Trip Ropotamo River

In June 2021 we had a very pleasant boat trip upstream of the Ropotamo River. Against the current is a bit confusing, so I would specify that the downstream of the Ropotamo River is in the direction of the mouth of the river where it flows into the Black Sea.

After the bridge on the road Burgas-Primorsko in the direction of the mouth of the river fishing is prohibited. See on the map.

Travel to the destination:

We traveled by car from Primorsko and reached the parking lot on the main road in just 5 minutes or 4.6 kilometers here..

Now under Parking you may be hinking of something different from what you will actually find. But in 2021 it was just a place covered with gravel where you can leave your car for free.

Prices for boat trip:

Parking was free, but boat trips were not. In June 2021 the price for an adult was BGN 15, and for a child over 2 years 5 BGN. Next to the wooden pier or a small port from which the boats depart there were umbrellas and a restaurant serving drinks and ice cream. I do not remember the prices of anything else, but ice cream was significantly more expensive than in Primorsko. My personal opinion is that such a high price is unreasonable, because the place is not inaccessible in the mountains, but is next to the main road and delivery is not a problem. I hope it doesn't turn out that unreasonable prices to force tourists to spend their holidays outside Bulgaria ?!

However, the price of a boat trip on Ropotamo is quite acceptable because it is a one-time experience. Unlike the boat trip, most tourists visit the sea in the summer because of the sea and the beach. Therefore, although this is another topic I did not intend to write about here, the price of staying on the beach was appalling. We are talking about the price of a deck chair and umbrella on the southern beach Primorsko June 2021:

• BGN 7 for one umbrella per day
• BGN 7 for one deck chair per day

And so a family of 2 people has to pay 21 leva a day just to be able to spend the day on the beach and the sand. Of course, in theory, there is a free zone and mostly vacationers settled there (strange why ?!), but isn't that how we "throw our bread" by expelling tourists ?! Of course, the free zone is small and quite far from the access to the beach, however, vacationers prefer to save this fee. Just for comparison, in June you can find a double room in a family hotel for 30 leva per day. How can an umbrella and a deck chair on the sand cost 21 leva a day ?! Of course the beach needs to be maintained and cleaned which costs money, but the hotel room too, judge for yourself ?!

The experience of the Ropotamo River was unique.

People call it the Bulgarian Amazon. Although I did not see anacondas or monkeys that are typical inhabitants of the tropical Amazon, I was very impressed by everything. First, it's amazingly quiet. There is no noise from the road or tourists who predominate during the season. Not only the water is very calm, but also the air. Silence and peace. It's like moving to another world. Of the river dwellers, there are mostly turtles, which use every dry twig protruding above the water to collect sunlight, and do not bother at all with the boats with tourists.

There were also several fishermen on the shore, but the nature was preserved. There was no rubbish, plastic bags or anything that flew in the air between the buildings in Sofia in a stronger wind. Ropotamo Reserve is definitely protected and the nature there seems to be protected. I hope she stays protected.

The boat trip takes about 40 minutes in both directions and I think it's about four kilometers. Two kilometers in each direction. The boat reaches a place where they say that the river is too shallow and not navigable. There the boat turns and returns to the wooden pier or mini port. If you go to Ropotamo during the high tourist season, the contrast of chaos and noise in Primorsko compared to the peace and quiet of the river Ropotamo will impress you even more.

My personal recommendation:

It is nice and cheap compared to the beach. Visit the Ropotamo River. I sincerely recommend it.