The Villages of Nesebar Municipality: What Lies Beyond the Resorts
Nesebar Municipality is much more than the Old Town, Sunny Beach and Sveti Vlas. Behind the resorts, on the slopes of the eastern Balkan Mountains (Stara Planina), lie eleven villages. Some have become part of resort life, while others are home to only a few dozen people. This guide covers which villages there are, how many people live in each according to the official register, what each is known for, and how to reach them on the municipal buses.
In short
- The municipality covers 420.4 sq km and 14 settlements: 3 towns (Nesebar, Obzor, Sveti Vlas) and 11 villages, plus the Sunny Beach resort complex.
- The largest villages are Ravda, Orizare, Tankovo, Kosharitsa and Gyulyovtsa, each with more than a thousand residents.
- Banya, Emona, Panitsovo, Rakovskovo, Priseltsi and Koznitsa are small mountain or coastal villages with between 5 and about 110 permanent residents.
- The winter municipal bus timetable reaches Kosharitsa, Gyulyovtsa, Ravda, Banya and Rakovskovo. For the other villages, plan to drive.
How many villages there are and who lives there
Besides the three towns, the municipality's own page lists eleven villages: Ravda, Gyulyovtsa, Orizare, Tankovo, Kosharitsa, Banya, Panitsovo, Rakovskovo, Priseltsi, Emona and Koznitsa. The figures below come from GRAO, Bulgaria's national civil registration service, as of 15 September 2026. "Permanent address" is where a person is officially registered. "Current address" is where they say they actually live.
| Village | Permanent address | Current address |
|---|---|---|
| Ravda | 2,942 | 3,318 |
| Orizare | 1,480 | 1,523 |
| Tankovo | 1,406 | 1,451 |
| Kosharitsa | 1,329 | 1,469 |
| Gyulyovtsa | 1,074 | 1,131 |
| Banya | 112 | 172 |
| Panitsovo | 34 | 88 |
| Rakovskovo | 33 | 76 |
| Emona | 29 | 64 |
| Priseltsi | 27 | 62 |
| Koznitsa | 5 | 15 |
For comparison, the town of Nesebar has 15,348 people with a permanent address and the whole municipality has 29,970. In the small mountain villages more people give the village as their current address than as their permanent one, so you will see more cared-for houses and holiday homes than the register suggests.
Ravda, Tankovo and Kosharitsa: the villages next to the resorts
Ravda is a few kilometres south of Nesebar and today feels more like a small resort than a village. Several legends explain how it began. Later, refugees from Greek Macedonia settled here, and the first uniform houses were built for them. The community cultural centre (chitalishte) was built in 1943 with donations and voluntary work. The Church of St Paraskeva dates from 1884 and was restored in 1998. In summer there are sailing, windsurfing and rowing schools and a summer base of the National Sports Academy. Cape Ravda splits the beach into two bays. For a stay there, see our guide to Ravda.
Tankovo is about 5 km from Sunny Beach. It is small and almost entirely renovated, with vineyards and vegetable growing around it. According to the municipality, the village celebrates a grape rakia festival in December.
Kosharitsa sits 120 m above sea level between two heights called Kabukchiyata, about ten minutes by car from the beaches. The present village was founded in the early 19th century, and its name comes from "koshara", the pens where villagers kept their livestock. The municipality says the Kalinata reserve nearby has a riverside longoz forest and a natural site of summer snowflake. It also says the area is part of Natura 2000 because the Via Pontica bird migration route passes over it.
Orizare and Gyulyovtsa: fields, vineyards and the road into the mountains
Orizare lies at the foot of the easternmost spurs of the Balkan Mountains. It was once called Barakliy and got its present name in 1934, after villagers tried to grow rice ("oriz") with water from the local river. Around it are wheat and sunflower fields, orchards and vineyards. The village feast is St Petka's day in October.
Gyulyovtsa lies at the foot of the mountains near the Poroy reservoir, and the Dyulino Pass begins above it. It was founded in 1885 on the site of a Turkish estate, and after Bulgaria's liberation Bulgarians settled there, mostly from villages in the Balkan Mountains. North of it is a wooded hill, Kaleto, with traces of a fortress. A few kilometres away is Siniyat Vir (the Blue Pool), a small waterfall on the Byala River with an eco-trail beside it. The village feast is on 24 May.
Banya and Irakli: between Sunny Beach and Obzor
Banya is 7 km from the sea, 18 km from Sunny Beach and 25 km from Nesebar. Its people descend from refugees from Macedonia and Asia Minor, and the village is surrounded by woods and vineyards. About 6 km away is Irakli. The official data form for the Natura 2000 site "Emine – Irakli" calls it one of the last extensive sandy beaches in Bulgaria with no hotels directly behind it. Irakli is a designated protected site because of its coastal habitats of rare plants such as the sea daffodil, and because of its birds. Banya's feast is on 20 July, St Elijah's day (Ilinden).
Emona and Cape Emine
Emona sits by Cape Emine, where the Balkan Mountains end in the sea. Its name comes from the ancient name of the range. According to a legend the municipality retells, this was the birthplace of King Rhesus from Homer's Iliad. Near the village are ruins of the Emona fortress and remains of a medieval monastery, and the surviving chapel bears the year 1847 over its entrance. From the 1960s to the 1980s the village was set aside as a place of creative retreat, and many artists, writers and architects built houses there. The cape itself is a protected natural monument. If you are planning a walk, see our day trip to Cape Emine.
Panitsovo, Rakovskovo, Priseltsi and Koznitsa: the quietest mountain villages
- Panitsovo is by the Dyulino Pass, 17 km from Obzor. Its old name was Alchak Dere. The municipality says it was later renamed in honour of Major Kosta Panitsa, who made a donation to the village. The road through Panitsovo was the most direct route between Burgas and Varna before the coastal road was built. Its population fell sharply after the 1950s.
- Rakovskovo was founded in the 19th century. Bulgarian settlers came in three waves: after the liberation, in 1903 and in 1913. It is named after G. S. Rakovski, a leader of the Bulgarian national liberation movement, and today it is a secluded place with well-kept houses and gardens.
- Priseltsi is about 7 km from the coast on the slopes of the Balkan Mountains, among beech and walnut woods. West of the village is a forest called Dalgata Stoka.
- Koznitsa is near the Dyulino Pass, by the Erkechka and Golitsa rivers, which flow into the Dvoynitsa. Its old name was Karamandzha. Today it is the smallest village in the municipality, with five people at a permanent address.
Getting to the villages by bus
Municipal buses start from Nesebar and Sunny Beach. These are the winter routes to the villages as of November 2026, according to the municipality's bus transport page. Lines 4 and 6 run from 8 October to 30 April.
| Line | Route | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Nesebar – Sunny Beach – Kosharitsa | several trips a day, also at weekends |
| 6 | Nesebar – Sunny Beach – Gyulyovtsa | 3 trips from Nesebar on weekdays, 5 at weekends |
| 7 and 10 | Sunny Beach – Nesebar – Ravda – Aheloy – Pomorie (line 10 continues to Burgas) | line 10 leaves Sunny Beach about every 40 minutes; line 7 has 7 trips a day |
| 9 (municipal) | Sunny Beach – Banya – Obzor – Rakovskovo | from Sunny Beach on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 16:30; from Rakovskovo Monday to Friday at 06:30; on Tuesday and Thursday it continues to Nesebar and returns at 12:30; no service at weekends |
| 9 (intercity) | Sunny Beach – Banya – Obzor – Byala – Varna | several trips a day |
Note that the "Emona" stop on town line 1 is in Sunny Beach, not in the village. The winter timetable on the page has no separate routes to Tankovo, Orizare, Emona, Panitsovo, Priseltsi or Koznitsa. Ask at the bus station whether any trip passes through them. Otherwise a car is the practical option. Timetables change every season, so check the current times on the municipality's page or at the Sunny Beach bus station. For buses in general, see our guide to public transport around Nesebar.
Before you go
- Koznitsa, Priseltsi and Panitsovo have a few dozen residents or fewer, so do not count on finding a shop or café. Bring water and food.
- The municipality says Panitsovo is linked to the coast only by a dirt road. Consider whether your car is suitable.
- Irakli and Cape Emine are protected areas. Look after the plants and dunes and take your litter with you.
- Village feasts (Orizare in October, Tankovo in December, Gyulyovtsa on 24 May, Banya on 20 July) are a good reason to visit. Check the programme and exact date beforehand.
If you are interested in local wine, see our guide to wine tours on the Black Sea coast.
Sources
- Settlements — Nesebar Municipality (read 3 November 2026)
- About Nesebar Municipality: territory and population — Nesebar Municipality (read 3 November 2026)
- Bus transport — transport scheme of Nesebar Municipality (read 3 November 2026)
- Table of registered persons by settlement as of 15.09.2026 — GRAO (read 3 November 2026)
- Standard data form for Natura 2000 site BG0001004 "Emine – Irakli" — Ministry of Environment and Water (read 3 November 2026)
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