We’re Shore You’ll Agree These Are The Best Beaches In Eastern Europe

Flickr Image: Artur Malinowski

If you’re anything like us you’ll currently be staring out the window at the rain, snow or fog and wishing you were somewhere hot, sunny and most of all sandy. So where do you see yourself? Tenerife? Lanzarote? Nice? Maybe you’ve dreamed a little bigger and imagined yourself sipping a cool, refreshing juice in Barbados, or the Bahamas? The last places you’d have picked for even an imaginary beach trip are Albania, Bulgaria or Ukraine but here lies warm, turquoise waters, white sands and even oh so stylish beach bars.

Bulgaria

Frequented by locals and visitors alike, Golden Sands, Bulgaria, is an absolute highlight of all the Black Sea Coast Beaches located near Varna. The vast swathe of golden sand is fantastic, the prices are relatively cheap, and it’s a perfect place to relax and enjoy the sunshine. Even though the water isn’t quite as impressive, because the it  may be clean but as its name suggests the sea itself is quite dark, so it doesn’t look as pretty as say the Pacific Ocean. However, there’s also no salty element to the water  so it won’t feel quite as bad if you get splashed during swimming.

Croatia

The aptly named, Paradise Beach, in Lopar, Croatia is a family favorite due to its sheltered waters, Blue Flag safety rating, and shallow depths. It’s also well-manned by life guards from 9 am to 6 pm. The surrounding area is also bursting with shower facilities, surf shops, restaurants, little cafes and even playgrounds. Away from the water you can also rent mountain bikes and explore the surrounding forest, while  a broad range of water-sports activities are available that’ll appeal to all ages. Paradise Beach is also only 14 km from Rab, and is easy to get to by car, bus, or even bike and is the perfect place to go for activity holidays in croatia.

Montenegro

Dotted with fresh cypress trees, encircled by olive groves and met by miles of turquoise, blue sea it’s not hard to see why this prestigious sounding beach is, in fact, named Queen’s Beach. Here, on the coast of Budva, the beach was named after Queen Maria who summered on its sands. Queen’s Beach is extremely popular with young families thanks to the soft golden sands that stretch for around three hundred meters as well as the extreme beauty of the area.

Albania

The small, quiet coastal village of Ksamil in Southern Albania hides an incredible sandy secret that very few people know about. Here, soft, white sands tickle suntanned toes, just warm enough azure water refreshes tired skin and cute, island beach bars quench holiday makers thirsts. These amazing islands are even close enough to the mainland for people to swim to, or if you want to explore the area even further, you can rent a boat for the day. The water is clean, safe and not too deep, so even not so confident swimmers should have no problem getting there. Still, if you’re in any doubt about your swimming ability please do take the boat there.

Flickr Image: Nikolaj Potanin