Courses in Bulgaria, Thracian Cliffs Golf & Beach Resort golf course
Ranked · 6 courses · updated 2026

The Best Golf Courses in Bulgaria

Bulgaria built its golf reputation on a few miles of the northern Black Sea coast, where Gary Player and Ian Woosnam carved three resort courses into the cliffs and dunes around Kavarna and Balchik. Add a pair of handsome inland mountain layouts and you have one of Europe's best value golf escapes. Here are the six we rate most highly, ranked.

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By the GolfForKings editorial desk · How we rank · Last reviewed June 2026

Photograph: Thracian Cliffs Golf & Beach Resort, Bogdan Gorea, via Google

How we chose them

Bulgaria is a small golf country with an outsized headline act. On the cliffs of the northern Black Sea coast, within a half hour of one another, sit three signature resort courses that would headline a far larger market: Gary Player's dramatic Thracian Cliffs, the same architect's earlier BlackSeaRama, and Ian Woosnam's links style Lighthouse. Together they make the Kavarna and Balchik stretch, an easy transfer from Varna airport, one of the most rewarding short golf breaks in Europe and the reason most visiting golfers come.

Inland, the picture is quieter but worth knowing. Near the ski town of Razlog, Pirin Golf and Country Club spreads beneath the snow capped Pirin range, while Pravets and St. Sofia give Sofia weekenders a parkland round close to the capital. We weighed design quality, conditioning, setting and how rewarding the round is for a travelling golfer, and we checked every designer and opening year at the time of writing. The verdicts and the order are ours. If you want any of these built into a costed trip, that is what our concierge does.

The ranking

01

Thracian Cliffs Golf and Beach Resort

Gary Player · opened 2011 · Kavarna · par 71

The best course in Bulgaria and one of the most photographed in Europe, a Gary Player signature layout draped across the cliffs above the Black Sea near Kavarna. Holes tumble along the clifftops and down to the water's edge, with the par 3 sixth playing across a cove to a green set against the sea and several tees perched on the cliff face itself. It is more spectacle than subtle, but the scale, the conditioning and the sheer drama make it a genuine bucket list round, with a smart beach club and villas to match. The flagship of any Bulgaria golf trip.

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02

Lighthouse Golf and Spa Resort

Ian Woosnam · opened 2008 · Balchik · par 72

Ian Woosnam's open, links style layout near Balchik is the most complete resort course on the coast, running over rolling ground above the sea with wide fairways, firm turf and the wind as the main defence. It plays longer and more strategic than first looks suggest, and the back nine drifts toward the cliffs for a strong finish. With a well run spa hotel and reliable conditioning, Lighthouse is the easiest of the three flagships to build a stay and play break around, and a fine partner to Thracian Cliffs and BlackSeaRama next door.

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03

BlackSeaRama Golf and Villas

Gary Player · opened 2009 · Balchik · par 72

Bulgaria's first signature course and the one that started the coastal boom, a Gary Player design set on high ground above the sea near Balchik with the water in view from almost every hole. Less vertiginous than Thracian Cliffs but more of a true golfing test, it rolls across open meadowland to clifftop greens and rewards position over power. The villa estate and clubhouse are first class, and on a coast trip it slots naturally between its two neighbours to make a full three course itinerary within a few minutes' drive.

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04

Pirin Golf and Country Club

Ian Woosnam · Razlog · par 72

The best of the inland courses, an Ian Woosnam championship layout on the valley floor near the ski town of Razlog, framed by the snow capped Pirin and Rila mountains. Water comes into play across a parkland routing that is far more demanding than the postcard setting suggests, and the mountain air keeps it cool when the coast is baking. It is the natural anchor for a trip that pairs golf with the spa towns of Bansko and Sofia, and a complete change of character from the Black Sea links.

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05

Pravets Golf Club

Peter Harradine · near Sofia · parkland

A Peter Harradine parkland course about forty minutes from Sofia, set beside a lake in the hills near the resort town of Pravets. Mature, well watered and generously bunkered, it is the most polished of the courses within easy reach of the capital and a popular weekend round for Sofia golfers. The attached spa hotel makes it an easy overnight, and it works well as the inland leg of a wider Bulgaria trip or as a round on either side of a city stay.

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06

St. Sofia Golf Club

Paul McGinley · Ravno Pole · near Sofia

The closest serious course to the capital, a Paul McGinley design at Ravno Pole around twenty minutes from central Sofia. A flatter, more strategic parkland test than its rivals, it rewards accuracy and course management and gives city based golfers a quality round without a long transfer. It rounds out a Bulgaria top list by showing how much golf now sits within reach of Sofia, and makes a convenient warm up or wind down round around a coast or mountain trip.

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Designers and opening years verified June 2026. Most are resort courses that welcome visitors; always confirm tee time availability and green fees directly before booking. Course profiles are added across the site as the directory grows. Check tee time availability.

Play the best of Bulgaria

Tell us which of these are on your list, the Black Sea cliffs, the mountain courses or both, and roughly when. One concierge arranges the tee times, transfers and base and costs the trip to the head, with no obligation.

Bulgaria golf questions

What is the best golf course in Bulgaria?

Thracian Cliffs, the Gary Player signature course that opened in 2011 near Kavarna, is widely rated the best golf course in Bulgaria. Carved into the cliffs above the Black Sea, it is one of the most photographed courses in Europe and the centrepiece of any Bulgaria golf trip.

Where is the best golf in Bulgaria?

The northern Black Sea coast around Kavarna and Balchik holds the three flagship resort courses, Thracian Cliffs, Lighthouse and BlackSeaRama, all within a short drive of each other and of Varna airport. Inland, the mountain course at Razlog and the parkland courses near Sofia complete the picture.

Is Bulgaria good value for a golf trip?

Yes. Bulgaria is one of the better value golf destinations in Europe, with green fees and resort stays well below the prices on the Algarve or Costa del Sol for courses of genuine quality. Pair that with short transfers from Varna and it makes a strong shoulder season break. Always confirm current fees directly before booking.

When is the best time to play golf in Bulgaria?

May to October gives the warmest, driest weather on the Black Sea coast, with high summer the busiest stretch. The inland mountain course near Razlog stays cool and plays well into autumn, so a coast and mountain combination suits late spring or early autumn best.

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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Course designers and opening years verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.