Explore: Tzarevo
General Info
Tzarevo is just 15NM north of the border with Turkey. It is an attractive seaside resort with all the facilities that go with that. Take care entering the bay, there are reefs to the South and to the North. The reef to the South is marked, but it extends beyond the marker. The end of the breakwater is marked with a white tower.
Position: 42°10.21’N, 27° 51.56’E
Clearance
This is a Port of Entry. See Bulgaria Formalities for details.
Tzarevo is a convenient place to clear into Bulgaria when coming from Turkey or to clear out when leaving Bulgaria.
Immigration officials are available around the clock, or “non-stop” as they say in Bulgaria. Customs officials work from 08:00 to 20:00 making it difficult to clear out early enough to make the mouth of the Bosporus in daylight hours, an 82NM trip. In some cases, they will make special arrangements to clear out around 19:00 with the promise that everyone stays aboard until departure.
Last updated: August 2011.
Docking
The harbor is largely open to the south, but shelter can be found in winds from other directions. The breakwater, behind which the Customs dock is located, provides good protection from northerly and westerly winds.
On arrival, friendly port authority and Customs/Immigration officials are waiting to direct you to a berth with lazy lines, if not, call on VHF Channel 16. Water, electricity and WiFi are available at very reasonable prices but mooring charges are extremely high for Bulgarian standards.
Boats are moored fore and aft along the northern quay. Berths further seaward are desirable as the swell that works into the harbor is less pronounced and there is less disturbance from vessels arriving late in the day.
You also have the option (after clearing in or out) to anchor in the bay, or take one of the free mooring buoys. The anchorage is exposed to any easterly winds and subject to swell; it might be untenable in very strong easterly and southerly winds.
The town has a fuel station, bank, ATM, internet cafe etc.
Last updated: February 2016.
