by Bulgarian Travel on September 11, 2008
Day 1: Start off in Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital and largest city (and most likely where your plane landed). The city center is built on top of the ancient Roman town of Serdica, named after the Thracian Serdii tribe who initially inhabited this region. One unmissable stop is the famous gilded domes of the St. Alexander Nevski Cathedral, one of the largest Eastern Orthodox cathedrals in the world. The crypt has been converted to a museum, claimed to be the largest collection of Orthodox icons in the world. Also within reach of the yellow cobblestones of the city center are Sofia’s National Art Gallery, Palace of Culture, and public mineral baths.
Day 2: Melnik — Travel into the southwest corner of the country to Melnik, a gorgeous architectural reserve and the supposed homeland of the legendary rebel Spartacus. Of Melnik’s 200 buildings, 96 are cultural monuments. The entire town is like a museum, a preserve of Bulgarian medieval and Renaissance culture. The surroundings are unusual as well; located on the edge of Pirin National Park, Melnik is surrounded by natural sand pyramids and strangely eroded rock formations. It’s also a well known wine producer, and tourists can taste the local variety at any tavern in town.
Day 3: Stara Zagora — At at least eight thousand years, Stara Zagora is one of Europe’s oldest continuously inhabited settlements. Known as the “city of lime trees and poets”, it’s a perfect place to relax at a sidewalk cafe on a shaded boulevard. It offers preserved Neolithic dwellings and Roman ruins for the historoy buff, and opera, theatre, and art galleries for the culturemonger.
by Bulgarian Travel on September 9, 2008
Weather-wise, May and September are the times to go. Summer in Bulgaria means unrelenting heat, and the winters are cold and damp – great if you’re skiing, not so great otherwise. Also, by going in the spring or fall you avoid the crush of peak tourist season and score off-season hotel rates. September is perhaps the winner, as the Black Sea is still warm enough to swim in minus the risk of sunstroke or trampling by the tourist hordes. Autumn in southeastern Europe also means dazzling fall foliage and the bounty of the harvest at local produce markets.
The one standout reason to visit in the summer (aside from the beach weather) is the plethora of local festivals. Bulgarians hold festivals for everything from honeybees to salsa dancing, and most of them are during the summer months.
by Bulgarian Travel on September 8, 2008
Only recently have major airlines begun offering regular flights to Bulgaria. The discount airline Wizz Air flies direct from London and several other major European cities to Sofia, as do Bulgaria Air and EasyJet. There are a large number of international train routes to Sofia and Varna, departing from most major eastern European cities. There are a number of bus routes to Bulgaria as well, which tend to run more often than the trains. Expect an extra border fee when traveling by bus.
There’s a bit of bureaucracy involved in going to Bulgaria by car. Your car will be registered with a temporary “visa tag”, and you’ll be asked to pay a road tax of around 5 euros depending on which border crossing you plan on exiting out of. On the other hand, this means that there are no toll roads in Bulgaria. There’s also a charge of 4 euros to “disinfect” your vehicle when entering the country. In most cases, it may be simpler to take public transportation to Bulgaria and hire a car for a reasonable price inside the country.
by Bulgarian Travel on September 7, 2008
As a rule, Bulgaria boasts excellent public transportation. Buses are the fastest and least expensive option, but are not as comfortable as the trains, which also tend to be less expensive. Taking the train is a great option if you’re traveling along one of the major routes, from Sofia to Bourgas or Varna. Otherwise, you’re probably better off with the bus.
Taxis are available in major cities, but a taxi driver who speaks English is a rare find. Also, there’s little regulation of taxi fares in Bulgaria, so tourists who aren’t careful stand to be ripped off.
If you choose to do your own driving, it’s a good idea to brush up on your Cyrillic. While many road signs have both Cyrillic and Latin lettering, some of them do not. Roads in Bulgaria can be dodgy, but car rental is easy here, and the rates are some of the lowest in Europe.
By far, the nicest way to get from place to place along the coast is by ferry. Regular boat services link all of Bulgaria’s major seaside areas.
by Bulgarian Travel on September 5, 2008
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