Bulgaria Travel Forum

hi there,
We are travelling to bulgaia at the end of July and staying in Sofia for three days. However, we are not sure whch are the most interesting places to go in central Bulgaria and the black sea coast. Can you help?

Cris

I'd definitely recommend Varna on the Black Sea coast. It's a clean, friendly city with plenty to do and an ideal base for days out to places such as Golden Sands and Kavarna. You could also look at Bourgas too and Sozopol (I've only had short visits to these but was impressed by both).

Wherever you go - enjoy!

Bookmark

Velico Tirnovo and Shipka
Balchic, Nesebr

If you want to bathe, then Duna (not far from Sozopol), though Sozopl is also not bad.

A pretty place that was not mentioned so far is Koprivshtitsa, a nice little town that has kept its 19th century National Revival appearance, full of picturesque houses with stone-walled yards and cobbled streets. It could be fitted into your trip in the following way:

from Sofia: by direct train, use www.bdz.bg. The train station is some 9-10km away from the town and a bus awaits the incoming trains and shuttles passengers from the town for the outbound trains, too. Bu bus, there are a number of departures from Sofia listed here:

http://eng.koprivshtitza.com/news/razpisanie.html

This is a small, separate bus station located between the train and the bus terminal in Sofia. It looks more like a bus parking lot with some kiosks between it and the train station. From Koprivshtitsa you can continue to Burgas by train or to Plovdiv by bus (only one or two per day, check locally). If you go to Plovdiv, you can also continue to Burgas by train. Burgas is the logical gateway to Nessebar and Sozopol, mentioned by the others. From Burgas to Varna you can take the very frequent minibuses that also call at Nessebar. From Varna you can continue north to Balchik and back and then onto Veliko Tarnovo by bus and then from Tarnovo back to Sofia.

I agree that this is a tough schedule that will take some time. Of course, you can cut pieces of it (Koprivshtitsa saves a lot of time, but it's sooo cute in my opinion). Sofia itself by no means merits three full days of sightseeing, although you can also a day-trip to the Rila Monastery or the Vitosha Mountain, a popular hiking and outdoor activities destination for all Sofia people.

Out of all the places mentioned, in case of a lack of time I would drop Burgas, Sozopol and Balchik in that order. Try to fit at least the other five, as they will give you a relatively complete picture of the Bulgarian highlights.

Have a great time in my home country.
Venelin

We did a 9-day trip to Bulgaria last August that started in Sofia (two days--I think three would have been too much). From there we rented a car and drove in a big loop through the central part of the country. We stopped in Rila, Melnik, Bansko, Plovdiv, Shipka, and Veliko Tarnovo (we were attending a wedding there) before turning back toward Sofia. This was a great trip and we saw a lot of really different places, including many sights along the way in between our stopping points. A good map is essential (as is knowledge of the Cyrillic alphabet) but we didn't find it difficult to drive there.

If you want more detail on any of these places or the countryside we drove through, let me know. Unfortunately I don't have VT tips built on this trip.

Visited Bulgaria in April 2008, had a marvelous trip.

I spent a few days in Sofia. It was a bit too much. 2 - 3 days is definitely sufficient.

Also visited Plovdiv, Veliko Turnovo and Kananluk. All were marvelous. Each place was a pleasure and had its own special attractions. For me Plovdiv was the best. I had the best time just wandering around in Old Town there. Amazing architecture, wonderful people and some nice Roman remains. From Plovdiv also visited the Bachkovo Monastery. Quite unique, indeed.

You might want to take a look at my travel pages for Bulgaria. Lots of detail there on public transportation, good places to eat and budget hotels.

About the language - yes, you must carry a book or card with Cyrillic on it. Just to buy a long distance bus ticket you will need to write the name of your destination in Cyrillic letters on a piece of paper and give that to the clerk in the booking office. Very few people, aside from the younger ones, speak any English.

The Cyrillic alphabet is available in a number of places:

1. For a card sized transliteration that you can easily Copy & Paste to carry with you go to: http://www.theory.org/artprojects/alphabetsoup/cyrillic.png

2. There is a copy with pronunciation help in the Sofia In Your Pocket on line (.pdf) http://www.inyourpocket.com/country/bulgaria.html

3. I found that the same was available in my Rough Guide, which was invaluable in many ways.

4. There is also a card that you can copy and paste on my tips.

Bulgaria is a marvelous place and not at all expensive. Enjoy!

Hi, I was in Bulgaria for the first time last month and loved it - had no idea really that it is such a lovely country - 2 days in Sofia is plenty - I had one and a half, and a lot of that was sorting problems I had because my suitcase and things I need to survive such as camera battery charger for my Nikon didnt arrive - I walked all around the city probably almost twice - saw the monuments and beautiful buildings and churches to see as well as the fabulous national gallery with Bulgarian art - went to a puppet show and had coffee and cake in the recommended patisserie chain there.

then I had a car for 3 days - if I had had more time I would have included Koprivshtitsa but I did get to sort of similar village of Etara and the old town of Plovdiv, as UnaS says, was beautiful and make it a mustsee, with the circuit I did do I had an awesome time driving to Rila monastery, Bankso, Plovdiv, Etara and Veliko Turnovo to Varna - the scenery enroute is beautiful - well when I was there in June anyway the colours of the fields and background hills and mountains were beautiful.

I stayed at an excellent place to stay at Etara which is in my accom tips for Bulgaria and would recommend that as a place to head for. If you have time then definitely have at least half a day in Veliko Turnovo and also visit the seaside towns of Nessebar and Sozopol. I was also hoping to get to the Shumen Fortress - saw it up on its dramatic perch as I drove along the freeway though - and Vesliki Preslav ruins near Preslav - but I will just have to have a return visit to Bulgaria one day!

Glad to hear you had a good trip - Bulgaria's on my return list too!