Getting around Bulgaria

By bus

Certainly the cheapest and fastest way to travel around the country is by bus. Buses go from and to every bigger city (you might have to ask or be driven by taxi to the bus station) quite frequently (exact timetables information could be found at http://www.bus.light-bg.com/english/input_engl.html); however, most bus station agents (except at the Black Sea and in Sofia) as well as the drivers will not speak or understand any languages except Bulgarian (and, if you are lucky, Russian) and the destinations will be written exclusively in Cyrillic. You can look up bus schedules for the Sofia New Central at the bus station Luxury bus services are available on http://www.carrental.bg/?go=bus, (Car Rental Bulgaria is official NATO contractor for Bulgaria and ensured the visit of the President of the US, George Bush in Bulgaria) and http://www.escadra.bg/?go=vip. There is another site for bus travel. Here you can find a lot of bus schedules: http://www.transportbg.info Traveling from Sofia to major cities in Bulgaria by bus is a good value. A one way ticket to the Black Sea from Sofia is around EUR 12-15. Several companies operate regular routes serviced by new and modern busses. Timetables and prices in English for couple of the major companies can be found at GRUP Plus and Biomet. There are other bus stations in Sofia and also some private buses depart from their own personal station, but for travelers just looking to get out of town with the least amount of confusion - using the New Central Bus Station may be easiest. Buses and Minibuses go from Varna and Bourgas along the coastline, passing or going to all Bulgarian Black Sea tourist resorts.

By train

Travelling by train is inexpensive, but also slower than by bus, and you should mostly use it when trying to reach a city along the two major train routes (Sofia - Varna and Sofia - Bourgas; you can travel both routes overnight). Travel by train is not recommended as the trains are invariably in poor condition and are rarely maintained. You can look up train schedules and prices on the Bulgarian State Railways website [1]

By taxi

Most of the taxi drivers do not speak proper English. Taxi tariffs in Bulgaria are not standartized. It is important to compare prices of several cars, because there are speculators.

By car

If traveling by car, it would be helpful if you can read the Cyrillic alphabet at least a bit. Most signs have the direction shown in Latin letters, but some don't. For rentals http://www.fox333.com , http://www.toprentbg.com, http://www.rentcarbg.com, http://www.rentauto-bg.com, http://www.carrentalinbulgaria.net, http://www.Rentomobile.com are Bulgarian companies with reliable cars, Western-style service, and good prices. Avis also offer good rates. You can also hire a driver for about 50-75 Euro per day plus accommodation. Chauffeur services are also available on http://www.carrental.bg or http://www.escadra.bg. Driving in Bulgaria can be a bit precarious - many roads do not have defined lanes, are not well marked, and are in poor conditions. Locals often do not observe speed limits and do not signal when changing lanes. When travelling on the road Sofia-Greece, be very careful. There is extensive road reconstruction and you can meet some really dangerous drivers. From Sofia to Plovdiv, Chirpan and Dimitrovgrad, there is a highway with 2 or 3 lanes per direction. If you observe the rules, police will not bother you. Bulgarian police have white Opel Astra patrol cars, marked "POLICE" with blue letters - keep that in mind, because in the past there have been several cases of fake police officers stopping cars and robbing travellers. Never ever drink and drive in Bulgaria! This is always dangerous, and your first offence will result in a long prison sentence. The once-common practice of bribing a police officer to get out of a speeding or parking ticket is becoming the exception. Car theft isn't much of a risk, but shouldn't be underestimated. In rural areas leaving your car should be safe, but in the big cities or tourist spots, it is advisable to stay on the safe side by parking either on the major streets or on guarded garages, where fees range from 6 leva a day to 2 leva an hour. If you plan to spend more time in one city, it might be better to rent a parking space, which on the average costs 60 leva a month. Most hotels have their own parking, and even at private lodgings it is often possible to park the car in the garden or so, just ask.

By bicycle

All roads in Bulgaria are paved. The ever present horse-drawn carts help to keep motor traffic calm. As host to the annual [SVS] long-distance bicycle ride, Bulgaria is accustomed and well suited to cross-country bicycle travel. Still be careful if you go away from the main arteries, because the roads can turn quickly into some very bad and depleted pseudo-arteries. Plentiful roadside cafés can provide the cyclists' fuel and numerous roadside springs (pipes driven in to the sides of mountains or hills) provide a ready source of clean, cool water. Learning the Cyrllic alphabet is strongly encouraged, as many road signs and maps do not include the Latin equivalent. Hostels and tent-camping are good options overnight accommodations.

By thumb

The 'problem' with hitchhiking in Bulgaria is that there are few major roads, so it is not possible to cover longer distances this way. Also communication in English might be rather cumbersome. Have your German, Russian or French on standby. In general hitchhiking goes well in Bulgaria. If you want to be on the safe side, just go to http://www.pass-europe.eu or http://3na100.com (you'll need to learn the alphabet first to view the second site).