Our idea was born in the distant 2011-2012, initially as a combination between the desire for creation a new EuroVelo route along the Black Sea, for which Evgeni Apostolov was trying to gather support, and our cycling club desire to find options for crossing between Varna and Burgas without using the main road. Our cycling club had to develop the section between Constanta in Romania and Burgas in Bulgaria. In the years since, we have devoted time to organizing and/or supporting individual events such as competitions, multi-day and one-day treks, outings, trainings. In 2015, together with Nikolay Kyuchukov, we created a special association under the name "Black Sea Ultra" and started work on organizing a running and cycling ultramarathon in two parts (spring and autumn) from Durankulak to Varna and from Varna to Nessebar. Thus, we added to the idea a walking/running version of the route. It is the transience of competitions and tourings that provoked us to think more long-term and, above all, more sustainably, and from the middle of 2017 we set about exploring the possibilities and popularizing our idea of creating a Tourist Route along the Black Sea, which would become a comprehensive tourist product. We believe that the implementation of the “Black Sea Route” would help and promote the creation and development of a unique comprehensive Tourist product, which will establish the region as a main and preferred tourist destination in the Balkans, Europe, and probably in the world, as in this way will: - allow the extension of the tourist season along the Black Sea, through its development not only in the direction of beach tourism, but also in all other possible forms of alternative tourism that the region offers (the route could practically be used all year round); - provide opportunities for improving the business conditions and more sustainable development of small and medium-sized businesses, and thus return young people and "revitalize" the small settlements; - covers well-known, poorly and/or completely unknown natural, cultural, historical and archaeological sights and landmarks along the coast and in its vicinity, and assists in their preservation and promotion; - enable more people to discover the beauty and cultural heritage of this area and visit them all year round; - ensure safe and secure passage along the entire length of the Black Sea coast through environmentally friendly ways and means of transport - bicycle, pedestrian; - provides easy access to supplies, consumables and places to rest and sleep; - allows starting and ending from/at different start/end points; - preserves the small settlements and the traditions of the people from the coast - way of life, culture, cuisine (there is a separate initiative for creating a "Black Sea Cuisine" brand); - promotes the development of tourist and sports events, ecological activities along the coast - almost any kind of sport can be practiced here (except winter sports) without the need for serious capital investments. What would include the “Black Sea Route” tourist route: - information platform in different languages, allowing, in addition to viewing and getting to know the route, also the possibility of choosing and booking accommodation, restaurants, buying package tickets for attractions and sights, renting bicycles and electric bicycles, booking and buying air and sea transport tickets; - physical marking of the entire route with signs and markings following the example and standards of EuroVelo/E3/E4/E8 and other similar tourist and thematic routes in Europe; - permanent maintenance of the existing and new trails, and at a future developed stage with serious interest from the tourist community, paving of the trails; - restoration and development of maritime, rail and auto transport connectivity between the settlements along the Black Sea coast - a tourist who traveled on foot or by bicycle from point A to point B should be able to return by boat, train or bus to the starting point (e.g. from /to the places with built stations and ports as a start); - renovation and construction of new pedestrian/bicycle bridges over some of the main rivers along the route - Kamchia, Ropotamo, Dyavolska, Kitenska, Veleka, Rezovo; - a new border crossing with easy passing access for pedestrian and bicycle tourists at Rezovo, Bulgaria; - building a connected bike rental system/s - renting a bike in Constanta and leaving it in Varna or Istanbul, and vice versa; - construction of a system of bicycle/e-bike repair and charging stations along the route; - restoration and construction of new places for recreation, picnic and/or observation in and outside the settlements and resort areas; - renovation and construction of new water fountains; - building a system of vending machines for the purchase of food, beverages and accessories and/or stimulating the development of year-round shops in small towns and resort areas; - supporting the development of tourist and sports associations in the activities developed and organized by them. What stage are we at and what has been done so far: - we have fully explored the area from Constanta to Rezovo, and with the help of fellow organizations from Türkiye, exploration of the suitable paths is being carried out on its territory as well; - the initiative was awarded first place in the "Sports and Civil Society" category of the "EcoCommunity 2018" competition, held at the initiative of the Embassy of France in Bulgaria, together with Decathlon Bulgaria, the Ministry of Environment and Water and the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, under the patronage of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria; - our efforts are bearing fruit and large parts of the route are included in the future National Bicycle Plan of Bulgaria, developed by the Bulgarian Association for Alternative Tourism together with the most prominent cycling organizations in the country, Road Infrastructure Agency, Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, Ministry of Transport and communications and the Ministry of Tourism; - we are working on adopting the route as part of the Integrated Territorial Strategy for the Development of the Romania-Bulgaria Cross-Border Area. At the moment, the route presented by us is planned as a continuation of the EuroVelo 6 route from Constanta to Varna; - we are working on the creation of a website of the same name, which will serve as informational support for the route; - we are working on implementing the route in the BGMountains map platform; - several cycling routes on the territory of the Byala and Dolen Chiflik municipalities are marked together with the Cycling Club “Ustrem”; - we periodically organize cycling and running events and treks along the route; - in the years between 2018-2021, explanatory and supporting letters were sent to relevant ministries and mayors of most municipalities along the Black Sea coast, and some of them expressed their support for the initiative (Varna, Shabla, Kranevo, Avren, Byala, Dolen Chiflik, Obzor, Pomorie); - the idea is also supported by a number of tourist associations and sports clubs, tourist media and agencies, the sports and tourism community, businesses. To name a few of them - Cycling Club "Ustrem" - Varna, TD "Rodni Balkani" - Varna, Decathlon Bulgaria, Eljoy AD (Econic one e-bikes), Veloweekend, Cycling Club "Born2Bike" - Obzor, SNC "Zelena Strandzha" - Burgas, Cycling club "Tsarevo" - Tsarevo, SK "Chudnite skali" - Varna. The current version of the route can be seen in real time in several online platforms, with changes being made periodically depending on the passability of certain sections or for the purpose of optimization. In certain cases, paths suitable for cyclists and those suitable for pedestrians are distinguished, and the use of both types is shared and depends mostly on the skills of the passerby. *Not yet marked.