Naturism in Bulgaria: laws and customs

At a glance

We found few sources on this country, almost all from 2017 and 2018: the table is mostly grey.

What the law says

Bulgaria has no law on nudism. In 2017 the tourism minister Nikolina Angelkova explained that there is no explicit ban with penalties, nor any national rule on how bathers should look: the only rule is the municipal ordinance (24 Chasa).

There is also an old 1963 decree against "petty hooliganism", which punishes indecent displays in a public place in front of several people with detention of up to 15 days or a fine of 100 to 500 leva (Lex.bg, penalties set by an amendment published in the Official Gazette in 2011). The decree does not mention nudity, and we do not know whether it is used against nudists.

Where you can be naked

Bulgarian nudist beaches exist by tradition: secluded stretches of the Black Sea used by nudists, with no act authorising them. The place in our list is in the Varna area, but we have not read Varna's ordinances. You can find it in the list of naturist places in Bulgaria.

Tolerated beaches and bans

Traditional beaches remain fragile. In 2017 Delfin beach, near Ahtopol, until then nudist, was leased out to a concession: free umbrellas and sunbeds only for those wearing swimwear, and a nudist was fined for "breach of public order" for walking around naked (Fakti.bg).

In 2018 in Burgas, about 500 residents signed a petition asking for separate nudist zones far from the town beaches, and fines for anyone naked or in a monokini on ordinary beaches. According to the organisers, in Burgas people were fined for taking their dog to the beach but not for walking around naked (Darik News).

We found no fines after 2017.

The local mood

Bulgaria seems an Orthodox and fairly conservative country, where nudity on the beach survives by tradition on secluded stretches of the Black Sea. There is no national ban, but where beaches are leased out or are close to towns, fines and petitions follow. We found no surveys and no recent personal accounts: the sources are few.

Naturist associations

The Union of Naturists in Bulgaria is part of INF-FNI, the international federation (INF-FNI).

LGBTQ+ travellers

Same-sex relations have been legal since 1968, and for an adult traveller there are no known offences linked to sexual orientation. Since 2024, however, some legal amendments have restricted discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools, and same-sex couples cannot adopt (ILGA).