THUMB DIRECTORY TAB cation isthe annual publi- around thecountry, oneindispensable Ifyou’restandards. travelling independently are stillrelatively cheap byWestern European Elsewhere, prices expensive season. inhigh moreand GoldenSands(ZlatniPyasâtsi)even Bryag) (Slânchev such asAlbena,SunnyBeach travellers resorts willfindpricesat BlackSea andVarna, independent although pensive inSofia andotherbigcities,notably five-star hotels. Accommodation ismostex- hutstothemostopulent mountain spartan commodation optionyoucanthinkof, from offers pretty much kindof every ac- CONTENTS Directory ACCOMMODATION © LonelyPlanetPublications oe rvles 295 294 Work 295 Women Travellers Volunteering 294 Visas 294 291 Tourist Information 288 Toilets 293 288 Time 293 Telephone 293 Shopping 291 Post 291 Photography &Video 287 287 Money 289 Maps 289 287 Legal 286 Matters Internet Access Insurance 288 286 285 Holidays 288 Gay &Lesbian Travellers 284 Food 287 Embassies &Consulates Discount Cards Disabled Travellers Dangers &Annoyances Customs 285 Courses 285 Climate Charts Children 284 Business Hours 284 Activities Accommodation 280 ooTaelr 292 Solo Travellers Bulgaria Bed& BreakfastsBulgaria bathroom facilitiesandnoair-conditioning. and cheaper normallywithshared guesthouses, simple, andincludesprivate rooms,hostels andanythingovercapital, thatis top end. are placed in themidrange bracket forthe double roomscostingupto200lv(or€100) thananywherepriced somuch higher else, asaccommodationinSofiaend. However, is €50); anythingabove thatisregarded astop €25); inmidrange theycostupto100lv(or egory, doubleroomscostupto50lv(or midrange andtopend.Inthebudget cat- divided intothree pricecategories: budget, villages. remote inboththecitiesand tels andguesthouses which hasreviews of someof thebestho- Bulgaria It’s alsoworthpickingupthefree 20-V) bulStamboliyski www.zigzagbg.com; buy itat alloverrun guesthouses Bulgaria. Youcan www.baatbg.org) Tourism forAlternative Association Guidebook example, Pamporovo in October orNesebâr mum. Soifyou’re thinking of in,for staying toamini- restaurant orcuttingbackstaff basis, closingup partof thehotel andthe ormayoperate onamuch reducedseasons, frequently downoutsidetheholiday close coast or skiingresorts,as theBlackSea rates forlongstays. mayalsobewillingtooffer discounted counts forlonger too. stays, Somehostels in inclusive) anditmaybeworth askingfordis- discounted weekend prices(FridaytoSunday to tryout.Top-endhotels commonlyoffer particular, hasnumeroustop-endoptions modern, withtop-notch facilities;Sofia, in andmostofestablishments, are these very ternational chains aswellhome-grown luxurious anddependable. This includesin- rally, thebestavailable, oratleastthemost Top-endaccommodationis,natu- TVs. bathrooms andextrassuch asfridges and ard andwillalmostalwaysincludeprivate Midrange optionsoffer amuchstand- higher Note that hotels in seasonal spots, suchNote thathotels inseasonal Budget accommodationisusuallyvery Accommodation inthisbookhasbeen (www.authenticbulgaria.org) Zig ZagHolidays (17lv)published bythe , which lists sustainable, family- , which lists sustainable,

Mp p88; (Map (

guidebook, % % inSofia. 02-980 7685; 02-980 5102; Bulgarian Bulgarian Authentic Authentic lonelyplanet.com ient foranyone relying on public transport. such asabeach orlake, andare rarely conven- ers) thantoanywhere peaceful orpicturesque to noisymainroads (toattractpassingcustom- tion, campinggrounds tend tobeplacedcloser and tranquillityare rarely guaranteed. Inaddi- mally beavailable privacy atthistime, security, in JulyandAugust:whilecampsites willnor- early September. tend tobevery These crowded coastoperate onlyfrom Juneto the BlackSea Novemberbetween andApril,somealong down, sodon’thave expectations. high campinggroundstend toberun- privatised coast),isindecline. Evenalong theBlackSea 100 localesnationwide(withhalfthatnumber and theindustry,which onceincludedover sincelosinggovernmentstruggled support allure in groundshaveBulgaria. Camping dayscampinghaslostits budget,tight these thecountryona Once apopularwaytosee Camping and, forthecapital, www.sofiahotels.net. www.hotelbg.com, www.hotelsbulgaria.com ities anddiscountsincludewww.bgglobe.net, whatthecurrent to see situation is. in February, youreally should phoneahead Camping groundsinBulgariaareCamping rarely open Useful websites offering hotel bookingfacil-

„ „ PRACTICALITIES „ „ „ „

ACBulgaria runson220V,50Hz andplugsare variety,sometimes thestandardroundtwo-pin The metricsystem isusedfor weights andmeasures. In Sofia, tune into BG Radio (91.9FM), InSofia,tuneintoBGRadio (106FM), Contact Radio JazzFM (104FM), RetroRadio Ifyougetvery bored, tuneintothegovernment-run oroneoftwoprivate channel(BNT) TV Ifyou’re visiting Sofia,pickuptheEnglish-language Videos workonthePAL system. called the‘europlug’. the twonationalstations,Horizont(103FM) andHristoBotev (92.8FM). Welle (95.7FM) FranceInternationale andRadio (103.6FM). IfyouunderstandBulgarian,try found ontheFM bandinSofia,includingVoiceofAmerica(103.9FM), BBC(91FM), Deutsche (94.6FM), Ruse(104FM) andVeliko Târnovo (88.9FM). canbe Several international services ally plays contemporary popmusic,canbeheardinSofia(98.3FM), Varna (90.7FM), Plovdiv (98.3FM) andClassicFM (89.1FM). anationwidenetworkofstationsthatusu- DarrikRadio, andGermancablechannelssuchasDW. mark, MTV shows, Greek movies andTurkish newsprogrammes,aswellCNN,BBC,Euronews, Hall- pick upaplethoraofstationsfromaroundtheregion, soyoucanenjoyRomanian game Televisionsones (Nova Televisiya notall–hotel roomscan inmost–butcertainly andBTV). coast. available sporadicallyaroundthecountry)andfree monthly English-language papersare the Vagabond DIRECTORY ••Accommodation DIRECTORY isaglossy,English-languagelifestyle magazine,publishedmonthly. Frontier Times, publishedmonthlyinVeliko Târnovo (but te like. the aimedatschoolaffairs, groups, hikers and hostels aroundthecountry are more basic (ISIC)cards.OtherStudent Identity Card discounts forholders of HIorInternational one ortwohostels inSofia willoffer small or Hostelling International (HI),andonly with theYouthHostels Association (YHA) in the country. Plovdiv, butyou’llfindvery few anywhere else there isahandfulof hostels around Varna and excellentprivate and establishments, several phenomenon inBulgaria. Sofia nowboasts Backpacker hostels are arelatively recent Hostels attention anddamage the environment). donotbuildwoodfirestantly, (which attract accepted if you’re discreet and,mostimpor- ground) istechnically prohibited butnormally too,arethese, often far from inviting. moreslightly thanthecostof campsites, but grounds alsorent outtinybungalowsfor for hire, sobringyourown.Mostcamping buttents areper night, very rarely available ing groundisabout 8lvto10perperson There are nohostels inBulgariaaffiliated inthewild(ieoutside acamping Camping The costof upatent atacamp- setting SofiaEcho, published on Friday. Other publishedonFriday.Other Sunny Times,

availableonthe DIRECTORY DIRECTORY DIRECTORY serving aroominadvance isnotnormally serving café willprobably betastier and cheaper. it’sconvenient,Although breakfast inalocal (or considerably more inafive-star hotel). tional, costinganextra4lvor5per person includes breakfast, whileelsewhere it’sop- hotellocal competition.Insometownsevery dependent ontheweather for customers. in citiessuch asVarna andBurgas willbeless latebetween October andearlyApril.Hotels pose-built resorts such asAlbena,donotopen coast,especiallythepur-along theBlackSea mid-April toNovember), whilemanyplaces hotels are in summer(fromabout closed at theusual international rates. in Bulgariaandoffer standards theusualhigh nowhaveSheraton apresence andRadisson, the rates for doublesare listed in this book. only rates inadoubleroom.Ifthisisthecase, Some hotels donotoffer singleroomsor of thefactsooften don’tadvertise theirrating. placesarebut one-andtwo-star rarely proud huts orhostels) are rated fromonetofive stars, with an extra sofa-bed. one bedroomandalounge room,sometimes normally have eithertwodoublebedroomsor luxurious andfeature more amenities.‘Suites’ areThese usuallydoubleroomsthatare more hotels offer more expensive ‘apartments’. rywhere andusuallyoffer goodvalue. Some old-fashioned attitudesto customer service. and run-down,withantiquated plumbingand inless-visitedthose locationsare often shabby hotels have andrenovated, privatised nowbeen While manyof theolder,formerlystate-run is varied:basically,youget whatyoupayfor. Like anywhere the else, hotel sceneinBulgaria Hotels Modern private hotels have sprungupeve- Unless stated otherwise inthis book,re- otherwise Unless stated ent. Bestofall,youcanbookonline. to stay.Reviewsare thoroughandindepend- the true,insiderlowdownonbestplaces www.lonelyplanet.com/hotels. You’llfind at service check outtheonlinebooking ommendations byLonelyPlanetauthors, For more accommodationreviews andrec- BOOK YOURSTAY ONLINE Whether breakfast isincludeddependson Most smallerandmore remote ski-resort International chain hotels, such asHilton, Hotels (butnotprivate homes,mountain IETR • Acmoain ••Accommodation DIRECTORY p88; 20-V, Sofia) the mountains the mountains and villages. in theunderpass atthejunctionof bulVasil which costfrom10lvto35perperson dormitory bedswithashared bathroom, any treksdistance orshorter hikes, at canstay enjoyinglong- Anyone, especiallythose Mountain Huts ifthey directly tosee have room. may beunreliable; themonasteries contact rooms onasporadicbasisandavailability Lopushanski Monasteries. Someonlyoffer astery gates, egtheTroyan, and withinmetresor atguesthouses of themon- such asattheRilaandCherepish Monasteries, Some roomsare actuallyinsidethemonastery, frompilgrimstoforeigneither sex, tourists. Bulgaria offer accommodation toanyone,of About adozenof the160monasteries around Monasteries book apackage dealinyour home country. You’ll probably finditeasierandcheaper to tobookatleastafewvisable months ahead. Bryag)duringthesummer, it’sad- (Slânchev coast’s package resorts such asSunnyBeach atoneofIf youwanttostay theBlackSea at Christmas)orduringamajor festival. inAugustorBansko peak times(egNesebâr ataparticularplaceorarestay visitingat exceptifyou’renecessary, determined to places in the mountains. places inthemountains. the locationsof,details andamenities at, most v Bâlgariya somehikingmapsandthe also sells Gurko. andulGeneral Levski TheBTC office Sofia) p88; atthe served huts,hotelsmountain andhostels canbere- advance, butbedsatmostof the 200ormore more basic, dorm-style hostel). a hotelcomfortable withdoublerooms)or a hiking/trekking route, youcanalsooften find or aroundatownvillage alongapopular ski slopesare often alsoopeninwinter. In situated atornearmajorOctober, butthose Mostareper night. openonlyfromMay to only offers basic,butcleanandcomfortable, turisticheska spalnya turisticheski dom It’s often in tobookthese notnecessary %

% . The office istucked. Theoffice insideaphotoshop hizha 02-980 5102; www.zigzagbg.com; bul bulStamboliyski 02-980 5102;www.zigzagbg.com; 02-980 1285;www.btsbg.org; 75, bulVasil Levski can alsoarrange accommodation in ( hut).Normallya mountain book(written inCyrillic),which Bulgarian Tourist Union Tourist Bulgarian (touristhome;afairly (touristbedroom;a Zig ZagHolidays lonelyplanet.com

(BTC; Hizhite hizha

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lonelyplanet.com eoaie choice. evocative uniform,it’sahomelyand bands inmilitary and black-and-white photos of long-deadhus- a roomsurrounded bykitschy knick-knacks in for themoney.If you don’tmindsleeping not), whileothers, of are course, initpurely in Bulgarian(whetheryouunderstand itor provide breakfast andlengthymonologues English. Mostare very welcomingandwill to beelderlyladies,whoare unlikely tospeak bathroom facilities.Thehostsalways seem nondescript apartmentblockswith shared willbein vary,butusuallythese Standards also offer intoreal aglimpse Bulgarianlife. option forforeign visitors, private rooms As wellasbeingacheap accommodation Private Rooms the experienced and straight-talking EnglishmanStevethe experiencedandstraight-talking Molyneuxof various regions ofthecountry.Those shouldconsult interested Bulgarianproperties innorthern .bulgariandreams.com, aUK-based in company,provide newsandadviceonbuyingproperty .co.uk. Formore localisedofferings, andwww www.blackseavillas.net, www.skipropertybg.com in Bulgaria,www.purelybulgaria.com, www.bulgarianventure.com andhttp://findbulgarianproperty scene a hugenumberofhouses,flatsandstudiosforsaleup-to-date newsontheproperty Someofthemore whichhas usefulincludewww.bulgarianproperties.com, them basedintheUK. there are nowcountlessestate ofBulgarianreal agentsspecialisinginallaspects estate, manyof inaforeignremember countrycanbe acomplicated thatbuyingaproperty business. However, are resorts expected toexpandstillfurther. whiletheski construction apartment and thebuildingcontinues:marinasgolf-coursecomplexes are amongthelatest wave of snapped upbyforeigners andoften usedforonlyafew monthsayear. Moneytalks,however, Locals, meanwhile,have beenpricedoutofmanyareas are where increasingly properties being the seeminglyunstoppableadvanceofdevelopers’ bulldozers inpristinecountrysideareas. everyone ishappywiththissituation,andenvironmentalistshave campaigned vigorouslyagainst centres inthemountains.appearing allalongthecoastandaroundskiing Understandably,not though pricesvaryconsiderably(andbuyingoff-planwillbemuchcheaper). inaluxurydevelopment, apartment topayfromaround€60,000-plusforaone-bedroom expect tobuyinhotspotssuchasBanskoorsomewhere youcan nearthebigBlackSearesorts, looking lotsofpotential) forunder€10,000.Ifyou’reto pickuparun-downvillagehouse(with,ahem, idylls. ByWestern standards,housepricesare often amazinglycheap;it’sstillpossible,forexample, and rusticcountry resorts of long,hotsummersbythesea,snowywinters intheexpanding ski tothecountry in searchofholidayhomes,lured bylowpricesandthepromisebeen flocking show nosignofdipping. Pricesare beingpushedupbyforeign investors; Britsespeciallyhave of second quarter 2007 –thesecond-highestrecorded riseanywhere intheworld–andthey isboomingasnever market before:The Bulgarianproperty pricesrosebyasmuch27%inthe INBULGARIABUYING PROPERTY (www.buying-properties-in-bulgaria.co.uk) (2005) byJonathanWhite. orthesimilarlytitled (2007) byAndyAndersonandStephane Lambert UK-run offices inBulgaria,especiallyVarna. visitthe Forlegaladviceandinformationonmortgages, There are alsoanumberofinformative try booksonthemarket: If youdodecidetoinvest inaholidayhomeBulgaria,oreven tomove there permanently, This international interest has fuelledabuildingboom,withvastnewholiday-homecomplexes Bulgarian HomeLoans DIRECTORY ••Accommodation DIRECTORY (www.bulgarianhomeloans.com) inRuse. Youwillalso findplentyofBritishestate agents’ in thestreet or keep aneye outforrelevant Alternatively, you canwaittobeapproached in atowncentre, oratabus ortrainstation. ranged anaccommodationagency through again, each place is different. placesincludingprivate bathroomsbut ised areThese often more modern- comfortable, ofup to30lvattheheight thesummerseason. coasttownssuch asSozopol cancost towns andvillages, whileroomsinpopular more expensive insmall provincial thanthose Rooms inSofia orPlovdiv willnaturallybe sometimes have topayfordoublerooms. per numberof beds,sopeople travelling alone 25 lvperperson, butthey’re normallypriced Stays in privateStays roomscanoften bear- Rooms costanywhere 10lvand between . Molyneux Property Holdings Molyneux Property Buying a Property inBulgaria Buying aProperty Buying a Property inBulgaria Buying aProperty

DIRECTORY DIRECTORY DIRECTORY about 9am and6pm,Monday to Saturday. open 24 hours butmost operate between Some of the foreign exchange are offices banks operate from9amto 4pmweekdays. are from 8amto6pm,and openweekdays often open later onweekends. Postoffices in bigcitiessuch asSofia andPlovdiv are altogether) but shopson Sunday(orclose on weekends. Someoperate shorter hours and from 9amto1pm7pm onweekdays, Most shopsare openfromabout 9amto rarely have timeforaleisurely lunch break. morenesses hours, orless keep thesame but noonand2pm.Privatehour between busi- and 5pm, but theyoften foraroundan close 9am (MondaytoFriday)between weekdays Normally, government are offices openon HOURS BUSINESS p75. tivities canbearranged during summer. scuba divingandahostof otherwatery ac- holiday resorts. Windsurfing,paragliding, tend tobeconfinedthebigpackage-these coast,although are popular ontheBlackSea or marked trailsandasystem of huts, mountain for trekking andhiking,withnumerouswell- terrainunspoilt, mountainous makes itideal whilethecountry’s in thePirinmountains, ski destination,withnewresorts beingbuilt The countryisbeingpromoted asagrowing just someof thesportsandpastimesavailable. ing, rock-climbing,divingandskiingbeing in Bulgaria,withhiking,biking,mountaineer- All kindsof outdoor activities are catered for ACTIVITIES an outlyingand dreary suburb. in acitysuch asBurgas thehomemaybein lage such asMelnik, allhomesare central,but rooms are before makingadecision:invil- form of tourism. sustainable and makingapositive contributiontothis of knowingthatyou’re helpingthemget by by agencies, youwillhave thesatisfaction directly, withoutthecommissions taken off ing onvery lowincomes,sobypayingthem ing roomsintheirhomesare invariablyliv- offer-around outsidebusandtrainstations actual home. Thepensioners whohang inshopwindowsoroutsidetheGerman signs inBulgarian(see p309 ), Englishor It’s always important tofindoutwhereIt’s alwaysimportant the For more informationandlistings,see hizhas, IETR • Atvte ••Activities DIRECTORY forhikers in.Water tosleep sports Bulgaria isasafe andhealthycountry Practicalities (www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree). to Go’branch of theThornTree forum get advicefromotherparents onthe‘Kids Lonely Planet’s general informationandsuggestions, try terested when theyget there. For further you’ll begoing,they’llmuch more in- ning: ifthey’ve helpedtoworkoutwhere And includechildren inthetripplan- swim atthebeach orawalkinthehills. withanafternoon museum ing atastuffy clude thekidsaswell–balancemorn- problems. Make sure plannedactivitiesin- too much intothetimeavailable cancause overdo foradults,packing things:even quires Don’ttryto planningandeffort. Successful travel withyoung children re- CHILDREN open. be itshould though even or artgalleryisclosed regularly, ifamuseum sodon’tbesurprised forlunch). Openingtimesdochangeclose SundayandTuesday(theyoftenbetween also usually foroneortwodaysaweek, ies, close inmajor those tourist attractions,even cit- and11pm. Frustratingly,manymuseums if youcan pickupsome tips. useful out forother travellers with children andsee worth askingatother modernhotels. Look ternational chain hotels,it’salways though Cots are available only inthetop-end,in- in publicisnotusualandmayattract stares. playgroups andkids’clubs.Breast-feeding resortshotels often intheBlackSea have andthebigger hotels mayoffer thisservice, community inSofia. sometop-end However, cies are onlycommonamongtheexpatriate are rare andchildcare (baby-sitting) agen- restaurants, publicnappy-changing facilities ing thathighchairs are almostunheardof in inadvance. It’salsoworthnot- book these tonominal extracost,butit’sessential can provide children’s fora safety seats tional fast-food outletsallover the country. available, andthere are well-knowninterna- food andfresh orpowdered milkare readily toddlers, such asnappies(diapers), baby Most of thenecessities fortravelling with medical facilitiesare generally pretty good. The major international carrental firms Restaurants generallyRestaurants openfrom11amto Travel with Children lonelyplanet.com or as GoldenSands(ZlatniPyasâtsi; p247 ), Sunny rides andsoonoffered bythebigresorts such andthewater parks,amusement the BlackSea, dren are, of beaches course, thelongsandy of The mostobviousattractionsforyoungchil- Sights &Activities lonelyplanet.com for current programmes and costs. Culture’ the university August.Contact every andSlavic for StudentsinBulgarian Language a one-month‘International SummerSeminar Târnovo are not available. costs 430lv. Unfortunately, shorter courses culture, danceandfolklore: course atwo-week The university inBulgarian alsorunsclasses courses costing220 lvfor20hours’ tuition. guage .uni-sofia.bg; bulTsar Osvoboditel) them before youarrive in Bulgaria. fered toforeigners, butmake sure youbook There are afew language courses thatare of- COURSES huge snowfalls.See p16 for further details. and rurallife isoften disrupted in winter by inthemountains February. ishighest Rainfall July andAugust3°CfromDecemberto with average daytimehighs of around28°Cin Europe. Sofia’s climate isgenerally favourable, meanwhile, issubjecttotheextremes of central coolest, asyou’dexpect.TheDanubeplain, towninthe country,isoneofthe highest the hottest towninthecountry;( p158 ), ( p131 ) often namedthesunniestand coastrecord temperatures, thehighest Sea with heavy snow.SouthernBulgariaandtheBlack dry summers andcold,wetwinters, often with Bulgaria enjoysatemperate climate withhot, CLIMATE CHARTS forolder suitable children ( p75 ). as biking,hikingandhorse ridingtripsthatare are alsomanycompaniesoffering activitiessuch have parkswithplaygroundequipment.There pepper thecountryside. Alltownsandcities or explore the dramaticfortresses andruinsthat aroundthecountry, nature parksandreserves Bulgaria’srich wildlifelook forlorn),see inthe the conditionsare often poorandtheanimals also like tovisitsomeof thezooparks(though ridingarehorse often available. Thekidsmight ( p249 and ). Otheractivitiessuch asparasailing Bryag; (Slânchev Beach p235 ) andAlbena The Sofia University

courses forforeigners, withone-to-one

( Sts Cyril & Methodius University ofVeliko University &Methodius Sts Cyril % 062-20 070;www.uni-vt.bg) DIRECTORY ••ClimateCharts DIRECTORY (Map (Map p88 ;

% offers 02-971 7162;www.deo

Bulgarian lan- usuallyoffers -10 -10 -10 ( at thecustomsauthorities facts) byair,contact items (such asvaluablearchaeological arte- Bulgaria. from for adviceonwhatyoucanimport duty-free inyourhomecountry the customsservice currency), youmustdeclare it.Checkwith try withmore than8000lvonyou(inany of perfume. Ifyouenter orleave thecoun- 50 cigars, 1Lof spirits,2Lof wineand50ml the valueof €175,plusupto200cigarettes, are allowed tobringintoBulgariagiftsup what youcanimportorexportapply.You other EUcountry,thennormalruleson you’re travelling Bulgariaandan- between bona fidetouristsare generally leftalone. If depends onhowyouenter thecountrybut Whether you’re inspected by customs officers CUSTOMS 040 10 40 040 10 40 040 10 40 C% °C % °C C% °C 080 30 080 30 080 30 060 20 060 20 060 20 % 020 020 020 VARNA SOFIA PLOVDIV 104 104 104 For informationabout exportingunusual Sofia airport 14 32 50 14 32 50 14 32 50 86 86 86 68 68 68 °F °F °F 052-225 532) JFMAMJJASOND JFMAMJJASOND JFMAMJJASOND Temp/ Temp/ Temp/ 550m (1805ft) 35m (115ft) Humidity Humidity Humidity 160m (525ft) .

( % in in in 1 2 3 4 0 02-717 051) 100 100 100 0 0 0 JFMAMJJASOND JFMAMJJASOND JFMAMJJASOND or Rainfall Rainfall Rainfall 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 0 0 Varna airport Max/Min Max/Min Max/Min Average Average Average

0 25 50 75 100 mm mm mm

DIRECTORY DIRECTORY

0 25 50 75 100

25 50 75 100

0 DIRECTORY ments are springing upatvariouslocations – sites. Newhotel andholiday-home develop- places currently resemble vast,dustybuilding shows nosignof slowingdownandmany mer whenmostpatrons sit outside. ventilated, butthisislessof aprobleminsum- bars andrestaurantsCafés, are often poorly and tobethenationalpastime. smoking seems street isbothillegal and unnecessary.) exchangehigh rates. (Changingmoneyonthe ers onthestreet sometimesoffer ridiculously overcharge outrageously, andmoneychang- andbeachtrain stations resorts normally ous andeasytoavoid: drivers taxi atairports, are rip-offs, butthese monetary fairlyobvi- inBulgaria’sfearsomeextended stay prisons. drugshere transport oruse unlessyouwantan across thecontinent. Don’t attempt tobuy,sell, in fromTurkey, Russia andArmeniathen common route fordrugs(andarms)smuggled they’re often professional pickpockets. the streets of bigcitiessuch asSofia andVarna: ofwary, however, gangsof children whowork and are very rarely aggressive ordemanding.Be and larger squares, butmostare inreal need bling andunder sporadic repair. Bulgariaaretowns throughout often crum- footpaths in them forpedestrians.Inevitably, regularlyCars parkonpavements, blocking ful when crossing roads,especiallyinSofia. at times,andpedestriansshould bevery care- them with you. car; alwayslockthemintheboot,ortake agency stickers. leave Never thingsinsidethe withforeignthose licenceplates and/orrental- targets forthieves are parked cars, especially busy markets Prime andoncrowdedbuses. belongings andwatch outforpickpockets in some countries,but obviously lookafter your precautions. safety keep alertandtakepurposeful, theusual sides of Bulgaria. You’llbefineifyoulook little ornotroubledealingwiththeseamier haveAmerica orAustralia,you’llcertainly in thebigcitiesof Western Europe,North ordered country.Ifyoucanhandleyourself Bulgaria isamodern,peacefulandwell- DANGERS &ANNOYANCES Bulgarian drivers canbeextremely reckless Theft isnotasmuch of aproblemasitisin Construction work along the Black Sea Construction work alongtheBlackSea Bulgaria isamajor producerof tobacco, Foreigners are upforminor sometimes set plytheirtradearoundsomechurches Beggars Bulgaria hasvery harsh drug laws,beinga IETR • Dnes&Anyne ••Dangers&Annoyances DIRECTORY and small expenses withouthaving toextract and smallexpenses notes inashirt pocket topayforbustickets one place;keep smallchange andafew bank- around theleg.Trynottokeep in everything concealed compartmentsandpouches worn money belt.Othermethodsincludebeltswith pinned underclothing. Alternatively, buya that hangsaroundyourneckorwaistis your clothes.It’seasytomake aclothpouch pockets, thebestplaceisoutof under sight To keep money,passportsetcsafe frompick- Security pharmacies and supermarkets. plug-in repellents cheaply canbebought at during thesummer , butsprays,creams and quiet nooksto be found. somewhere more toyourliking;there are still toscoutaroundfor completely, you’llneed sons. Fornow,ifyouwanttoavoid themess placeduringthepeaktouristsea- be taking to begin,butbylawconstructionshouldnot be finished andwhere newprojects are about It’s noteasytoknowwhencurrent workwill also undergoing major building development. parts of . Theskiresort of is some existingresorts such asSveti Vlasand of activity–andconcrete andcranesdominate Bryag)accountsforaround athird (Slânchev theareathough aroundSunnyBeach for many newpublicstructures, but thisis existing buildings andmake itcompulsory accessinsome plans toupgrade wheelchair EU guidelines,the Bulgariangovernment Sofia andother bigcities.Inaccordancewith other thaninahandfulof top-endhotels in are inawheelchair those few andfarbetween, problematic, andrampsspecial toilets for broken footpaths make mobility wheelchair tination for travellers.disabled and Uneven Unfortunately, Bulgariaisnotaneasydes- DISABLED TRAVELLERS from the originals. at homeandkeep anotherwith you,separate leave home. Leave onecopywithsomeone licence) shouldbephotocopiedbefore you surance policy,air/bus/traintickets, driving page page, andvisa credit cards,travel in- carry allyourbelongings at once. person andbaggage, especiallyifyoumust also helpifyoudistribute valuablesaboutyour wads of cashfromasecret hidingplace. Itmay All important documents (eg passport data documents(egpassportdata All important insomeareas canbeanirritant Mosquitoes lonelyplanet.com (in Bulgarianonly)of placesthatacceptthe -bg.org; ul Moskovska -bg.org; ulMoskovska 9, Sofia) Sofia) 37, Trakia ul ireland.bg; ul Bacho Kiro 26-28, ireland.bg; ulBachoKiro Sofia) embassy-sofia.org; ulSanStefano33; ul Frederic Joliot-Curie Joliot-Curie ul Frederic 25, Sofia) (www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree). branch ofDisabilities’ theThornTree forum your tripwiththehelpof the‘Travellers with .cil-bg.org) Independent LivinginSofia isthe is possiblyworthcontacting organisation involved localsthat withdisabled still alongwayfromfruition.OneBulgarian lonelyplanet.com Joliot-Curie 17, Joliot-Curie Sofia; Macedonia Ireland Sofia Greece Germany France Canada Australia EMBASSIES &CONSULATES as youhave the card). right always worthaskingattheentrance(aslong cardsdon’tadvertise thefact,soit’sthese able onthewebsite www.istc.org. general informationabout thiscardisavail- professor, alsooffers similardiscounts.More (ITIC), identifyingtheholderasateacher or website www.isic.org. cardsisavailable onthe mation aboutthese card aroundthecountry.More general infor- .usitcolours.bg inBulgarian) the of frombranches maybepurchased year). Cards tickets (dependingontheagency andtimeof trainandbus and10%off domesticflights off also offer cardholders discountsof upto50% as atafew travel restaurants. Selected agencies clinics,aswell and somemedicaldental some major attractions, hotels andhostels discountsof obtain 10%to20%atmuseums, of age. InBulgaria,holders of eithercardcan isavailable toanyoneunder26years(IYTC) age, andthe International YouthTravel Card (ISIC) isavailable tofull-timestudentsof any The International StudentIdentificationCard DISCOUNT CARDS .org; ul Oborishte 27-29, .org; ulOborishte Sofia) Many placesinBulgariathatshouldaccept An International Teacher IdentityCard

(Map p88; (Map (Map (Map p84 ; Plovdiv Mp p88; (Map Mp p88; (Map Usit Colours youth travel agency Usit Coloursyouthtravel (Map p84 ; . Youcanalsoget adviceandplan Mp p84; (Map (Map (Map p84 ; (Map p140 ; % % 02-946 1027;http://info.greek % % DIRECTORY ••DiscountCards DIRECTORY % h % 02-965 1100;www.ambafrance-bg 02-980 3425;info@embassyof % 02-969 9710;consular@canada 02-918 380; www.sofia.diplo.de; 02-918 380;www.sofia.diplo.de; 10am-1pm Mon-Fri) 02-946 1334;www.ausemb.gr; % , which should have lists 02-870 5098; ul Frederic 02-870 5098;ulFrederic 032-632 003; ul Preslav 10); 032-632 003;ulPreslav 10);

( % h 02-983 3117;www 9am-noon Mon-Fri) Center for Center

(www Kozyak 16, Sofia) [email protected]; bulVasil [email protected]; 80) Levski ul Veliko Târnovo 3, Sofia) ul Moskovska ul Moskovska 9, Sofia) on allaspects of gay(male) life inBulgaria, prehensive sourceof information, inEnglish, in ‘Gay Week’ 2007. September competition, whileVarnaBalkans’ celebrated In 2006,Sofia hosted thefirst ‘MrGay ever bians. Attitudesare slowlychanging, however. there are novenues specificallyaimedatles- mostattract a mixedies, although crowdand found inSofia andacoupleof othermajor cit- hotel rooms.Afew gayclubsand bars canbe of andbediscreet affection when bookinginto couplesshouldrefrainsex fromovert displays society.Same- remaindoes avery conservative EuropeancountriesinrecentEastern years, it insomeotheraggressive homophobiaseen Bulgariahasnotexperiencedthe als. Although of is16, consent asforheterosexu- the same islegalinBulgaria,andtheageHomosexuality GAY &LESBIANTRAVELLERS local cuisineandbeverages, see p55 . around 2lvto3lv. Formore information on and quickeats,which are thecheapest of allat you’re unlikely tospendmore than3lvto4lv; range fromaround5lvto15lv;cafés,where eating optionsintorestaurants, where prices ing well.Inthisbookwe’ve simplydivided budgeton atight you’llhave noproblemeat- least forWestern travellers, ifyou’re andeven outinBulgariaisremarkablyEating cheap, at FOOD 1,Brussels) Meeûs 2 5121040;[email protected];7thfl,Square de totheEU Mission New Zealand in emergencies, the citizensshouldcontact embassyinBulgaria; There isnoNewZealand USA UK Turkey Serbia Romania Netherlands Wed & Thu) .bg; bulSitnyakovo4,Sofia; donski 10); donski % bse.bg; bulDemokratsiya38); www.netherlandsembassy.bg; ul Oborishte www.netherlandsembassy.bg; ulOborishte 15, Sofia) The website www.gayguidebg.com isacom- Mp p88; (Map 032-239 010;[email protected]; Filip Make- Mp p84; (Map Mp p84; (Map (Map p84 ; Sofia % (Map (Map p88 ; (Map (Map p216 ; % Mp p88; (Map . % 02-933 9222; www.british-embassy.bg; 02-933 9222;www.british-embassy.bg; 02-937 5100;www.usembassy.bg;ul % 02-946 1633; www.emb-serbia.com; 02-946 1633;www.emb-serbia.com; 02-973 3081;ambsofro@vip % % % h Plovdiv 02-816 0300; 02-935 5500,9802270; 056-844 2718;tcburkon@ 3-5pm Tue, 10am-noon (Map (Map p140 ; in Belgium in Belgium ( %

32 DIRECTORY DIRECTORY DIRECTORY gay-friendly bars andnightclubs in Sofia. ues in Europe. Lesbians shouldues inEurope. lookoutfor Lesbians national directory of gayentertainment ven- Bruno Gmünderisthebestmale-onlyinter- Bulgarian Bulgarian Culture. ous activities’, which canincludescuba diving, policies available, socheck the small print. options.Thereexpense isa wide varietyof policies offer medical- lowerandhigher idea.and medicalproblems Some isasensible A travel insurance policytocover theft,loss INSURANCE Christmas Day National Revival IndependenceDay Bulgarian Unification Day AlphabetDay Cyrillic Day St George’s Easter Liberation Day New Year’s Day continue to operate normally. bordercrossingsandpublictransport stations; asdomostshopsandpetrol normal dayoff), open(unlesstheholidaycoincideswitha stay andmuseums bars, nationalparks/reserves Allhotels, restaurants, willbeclosed. nesses andmajor banks,postoffices offices, busi- During official public holidays allgovernment HOLIDAYS .lonelyplanet.com/thorntree). branch of theThornTree forum(www check Travellers’ outthe‘Gay&Lesbian For thelatest onthegaysceneinBulgaria, Damron’s Women’sTraveller .org) Gemini Organization The major gayassociation isthe find someinformationatwww.bg-lesbian.com. Gaywomencan clubs andotherbusinesses. ofincluding details gay-friendly bars, night- Bulgarian National Revival ofthe19th NationalRevival Bulgarian century. known as National Day. theRusso-Turkishpendence after War(1877–78);also often alsocloseonNewYear’soften Eve. Celebrates officialindependencefromTurkey in 1908. on 26December instead. celebrated Daywas outlawed,soitwasoften era, Christmas reunification of Bulgaria reunification ofBulgaria in 1885. livestock breeding cycle. Catholic/Protestant Easter. The Some policies specificallyexclude ‘danger- The official public The official holidays are: . Contact thegroupabout current. Contact gayand IETR • Hldy ••Holidays DIRECTORY (March/April) Orthodox Easter falls one week after Easterfallsoneweekafter Orthodox (March/April) Spartacus InternationalSpartacus GayGuide (25 and 26 December) During thecommunist (25and26December)During (3 March) Celebrates Bulgaria’s inde- Celebrates Bulgaria’s (3March) (1January)Banksandotheroffices (6 September) Celebratesthefinal (6September) (6 May) Celebrates the start ofthe Celebratesthestart (6May)

(24 May) AlsoknownasDayof (24May) ( (1November)Celebratesthe % 02-987 6872;www.bgogemini (22 September) (22September) byBobDamron. Bulgarian Gay Gay Bulgarian by endlessly playviolentanddeafening compu- cramped, smokybunkers where teenage boys latter placesare these ‘games’, because usually English) ratherthananywh places withtheword‘café’or‘centre’ (often in 10am and9pm,sometimeslater. Lookfor centres are about usuallyopendailybetween and 3lvperhourismore common.Internet 1lv between little as0.80lvperhour,although fierce andaccessisremarkably cheap, fromas viders thecountry,competitionis throughout pro- centre. Withabout150internet service thesmallesttownhasatleastone even internet Bulgaria isnowwellandtruly‘connected’, and INTERNET ACCESS For carinsurance, see p302 . www.lonelyplanet.com/bookings/insurance. well asanemergency flight home. your problem can be made. country where of animmediate assessment (via reverse charges) toacentre inyourhome Somepoliciesaskyoutocallback mentation. to claimlater, make sure youkeep alldocu- pay onthespotandclaimlater. Ifyouhave directlyor hospitals ratherthanyouhaving to policies. some acquired motorcyclelicenceisnotvalidunder trekking.motorcycling andeven Alocally about corruption withinsome government of ethics,butresidents docomplainbitterly policehave code traffic toabide byacertain ofping off foreign travellers are longgone; of therest of Europe. Thedaysof rip- blatant or less legalsystem asmost follows thesame Bulgaria isamemberstate of theEUandmore LEGAL MATTERS your laptop,butdon’tcount on it. internet centres mayallowyoutohookup socket, Some butthisisbynomeanscertain. you maybeable toplugintotheregular phone nections forlaptopsintheroom;elsewhere Varna andPlovdiv will provide modemcon- tend tobe painfully slow. pecially awayfromthebigcities,connections ally pretty inolderplaces,es- good.However, modern, privately runinternet cafésare usu- connections,whilethemoreable andspeedy Company (BTC) centres offer the mostreli- ter games. Bulgarian Telecommunications To buyaninsurancepolicyonline,visit Check thatthepolicycovers ambulancesas You mayprefer apolicythatpaysdoctors For internet resources, see p20 . Most top-endhotels incitiessuch asSofia, ere withtheword lonelyplanet.com MAPS yourembassy contact (see p287 ). troublewiththepolice,it’sbestto into serious departments, especiallycustoms.Ifyoudoget lonelyplanet.com Br Agency. Bars Wine Map Bulgaria, published byKartografia inCyrillic, and find, include maps,which areuseful notalways easyto centres are and yourbestbet.Otherdetailed local travel agencies ortourist information 20-V) bulStamboliyski .zigzagbg.com; is map. InSofia, thebestplacetofindthese adetailed ous hiking,youwilldefinitely need for hiking.Ifyouare goingtodosomeseri- coastand maps forareas alongtheBlackSea maps in English. an excellentcountrymapaswellsomecity which produces map publisherisDatamap, and placesintheregion. Anotherrespected Bulgarian andEnglish andincludeothertowns maps withstreet signs),provide keys in in Cyrillic(which canbehandyforlinking Varna andVidin.Mostmapsliststreet names Sandanski,Smolyan,Sofia, Zagora, Ruse, Stara Melnik, Veliko Târnovo, Plovdiv, , , , Kazanlâk, , red cover) of Burgas, Bansko, , is Domino. Itoffers maps(usuallywith a attractions. Undoubtedly, thebestpublisher in Bulgariaformostcities,townsandmajor maps(oftendetailed inCyrillic) are available be more formostvisitors, but thansufficient Bulgaria. over cover. mapsare These readily available all (1:760,000), publishedinCyrillic,hasared city mapsontheotherside. Asmallerversion cover). andhasseveral It’scolourful,detailed (withablue lished inEnglishbyDatamap betterSlightly is in EnglishbyKartografia (withared cover). the driving aroundBulgaria. Oneof thebestis probably beavailable inyour home country. Bartholomew’s The Geocenter’s of overview come. theregion, Fora useful buy wanttobuyoneortwobeforeyou might you Good maps are easytofindinBulgaria,but Zig ZagHolidays Also available inBulgariaisarange of other Proper roadmapsare ifyou’re essential The mapsinthisguidebookwillprobably Bulgaria RoadMapBulgaria Baedeker Bulgaria Eastern Europe The Monasteries inBulgaria, Bulgaria DIRECTORY ••Maps DIRECTORY

Bulgaria Mp p88; (Map published inEnglish by (1:500,000),published (1:750,000)mapand (1:750,000)mapwill % (1:530,000),pub- , whileelsewhere, (1:2,000,000)map. 02-980 5102;www

5, 10,20 and 50stotinki 1lev. Prices for of Coinscome in1,2, 2,5, 10,20and50leva. Bulgarian banknotes come indenominations Cash short-changedfeit leva, or robbed. there’s chance ahigh you’llbegiven counter- asked tochange money,butthisisillegaland approached (especiallyinSofia orVarna) and ket exists inBulgaria. Foreigners maystillbe With the currency noblack mar- stabilisation, Black Market Bulgarian banksisusually 200 lv. count; themaximumallowedper will allowandonhowmuch isinyourac- withdraw dependsonhowmuch yourbank amountyoucan can beabout2%).Thetotal out intheirfavour) andcommissions(which change rates (which, of usuallywork course, leave homecheck withyour bankaboutex- two orthree different cards.Also, before you bring is issued outsideEurope).Otherwise, swallows yourcard(more likely ifthecard anATMcards asabackupforcashincase creditable townsandcities.It’sbesttouse andcannowbefoundinallsiz- mon sight American Express) are anincreasingly com- Cirrus, Maestro, MasterCard JCB, Visa, and ATMs thatacceptmajor credit cards(ie ATMs as such in this book. inBulgariaaretransactions inleva work outtheprecise exchange rate. Allother someplacesmay price (eg€10=20lv),though leva normallythe by individualestablishments; given inthisbookare inthecurrency stated Theratespayments shouldbemadeinleva. private roomsmayquote theirrates ineuros, currency.) Whilesomebudget hotels and diate plans toadopttheEuroasitsnational too.possible inleva (Bulgariahasnoimme- paymentis ineuros,although quoted bystaff and top-endhotels, pricesare almostalways tours,ised airfares, carrental andmidrange research. Formajor such purchases asorgan- rates of major several currencies atthetimeof insidethefrontcoversee fortheconversion abbreviated tolv. Thelev ofcomprised 100stotinki.Itisalmostalways The local currency (plural:leva), isthelev MONEY See See p17 formore information.

price willsimplybetwicethegiven euro

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and listed DIRECTORY DIRECTORY DIRECTORY your passport; themoney can becollected in the exactamount andreference numberand day). Youshould have full name, thesender’s (funds are sometimesavailable inlessthanone andfasterfairly straightforward thanabank Express, MoneyGramorWestern Unionis Having moneywired American through but theycanbequite abank. slowthrough Telegraphic transfers are notthatexpensive International Transfers bank. your advances dependsonwhatisdetermined by The maximumwithdrawalallowedforcash charged fees andcommissions byyourbank. usually about 4%andyou’llprobably also be fered by foreign exchange Thefee offices. is isalsosometimesof- counter; thisservice will provide cashadvancesinleva card), somelarger branches of major banks itswallowsyourabout usingone(incase charge a toyourbillifyouuse credit card. more expensive hotels, willadda5%sur- purchases only.Someplaces,particularlythe ittoget cashfrombanksandformajoruse on usingacredit cardexclusively inBulgaria; ofacceptance credit cards. Youcannotrely rarely anywhere –despite signs indicating else hotels, carrental firmsandtravel agencies, but market restaurants, souvenir shops, top-end gaining groundandcanoften atup- beused American Express, andMasterCard Visa are banknotes for a200lvhotel bill.However, mealbuthavetaurant tohandover awadof yourcardfora20lvres-may beable touse you isdecidedlyuneven: their acceptance able inBulgariaasWestern Europe,and Credit cardsare stillnotascommon orreli- Credit Cards (in anycurrency) without restrictions. Foreigners mayexportandimportupto8000lv given toyouareleva nottornormarked. of yourcash.Similarly,make sure thatany youwillreceiveleva before handingover any make absolutely sure of theprecise sum in (without beingtoldsoinadvance).Always refused begiven oryoumayeven alowerrate marked theymaybe orgrubby,otherwise the foreign banknotes youhave are nottorn, be listed as‘0.50lv’ratherthan ‘50 stotinki’. fraction of egonabusticket alev, thefare will smaller items are ora alwaysquoted inleva When changing money,make sure that If noATM isavailable, oryou’re worried IETR • Mny ••Money DIRECTORY

over the larger banksfoundincitiesandmajor towns; day. every tre of citiesandlarger townsare often open Monday toSaturday,butoffices inthecen- about9amand6pm,mally openbetween are offices notice boardsoutside. These nor- are alwaysdisplayedprominently,often on most alwayswritten inEnglish. Current rates recognised bythehuge ‘exchange’ signs,al- most major international currencies. such asSofia, Plovdiv orVarna thatwillaccept should beable tofindsomewhere inacity dollars, butyou as AustralianorCanadian trouble changing lessfamiliarcurrencies, such pounds sterling andUSdollars. Youmayhave cash. your that youwillbeoffered before handingover side –soalwayscheck thefinalamount signs tothecontraryonnoticeboardsout- commission orfees, butsomedo–despite at major attractions. Mostdon’tcharge exchange cityandtown inevery offices be changed atanyof theplethoraof foreign The currencies listed insidethefrontcover can Moneychangers top-end hotels list pre-VAT prices. charges of addservice 10%,andsome taurants in allpriceslisted inthisguidebook. Someres- in allpricesquoted inBulgaria, andisincluded The value-added (VAT)tax of 20%isincluded Taxes rency inotherEastern European countries. tryingtochange forlocalcur-difficulties leva somereaderscies. However, have reported sterling, dollars orothermajor foreign curren- be noproblems backinto changing excessleva can be long. 4pm fromMondaytoFriday,andqueues are thatthey’re 9amand onlyopenbetween withbankssion. Theotherdisadvantages butmanybankschargeoffices, commis- rates thanforeign higher slightly exchange tronic boardsinbankwindowsmayoffer The exchangeBank. rates listed ontheelec- andBiochim Commercial Bank Raffeisen Unicredit Bulbank,BulgarianPostBank, includetheUnited BulgarianBank,these can range from5% to 15%. paysthefee, which Thesender euros orleva. The lev isfreely convertible,The lev sothere should It’s alsoeasytochange cash atmostof the The bestcurrencies totake are euros, Foreign exchange cangenerally offices be lonelyplanet.com already added, although this doesn’t always stop alwaysstop already thisdoesn’t added, although charge is some restaurants an8%to10%service drivers.difference; appliestotaxi thesame In the nearest convenient figure andpocket the Waiters normallyroundrestaurant billsupto Tipping &Bargaining lonelyplanet.com of prices, arollof standard 24-or36-print near touristsites isoverpriced. As anexample have forsale andeverything awider selection, obviously, shopsin thelarger citiesandtowns and equipmentare available everywhere but, camera.digital Photographic andvideofilm or acoupleof memorycardsifyou’re usinga so bring (or buyalongtheway) plenty of film Bulgaria isanextremely photogenic country, Film &Equipment PHOTOGRAPHY &VIDEO tively large commissions involved. ofEurocheques, because however, therela- and merchants inBulgariarefuse toaccept perhaps apassportorIDcard.Many hotels your signature andregistration number,and asked toshow yourEurocheque cardbearing limit.Whencashingthem,you’llbe certain account holders, are guaranteed uptoa Eurocheques, available toEuropeanbank way of cash. carryingmoneyorobtaining dollars intocashforafee of about 2% to 3%. in Sofia, willchange travellers cheques inUS larger banks,such astheUnicredit Bulbank around forthebestexchange rates. Some tochangeneed travellers cheques, alwayslook with commissionrates of 3%to5%,soifyou only AmericanExpress andThomasCook, cheques, thatdosometimesaccept andthose offices andbankswillchange travellers The downsideisthatnotallforeign exchange but theyare asafe wayof carryingmoney. ible ascash,norconvenient ascredit cards, Travellers cheques are notaseasilyconvert- Travellers Cheques ally inflate prices for foreigners. drivers andlandlordsof private roomshabitu- resortsexception isattheseaside where taxi to give atiptothewaiter by hand. you’re sitting outside):it’ssociallyunacceptable sure nobeggars orstreet kidsare if withinsight 10%. Alwaysleave (butmake thetipontable isgood,addabout added,andtheservice been hovering foranextratip.Ifit’snot expectantly the waiters fromroundingupthebillagain,or Guaranteed personalGuaranteed cheques are another Haggling isnotcustomaryinBulgaria. An DIRECTORY ••Photography&Video DIRECTORY such as woodcarving andweaving, such aswoodcarving see p53 . more informationabout Bulgarianhandicrafts andoverpriced. coast)istacky For Black Sea popular touristspots (such asresorts alongthe atbut –notsurprisingly –mostof thestuff It’s easytospend lotsof moneyonsouvenirs SHOPPING at thepostoffice for information). be taken (ask toaspecialcustomspostoffice office. Anythingheavier than2kgmust often ally have totake itunwrappedtoamainpost rest of the world. 1 lvtoelsewhere inEuropeand1.40lvtothe Postcards andletters upto20gcost weighing within Bulgaria,whilealetter costs0.55lv. The costof apostcardis0.35lv standard sending POST before photos close-up taking of people. comes tothisissue. It’sbesttoaskpermission whenit commonsense tobe,butuse used less paranoidaboutphotographythanthey are daysofficials These is notadvisable. much campsandbordercrossings, such asmilitary beconsideredmight of strategic importance, Taking pictures of anythinginBulgariathat Restrictions by Lonely Planet. should pickup CD-ROM. the computers, meaningthatit’sbacktoplanA– cafés don’tletyouplugyourgear intotheir but bewarnedthatmanyof thebigger chain Some placesprovide aUSB cableonrequest, aUSByou’ll need cableandacardreader. cafés inthebigcitiesnowoffer this service. labs andsomeof themore moderninternet CD-ROM. Increasing numbers of processing your bestbetistoburnphotosontoa to 30lv. Ifyoudorunoutof memoryspace 20lv vary. A128MBcardwillcostroughly memory cardsare widelyavailable andprices Digital 128MB cardswillprobably beenough. memorytostoreit hasenough yoursnaps;two easy tofind,sobring your own. Slidefilmisnot larger printsorfaster service. costs are about0.50lvperprint,more for Plovdiv costsabout5lvto8lv. Developing film fromaphotographicshop inSofia or To send aparcelfromBulgaria,youusu- To send great about taking Anyone serious snaps To downloadyourpicsataninternet café If you’re camera,check usingadigital that Travel Photography,

published DIRECTORY DIRECTORY DIRECTORY and jewellery is in Sofia. other souvenirs such asbooks,CDs,textiles don’t expectanybargains. Thebestrange of old townsinVeliko Târnovo andPlovdiv, but Sofia andelsewhere. Forantiques,head tothe thingsupin youcanalsopick these though perfume, shampoo,liqueur,tea bagsandjam, KazanlâkRoses, oil, istheplacetobuy rose and textiles. woodwork, metalwork traditional handmadecraftssuch aspottery, ( p187 ) nearGabrovo placetofind isa fantastic work. TheEtârEthnographicVillage Museum andmetal- ceramics, weaving, woodcarving place tospendupbigonembroidery,pottery, Complex ( p191 ) inOreshak isamarvellous National Fair of andExhibition Arts&Crafts Chiprovtsifrom Koprivshtitsa, andKotel. The ings fromTryavna; orcarpets,rugsandbags Varna, Sofia Nesebâr, andPlovdiv; woodcarv- of traditionalvillage life orlandscapesfrom Varnaderies fromNesebâr, andSofia; paintings Other worthwhilekeepsakes includeembroi- in markets ratherthanpriciersouvenir shops. notjustastouristtrinkets, use, sotrylooking Most of items are these stillmadeforeveryday bowls, amongotherthings,are widelyavailable. Plates, bowls,cups,winegoblets andsugar with thetraditional pieces of Troyanskakapkapottery, decorated mentos of yourtriptoBulgaria mayinclude Some of themore attractive, me- andusable, As theregional centre fortheValley of Bulgarian wine–trythe‘national’red-grape variety,Rubin. a patterned your stay;thoughoften expensive, andtime. theydoinvolve Howabout ahugeamountofskill evocative remindermementos foryoutopickup.Hand-painted aparticularly iconsmake of amateur daubsoftwee,timber-framed housesjustwon’tdo,there are plenty ofmore tasteful fora If you’re looking souvenir boxes ofyourtimeamongtheBulgarsandgarishtrinket and UNUSUAL SOUVENIRS Sol (Balkan Mixed Salt), rose-petal jam,herbaltea bagsand,ofcourse,agoodbottle Mixed Salt),rose-petal Sol (Balkan ful andcosymementos. straight fromtheblacksmithatEtâr( p187 ). Hand-knitted use- woollensocksfromBanskomake fruit trees atthefirstsignsofspring,usuallysightingstorksormigratingswallows. wrist (traditionally,menwearthemtiedroundtheirleftankleorinsideshoe)andto sels, often intheformofamanandwoman,are wornbywomenandchildren onthebreast or decorative conversation piece! thepotent nationalspirit, anddrinking made specificallyforserving pottery iscommon,butoneofthemore isajugandsetofshallowcups unusualproducts kapka and, again,involve agreat even monthstocomplete. dealofwork: smallrugscantake Troyanska IETR • Sl rvles ••SoloTravellers DIRECTORY Foodstuffs worth bringing back include the widely used local seasoning Balkanska Sharena bringing Foodstuffs backincludethewidelyusedlocalseasoningBalkanska worth Folding horn-handledknives, traditionallyusedbyshepherds,are alsogoodbuys;getthem If you’re here inMarch,seeifyoucanfind a cherga ? These traditional, hand-woven rugs make a colourful additiontoany room? These traditional,hand-woven acolourful rugsmake kapka (droplet)design. martenitza. and fake perfumessoldatstreet in stalls watchesin Bulgaria,rangingfromknock-off particularly extensive inSofia and Plovdiv. thecountry,butrangeable throughout is only about13lv. andCDsare Cassettes avail- sive, butCDsof Bulgarianmusicoften cost made outsideBulgariaandtend tobeexpen- likely tooffer it’s single prices,although Private roomsandbudget hotels are more forone’. when youaskfora‘table taurants ofdisappointment waiters inswankierres- ble roominhotels, orfacing theobvious annoyance of often having topayfora dou- lems inBulgaria,otherthanthe perennial Solo travellers shouldfacenospecificprob- are notthe real thing. ‘ancientcoins’andNaziknick-knacks those know whatyou’re buying;mostof thetime, andmake sure yourcommonsense use you street insuch stalls placesasSofia. As always, too, whendealingwith‘antiques’,especiallyat careful,and maybedesignedtodeceive. Be ingly, whilesomeitems canbequite expensive of thisispretty obviousandpricedaccord- inmarketson sale allover thecountry.Most to fake designerclothesandpirated software Bryag) (Slânchev Pyasâtsi) andSunnyBeach places such GoldenSands(Zlatni asNesebâr, SL TRAVELLERS SOLO Compact discsof foreign musicare usually Note thatcounterfeit goodsare common These littlered-and-white woollentas- rakia – it’ssure a tomake lonelyplanet.com rakia or resorts, where foreigners are more of anovelty, attention, especially outsidethebigcitiesand women travelling alonemayattractunwelcome especially on weekends. worthaskingfor discounts elsewhere, always lonelyplanet.com any numbers listed inthisguidebook do digits tothebeginning of thenumber. If bers willchange, often with theadditionof rural areas are beingupgraded,some num- first zero)andthen the number. code forBulgaria),thearea code(minusthe country tocountry),add359(the country ternational accesscode(which variesfrom fax andinternet facilities as well. the telephone. BTC centres willnormallyhave the amountdisplayedoncounter above callthenumberandpay which boothtouse), abooth(ortakechoose atoken indicating callataBTCor long-distance centre issimple: 24 hours adayinlarger towns.Making alocal open fromatleast8amto6pmdaily,andoften the mainpostoffice. BTC centres are normally (BTC) centre, normallyinsideorvery nearto a BulgarianTelecommunications Company atkiosksandin be bought some shops. system, ranging inpricefrom5lvto25lv,can have foreach instructionsinEnglish). Cards and MasterCard calls(and forlong-distance and someMobika booths alsoacceptVisa booths. Nearlyallnowonlytake phonecards, more up-to-date Mobika, which hasblue Bulfon, withitsorange booths, andtheslightly ephone centres, private homes and hotels. in theworld,viapublictelephone booths, tel- From Bulgariait’seasyto telephone anywhere TELEPHONE Bulgarian willhelpbreak the ice, too. afewon theirhomepatch. wordsof Learning are great waystoget someof tomeet thelocals orsharing inbusyrestaurantshouses tables low travellers, whilerenting roomsinprivate are like-minded thebestplacestomeet fel- numberssight, are increasing. Hostels inSofia than businesstravellers) aren’t thatcommona big citiessuch asSofia and Varna. prostitutes, someof whomcanbeaggressive in Single menmaybeapproached bypimpsand and inbars andclubsanywhere (see p295 ). Macho culture prevails in Bulgaria, so As thetelecommunications systems in Every thecountryhas bigtownthroughout The twopublictelephone soloindependenttravellersAlthough (other To ringBulgariafromabroad, dialthein- DIRECTORY ••Telephone DIRECTORY

operators are country, but contact yourownmobile phone country, butcontact them for used toiletpaper (throwingpaper them for used fashioned toiletsthathave small binsbeside private homesyoumaystill comeacrossold- anywhere Inthemore else. basichotels and arepaper andsoap,but these rarely offered European variety.Allhotels provide toilet almost alltoiletsinBulgariaare of thesit-down style squat toilets neartheTurkish border, With theexceptionof afew MiddleEastern– TOILETS forbusand lised train timetables. Bulgaria,andalwaysuti- throughout used countries. The24-hourclockiscommonly saving (wheredaylight applicable) inthese intoaccountand 8pminSydney,nottaking New York,10aminLondon,11amParis in Sofia, it’s2aminLosAngeles, 5amin Greece andTurkey. Therefore, ifit’snoon Macedonia, timeasRomania, andthesame are notimezoneswithin the country. March andthelastSundayinOctober. There thelastSundayinward byonehourbetween saving, whenclocksaredaylight putfor- GMT/UTC plus twohours, except during EuropeanTime,Bulgaria isonEastern ie TIME own phone in Bulgaria. yourcompany about whether youcanuse Vivatel Globul providers – Bulgaria hasthree mobileservice indicated bytheabbreviations ‘GSM’ or‘mob’. different codes(eg087,088or089)andare the country.Mobiletelephone numbers have and are commonpretty much everywhere in Mobile (cell) phones have taken inBulgaria off Mobile Phones National operator –residential inquiries National directory –businesses inquiries National directory operator International inquiries directory International English. speak a goodchance oneof theoperators will free anywhere withinBulgariaandthere’s here. numbers canbedialledtoll- These or ringoneof theinquirynumbers listed (mostly written inBulgarianandEnglish) not work,check thetelephone directory Bulgaria is one hour behind Serbia andBulgaria isonehourbehind Serbia

(www.vivatel.bg) (www.globul.bg) ( % –whocover mostof the , 121) ( % M-Tel 0123)

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144) 145) DIRECTORY DIRECTORY DIRECTORY to foreign travellers. Sofia) % vate travel agencies is offices. tourist are travelThese essentially agencies and Tours, Airtours Holidays. Balkan and ambiguous,names, such as Balkan slightly now operate undermyriaddifferent, though private agencies Thesubsequent privatised. splitupand hasbeen nopoly, Balkantourist, guidebook. this tovisitorsuse are mentionedthroughout ing freemaps.TICsof adviceanduseful than independenttouristoffices dispens- associations of travel agencies, rather areTICs, however, often littlemore than (TICs)around thecountry.TheseCentres of autonomouslocalTouristInformation ism, thegovernment hasopenedanumber centres. toboostregional Inaneffort tour- and Plovdiv alsohave new,helpfultourist brochures andmaps,whileBurgas, Varna new touristoffice offering free information, .org; ulSvetaSofia; Centre ies. InSofia, the haveoffices begunappearinginthebigcit- lower profile than it deserves. Ministry of EconomyandEnergy andgets a Tourism. Tourismistheresponsibility of the havestill doesn’t adedicated Ministryof travel agencies andtouristoperators, Bulgaria a pleasfrom tourist destination,andconstant ism, theincreasing popularityof Bulgariaas Despite thelarge revenue generated bytour- TOURIST INFORMATION and theBlack resorts. Sea are available forabout 0.40lvincentralSofia cilities. More privately runtoilets acceptable, toilet paperandoften fa- these aqueuetouse as McDonald’salwayshave cleantoiletswith Western fast-foodtaurant. such franchises classybar,shoppingmallorres-museum, So ifyoucan’tget backtoyourhotel, visita visit (more forafew squares of toilet paper). ble andyou’llbecharged atleast0.30 lvper isgenerallytrain andbusstations, abomina- horrorsnately these are now becoming rare. down thetoiletmayblockpipes),butfortu- Recently, however, touristinformationRecently, however, ofThe standard publictoilets,especiallyat One of the more of useful thenewpri- The formergovernment-run tourismmo- 02-980 5102; www.zigzagbg.com; bul Stamboliyski 20-V, 20-V, bulStamboliyski 02-980 5102;www.zigzagbg.com; , which canoffer plenty of information IETR • TuitIfrain Information ••Tourist DIRECTORY

Mp p88; (Map h % National Tourist Information National Tourist 9am-5pm Mon-Fri) 987 9778;www.bulgariatravel Zig ZagHolidays isabrand- Mp p88; (Map

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has apresence inBulgariaandcandirect you 3764; bul Maria Luisa 48; 3764; bulMaria Tourism VOLUNTEERING citizens, maywellchange over coming years. three months. Thesituation,especiallyforEU envisage beinginthecountryformore than country foradvicebefore youtravel ifyou theBulgarianEmbassyinyourown contact thing butBulgarian.It’sprobably farbetter to nightmare, andnobody here willspeakany- likely tobeatime-consuming,bureaucratic mit atthe day limithave toapplyforaresidence per- extend theirvisittoBulgariabeyondthe90- At thetimeof writing,visitors wishing to Visa Extensions at not beobtained border crossings. (see p287 ) before theirdeparture. can- Visas their nearest Bulgarianembassyorconsulate should check thecurrent requirements with for upto90days.Citizensof othercountries inBulgariavisa-freeand theUSAcanstay Israel,Japan, Australia, Canada, NewZealand Citizens of otherEUmemberstates and VISAS tourism across the country. promotes alternative sustainable as ZigZag, 20-V,Sofia) bul Stamboliyski Village Village them forexactdatesContact and details. or doingsmaller, casualjobs forfree meals. ing 35hours forboardandlodging, a week volunteers, WWOOF)work- either(through tive’ campsite andorganic farmthatwelcomes innorthernBulgaria. It’san‘alterna-Voditsa .biz) for endangered birds. vultures intothewildandbuildingnestingsites cent projects includinghelpingtoreintroduce various workingholidaysinBulgaria,withre- Volunteers Conservation teers around thecountry.The to current projects andopeningsforvolun- Farms call should be inBulgaria.volunteering Yourfirst portof then there are anumberof opportunitiesfor day andyou don’t mindabitof hardwork, If you’re lookingforamore holi- satisfying St JamesPark The Also worth checking outis the is aBritish-runventure inthevillage of ( WWOOF; www.wwoofbulgaria.org (www.greenschool.cult.bg)

Bulgarian Association for Alternative forAlternative Association Bulgarian Mp p88; (Map Immigration Office World Wide Opportunities on Organic onOrganic World WideOpportunities

( % % h 02-980 7685;www.baatbg.org; 0884595174; www.stjamespark , in the same building , inthesame

9am-5pm Mon-Fri) (www.btcv.org)

inthe eastern Mp p88; (Map lonelyplanet.com ), which now ), which now British Trust for Trustfor British organises Greenschool Greenschool % . Thisis 02-982 wedding ring might wedding ringmight help, too. ried’) gives apretty firmmessage; wearinga that thiscentre willalsoreinvigorate thelocal such aspottery andcarpentry.Itishoped the chance tolearntraditionalskillsandcrafts andprovidehouses, localyoungpeoplewith aims tore-create old-style village several ThiseducationalprojectRodopi mountains. lonelyplanet.com .com/thorntree). of theThornTree forum(www.lonelyplanet Bulgaria onthe‘WomenTravellers’ branch pharmacies across the country. pons are widely available insupermarkets and outside thebigcitiesor resorts.coastal modest apparel ifyou’re isadvisable travelling butmore ing miniskirtsandlow-cutblouses, Young womeninSofia are wear- comfortable compartmentratherthanacouchette.sleeper Forovernightat night. a trainjourneys, choose hiking, sharinghostel roomsandwalkingalone possibly dangerous situations,such ashitch- isthebestguidetodealingwith common sense attention, saying expect tobeleftalone. Ifyouattractunwanted unaccompaniedand go intoabarornightclub that womencan mean,however, That doesn’t beingmisconstrued.intentions necessarily communicate withlocalmenwithouttheir and advances, andwomencanusuallymeet pecially ifyou’re clearlynotinterested intheir part, sobermenare polite andrespectful, es- for particular difficulties women. Forthemost In general, travelling no aroundBulgariaposes WOMEN TRAVELLERS .com/volunteer. where intheworld,visitwww.lonelyplanet or long-term volunteer experienceany- tion toget youplanningyourperfect short community andthe local economy. Hear what female travellers are about saying For invaluable information andinspira- Feminine hygiene productssuch astam- Like Europe, mostdestinationsinEastern DIRECTORY ••WomenTravellers DIRECTORY Omâzhena sâm (‘Iammar- in Eastern Europe is anothergoodsource,as Educational VisitsandExchanges inLondon, Bureau for Jupp,publishedbytheCentral Ben by David Woodworth. The Directoryof SummerJobs Abroad, titles,including Work, hasmanyotheruseful wide range of issues. Itspublisher, Vacation provides Griffith practicaladviceona Susan the plethoraof required forms and fees. someexpatsforcurrentcontact adviceabout upabusinessinBulgaria, considering setting If youlandajob ment departmentsandpaythevariousfees. ing massof paperworkfromrelevant govern- thefrighten- through employer should plough newspaper. English-language the often Ahelpfulwebsite saturated. isrunby to make someextracash,butthemarket is Teachingbe disappointed. Englishisoneway ence, ratherthanthemoney,andyouwon’t likely tobevery low.Doitfortheexperi- If youdofindatemporary job, thepayis your localBulgarianembassyfordetails. contact aworkvisa; Bulgaria, youwillneed in the country. jobs are most often arranged before arriving employed bymultinationalcompanies.These foreigners workinginBulgariaare specialists arelong asmostof Bulgarian.Most thestaff keen forforeigners to as businesses establish entrepreneurs, andthegovernment though, is ers. There are rathermore opportunities for most obviousdestinationforforeign jobseek- wages inEurope,Bulgariaisn’tgoingtobethe mestic unemploymentandsomeof thelowest of levels other EUcountries,butwithhigh do- no longer anylabourrestrictions oncitizensof Since BulgariajoinedtheEUin2007,there are WORK Work YourWayAroundthe World If youarrange ajob before youarrive, your employmentinIf youintend toseek

Sofia Echo (www.sofiaecho.com) by Clarke Canfield. after youarrive, oryou’re Working Holidays © LonelyPlanetPublications , Now Hiring! Jobs Bulgaria’smain edited

by

by DIRECTORY DIRECTORY TRANSPORT See See p294 of fordetails stamps and visas. the lengthof timetheyare allowedtostay. passport-holders entering Bulgaria, otherthan There are norestrictions on anyforeign Passport Bulgaria andwhere you intend staying. tioned onwhatbusinessyouhave comingto friendly andsuspiciouslot;expectto beques- and customsofficials are generally anun- hold of acouple,just in case. formswhenyouleave,produce these butkeep leave. you’re However, unlikely tobeasked to whenyou formstoimmigrationofficials these a copy.Theoretically, youmustthenshow registration form(inCyrillic)andgive you fromyourpassport,filloutthe take details normally sometimes, private homes,staff At hotels, hostels, campinggroundsand, with thiscommunist-eraleftover anymore. hours of arrival,butnobody really bothers foreigners register withthepolicewithin48 fairly vaguebureaucratic requirement that thereborder formalities.Officially, isstilla other EUnations,atleast,willfaceminimal Now that Bulgaria isinsidetheEU,citizensof ENTERING THECOUNTRY CONTENTS Transport 296 © LonelyPlanetPublications GETTING THERE&AWAY Delays are commonatbordercrossings, oa rnpr 304 302 301 300 Train 305 Tours 304 Local Transport 303 Hitching Car &Motorcycle Bus 301 296 Bicycle 301 Air 301 Getting Around Tours 301 River &Sea Land 299 Entering theCountry etn hr wy 296 Getting There &Away Air 296 -airport.bg) www.britishairways.com) Hub:LondonHeathrow www.britishairways.com) airport. .com) Hub:Kiev airport. .cz) Hub:Prague airport. Hub: RomeFiumicino airport. france.com) Hub:Paris airport. some airlinesalsoflyto/from port with Hemus Air. blemished safety record. In2007itmerged istence since theendof 2002andhasanun- out of Sofia inex- airport.Ithasonlybeen is (airline codeFB; carrier national Bulgarian The Airports &Airlines easyJet easyJet Czech Airways British Austrian Alitalia Air Aerosvit Hub: Moscow airport. Aeroflot the following.Alloffices are in Sofia. Major airlinesflyingto/fromBulgariainclude AIRLINES FLYING TO/FROMBULGARIA package holidaymakers totheskiresorts. sional charter forexamplebringingsome flights, -airport.com) www.aua.com) Hub:Vienna airport. Gatwick Gatwick airport. AIR AIR

The maininternational airportis careful, up-to-date research. ers andare notasubstitute foryourown this chapter shouldberegarded aspoint- travel. Shopcarefully. The detailsgiven in security requirements forinternational you maybuy)worksandbeaware ofthe sure youunderstandhowafare (andticket with theairlineoratravel agenttomake larly vulnerabletochange. Checkdirectly The informationinthischapter isparticu- THINGS CHANGE… France

(

% Airlines (airlinecodeAZ; (airline code EZY; www.easyjet.com)Hub: London (airline codeEZY; (airlinecodeSU;

(airline codeAEW; Airlines and,insummer,to 02-937 2211;www.sofia-airport.bg) (airlinecodeAF; . Plovdiv byocca- airportisonlyused

% (airlinecodeOK; (airlinecodeBA; (airlinecodeOS; 02-937 3370;www.air.bg) % % % % 981 6702;www.alitalia.it) 943 4489;www.aeroflot.ru) 939 7010;www.air 980 7880;www.aerosvit % % % Burgas 981 5408;www.csa 954 7000; Varna 980 2323; , operating

(www.bourgas Bulgaria Air Bulgaria , though , though

(www.varna Sofia air-

www.olympicairlines.com) Hub:Athens airport. www.lufthansa.com) Hub: Frankfurt Hub:Frankfurt www.lufthansa.com) airport. www.lot.com) Hub:Warsaw airport. .com) Hub:Budapest airport. Hub:Ankara www.turkishairlines.com) airport. Malev-Hungarian Airlines Malev-Hungarian Lufthansa LOT lonelyplanet.com Flights.com Flights.com ebookers Cheap Flights Flights Bulgaria to manyotheronlinetravel agencies. Bucket Bargain look: a shops.Thefollowingwebsites areflight worth the growingnumberof dedicated internet the oneofairlines themselves, orthrough thewebsitesdeals online,eitherthrough of agent, you’re likely tofindsomeof thebetter attention and adviceyou’llget fromatravel they’rethough nosubstitute forthepersonal It paystoshoparoundforyour air tickets, and Tickets Wizz Air Airlines Turkish Olympic Airlines % European citiesto/fromSofia and Varna. prehensive dedicatedsite withcheapflightsfrommany staff andauthortravel. thecarbon offset schemerun bywww.climatecare.org.supports LonelyPlanetoffsets allofits schemes thatreduce globalwarming. of greenhouse gasestheyare responsible forwithfinancialcontributionstosustainabletravel Climatecare.org andotherwebsites use‘carboncalculators’thatallowtravellers tooffset thelevel Carbon Offset Schemes consumption over awholeyear. the USwillcontribute asmuch toclimate changeasanaverage household’sgasandelectricity mosphere. The statisticsare areturn frightening: flightbetweenEurope twopeopletaking and distances theyallowustotravel, butbecausetheyrelease greenhouse gaseshighintotheat- climate change)butplanesare farandawaytheworstoffenders, notjustbecauseofthesheer Pretty muchevery formofmotorisedtravel generates CO2(themaincause ofhuman-induced Flying &Climate Change efit, butbelieves weallhave aresponsibility onglobalwarming. tolimitourpersonalimpact fastest-growing contributorto theproblem.LonelyPlanet regards travel, overall, asaglobalben- Climate changeisaseriousthreat totheecosystems thathumansrely upon,andairtravel isthe CLIMATE CHANGE &TRAVEL

981 5091;www.malev.hu) Hub:Budapest airport. Polish For more information checkoutourwebsite: lonelyplanet.com. inthetravel industry,Lonely Planet,together withRoughGuidesandotherconcerned partners (airlinecodeWZZ; (www.ebookers.com)

Airlines Airlines (www.flights.com, www.tiss.com) (www.cheapflights.co.uk) (airlinecodeTK; (www.bulgariaflights.com) Com- (www.bulgariaflights.com) (www.bargain-bucket.com) Usefullinks (www.bargain-bucket.com) (airlinecodeOA; GETTING THERE&AWAY ••Air GETTING (airlinecodeLH; (airlinecodeLO; % (airlinecodeMA; 960 3888;www.wizzair % % % % 988 3596; 981 4545; 987 4562; 930 4242; alliances willoffer alimited period,usually to Bulgaria fromAustralia,soyou’llhave to There are noairlinesthatoffer direct flights ideas. some for thefollowingsections good deals;see are numerousonlineagencies thatoffer bytravelalso beassembled agents, andthere off atdestinationsof your choosing. one year,totravel aroundtheworld,stopping and arelook forthese may bevery goodvalue. Thebestplacesto of theworld,thenround-the-world tickets If you’re flyingtoBulgariafromtheotherside INTERCONTINENTAL (RTW)TICKETS plane. the (ISIC), whenbuyingyourticket andboarding or avalidInternational StudentIdentityCard show adocumentproving yourdate of birth, better dealsthanothertravellers. Youhave to (under 30insomecountries)have access to Full-time studentsandpeopleunder26years Travelocity Lonelyplanet.com travel partners. Book flightsandrailpassesthroughourrecommended Australia Tailor-made round-the-worldtickets can One World (www.travelocity.com)

(www.oneworld.com) (www.lonelyplanet.com/bookings) (www.lonelyplanet.com/bookings) Star Alliance (www.staralliance.com)

. These airline . These 297

TRANSPORT TRANSPORT TRANSPORT For online offers, visit www.opodo.de. branches inmajor citiesacrossthecountry. Sofia from Dortmund. and Munich. to WizzAirflies twiceweekly Airlinesfliesdaily fromFrankfurt Lufthansa anddailytoFrankfurt. from Sofia toBerlin country. BulgariaAirfliesfive timesaweek thanfromanyother EuropeanGermany There are more toBulgariafrom flights GERMANY www.opodo.fr. France. deals,trythewebsite Foronlineflight 82 3233;www.wasteels.fr) Sofia andParis daily. Bulgaria AirandFrancebothflybetween FRANCE Bulgaria AirfliesfromSofia to Istanbul. with pricesfromaround€200oneway,and toSofiaflights from AnkaraandIstanbul, Tirana. Also,Turkish Airlines hasregular to flight BulgariaAirhasoneweekly capital. Bulgaria Airfliesfive totheGreek timesaweek Airlines departsregularly fromAthensand (one-way/return around€165/260).Olympic toBucharestBulgaria Airhasfive aweek flights BALKANS Continental Europe www.travelocity.ca) Online, try agency inallmajor andhasoffices cities. cuts.com) CUTS Travel or Rome,andpickupaconnectionthere. London,Frankfurt toflyto,say, will need airportsandBulgaria;instead you Canadian Again, there are nodirect any between flights Canada options. round-the-world cellent sourcefordiscounted including flights, ( of Australia. offices throughout ( and onmanyuniversity campuses. cheap tickets, inallmajor andhasoffices cities to choose fly with. year you’re travelling andtheairlineyou vary considerably, depending onthetimeof such asLondon, MoscoworFrankfurt.Prices travel viaoneormore stopovers inEurope, 298 % % STA Travel STA Travel 13 3133;www.flightcentre.com.au) 1800 046462;www.studentflights.com.au) GETTING THERE&AWAY ••Air GETTING is Canada’s nationalstudent travel isCanada’s

( ( ( % % % Travelocity . 134 782;www.statravel.com.au) toll-free 1-8662469762; www.travel 069-743 03292;www.statravel.de) has65branches across Voyages Wasteels

( % toll-free 877-2822925; alsohasdozens Student Flights Flight Centre isanex- (

% offers offers 01-55 has

Larnaca and PaphosLarnaca (inCyprus),Beirut, regular service to/from Kiev andSofia. to/fromKiev regular service Varnabetween andMoscow. Aerosvit hasa all year,andbothflyatleastonceaweek travel regularly Sofia between andMoscow Budapest. BothAeroflot andBulgariaAir has regular toSofia flights andVarna from Varna andBurgas. Malev-Hungarian Airlines Burgas; WizzalsofliesfromBudapesttoboth Wizz AirfliesfromKatowice andWarsaw to Airlines departsdailyfromWarsaw, while five FromPoland,LOT Polish daysaweek. and Alicante. toMalaga, Palma services deMallorcaweekly Insummeritalsooperates toBarcelona. week toMadridtimes aweek andthree timesa Prague, three toZurich, timesaweek six three to toBrussels, timesaweek a week Sofia andAmsterdam; italsofliessixtimes to Varna andthree timesaweek to Burgas. Austrian AirlinesalsofliesdailyfromVienna Vienna withSofia atleastthree timesaweek. Austrian AirlinesandBulgariaAirconnect also fliesregularly fromMilanandRome. Both Bulgaria Airfliesfive Alitalia timesaweek. shop aroundforthebestdeal.FromRome, elsewhere inEurope. Pricesvarywidely,so toSofiaNumerous flights are available from ELSEWHERE INEUROPE London Gatwick and Sofia. budget carrier, easyJet, fliesregularly between in summeralso flies toBurgas. Another LondonLutonand Sofia, between and week airline WizzAir flies three orfourtimesa Varna three insummer. timesaweek Budget andconnects Londonwithtimes weekly Bulgaria AiralsofliestoManchester three way/return costingaround £120/165. flights is normallythecheaper of thetwo,withone- Londonand Sofia.daily between BulgariaAir Both BritishAirwaysandBulgaria Airfly UK cities. major 474 400;www.statravel.co.nz) out thecountry,and 243 544;www.flightcentre.co.nz) from NewZealand. other Europeancountrytoget toBulgaria As to fly viaan- withAustralia,you’llneed New Zealand Tripoli and Tel Aviv. Further afield,BulgariaAiralsofliesto Czech Airlines fliesfromPraguetoSofia between Bulgaria Airrunsdailyflights Flight Centre also has offices in the inthe alsohasoffices STA Travel hasbranches through- lonelyplanet.com

( (

% % toll-free 0800 toll-free 0800 toll-free 0800 toll-free 0800 Canada areCanada knownasconsolidators. San Village Travel Village ( and travellers under26years. all travellers, butcaters especiallytostudents tickets acrosstheUK.Itsells has offices to lonelyplanet.com (near Blagoevgrad) and (near Blagoevgrad) Novo Selo. of andDel Kulata) (justeastofBair Kriva Palanka); (west Zlatarevo (nearKyustendil) andDeve Gyueshevo tween cross theTurkishborder to Edirne. nearSvilengrad,Andreevo, travellers can Malko Târnovo–Derekoy. FromKapitan– Promahonas andatSvilengrad– Ormenion. transport to points. these (accessible fromVarna), butthere’s nopublic ) and atDurankulak–Vama Veche at Kardam–Negru Voda (accessiblefrom place toenter Romania. Youcanalsocross but thecrossing atVidinisamore scenic port, thequickest crossingisagainatRuse, a landborderfurthereast.Forpublictrans- if you’re thetollbridge or driving,use atRuse There are several crossings intoRomania,but Border Crossings LAND quotes, try .com) Couriers Air Travel checking outisthe offering discountsof upto25%.Alsoworth Inc be foundinmostmajor cities. of somegooddealscanalso America,though Francisco istheticket-consolidator capital available atthetimeyouwish to travel. change, socheck aroundforthebestdeals a regular toSofia. flight Pricesare subjectto such asRome,FrankfurtorParis, andcatch on toSofia, orflytoanymajor Europeancity, toLondon,andanother British Airwaysflight and anywhere intheUSA.Youcantake a There are nodirect Bulgaria between flights USA .expedia.co.uk often have competitive prices. agencies such aswww.opodo.co.uk andwww -travel.com) % STA Travel The onlycrossingsintoGreece are atKulata– STA Travel Discount travel agents intheUSAand For Macedonia, themaincrossings are be- The mainbordercrossingintoTurkey is

(www.cheaptickets.com) 0870 4994004;www.studentflights.co.uk) has offices in most major cities. For online inmostmajor hasoffices cities. Foronline are also worthalook.Onlineticket Airbrokers

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( % % ( % GETTING THERE&AWAY ••Land GETTING (IAATC; www.courier.org) toll-free 800-7814040;www.statravel 0871 2300040;www.statravel.co.uk) 0844 8442541;www.globalvillage č evo; andStanke Lisichkovoevo;

(www.airbrokers.com) International Association of Association International isanairconsolidator Student Flights Student Flights Cheap Tickets Cheap Tickets and . . Global Global

ings linkKalotina (nearDragoman)and Pleven, Sofia, Blagoevgrad andSandanski. Sofia,Pleven, Blagoevgrad Ruse, inGreece, passing through Thessaloniki Bucharest461) runsbetween inRomaniaand The TRAIN prices of around95lvand 55 lv. 22and14hoursroughly respectively, and cities;expectjourneytimes of head tothese toninehours). fromPlovdiveight Buses also to 14hours) (around50lv, andThessaloniki Sofia, gotoAthens(around100lv,12 buses to/from Greece are Sofia andPlovdiv. From The maindeparture/arrival pointsforbuses BUS Greece operates all international train services. Railways State Bulgarian Train inside thecountry (see p302 ). for thieves. It’sprobably better tohire acar do note that foreign cars are primetargets Driving isagreat wayof getting around,but Car &Motorcycle cluded inthepricesof the bus tickets. forthecountriesconcernedarevisas notin- ling outof Bulgariabybus,thecostof entry Long delayscanbeexpected. Whentravel- customstopresent yourpassport. through to get thebusatborderandwalk off Varna, Burgas andHaskovo. Youwillhave alsoleaveInternational buses fromPlovdiv, especially goodbusconnectionswithSofia. citieshave London (260 lv).German even (170 lv),Paris (190lv),Rome(180lv)and ing. FromSofia, runasfarBerlin buses ing fromWestern Europecanbedaunt- involved distances ifyou’resheer com- mode of the transportthanflying,although all over Europe,offering apossibly‘greener’ travelBuses to Bulgaria fromdestinations Bus services within Serbia. crimeisnotuncommonon by trainbecause carefulKlisura. whentravelling Be overland andStrezimirovtsiand Zajc; (nearPernik) and Dimitrovgrad; VrâshkaChuka(nearVidin) Travelling into Serbia, themaincross- Travelling intoSerbia, See See p294 of andvisas. fordetails stamps Trans-Balkan Express

(BDZh; www.bdz-rila.com) (trains460and 299

TRANSPORT TRANSPORT TRANSPORT from Bucharest at 1.40pm. at Bucharest about13hours later. Itdeparts beforeGorna Oryakhovitsa andRuse, arriving from Sofia at 3.20pmandtravels via Pleven, Saratov carries on towards Prague. leaving forBucharest Ruse (15hours), which and anotherfromVarna connectswithatrain around 12 hours. The journeyfromSofia toBucharest takes and Moscow,viaBucharest daily. andKiev, fromorgothrough and eitherstart Ruse. Most visitors travel to/fromRomaniabytrain TRAIN Giurgiu without transport. authorities. Youare notpermitted tocrossat bytheBulgarian isalsolevied ecological tax per motorbike orbicycle. Acompulsory€10 willincuratollofinto Ruse €6percarand€2 Crossing thebridge from Giurgiu inRomania CAR &MOTORCYCLE lv). 20/30 andBucharest Ruse tween (one-way/return There are runningbe- fourdailyminibuses BUS Romania around €90/165). Sofiatween andSkopje(one-way/return train fromSofia istoget aconnection in Niš. and Macedonia. TheonlywaytoSkopjeby hours).lv, aroundeight runstoBitola(30 adailyservice Blagoevgrad, go toSkopje(20lv,five hours), whilefrom lv, ninehours);fromKyustendil also buses go toSkopje(24lv,sixhours) andOhrid(40 andKyustendil. fromSofia Buses Blagoevgrad toMacedoniaBuses leave fromSofia, Macedonia (nineto Thessaloniki 10 hours). Trains alsotravel between and ataround30lv. start nine to10hours. Seats about taking mer (15Juneto30September), dayinsum- and 362)linksthetwocitiesevery is roughly 15 hours. From Sofia, thejourneytimeto Thessaloniki 300 Bulgaria Air has three flights a week be- Bulgaria Airhasthree aweek flights No trainstravel directly Bulgaria between (trains361 The Sofia–Thessaloniki service Also, every dayinsummerthe Also, every The Every dayinsummer,atrainfromBurgas GETTING THERE&AWAY &Sea ••River GETTING Bulgaria Express Bulgaria service travels toBucharest. Itdeparts service runs between Sofia runsbetween Sofia– to Budapest,viaSandanski,Sofia, Pleven and Bucharest, withonwardconnections p299 ) travels Thessaloniki dailybetween Turkey, departingfromSofia 45lv,18 (Istanbul to/from companiesoperate busservices Several BUS Turkey Sofia and Belgrade. also linksthe two capitals. (trains292and293) service Sofia–Belgrade and aone-wayticket costsabout 55lv. The Ittakes about ninehoursBelgrade. fromSofia leaves Sofia andtravels Ništo through about 40lvandtake hours.eight which cost to/fromBelgrade, frequent services leave fromSofia. toSerbia Buses There are Serbia ing Bucharest at 4.30pm. at1.30pm,reach- at7.40amandRuse Zagora ThetrainleavesRuse. at10pm,Stara Istanbul Veliko Zagora, Stara through Târnovo and passing withtheRomaniancapital, Istanbul Ruse. and limited tocommercial cargo vessels. The International travelsea to/fromBulgariais RIVER &SEA 15 to17hours and costsroughly 50 lv. The journeyfromSofia takes about toIstanbul Plovdiv through Bulgaria. Itpasses andSofia. andVenice,onward connectionstoZagreb via with andBelgrade, Istanbul els dailybetween current times),andtakes around 16 hours. www.bdz-rila.com for (see Zagora and Stara GornaOryakhovitsa passingthrough Istanbul Bulgaria year-round. Itleaves for Ruse andBucharest Istanbul through alsocrosses The daily TRAIN the regional chapters for more details. in therelevant sections to10hours.eight See withjourneytimesof bus toIstanbul, around and Haskovo, expecttopayaround25lvfora Varna 40lv, 10hours). (Istanbul FromPlovdiv hours), hours) Burgas and 35lv,seven (Istanbul 45 lv one way. The The The The Bulgaria Air has a regular service between between Bulgaria Airhasaregular service Fares fromSofia toBucharest are around Balkan Express Balkan Express Trans-Balkan Express Bosfor Bosfor (trains498and499)links (trains 498 and 499) between (trains498and499)between (trains490and491)trav- (see Turkey, below) (see lonelyplanet.com (see Greece, (see domestic routes, flying between Sofiadomestic routes, flyingbetween and across theDanubetoRomaniafromports ments andprices.There are dailyferry services gers. Checkthewebsite forcurrent arrange- Ukraine, andalsoacceptsindividualpassen- cargo Varna ships between in andIlyichevsk UKR ShippingCompany lonelyplanet.com or built-up areas, andaccidentsinvolving (or safest) wayof getting about inurban Generally, cycling isn’tthemost practical BICYCLE Varna andSofia and Burgas. appeal,flyingmaybe doesn’t the answer. eight -hour busjourneyfromSofia tothecoast are reliable andcheap, train services butifan Bulgaria isreasonably compact, andbus AIR wanttohiremight acarinside the country. available. Toexplore thecountrymore fully,you wide range are of and minibuses trains,buses Bulgaria isrelatively easytoget aroundanda GETTING AROUND from around£270 per person. in January, fromtheUK, includingflights skiingbreaks,sells offering inBansko aweek the flight from London. costs fromaround£300perperson, including in GoldenSands(ZlatniPyasâtsi; p247 ) inJuly skiing andbeach holidaysinBulgaria. Aweek leading specialistcompanyoffering package theyear,andfor through other tours. Check thewebsite forexactprices,which vary per person, fromLondon. includingflights tourcostsaround£600 ‘Rodopi Mountains’ ( around BulgariaistheLondon-based holidays toandfers organised sightseeing p304. see Bulgaria, abouttouroperatorsor hiking.Fordetails in come ontours specialisinginbird-watching coastorintheskiingresorts, whileothersSea the vastmajority ontheBlack eitherbased Most touristsvisitBulgariaon package tours, TOURS of ( p261 ) and ( p277 ). % Bulgaria Air( p296 ) operates thetwo Inghams Holidays Balkan One of thefew foreign companiesthatof- 0845-863 9600;www.exodus.co.uk)

( % 020-8780 4433;www.inghams.co.uk) GETTING AROUND••Air GETTING

(www.balkanholidays.co.uk)

(www.ukrferry.com) . Itsnine-day runs Exodus isa

However, except for long-distance services services exceptfor long-distance However, oneormorebe reserved daysinadvance. can onprivate buses in advancebutseats Tickets canrarely for publicbuses bebooked Reservations Sandanski inthefarsouthjust 8 lv. 20 lvto25lv,andaticket to fromthecapital from Sofia toVarna orBurgas costingaround Western withacross-country ticket standards, Bus travel inBulgaria isvery cheap by Costs cashier willtell youtobuy a ticket on the bus. platform number. the insomecases However, and youknowthecorrect departure timeand Thiswayyou’rethe station. guaranteed aseat from thecounter marked signs (inCyrillic)inthe front window. have andallbuses the busstations destination link upwithmostmajor towns and cities. .biomet-bg.com) www.etapgroup.com) biggest of which are all acrossthecountry, running services ramshackle public bus. normally costlittlemore thanthefare ona often operate inlarger townsandcities, quicker andmore commodiousprivate buses compared andslow.Newer, withcitybuses) are buses (when old,uncomfortable These some places, arebuses runbythe government. nect villages withthenearest transporthub.In linkallcitiesandmajorBuses townsandcon- BUS p80). (see routes mountain-bike available forrent. There are specific several tion inthecountryside,andare sporadically bikesMountain are amore attractive op- towns, butit’sbetter tobringyourown. Spare partsare available incitiesandmajor will beplentyof placesrenting outbikes. resorts, whereoption intheBlackSea there extra 2lvorso. Cyclingisamore attractive andtrainswillcarryyourbikebuses foran villagesroutes between andlong-distance along islight On theotherhand,traffic andbikestraffic aren’t allowedonhighways. some major roadsare always choked with Sofia. Many roadsare inpoorcondition, cyclists are commononthebusyroadsof There are alsonumerous private companies For apublicbus,younormallybuyticket areAll timetables listed (inCyrillic)inside , which operate fromSofia and and Biomet Etap-Grup kasa

( %

( 02-963 1366;www ( % каса 02-945 3939; ) inside ) inside

301 TRANSPORT TRANSPORT TRANSPORT information on its website. are often preferred bylocal drivers because LPG. Major brands such as Shell andOMV andunleaded super 98, aswelldiesel Petrol isavailable inunleadedsuper95and Fuel elsewhere in Europe). Eastern ifyou’re (butitmaybeuseful driving essary so aninternational drivinglicenceisn’tnec- driving licencefromhomeisvalidin Bulgaria, cycles) mustcarryregistration papers. Your Drivers of private andrented cars (andmotor- Driving Licence crossing theyplan touse when leaving. lv). Foreign drivers muststate which border month10/25 have (oneweek/one topayinleva onceinsideBulgaria,whereoffices youwill try, where theyare pricedineuros,oratpost border crossingswhenfirst entering thecoun- month.Vignettes at week/one canbebought your vehicle. Foracar,thiscosts€5/13forone anddisplaya‘vignette’ topurchase in need youcandrive Before onmotorways, youwill your vehicle maybeimpoundedbythepolice. registration andownership documents,or mediate target. alltheoriginal Youwillneed mon and foreign cars especially are anim- Bulgaria, remember thatcartheftisvery com- If youdodecidetodrive yourowncarinto Bring YourOwnVehicle ( hour ‘alarmcentre service’ forroadassistance 7935; www. uab.org; plPositano3,Sofia) The Automobile Associations any city, particularly Sofia. drivingaround on foot,anditcanbedifficult three dayswhileyouexplore Plovdiv orVarna no pointhiringacarandthenparkingitfor to hire acar(ormotorbike). there’s However, villages, monasteries andnationalparks–is Bulgaria –especiallywhenvisitingremote CAR &MOTORCYCLE get aticket forthebus you want. minutes before departure, you’llnormally arrive about30 atthebusstoporstation more than afew hours ahead.Infact,ifyou in August,there’s tobookanybus noneed Sofiaat peaktimes,egbetween andVarna 302 Probably thebestwaytotravel around %

02-980 3308) Union of Bulgarian Motorists Union ofBulgarian GETTING AROUND••Car&Motorcycle GETTING

and hassomehelpfulbasic (Map (Map p88 ; offers a24- % 02-935 €40 perday,plusadeposit of €300. It offers arange of motorbikes, costingfrom roads.com; office1,bl279,Mladost2,Sofia1799) is can rent amotorbike; oneof thebetter places There are comparatively few placeswhere you Tourist Tany 97 Hertz Europcar Budget Avis have and inthecapital offices elsewhere: are normally accepted. and Hertz charge more. Allmajor credit cards international companiessuchthough asAvis in Sofia. Pricesstart at around€30perday, all over Bulgaria,butthebiggest choice is least oneyear. outletscanbefound Rental 21 years of age andhave hadalicenceforat To rent acarinBulgariayoumustbeatleast Hire Sofia andotherbigcitiesare open 24 hours. mostly openfrom5amto10pm.Somenear andare15km to20kmalongthehighways, or nonexistent, and mostare written in signs. They’re often frustratinglyambiguous, driving by other motorists. vehicles, horses and cartsandoften erratic roads underreconstruction, slow-moving Driverstaxing. mustcopewithpotholes, sive roadconditionsare highways, generally Western Europe. Otherthanafew impres- motorcycle isnotasrelaxing asitmaybein Travelling aroundBulgaria byprivate caror Road Conditions European countries–isvalid in Bulgaria. domestic motorinsurancetocover most –aroutineextension of(or Blue)Card make sure it’svalidinBulgaria).TheGreen your homecountryisabetter idea(but border. Buyingcomprehensive insurancein atanyBulgarian sory, andcanbepurchased Third-party ‘liability insurance’ iscompul- Insurance -service.com) ohr brands. other knowntomakewater hasbeen itswayinto Motoroads You should rely never completely onroad Some of themore reliable agencies that Petrol are stations every foundroughly ( % ( %

Service ( ( % 02-945 9224;www.avis.bg) % ( % 02-945 9217;[email protected]) 02-937 3388;www.budget.bg) 02-970 8500;www.tany97.bg)

02-931 6000;www.europcar.bg) (off Map (off Map p84 ; ( % 02-981 7253; www.tourist % 0885370298; www.moto lonelyplanet.com inSofia. lonelyplanet.com areas, 90km/hon mainroadsand 130km/h limits forcarsspeed are 50km/hinbuilt-up Although road signsare rare, theofficial Road Rules coast canbe particularly nerve-wracking. cidents. Sofia androadsalongtheBlackSea and poorroadconditionscontributing toac- withdrink-driving,speeding September), to (July worst timeistheholidayseason alone, andalmost2000were injured. The try’s roadsinthefirst few months of 2007 over 200peoplelosttheirlives onthecoun- are amongthemostdangerous inEurope; valuables in the car. or parkunderastreet leave Never light. any aguardedcarparkorhotel carpark, ble, use usual precautions againstcartheft.Ifpossi- Vehicle isa concernsotake the security Road Hazards and beableto read Cyrillic. is imperative thatyoubuyanaccurate map coastandattheborders). It the BlackSea Cyrillic (exceptaroundmajor cities,along ROAD DISTANCES (KM) And please take careAnd please asBulgaria’sroads Vidin Veliko Târnovo Varna Sofia Smolyan Silistra Ruse Plovdiv Pleven Kulata Haskovo Gabrovo Dobrich Burgas Blagoevgrad 282 571 300 342 482 421 543 194 275 217 353 244 101 268 272 321 613 464 72 --- 82 Blagoevgrad AROUND••Hitching GETTING 182 134 538 224 148 263 262 270 334 299 406 114 357 385 462 520 213 234 185 --- Burgas 367 558 271 133 212 455 347 356 451 299 541 512 602 695 388 317 51 --- 92 Dobrich 274 308 186 152 146 100 274 172 130 241 220 310 403 141 --- 46 65 80 Gabrovo 371 433 187 302 293 241 206 374 316 132 141 234 278 346 61 --- 78 Haskovo 348 652 382 424 564 503 260 357 350 619 299 419 207 183 154 --- Kulata 288 559 331 289 471 410 200 264 257 525 206 359 302 --- 90 Kyustendil 145 313 243 225 150 159 272 119 193 261 167 --- 85 35 Lovech 180 304 120 208 219 146 194 268 108 228 296 174 --- Pleven 398 192 355 283 298 396 237 159 102 156 --- 88 stand thattheyare stand asmallbutpotentially taking Travellers whodecidetohitch shouldunder- try intheworldand wedon’trecommend it. Hitching entirely isnever safe in anycoun- HITCHING inside police(see local traffic front cover). with yourvehicle andhave someone callthe insist onreceiving a proper receipt. nice, expensive foreign cars. Ifyou are fined, corruption, andforbeingkeen onstopping policehaveBulgarian traffic areputation for ation hasimproved over recent years, the thesitu- ing about drink-driving.Although policeareis 0.05%andtraffic very unforgiv- must wearhelmets.Theblood-alcohol limit belts,andmotorcyclists front mustwearseat Driversfor speeding. andpassengers inthe increased. Youcanbefinedupto250lv for spotinspections,andfineshave been given extrapowers toflagdowndrivers policehavetorways. Traffic recently been areas and80/100km/honmainroads/mo- aretrucks andbuses 50km/hinbuilt-up limitsformotorcycles, on motorways.Speed Plovdiv 320 232 203 106 356 115 122 254 216 393 If youhave anaccident,you --- Ruse 381 218 140 429 113 329 135 356 --- 90 Shumen 443 355 143 228 478 376 248 474 --- Silistra 279 248 110 429 300 232 71 --- Sliven 258 161 477 287 457 329 --- Smolyan 231 469 241 199 116 --- Sofia 316 126 388 251 --- Stara Zagora 228 515 421 --- Varna 328 193 --- Veliko Târnovo must 126 --- Vidin

--- wait

Vratsa 303 TRANSPORT TRANSPORT TRANSPORT down on moststreets cityandtown in every equipped withworking meters, canbeflagged Taxis, which mustbepainted yellowand Taxi and Sofia hasamodern metro system. a tramandbus) (acrossbetween trolleybuses or backpack).Major citiesalsohave tramsand ticket foreach piece of large luggage (iesuitcase especially inSofia. Don’tforget tobuyanextra tickets are regularly checked byconductors, Bus the nextsection). better (see offusingataxi thisbook,butyou’re throughout almostalways Aroundsections intherelevant Getting tailed busandminibusrouteswith useful are de- ate insomecities,such as Sofia. Thefew places in summer. oper- Newprivately runminibuses tend tobeovercrowded hot anduncomfortably All cities and major townshave butthey buses, Public Transport like shared taxis (see p107 ). thecitycentrebetween andthesuburbs,acting In Sofia, called minibuses or very to,themajor close publicbusstation. leavewindow. Mostminibuses frominside, departure timesare indicated onthefront lowed. Destinations(inCyrillic)and,often, more israrely andstanding comfortable al- take it’squicker, thelatter because normally apublicbusandminibus, between can choose at thecounter Ifyou insidethebusstation). from thedriver alwayscheck (though thisfirst butare aspublicbuses the same usuallybought in winter. Tickets costroughly forminibuses urbancentrescoast andbetween andskiresorts smallervillages,tween egalongtheBlackSea Private andpublic plyroutes be- minibuses Minibus LOCAL TRANSPORT them is not recommended. friendly’,sohitching across particularly ‘user lifts tohitchhikers. Bulgaria’sborders are not dissuaded someBulgariansfromoffering upsurge incrimeover thelastfew years has cars often onlytravel tothenextvillage). The many tend because tobeinfitsandstarts by infrequent publictransport(buttravel will Bulgaria maybepreferable tobeingrestricted but peoplestilldoit,andhitching inrural know where they’re planning to go. be safer iftheytravel inpairs andletsomeone risk.Peopleserious tohitch whodochoose will 304 Hitchhiking isofficially illegalinBulgaria, GETTING AROUND •• Local Transport AROUND••LocalTransport GETTING marshroutki run the resorts alongtheBlack coast. Sea centres inSofia, Plovdiv, Varna, Burgas andin andcity outside airports,trainandbusstations metered fare). Dishonestdrivers congregate (which willalwaysbeatleastdoubletheproper (it mustworkbylaw)oroffering aflatfare eigners work’ byclaimingthemeter ‘doesn’t Some drivers trytoovercharge unwaryfor- into three or four lines: rates are windows.These on thetaxi’s divided time. waiting rate andtaxi perkilometre,the distance plus which youcanapproximate byworkingout chartered forlonger tripsatnegotiable rates, shop aroundbefore jumpingin.Taxis canbe but rates dovaryenormously,soitpaysto Bulgaria.throughout Theycanbevery cheap, naet town. nearest port before bookingapricey ‘excursion’ tothe check expense, outthelocaltrans- unnecessary Sands (ZlatniPyasâtsi) offer tours, butto avoid Bryag)andGolden (Slânchev resortsagencies of attheBlackSea , the regional chapters of thisbook.Plentyof ist offices thatoffer localtours are listed in teries andvillages. Travel agencies andtour- be worthwhile,especiallytoremote monas- worth considering.Even aone-daytour can anorganised touris around alittledifficult, that offer tours, see p301 . Forsomeoverseas-based companies service. required, while others offer amore personal and thelike, andlarge groups are normally the well-troddenpaths toRilaMonastery interest tours. on Somewilljustbusyouoff have emerged to offer activityandspecial- ists ‘discover’ Bulgaria,newtravel agencies As more andmore independentforeign tour- TOURS „ „ „ „

If you’re pressed fortimeorfindgetting per minute (0.20lvto 0.30 lv). The fourth(last)liststhecostforwaiting fee (0.30lvto 0.50 lv). liststhestarting The third(orsecond-last) (almost never necessary). fee of about0.50lvifyoupreorder ataxi lists,ifapplicable,thecall-out The second more). 10% butoftenrate (sometimes thesame, about kilometre isaverage), andthenight-time tre from6amto10pm(about 0.50lvper The first lineliststherate perkilome- All drivers mustclearlydisplaytheirrates lonelyplanet.com roads.com; office1,bl279,Mladost2,Sofia1799) Motoroads could trythe following companies: surprisingly few butyou andfarbetween offer interesting tours aroundBulgariaare lonelyplanet.com and nature them trips.Contact for prices. activities, includinghiking,climbing,caving sensitive tourstally andtailor-made outdoor 20-V,Sofia) .com; bulStamboliyski Zig ZagHolidays huts, monasteries and village homes. can alsobookroomsinover 100mountain numerous othertripsacrossthecountry.It caving, bird-watching,orshoeing, botany canbookyouonhiking,snow- Odysseia-In 20-V,Sofia) www.odysseia-in.com; 1stfl,bulStamboliyski Agency Odysseia-In Travel ornithologists. or wildanimals.It’srunbyprofessional interestedas othertripsforthose inbotany aswell on thecoastandinmountains, 492, Varna) Neophron round the country. a widechoice of organised motorbike tours MACEDONIA BULGARIAN RAILWAYS Enterprising Bulgariantravel agencies that SERBIA Kyustendil Broussartsi Vidin

Runsguided bird-watching trips (

% SOFIA (off Map (off Map p84 ; Dragoman Montana 052-650 230,www.neophron.com;POBox Blagoevgrad Mp p88; (Map Sandanski GETTING AROUND••Train GETTING Vratsa Kulata Lom % Bansko %

Cherven Koprivshtitsa

Mp p88; (Map Bryag 02-980 5102;www.zigzagbg Offers environmen- 0885370298; www.moto GREECE Lovech Hisarya

River % 02-989 0538; Pleven ROMANIA Plovdiv Offers Kârdzhali Gabrovo Veliko Târnovo Kazanlâk Haskovo Levski Zagora Stara

Dimitrovgrad Tulovo no otherreason thanthe journey itself. oftenBansko. tripsfor buffs goonthese Railway and the narrow-gauge Septemvri trackbetween along IskârGorge, fromSofia toMezdra, andon afastor budget,on atight use express train. want tovisitasmallervillage oryou’re travelling Unless youabsolutely thrive ontraintravel, you bârz the sceneryislikely tobe more rewarding. have more roominatraincompartment,and major ontheplusside,you’ll towns,although more frequent, citiesand especiallybetween are normally quicker, more and comfortable and shabby, andjourneytimesare slow.Buses Sofia–Plovdiv, trainstend tobeantiquated ple of lines,includingSofia–Kyustendil and Apartfromonacou- by infrequent services. and onlyconnected toamajor railwayline someareand cities,although onaspurtrack across thecountry,linkingmostsizable towns .bdz.bg) – Bulgarian Railways State TRAIN Bâlgarski Dârzhavni Zheleznitsi( Svilengrad Gorna Oryakhovitsa Two of traintripsare themostspectacular Trains are classifiedas (fast)or Zagora Nova Ruse Sliven boasts animpressive 4278kmof tracks Shumen Zimnitsa pâtnicheski Silistra Schematic MapofRailwayConnections Burgas

(BDZh; TURKEY Dobrich (slow passenger). (slowpassenger). ekspresen Slow Passenger Train Lines Express Train Lines Fast Train Lines % Varna Kardam 02-931 1111;www БДЖ (express), (express), BLACK SEA

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305 TRANSPORT TRANSPORT TRANSPORT 30 minutes toqueueup).Advancetickets are the nexttrain(butbecareful toallowatleast aticket andpurchase turn upatthestation for cities there israrely aproblem ifyou simply themain between For frequent trainservices Reservations discount. slight group (three ormore people)youmayget a inBulgaria. Ifyou’re travelling ina service onadomestictrain pay foraseat you’d ever this route costs27lv,probably themost mately 22lv(2ndclass).A1st-classticket on Sofiabetween andVarna costingapproxi- withacross-countrytrip Western standards, train travel withinBulgariaisstillcheap by priceshaveAlthough inrecent risen years, Costs a bit more space. it’s alwaysworthpayingtheextrajusttohave class. Thecarriages won’tbeanycleaner,but class are thanfor2nd around25%higher but mustbebooked inadvance. Fares for1st available Sofia between andBurgas andVarna open carriage. Sleepers andcouchettes are intercity inan express hasindividualseats areeight crammedinto2ndclass,andthe sixpeople,First-class compartmentsseat Classes a bedin a couchette. overnight tripacrosstheborder,trybooking compartment, andifyouare makingalong with otherpassengers ratherthaninanempty Ifyouareor Serbia. travelling latesit atnight, cross-border routes, such asto/fromTurkey annoyances (such asdrunkenness) onsome reports of robberies, pickpocketing andminor and enjoyable experience,butthere have been 306 © LonelyPlanetPublications Train travel inBulgariaisanormallysafe GETTING AROUND••Train GETTING low costof traintravel inBulgaria,thisis one-country passisavailable, butgiven the system,BDZh ispartof anda theInterRail schedules and advance tickets. tion, soit’sbesttodealwithRilaforadvice, to speakEnglish thananyoneatatrainsta- far more helpful, knowledgeable andlikely atRilaareand major normally towns.Staff andatRilaBureauxtrain stations incities atspecificcountersbe bought withinlarger ing asummerweekend. Advancetickets can dur-as theintercity express totheBlackSea such ontrainservices sometimes advisable www.bdz-rila.com. cost30lv.S). Cards Formore visit details, Plus26M)orover Plus26 (Rail 60(Rail on international under routes forthose Pluscardsoffer 25%discountsFinally, Rail travel tovariousotherEuropeancountries. are railpasses alsovalidinBulgaria,forStar have outsidethecountry.City tobebought unlikely passes tobecost-effective. These Tan Passes Train Място Час Влак Категория Клас details: ets alsocontainotherimportant anddestination,tick-the placeofdeparture areAll tickets printed inCyrillic. than Other TICKETS Вагон Дата (express), 255(fast)orG(slowpassenger)  – – – – – chas – data klas vlak vagon myasto –  – – departure time –departure –‘1’(1stclass)or‘2’(2nd –trainnumber –date ofdeparture kategoriya –carriagenumber seat number –typeoftrain,ieT lonelyplanet.com HEALTH 307 (government (government (pharmacies) are (pharmacies) are General travel advice © Lonely Planet Publications Planet Lonely © Travel health Providing information on bolnitsa apteka (private clinics), such as clinics), such (private Advice on travel for the elderly. for the Advice on travel poliklinika poliklinika women’s health and contraception. women’s health and hospitals) are well trained and most speak hospitals) are clinic, but for serious you should complaints or ask your embassy town to a larger travel a hospital, clinic, to recommend /consulate easy to doctor or dentist. Dental clinics are find in big cities and at common. Doctors English and/or German. However, equipment Staffcan be lacking and outdated. at the more expensive to be fluent in likely more ), are p85 ( in Sofia English and German, equipment is nor- and higher standard. a mally of INFECTIOUS DISEASES Tickborne Encephalitis It is a serious by tick bites. This is spread is ad- the brain and vaccination of infection unable vised who are for those in risk areas forestry as campers, (such tick bites to avoid vaccine Two doses of walkers). and workers doses up three a year’s protection, will give years’. three to Typhoid & Hepatitis A through contaminated spread These are food (particularly shellfish) and water. Hepatitis can causeTyphoid septicaemia; inflammation and jaun- A causes liver Neither is usually fatal but recov- dice. A and Hepatitis ery can be prolonged. as a single- vaccines can be given typhoid or Viatim. dose vaccine, Hepatyrix annually and is available online at www.who online is available annually and include: websites useful.int/ith/. Other www.ageconcern.org.uk www.fitfortravel.scot.nhs.uk www.mariestopes.org.uk www.mdtravelhealth.com IN BULGARIA CARE AVAILABILITY OF HEALTH town has a government city and major Every acceptable – albeit not excellent an hospital of private up-to-date – standard, more as well as a may have villages clinics. Smaller towns and recommendations for every country; updated daily. for everyrecommendations country; updated for the layperson. for the is revised is revised Before You Go Before 307 Insurance Resources Internet In Bulgaria of Health Care Availability Diseases Infectious Diarrhoea Traveller’s Environmental Hazards Women’s Health 307 307 307 307 307 308 308 308 Travel health depends on your predeparture health depends on your predeparture Travel INSURANCE INSURANCE other European Economic Area Citizens of countries (EU countries plus Norway, Iceland should pick up a European and Liechtenstein) they Insurance Cardbefore (EHIC) Health to the same entitles you which imme- travel, to Bulgarian available medical treatment diate nationals. However, also consider you should you for the worst buying a policy that covers accident requir- as an possible scenario, such flight home. ing an emergency INTERNET RESOURCES publication Organisation’s The World Health and Health Travel International CONTENTS travelling while your daily care preparations, medical problem and how you handle any that does develop. Bulgaria will not provide health. visitors’ to challenges any major BEFORE YOU GO to staying healthy while is the key Prevention departure, abroad. A little planning before illnesses or con- particularly for pre-existing Carry a spare trouble later. ditions, will save contact lensespair of and glasses, and take with you. Bring your optical prescription extra medications in their original, clearly letter A signed and dated labelled, containers. from your physician describing your medical conditions and medications, including generic If carrying syringes names, is also a good idea. a physician’s letter to have or needles, be sure medical necessity. documenting their Health Health HEALTH temperature over hours. byagraduallossofhypothermia iscaused of temperature over ashorttime. Chronic and informothers of your route. carry waterproof garmentsandwarmlayers, theweather can changemountains, rapidly,so ting hypothermia. Even on a hotdayinthe Proper preparation willreduce theriskof get- Hypothermia &Frostbite fuggy. particularly smokers, andrestaurants andbars canget to avoid. Bulgariansare notoriouschain- country. Cigarette smoke, isharder however, urban sprawlandget somefresh airinthe toescapetheThankfully, it’seasyenough withrespiratory those may affect problems. inSofiaunpleasant andotherbigcities, fumescanbe Bulgaria, thebuildupof traffic vehiclestained rattling aroundtheroadsin Due tothelarge numberof old,poorlymain- Air Pollution ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS pain, youshouldseek medical attention. by fever, shaking, chills orsevere abdominal for more than72hours orisaccompanied isbloody,persistsloperamide). Ifdiarrhoea agent (suchdrug) andanantidiarrhoeal as anantibiotic(usuallyaquinolone taking start more thanfourorfive stoolsaday,youshould don’t require treatment, having butifyoustart solution (egDioralyte). Afew stools loose plenty of fluids,preferably anoral rehydration If youdevelop besurediarrhoea, todrink TRAVELLER’S DIARRHOEA or iodine solution. and runningwater, andthenapplyalcohol mediately Scrubwithsoap andthoroughly. an unknownanimalshould becleanedim- attention. Any bite, scratch lickfrom oreven do nottake medical anychances andseek a relatively rarely Still, transmitted disease. ofin thelastweek thedog’slife. Itistherefore intheanimal,oftenstages of thedisease only onlyduringthefinal virus ispresent insaliva therabies transmitted viatheanimal’ssaliva, rabies clinic),butdon’tpanic;while is willhavemediately (mostmainhospitals a Bulgaria. Ifbitten, seek medical attention im- the numberof straydogsrunning around This isapotential concernconsidering Rabies 308 Acute hypothermiafollowsa suddendrop IN BULGARIA •• Traveller’s Diarrhoea IN BULGARIA••Traveller’sDiarrhoea supplies of fresh, deliciousand safe water. found alongmainroads,alsooffer constant drinkable water. ies andchurches provide anidealsourceof intownparksandoutsidemonaster-fountains may beasoldthebuildingsthemselves. The or more remote hotels where thewater pipes taken insmallervillages, atolder andifstaying shouldnot taste particularlynice. be Caution in allmajor itmight townsandcities,although Tap water isgenerally considered safe todrink Water Treatment involves rapid rewarming. adequate calorieintake bestprevent frostbite. ing dry,keeping wellhydrated andensuring then becomesblack.Adequate clothing,stay- As frostbite theskinblisters develops, and plete recovery isexpected withrewarming. (white, numbareas of skin)fromwhich com- length of exposure. asfrostnip Frostbite starts dependent onwind-chill, temperature and damage tobodilyextremities.sequent Itis drinksandsharedsweet body warmth. shelter, warmdryclothing,hot by seeking confusion andcoma. Prevent further heatloss occurs, thesufferer deteriorates intoapathy, judgment andclumsiness.Unlessrewarming weeks ofweeks pregnancy andafter 30 weeks. risky times fortravel are duringthefirst 12 doctor before planningyour trip.Themost is usuallypossible, butalwaysconsultyour contraceptives. Travelling during pregnancy injectable andantibioticsdonotaffect upsets Timeyou justincase. zones,gastrointestinal pregnancy –remember totake condomswith the pillfromworkingandleadto riskof andvomitingcanstop antibiotics, diarrhoea using oralcontraceptives, remember some inthemenstrualpattern.ute If toanupset through different time zonescanallcontrib- Emotional stress, exhaustionandtravelling WOMEN’S HEALTH toavoidfountains waste.unnecessary everywhere. Filltheemptybottlesupatpublic bottled water, which isinexpensive andsold environments. these less likely tobekilled.Boilitforlonger in boils atalowertemperature, sogerms are or chlorine) altitudewater orboilit.Athigh If indoubt,purifywater (withfilters, iodine byfreezingFrostbite andsub- iscaused Easiest, andsafest, ofEasiest, all,istosimplybuy Hypothermia starts withshivering,Hypothermia starts lossof Cheshma ( w ater spouts),often lonelyplanet.com www.lonelyplanet.com the above - ‘Do the right thingwithourcontent.’ the above-‘Doright thetermsandconditionsonoursiteforalongerwayofsaying youknow,orresell it.See everyone site,massemailitto only. Inotherwords,pleasedon’tuploadthischaptertoapeer-to-peer Inreturn, wethinkit’sfairtoaskyouuseitforpersonal,non-commercialpurposes restricted. © LonelyPlanetPublications. iteasierforyoutouse,accessthischapter isnotdigitally Tomake

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