Romanian Black Sea Coast, Riviera Sud

The southern coast has united, and launched a unified concept of promotion

Daniel Onea, 15.05.2025, 12:28

From the resorts of Mangalia to Cap Aurora, the southern coast has united, and launched a unified concept of promotion, for both Romanian and foreign tourists: Riviera Sud. Thus, hoteliers and travel agencies want to attract an increasing number of visitors. Today we discover unique tourist attractions in the southern Romanian Black Sea coast, together with Filip Dumitru, manager of the Mangalia Destination Management Organization.

“We are also waiting for the season to arrive. Several tourists have already arrived at the seaside, and, of course, we have the treatment structures. Clients have already used them this winter season for forms of treatment and recovery in the area. We are in Mangalia, a seaside city, a city chosen by the Royal House starting with King Carol, who introduced here the pure-blooded Arabian horse stud. Queen Maria was also in this southern area. Also in Mangalia, we have the six resorts: Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Neptun, Cap Aurora, Olimp, renowned resorts of interest, with history and which now await their tourists as a holiday destination.”

One of the most interesting natural venues of the area may be the Movile Cave. This is considered by speleologists to be one of the greatest scientific discoveries of the 20th century. The cave is unique in the world due to the chemosynthesis system through which organisms survived, in the absence of oxygen, by oxidizing some mineral substances. NASA researchers have compared the environment of the Cave to that of the planet Mars. Until 1990, when exploration of the cave began, its 12,000 square meters were completely isolated from external environmental changes. The ecosystem is believed to have been isolated from the outside for approximately 5.5 million years.

Returning to the urban area, Mangalia is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Romania. It boasts a rich and diverse history, spanning 2,500 years. Originally founded by the Greeks in the 6th century BC under the name Callatis, it quickly became an important commercial center due to its strategic location on the Black Sea coast. In the Roman and Byzantine eras, Mangalia flourished as a significant center of trade and culture. During the medieval period, the city was under the control of the Genoese and later the Ottoman Empire, which left a lasting impact on its architecture and cultural heritage. Today, visitors to Mangalia can explore its ancient ruins, including the remains of the Callatis fortress and the impressive Archaeological Museum, which houses artifacts from the city’s Greek, Roman and Byzantine past, says Filip Dumitru, manager of the Mangalia Destination Management Organization.

“When we talk about the Callatis Museum, we are talking about the only papyrus in Romania, 5,000 years old, which is found in the area. In the Callatis Museum, we have information on ancient archaeology, of Greek origin. The Greeks established the Black Sea coastal area, in the area of today’s Romania. Ancient vestiges can be seen. Research continues and there are spectacular discoveries about the sunken city, Callatis. They are made and presented by a team of researchers and archaeologists who showcase the Callatis Museum. We also have Esmahan Sultan. It is a mosque from 1400, with an equally beautiful and mysterious history, built by the Turks during their occupation of the Mangalia area. It really has a very beautiful history. We also have a whole network of museums and places to visit, which can occupy your free time when you are on vacation at the sea. But, nevertheless, the piece de resistance and the attractiveness of the area and Mangalia is also found in the infrastructure, which the city is putting in place. We are talking about the six resorts, plus Mangalia.”

Riviera Sud is an ambitious project to transform the southern Romanian coastline, from Mangalia to Cap Aurora, into a luxury tourist destination. The initiative aims to attract over two million tourists annually, Romanian and foreign, by modernizing the infrastructure and offering high-quality tourist services. The project includes the modernization of hotels, the introduction of all-inclusive services, facilities such as private beaches with free sun loungers and free transportation between resorts. It also offers unique experiences, such as yacht trips from the Mangalia tourist port and helicopter flights from Tuzla airport.

“We are launching a very challenging project on the market, and we aim to promote the destination as the Riviera Sud of Romania. We are talking about seven resorts, profiled, with their own identity and modernized. These are mainly aimed at young families with children, but, without a doubt, also at young people and other categories. We have a very diverse offer of accommodation structures, from three to five stars, all-inclusive structures, and with services of your choice. We also have a large network of independent restaurants. There is also a great project that we have completed. It is about the new beaches, refurbished and widened. I think we have the most generous beach in Europe. For tourists, we have made a presentation of all the resorts from north to south. On visitmangalia.ro, we can select the resort, according to the images taken from the drone, select our image with the hotel, or the area that interests us: closer to the sea or the forest. We see the hotel, we enter the hotel, we see the structure of the accommodation, we see live what the reception desk, entrance, special offers, swimming pools, conference rooms and indoor facilities look like. Thus, we can consciously select the place, hotel or beach area where we want to spend our summer vacation. It is an interesting, dynamic platform. We update it all the time, to be a working tool for tourists.”

According to data provided to us by Filip Dumitru, manager of the Mangalia Destination Management Organization, in 2024, Rivera Sud ranked 15th in Romania in tourist arrivals to a holiday destination, a number that increased by 24% compared to 2022. The largest increase in the number of tourists was recorded in the Saturn resort, which benefited from investments of approximately five million euros. In second place, in terms of number of tourists, is the Venus resort.