About Tuzla Beach
Halfway between Constanța and Mangalia, beyond Eforie Sud, the shore rises into a high earth cliff clad in dense scrub and steppe grass. At its foot lies Tuzla Beach: a narrow strip of sand with no hotels and no concrete promenade, reached on foot along paths cut into the bank. The sea here is clearer than at the big resorts, a turquoise green that has made the beach well known in recent years.
Above Cape Tuzla stands the landfall lighthouse, built in 1900, when Anghel Saligny was directing the works on Constanța harbour. The metal tower is 44 m tall, and its white light, 62 m above the sea, can be seen from 20 nautical miles away. It is the oldest lighthouse still working on the Romanian coast and belongs to the Maritime Hydrographic Directorate of the Romanian Navy.
The beach is no longer entirely wild: in summer rustic terraces of wood and reed appear, with sunbeds on some stretches and lifeguard posts paid for by the town hall. The rest is as it was: sand, a steep bank and an earth track.
What you can see
From the edge of the cliff you see the whole curve of the shore running north towards the breakwaters of Eforie Sud, the water green near the shore and deep blue further out. The lighthouse, a slender steel tower, rises on the plateau to the south and is the landmark of the whole area; you can only look at it from outside its compound. Some five kilometres to the south-west, Tuzla airfield offers pleasure flights over the coast.
Good to know
The cliff is unstable: rain and waves have caused landslips, and in 2025 the national water authority closed access to some areas. Do not park or stand at the edge of the bank. The beach was not included in the sand nourishment works along the coast, and in September 2026 the High Court ruled definitively that the cliff belongs to the public domain of the state.
- The view north from the edge of the cliff, with the turquoise-green water near the shore and the curve of the coast towards Eforie Sud.
- The Tuzla landfall lighthouse, the 44 m metal tower built in 1900, the oldest working lighthouse on the Romanian coast.
- The walk down the paths cut into the cliff, among dense bushes.
- The clear, turquoise-green water below the bank, seen from the top of the cliff.
- The lighthouse lit at nightfall, seen from the beach.
Good to know before you go
- Getting there
By car: Tuzla lies on the DN39 (E87), ~22 km south of Constanța, between Eforie Sud and Costinești; from Bucharest it is ~250 km on the A2, A4 and DN39. From the roundabout at the entrance to the village take Strada Costinești and then Strada Farului towards the sea, ~2.5 km. The road crosses the railway, and the last stretch is a rutted, compacted earth track that turns slippery after rain. Cars stay on the plateau, and you walk down to the beach on steep paths through the cliff.
Public transport: trains on the Constanța–Mangalia line stop at Tuzla halt, and the minibuses running between Constanța and Mangalia on the DN39 stop in the village. From there it is a walk of several tens of minutes to the cliff, with no shade.
- Where to park
There is no proper car park. Cars are left free of charge on the plateau above the beach and along the earth track, a few minutes' walk from the sand. Follow the signs and do not park near the edge of the cliff, as the bank can give way. On July and August weekends the spaces fill up early. Driving onto the sand is forbidden and fined.
- Fees & discounts
Access to the beach is free. On the stretches with beach furniture you pay for a sunbed and umbrella at the rates posted by each operator; the rest of the beach is free for your own towel and umbrella.
- Rules
The beach is public property and the rules are those of the whole coast: no camping on the sand, no driving or parking on the beach, no fires. The cliff is unstable: keep away from its edge, do not sit at the foot of the earth walls and do not enter the areas closed off by the water authority. The lighthouse is a military site of the Romanian Navy and cannot be visited without approval. The sea floor drops sharply near the shore and is stony, so go into the water carefully and follow the flags at the lifeguard posts.
- Facilities
Lifeguard posts and a first aid point in season · rustic terraces of wood and reed serving fish and drinks, summer only · toilets and showers in season · sunbeds and umbrellas for hire on some stretches · no natural shade on the sand · a steep descent on earth paths, impossible with a pushchair or wheelchair
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