The holiday resort of Golden Sands offers a huge array of activities for visitors of all ages, both in and out of the water. Some of the options available are indoor and outdoor swimming pools (including mineral pools and waterslides), tennis and volleyball, bowling, mini-golf, fitness centres, horseriding and cycling. A wide range of watersports includes yachting, jet skiing, waterskiing and a scuba diving centre. For the more adrenaline-seeking, hang-gliding and parasailing are offered. A balneotherapy centre provides natural spa treatments and medical programmes for those seeking healing, or just avid for a bit of pampering.

Bulgarian is the official language, which uses the Cyrillic alphabet, but English, German and French is spoken in resorts, hotels and restaurants.

The official currency is the Lev (BGN), which is divided into 100 stotinki. The Lev is tied to the Euro at a fixed rate of EUR1 = 1.955 lev. Bulgaria has strict currency regulations. If you enter Bulgaria with cash of any currency amounting to the equivalent of 8, 000 leva or more, you must declare it to customs officials. Foreign currency may be exchanged in banks, hotels or at one of the numerous bureaux de change, however due to a common practice of misleading rates of exchange it is better to go to banks or hotels to change money. A receipt called a bordereauxis issued when exchanging currency, indicating the amount that will be given, and it must be kept until departure. Not all banks accept travellers cheques and those that do usually charge a 5% commission. Major international credit cards are increasingly becoming accepted by tourist hotels, upmarket shops and restaurants, travel agents and car rental agents, but Bulgaria is still largely a cash economy. There are ATMs in the main cities and at Black Sea resorts.

Golden Sands is a large tourist complex and one of the biggest on the northern Black Sea Coast. For this reason it is a little characterless and visitors will miss out on what real Bulgarian life along the Black Sea is really all about amidst the commercial attractions.

Golden Sands' nightlife features a wide range of beach bars, discos and nightclubs where holiday visitors can keep the action going until the early hours. A casino will satisfy the gambling spirit and there is always a variety of shows and entertainment to be had, ranging from live music and deejays to floor shows, cabaret, and a go-go bar.

Golden Sands has a range of restaurants, cafés, snack bars and local tavernas that serve a wide variety of first-class international cuisine, as well as traditional Bulgarian dishes, at reasonable prices to suit all diners' wallets. Restaurants like Chiflika and Old House serve a range of Bulgarian food, while others serve Chinese, Irish, and international cuisine, or simple western favourites like pizza and barbecue. Bulgarian wine and brandies appear on most menus.

Visitors can enjoy browsing in the numerous shopping arcades and outdoor bazaars while on holiday in Golden Sands. While Golden Sand's shopping opportunities are fairly commercial, most of the hotels have large gift shops.

Local time is GMT +2 (GMT +3 from last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).