Best Time To Relax By The Sea

I finally found out what is the best time for a short relaxing holiday by the sea. Being such a close and important event for me, I think I will keep remembering it this month, the month I turned 70. This is the event I am referring to.

So that this unhoped-for anniversary could not be forgotten too soon, some good, too-good friends gave me and my wife a short holiday in a Black Sea resort in Bulgaria, the city of Balchik.

The city was not chosen by chance. It is our favorite seaside holiday spot where we have been going, every year, for about twenty years. So, from this point of view, it would be nothing special. And yet... There were two new novelties.

For the first time to the sea in the middle of winter, and...
For the first time in that hotel, Lighthouse, Golf & Spa!

In this way, we could see how winter by the sea can be as pleasant as summer, maybe even more pleasant if it is based on the needs of the moment, and for us it was. We needed peace and relaxation after a hard and unkind year with us, and that's what I got!

For the first time in that hotel!

People's travel and holiday habits change in line with the passage of time and the evolution (or involvement) of each of us. Many factors determine these changes, the most important being, in my opinion, the accumulation of experience and knowledge, material status, age, and health.

Because each person has their way of manifestation, I expose here how it happened to me.

In my youth, for several objective reasons... energy, strength, adaptability to more precarious living conditions, lack of money, and love of the sea, holidays were always austere, accommodation conditions the simplest, I had no pretensions and prejudices. All I wanted was to be as close and as long as possible to the sea.

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In the early part of my adulthood, when my material situation allowed, I started to look for a taste of comfort. I chose better and better hotels and better and better food. Of course, this was also influenced by having a child with us.

In the latter part of my adulthood, I returned to my roots, to going to sea just for the sake of the sea. The child was no longer going with us on holiday so we chose places as free as possible from the exaggerated comforts of the resorts. We chose to stay in fishing villages, to live with the locals, and to be able to see the sea as naturally as possible.

I have, inevitably, reached old age. The love of the sea has remained the same, only our powers have diminished. The sea now means more relaxing and walking and less sea and sunbathing. This has led to a return to hotel comfort, simple comfort in mid-range hotels that offer a clean and decent room.

We didn't try the fancier and more expensive hotels because we didn't think they were worth the expense, but starting this year, our opinions have changed a bit.

Receiving this gift, to stay at a five-star hotel, we immediately understood that a little pampering is not bad at all. A little, because we can't afford much, but enough to find that life is more beautiful than we thought!

I have never liked the crowds in resorts with too many hotels. This Lighthouse, Golf & Spa is different. It is located in the middle of a huge park, actually a golf course, and has no direct exit to the sea.

This mix of modernity and comfort with generous space for walking, the garden that ends in the wild field next to the sea, and the distance to the beach that requires a long walk, all this was to our liking. We understood how much we had wasted by spending years walking past the entrance of this hotel without thinking that we had to explore this space.

For the last few years, I have wanted to see and photograph the sunrise or sunset at sea. I never managed to do it, either because I didn't wake up in time or because the position where I lived didn't allow a view of the sun. Now, at last, I finally managed to do it!

The sun rising from the sea illuminates and warms the hotel.

After such an enjoyable morning getaway to hunt for sunrise, the return to the hotel again reveals the dimensions of this building.

The construction and the fitting out certainly cost a lot. I don't know if this business is profitable, but it probably is, since it has been running for many years.

The dimensions are so large that I can't even manage to frame the photo.

The result is spectacular and enjoyable. Lots of space, lots of air, and a feeling of freedom. I don't know what it's like in summer, in season, but now in winter, it's a pleasure to stay here.

The same generous space in the restaurant. The Swedish buffet breakfast is more than generous.

The hotel is called Lighthouse, Golf & Spa.

Lighthouse. I didn't notice any lighthouses nearby. It's probably a metaphor to suggest that it's like a lighthouse for the other hotels in the Balchik area.

Golf, of course, means exactly what I expected, but I'm not attracted to this (costly) sport, which I think is an important explanation and source of revenue.

Spa, on the other hand, is the best part, at least at this time of winter...

This is also the reason why I chose winter as the best time to relax by the sea. I didn't know that until now when I experienced it. It doesn't suit everyone. I was going to say that this wintertime is preferred more by older people, but I would be wrong. I remember that most of those who used the pool, sauna, and jacuzzi were young.

Older people prefer more walks. Sea-less walks around the hotel.

For walks by the sea, I chose to go to Balchik. As you probably understand, this hotel is outside the city. Ten minutes drive and we are near the sea!

The characteristic of the resort of Balchik is the very long alley along the seashore.

Part in the area of the hotels, this can be seen here: Sometimes...

... and another part beyond the town. For those who only want to see the sea and the nature around it.

It's such a pleasant place to walk that anyone can get away from the city for a long time without realizing it, as we did.

On one side the sea with its beauty, blue as the sky, attracts the eyes, and the breeze caresses the bodies of the walkers.

On the opposite side is the cliff full of vegetation, a Mediterranean vegetation that has to cope with the harsher winters.

Balchik is also called the silver city, because of the surrounding limestone hills. Their white color illuminates and has generated this name.

On these hills, hidden in the vegetation, there are many holiday homes. The sight of them makes me envious and forces me to put them on the list of things I have failed to achieve in this life!

This was a bit of my first short winter seaside holiday. I didn't think it could be so pleasant and good.

In general, seaside holidays are tiring. There are so many temptations, there is so much to do that the purpose of relaxing for which I take these trips is not achieved.

Now, for the first time in many, many years, I felt rested. An accumulation of events has helped a lot and I'm very happy about that.

Usually, such good fortune eludes me, but this time it didn't happen. Friends and spring weather in the middle of winter helped it happen.

Some shrubs have bloomed. Delighted by the heat outside and the gentle sun. It happens on January 5, 2024, when it's almost mid-winter in this part of the world.

I write a lot about Balchik. It has been my summer holiday destination for more than twenty years. Now is the first time I have written about winter in these places.

Regardless of what the weather is like and what date is on the calendar, this is a place where you can spend a beautiful holiday. Located just 40 km from Varna, it is a place that any tourist visiting Bulgaria can easily reach. I highly recommend it!

We each have our criteria when choosing places to visit, we have our reasons for liking or disliking a place. The important thing is to be at least minimally informed before choosing. I hope this presentation helps!