Planning a trip to Bulgaria: What you should know
Is it really that hard to get around as a tourist? Will taxi drivers really scam me? Hell, should I bring pepper spray?! Planning a trip to Bulgaria could be a bit challenging, as there are so many different polarising opinions about the country. It’s an interesting destination for sure but you should definitely keep some things in mind when visiting. Take it from a person who was born and raised here and played the role of a tour guide not once or twice.
Bulgaria is a small Balkan country bordering Greece, Romania, Turkey, Serbia and North Macedonia, known simultaneously for its breath-taking nature and the fact it’s one of the poorest countries in the EU. It fascinates you with its insanely rich history as one of the oldest countries in Europe (year 681) and at the same time frustrates you with the fact that the public transportation hasn’t changed much since then.
If you only prefer to travel to polished cities like Milan, Paris or New York, cities like Sofia or Plovdiv will definitely make you feel out of your comfort zone. But if you’re an unpretentious adventurer with a desire to explore the not-so-glamorous-but-still-intriguing places around the globe, I can guarantee you you’d love Bulgaria. Then again, there are a few things you should keep in mind before booking your trip so let me guide you through them and lucky for you, I’ll be giving you my quick travel tips to resolve some problems you might encounter:
Everything works all the time
This is one of the best things: you’re extremely hungry at 4am? There’s a big chance there’s a 24/7 restaurant near you. You forgot to buy something from the supermarket and it’s already 8pm? No worries, most supermarkets are opened way pass that time. You have a horrible headache at 11 at night? Again, so many pharmacies are opened 24/7. Not to mention clubs and bars, most of which typically close some time the next morning.
Quick travel tip: a nice place that’s open 24/7 in Sofia is “O!Шипка”. I’ve also ended up in Уго at 6am more times than I’m willing to admit.
It’s not the easiest thing to get around
The problem is if you’re coming from a place like Germany or the Netherlands, where everything is proper and has its place and purpose, most cities in Bulgaria will seem like a jungle to you. There are some street signs in English here and there in the centre of the city, but the moment you decide to make a turn, it becomes more challenging to get around. It’s a bit like Westworld, the farther away from Sweet Water you go, the more extreme the conditions get (forgive me, I’m obsessed with the series). And don’t even get me started on the public transport. It’s not reliable at all*, its extremely confusing for me, let alone someone who doesn’t understand Cyrillic.
*Edit 2022: the schedules seem to have become a tad more reliable since 2018 when this article was first published
Quick travel tip: you’ll be better off asking people where ______ is than trying to figure it out from street signs. The older generations usually don’t speak English but you’ll have a hard time finding a younger person who doesn’t. In my experience people are extremely friendly when it comes to foreigners and I myself have helped quite a few confused tourists in Sofia. Also, I wouldn’t recommend using trams or buses, you’ll be better off going with the tube or just getting around with a taxi as they’re very cheap for Western European standards.
Locals drink. A lot.
Of course that’s a generalisation and not everyone drinks and blablabla but I’ve heard it from so many people who’ve visited the country and were baffled by the amounts of alcohol consumed by Bulgarians. Of course it depends on where you come from, cause if you’re Polish or Russian, it definitely won’t strike you as “a lot” ;) But beware! If you’re going to the seaside, ESPECIALLY Sunny Beach (which I don’t ever recommend, just don’t go) you most likely WILL get alcohol poisoning. Owners of bars and clubs there know that 90% of their customers are foreigners so they very “cleverly” give them the cheapest most disgusting alcohol they can get their hands on. You’ll honestly most likely be better off drinking hand sanitiser or nail polish remover.
Quick travel tip: First of all don’t try to outdrink the locals, unless you’re certain of your capabilities. It’ll only lead to a massive hangover the next day. Second of all, if you do decide to go to a crazy seaside party destination like Sunny Beach (which, again, just don’t do it) DO NOT drink alcohol anywhere. Buy from supermarkets.
Everything is inexpensive
Remember how we talked about taxis? They’re quite cheap, also the alcohol I was referring to – also quite cheap. As a whole, Bulgaria is an extremely alluring destination for backpackers and Eurotrippers because it’s insanely inexpensive (for Western European standards, again) and there is a vibrant nightlife. Everything from food to clothes to clubs to museums, is very affordable, as the Bulgarian currency is not the Euro. So for example a club’s normal entrance fee in the capital is usually 5BGN, which is about 2,50€.
Edit 2022: Taxi prices famously went up a few months ago and the last time I was at a club in Sofia I payed 5 Euro to get in. Still, a lot less expensive than other European capitals.
Visiting smaller cities or nature parks could be…problematic
Again we’re circling back to the “getting around” problem. Once you get out of Sofia’s centre and head to a smaller town or you’re trying to find a beautiful waterfall you read about, it’s quite the adventure to get there. Now your problem is not missing street signs, but rather missing whole city signs and…roads in general.
Quick travel tip: if you can get a local person to go with you on your road trip, that could help a lot. You can use a GPS but sometimes there are roads and places that are missing from the system or are inaccurate. Asking people won’t help you either, cause in my experience you can rarely find someone who speaks English outside of the big cities. Also don’t just expect the roads to be in top shape cause you’ll be majorly disappointed. If you’re not on a highway you should be very careful and slow while driving, ESPECIALLY if you’re driving at night, because there are probably more holes in the asphalt than there is actual asphalt.
“Yes” means “No” and vice versa
Imagine that: you’re in a restaurant and you ask the waiter if they could give you a refill, to which they respond non-verbally by shaking their head and leaving your table. Pretty rude, huh? Well not really, because shaking one’s head is a sign of agreement it Bulgaria, whereas nodding usually stands for a “no”.
Quick travel tip: to avoid confusion just verbally indicate whether or not you agree or disagree and when uncertain of the other side`s response, just ask if that was a “yes” or a “no”.
Are you planning a trip to Bulgaria? Have you ever been there?