# 2 Mai – Vama Veche Marine Reserve [Romania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/attractions) › [Dobruja](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/region/dobrogea) › [Constanța County](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/county/constanta) › [2 Mai](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/locality/2-mai) > The only marine reserve on the Romanian coast: the waters between 2 Mai and the Bulgarian border, with stone reefs, brown seaweed beds and mussel banks to see with a mask or on a dive. **At a glance:** National parks and reserves in 2 Mai, Constanța County. Opening hours: daily open 24 hours. Ticket: Free. Information verified on 4 October 2026. ## Key facts - **Opening hours:** daily open 24 hours — The reserve's waters have no visiting hours: the shore can be reached at any time. Swimming must follow the lifeguards' rules; lifeguards are on the beaches at 2 Mai and Vama Veche only in the summer season. Night diving is banned throughout the reserve. - **Ticket:** Free — dives are paid - **With kids:** Yes — snorkelling only by the shore - **Best season:** June – September — snorkelling and diving in summer - **Address:** The waters off the shore between 2 Mai and the Bulgarian border; the rocky shore begins south of the fish station at 2 Mai, 2 Mai, Constanța County - **Coordinates:** 43.7755, 28.5809 - **Website:** https://ananp.gov.ro/acvatoriul-litoral-marin-vama-veche-2-mai/ - **Wikipedia:** https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vama_Veche_-_2_Mai_(Acvatoriul_litoral_marin) - **Wikidata:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q12743095 - **Categories:** [National parks and reserves](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/parcuri-nationale-si-rezervatii), [Seaside](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/litoral) ## About 2 Mai – Vama Veche Marine Reserve The 2 Mai – Vama Veche Marine Reserve, officially the "Vama Veche – 2 Mai Coastal Marine Area", covers the waters off the shore between the shipyard breakwater at 2 Mai and the border with Bulgaria. It runs from the waterline to about 9 km out to sea, down to a depth of around 40 m, over an area of roughly 5,000 hectares. It was declared a protected area in 1980 by Constanța County Council, confirmed by law in 2000, and since 2007 it has also been a Natura 2000 site (ROSCI0269). Its current management plan and regulations were approved in 2016. Unlike the rest of the coast, where the seabed is mostly sand, the shore here is rocky, with limestone shelves that continue under the water. They are covered in brown seaweed of the genus Cystoseira, red coralline algae and dense mussel banks, and a small boring shellfish, the common piddock, lives in the soft rock. This small area holds almost every type of marine habitat found in Romanian waters and more than 250 species of plants and animals. Dolphins and harbour porpoises pass through, and seahorses hide among the seaweed, the creatures most divers come looking for. The reserve is split in two. Zone A, strictly protected, takes in two sectors with the most valuable reefs and a wreck, with a safety perimeter around it. The rest of the water forms zone B, where swimming, authorised diving, small boats without combustion engines and traditional fishing are allowed. ### What you can see From the shore, the stone shelves south of the fish station at 2 Mai, covered in green seaweed, with clear pools between the rocks, and the high clay cliff running towards Vama Veche. With a mask and snorkel, in the shallow water by the rocks, you can see seaweed, mussels, crabs, small fish and, with luck, seahorses. Certified divers head out from Vama Veche with the local dive centres to the reefs further out. Off the beach at Vama Veche you can see the bow of the Greek freighter Akra Aktion, which ran aground in 1981 and which divers may not approach. ### Good to know The reserve has no entrance, opening hours or fee: it is the sea in front of the two villages, whose beaches are described separately under 2 Mai and Vama Veche. In 2026, coastal protection and beach replenishment work was under way at 2 Mai, and the footpath below the cliff towards Vama Veche was closed in summer as a building site. ## Don't miss - The limestone shelves south of the fish station at 2 Mai, with clear pools between the rocks and green seaweed. - Snorkelling along the rocks by the shore, among brown seaweed, mussels, crabs and small fish. - The seahorses hiding in the seaweed, the reserve's most sought-after residents. - The bow of the freighter Akra Aktion, aground since 1981 off the beach at Vama Veche. - The high clay cliff between the two villages, collapsing in steps towards the stone shelves. ## Good to know before you go ### Getting there **By car:** take the DN39 (E87) south from Mangalia: 2 Mai is ~5 km away and Vama Veche ~10 km, ~50–55 km from Constanța and ~300 km from Bucharest (the A2 to Constanța, then the coast road). The rocky shore begins at the southern end of the beach at 2 Mai, past the fish station; the beach at Vama Veche is at the other end of the reserve. **Public transport:** the nearest railway station is Mangalia, from where minibuses run to 2 Mai and Vama Veche, frequently in summer. ### Where to park The reserve has no car park of its own: you park in the two villages. In Vama Veche the car parks by the beach are paid (~35 lei a day in 2026); at 2 Mai the space by the beach is reduced by the coastal protection work. On August weekends the spaces fill up by morning. ### Fees & discounts There is no entry fee for the reserve. Scuba dives are run by the local dive centres, at the rates each one displays; the regulations allow the custodian to charge a fee for the diving permit, paid by the operator. ### Rules Anything not explicitly allowed by the regulations is banned. In zone A there is no swimming, sailing or diving, except for research, lifeguards and vessels on official missions. In zone B swimming is allowed under the lifeguards' rules, and scuba diving only for certified divers (NAUI, PADI etc.), through operators holding an annual permit from the custodian, at most 20 divers a day and never at night. Anchoring is allowed only for the duration of a dive. Only boats up to 12 m with oars, sails or electric motors and pedalos may go on the water: jet skis and boats with combustion engines are not allowed. Spearfishing, catching or picking any plant or animal (mussels and seahorses included), taking stones from the seabed and dumping any kind of waste are banned. Sport fishing is allowed only in zone B. ### Facilities No visitor centre or facilities of its own · lifeguards, terraces and toilets on the beaches at 2 Mai and Vama Veche in season · dive centres in Vama Veche · fish station with a fish restaurant at 2 Mai · the rocky shore is not accessible with a pushchair or wheelchair ## Details - **Protected area type:** marine nature reserve - **Part of:** Natura 2000 site ROSCI0269 ## Frequently asked questions about 2 Mai – Vama Veche Marine Reserve **How much is a ticket to 2 Mai – Vama Veche Marine Reserve?** Admission to 2 Mai – Vama Veche Marine Reserve is free (dives are paid). There is no entry fee for the reserve. Scuba dives are run by the local dive centres, at the rates each one displays; the regulations allow the custodian to charge a fee for the diving permit, paid by the operator. **What are the opening hours of 2 Mai – Vama Veche Marine Reserve?** Opening hours at 2 Mai – Vama Veche Marine Reserve: daily open 24 hours. The reserve's waters have no visiting hours: the shore can be reached at any time. Swimming must follow the lifeguards' rules; lifeguards are on the beaches at 2 Mai and Vama Veche only in the summer season. Night diving is banned throughout the reserve. **Can you visit 2 Mai – Vama Veche Marine Reserve with kids?** Yes, 2 Mai – Vama Veche Marine Reserve is suitable for children (snorkelling only by the shore). **How do I get to 2 Mai – Vama Veche Marine Reserve?** 2 Mai – Vama Veche Marine Reserve is located at The waters off the shore between 2 Mai and the Bulgarian border; the rocky shore begins south of the fish station at 2 Mai, 2 Mai, Constanța County. By car: take the DN39 (E87) south from Mangalia: 2 Mai is ~5 km away and Vama Veche ~10 km, ~50–55 km from Constanța and ~300 km from Bucharest (the A2 to Constanța, then the coast road). The rocky shore begins at the southern end of the beach at 2 Mai, past the fish station; the beach at Vama Veche is at the other end of the reserve. Public transport: the nearest railway station is Mangalia, from where minibuses run to 2 Mai and Vama Veche, frequently in summer. **When is the best time to visit 2 Mai – Vama Veche Marine Reserve?** The best season for 2 Mai – Vama Veche Marine Reserve: June – September (snorkelling and diving in summer). ## Nearby attractions - [2 Mai](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/2-mai) — Seaside · 2 Mai, CT · Free · 3½ – 4 hours · 2 km A Lipovan fishing village between Mangalia and Vama Veche, with a beach set in a small bay, a fish station at its southern end and the waters of the 2 Mai – Vama Veche marine reserve. - [Vama Veche](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/vama-veche) — Seaside · Vama Veche, CT · Free · 3½ – 4 hours · Top 100 · 3 km The last village on the Romanian coast, a kilometre from the Bulgarian border: two kilometres of fine sand, terraces open until dawn and the waters of a marine reserve. - [Mangalia Beach](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/plaja-mangalia) — Seaside · Mangalia, CT · Free · 3½ – 4 hours · 5 km The town's own beach, running from the marina breakwater towards Saturn below the promenade rebuilt in 2022; since autumn 2026 it is being widened with sand, behind four new breakwaters. - [Callatis Citadel](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/cetatea-callatis) — Fortresses and fortifications · Mangalia, CT · 10 lei · 6 km The ruins of the Greek city from which Mangalia grew: the circuit wall with its towers and the Syrian-type basilica on the clifftop promenade, steps from the beach, plus the town's archaeology museum. - [Saturn](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/saturn) — Seaside · Mangalia, CT · Free · 3½ – 4 hours · 7 km The resort that runs straight into Mangalia from the north: 1970s tower hotels, a beach in the middle of being widened, a public spa sanatorium and, behind it all, the Mlaștina Hergheliei nature reserve. - [Mlaștina Hergheliei Nature Reserve](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/mlastina-hergheliei) — National parks and reserves · Mangalia, CT · Free · ½ – 1 hours · 10 km A 98-hectare former lagoon between Saturn and Venus, with reed beds, open water and sulphur springs where swans, egrets and black-winged stilts stop over; you watch it from the surrounding roads. --- Full page: https://peplaiuri.ro/en/rezervatia-marina-2-mai-vama-veche Other languages: Română: https://peplaiuri.ro/rezervatia-marina-2-mai-vama-veche.md · Deutsch: https://peplaiuri.ro/de/rezervatia-marina-2-mai-vama-veche.md · Italiano: https://peplaiuri.ro/it/rezervatia-marina-2-mai-vama-veche.md Last updated: 4 October 2026 Source: Pe Plaiuri (https://peplaiuri.ro/en) — Guide to tourist attractions in Romania