# Sulina Beach

[Romania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/attractions) › [Dobruja](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/region/dobrogea) › [Tulcea County](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/county/tulcea) › [Sulina](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/city/sulina)

> Romania's easternmost beach, where the Sulina branch meets the Black Sea: very fine alluvial sand, an unusually wide strip and water that stays shallow for tens of metres.

**At a glance:** Seaside in Sulina, Tulcea County. Opening hours: daily open 24 hours. Ticket: 5 lei. The visit takes 3½ – 4 hours. Information verified on 28 September 2026.

## Key facts

- **Opening hours:** daily open 24 hours — The beach is open at all times, but your hours are set by the Navrom Delta ships from Tulcea. In season, between 19 June and 14 September, a semi-rapid boat leaves daily at 10:00 and a classic one at 13:30, while from Sulina a classic boat returns daily at 07:00 and a semi-rapid one at 13:30. Between 1 May and 18 June, and in the second half of September, only one service a day remains, at 13:30 from Tulcea and 07:00 from Sulina; from October to April boats run on only a few days a week. The timetable changes with the weather and water conditions, so check it on navromdelta.ro before setting off. The terraces on the beach work only in summer.
- **Ticket:** 5 lei — the reserve access permit
- **Visit duration:** 3½ – 4 hours — as long as you stay on the beach
- **With kids:** Yes — shallow for tens of metres
- **Best season:** June – September — more sailings in summer
- **Address:** The seaward end of Strada Europolis, 2–3 km east of the town centre, Sulina, Tulcea County
- **Coordinates:** 45.1452, 29.6832
- **Phone:** +40 240 518 924
- **Website:** https://ddbra.ro/
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulina
- **Wikidata:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q328647
- **Categories:** [Seaside](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/litoral), [Deltas](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/delte)

## About Sulina Beach

Where the Sulina branch runs out into the Black Sea, the Danube has left a beach unlike any other on the Romanian coast: alluvial sand so fine that it clings to the skin, in a strip far wider than those of the resorts further south. The water stays shallow for tens of metres and deepens over gentle sandbars, and a few hundred metres beyond the terraces at the end of the road you meet nobody at all. This is the eastern edge of the country: the sun rises here before anywhere else in Romania.

The beach belongs to Sulina, a town with no road link to the rest of the country, reached only by water. In the second half of the 19th century the European Commission of the Danube moved its headquarters here and turned a fishing village into an international free port, cosmopolitan enough for the writer Jean Bart to call it "Europolis". From those years remain the commission's palace, the old lighthouse in the middle of town and the maritime cemetery, where people of 21 nationalities are buried.

The way from the town to the beach is two or three kilometres eastwards, done on foot, by bicycle or by moto-taxi, past the cemetery and the last houses. As this lies inside the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve, the beach stays a wild one, with no promenade and no hotels on the sand.

### What you can see

The broad strip of sand, with bars that surface in calm weather and small crushed shells along the line of the waves. To the north stands Sulina's long jetty, which pushes the river a few kilometres out to sea, with a white lighthouse at its end; to the south the beach empties and runs on endlessly, with nothing built on it. Behind the sand grow tamarisk bushes and dune plants, among them the sea bindweed, a protected species. In summer a few fish terraces work at the end nearest the road, and the lifeguard tower is the only tall structure on the beach.

### Good to know

There is no lifeguard on duty: the reserve administration classes the beaches at Sulina and Sfântu Gheorghe as wild beaches, so you swim at your own risk. Entering the reserve requires the permit issued by the administration, and tents and caravans are banned outside authorised campsites. Because the ships from Tulcea arrive and leave at fixed times, a day on the beach almost certainly means a night in town.

## Don't miss

- Sulina's long jetty and the white lighthouse at its end, seen from the sand across the water.
- Sunrise over the sea, at the easternmost inhabited place in Romania.
- The broad strip of fine sand, with water that stays shallow tens of metres from the shore.
- The two- or three-kilometre walk or cycle ride from the town to the beach, past the maritime cemetery.
- The southern end of the beach, where nothing has been laid out and the sand runs on deserted.

## Good to know before you go

### Getting there

**By car:** you cannot get here. Sulina has no road link to the rest of the country, so the car stays in Tulcea: it is about 270 km and four hours from Bucharest, on the A2 and then the DN22A through Măcin or the DN2A through Slobozia and Hârșova, and around 125 km from Constanța.

**Public transport:** the Navrom Delta ships leave the port of Tulcea and run up the Sulina branch, calling at Partizani, Maliuc, Gorgova and Crișan. The classic boat takes three and a half hours to Sulina, the semi-rapid two and a half. From Sulina's harbour it is two or three kilometres east to the beach: 20–30 minutes on foot along a surfaced road, by bicycle hired in town or at the beach entrance, or by local moto-taxi.

### Where to park

You need no car park here, because the car stays on the mainland, in Tulcea, where the boat leaves from. Very few cars move around Sulina; at the end of the road towards the beach there is a small car park, used mostly by locals. Driving and parking on the sand and the dunes is forbidden, and the reserve's vehicle permit is valid only on the public roads inside its perimeter.

### Fees & discounts

The beach has no ticket, but you pay for the boat and for the reserve access permit. The Tulcea–Sulina crossing costs 66 lei per person each way on the classic boat and 76 lei on the semi-rapid; tickets bought online at navromdelta.ro are charged at the classic fare whichever boat you take. Delta residents pay a subsidised fare, 18 lei on the classic boat and 27 lei on the semi-rapid. Children under 7 and school pupils travel free, pensioners get 50% off, and people with severe or accentuated disabilities travel free; all of these are issued at the ticket office or on board, on production of documents. The visitor access permit for the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve costs 5 lei for one day, 15 lei for seven days and 30 lei until the end of the year, and is free for pupils, students, pensioners, war veterans, people with disabilities and anyone living inside the reserve or in the neighbouring communes. It is bought online at ddbra.ro, by SMS to 7494, at SelfPay terminals or, in cash, at the reserve's information centre in Sulina. The recreational fishing permit is free but is issued separately, again by the reserve administration. Commercial photography costs 100 lei, filming for educational purposes 50 lei, and flying a small drone 50 lei.

### Rules

The beach lies inside the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve, so you need an access permit, children included. Tents and caravans are banned everywhere in the reserve outside authorised campsites, as are open fires. Driving and parking cars or ATVs on the sand and the dunes is not allowed. The reserve administration classes this as a wild beach and provides no lifeguards, so you swim at your own risk; the tower on the sand is usually empty. Trading on the beach is restricted by the administration, and the dune vegetation, including the sea bindweed, is a protected species and must not be trampled. Drones and commercial photography need separate permits, and fishing needs the recreational fishing permit, with catch limits set for the Delta.

### Facilities

No lifeguard on duty, although there is a tower · a few fish terraces, open in summer only · toilets, showers and wooden walkways over the sand, from the beach works · a children's playground · reed parasols and loungers for hire in season · no natural shade · accommodation, shops and restaurants only in the town, 2–3 km away · a reserve information centre in Sulina

## Details

- **Beach type:** developed
- **Beach length:** 5 km
- **Lifeguards:** No
- **Departure ports:** Tulcea
- **Access by boat only:** Yes
- **Fishing allowed:** Yes
- **Access permit:** Yes

## Frequently asked questions about Sulina Beach

**How much is a ticket to Sulina Beach?**

A ticket to Sulina Beach costs 5 lei (the reserve access permit). The beach has no ticket, but you pay for the boat and for the reserve access permit. The Tulcea–Sulina crossing costs 66 lei per person each way on the classic boat and 76 lei on the semi-rapid; tickets bought online at navromdelta.ro are charged at the classic fare whichever boat you take. Delta residents pay a subsidised fare, 18 lei on the classic boat and 27 lei on the semi-rapid. Children under 7 and school pupils travel free, pensioners get 50% off, and people with severe or accentuated disabilities travel free; all of these are issued at the ticket office or on board, on production of documents. The visitor access permit for the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve costs 5 lei for one day, 15 lei for seven days and 30 lei until the end of the year, and is free for pupils, students, pensioners, war veterans, people with disabilities and anyone living inside the reserve or in the neighbouring communes. It is bought online at ddbra.ro, by SMS to 7494, at SelfPay terminals or, in cash, at the reserve's information centre in Sulina. The recreational fishing permit is free but is issued separately, again by the reserve administration. Commercial photography costs 100 lei, filming for educational purposes 50 lei, and flying a small drone 50 lei.

**What are the opening hours of Sulina Beach?**

Opening hours at Sulina Beach: daily open 24 hours. The beach is open at all times, but your hours are set by the Navrom Delta ships from Tulcea. In season, between 19 June and 14 September, a semi-rapid boat leaves daily at 10:00 and a classic one at 13:30, while from Sulina a classic boat returns daily at 07:00 and a semi-rapid one at 13:30. Between 1 May and 18 June, and in the second half of September, only one service a day remains, at 13:30 from Tulcea and 07:00 from Sulina; from October to April boats run on only a few days a week. The timetable changes with the weather and water conditions, so check it on navromdelta.ro before setting off. The terraces on the beach work only in summer.

**How long does a visit to Sulina Beach take?**

A visit to Sulina Beach takes about 3½ – 4 hours (as long as you stay on the beach).

**Can you visit Sulina Beach with kids?**

Yes, Sulina Beach is suitable for children (shallow for tens of metres).

**How do I get to Sulina Beach?**

Sulina Beach is located at The seaward end of Strada Europolis, 2–3 km east of the town centre, Sulina, Tulcea County. By car: you cannot get here. Sulina has no road link to the rest of the country, so the car stays in Tulcea: it is about 270 km and four hours from Bucharest, on the A2 and then the DN22A through Măcin or the DN2A through Slobozia and Hârșova, and around 125 km from Constanța. Public transport: the Navrom Delta ships leave the port of Tulcea and run up the Sulina branch, calling at Partizani, Maliuc, Gorgova and Crișan. The classic boat takes three and a half hours to Sulina, the semi-rapid two and a half. From Sulina's harbour it is two or three kilometres east to the beach: 20–30 minutes on foot along a surfaced road, by bicycle hired in town or at the beach entrance, or by local moto-taxi.

**When is the best time to visit Sulina Beach?**

The best season for Sulina Beach: June – September (more sailings in summer).

## Nearby attractions

- [Sfântu Gheorghe Beach](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/plaja-sfantu-gheorghe) — Seaside · Sfântu Gheorghe, TL · 5 lei · 4½ – 5 hours · 37 km
  The wild beach where the Sfântu Gheorghe branch meets the Black Sea: 30 km of fine sand, 2 km from a Delta village that can only be reached by water.
- [Lake Razim](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/lacul-razim) — Lakes · Sarichioi, TL · Free · 89 km
  Romania's largest lake, a lagoon of about 415 km² south of the Danube Delta, with Lipovan fishing villages on its shores, protected islands and the ruins of Enisala and Argamum above the water.
- [Tulcea Aquarium](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/acvariul-tulcea) — Zoos and aquariums · Tulcea, TL · 30 lei · ½ – 1 hours · 90 km
  The public aquarium in central Tulcea, with fish from the Danube and the Black Sea, coral reef tanks and a tunnel among sturgeon, plus an exhibition on the Delta's wildlife.
- [Danube Delta](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/delta-dunarii) — Deltas · Tulcea County · 5 lei/day · 7½ – 8 hours · UNESCO World Heritage · Top 20 · 91 km
  Europe's largest wetland, a biosphere reserve and UNESCO site: channels, lakes, reed beds and over 300 bird species, from pelicans to egrets; visited by boat from Tulcea.
- [Enisala Fortress](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/cetatea-enisala) — Fortresses and fortifications · Enisala, TL · 20 lei · Top 100 · 95 km
  The ruins of a 14th-century fortress, probably built by the Genoese on a limestone hill above lakes Razim and Babadag, with one of the widest views in Dobruja.
- [Gura Portiței](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/gura-portitei) — Seaside · Jurilovca, TL · Free · 5 – 5½ hours · 96 km
  A strip of sand between the Black Sea and Lake Golovița, in the Danube Delta, reached only by boat from Jurilovca: a wide beach with reed sunshades and a single resort.

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Last updated: 28 September 2026
Source: Pe Plaiuri (https://peplaiuri.ro/en) — Guide to tourist attractions in Romania