Travel Bulgaria, Bulgarian Travel Information

Area
110,994 sq km (42,855 sq miles).

Population
7,845,499 (official estimate 2005).

Population Density
70.7 per sq km (2005).

Capital
Sofia.
Population: 1.2m (2005).

Government
Democratic Republic since 1990.
Head of State: President Georgi Purvanov.
Head of Government: Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev since 2005.
Recent history: Legislative power is held by the 240-seat National Assembly, whose members are directly elected for maximum four-year terms by proportional representation. The Assembly elects a Council of Ministers, headed by the Prime Minister. The Council of Ministers assists the President of the Republic, who as head of state wields supreme executive power and who is also directly elected for a five-year term. Presidential elections are due in 2006. The Socialist Party, led by Sergei Stanishev, won the latest election in summer 2005, but did not win enough seats to form a government on their own. The liberal NMS, which led the former coalition came second and the mostly ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) third. Mr Stanishev has said that EU membership is his government's top priority. He has also promised to intensify the campaign against corruption and organized crime.

Language
Bulgarian is the official language and the Cyrillic alphabet is used. Turkish and Macedonian are amongst the minority languages. English, German, French and Russian are spoken in major tourist resorts and hotels.

Religion
The majority of the population are Christian, the main denomination being Bulgarian Orthodox Church with a membership of 83 per cent of the population. Eastern Orthodox Chrisitianity is considered to be the traditional religion in Bulgaria. There is also a significant Muslim minority (13 per cent) and a small Jewish community.

Electricity
220 volts AC, 50Hz. Plugs are two-pin.

Telephone
Telephone: IDD is available to main cities. Country code: 359. Calls from some parts of the country must be placed through the international operator. There are many public telephones in the main towns.

Mobile telephone
Roaming agreements exist with most international mobile phone companies. Coverage is good to patchy in most of the country.

Internet
There are Internet cafes and centers in Sofia and Plovdiv.

Post
Airmail to Western Europe takes from four days to two weeks. The General Post Office in Sofia, at 4 Gurko Street, is open 24 hours. Post office hours: Usually Mon-Fri 0830-1730.

MEDIA
Bulgaria passed a broadcasting law in 1996, one of the last European countries to do so. National radio and TV were given the status of public services and granted independence. bTV, Bulgaria's first national commercial channel, was launched in May 2000 by Balkan News Corporation (part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation). Nova TV won the bid for a second national commercial TV license in 2003. Several privately-owned regional television stations are also on the air.
Press: The weekly newspaper, Sofia Echo, is available in English, as is the daily business publication Pari (Money). Both of these are available in print or online versions. The most popular dailies include Trud (Labor) and 24 Chasa (24 Hours).
TV: BNT (Bulgarian National Television) is publicly owned and operates Kanal 1 and satellite channel TV Bulgaria; bTV and Nova TV are national, commercial networks; 7 Dni is private.
Radio: Publicly owned BNR (Bulgarian National Radio) operates Horizont, cultural network Hristo Botev and external service Radio Bulgaria. Darik Radio is a national, commercial station.

Public Holidays
Below are listed Public Holidays for the January 2006-June 2007 period.

Jan 1 2006:    New Year’s Day.
Mar 3:    National Day (Day of Liberation).
Apr 23-24:    Easter.
May 1:    Labor Day.
May 6:    St George’s Day (Day of Bulgarian Army).
May 24:    St Cyril and Methodius Day (Day of Culture and Literacy).
Sep 6:    The Unification of Bulgaria.
Sep 22:    Independence Day.
Nov 1:    Day of the Bulgarian Revival Leaders.
Dec 24-26:    Christmas.
Dec 31:    New Year's Eve.

Jan 1 2007:   New Year’s Day.
Mar 3:    National Day (Day of Liberation).
Apr 8-9:   Easter.
May 1:   Labor Day.
May 6:   St George's Day (Day of Bulgarian Army).
May 24:   St Cyril and Methodius Day (Day of Culture and Literacy).

Contact Information:

Location
Southeastern Europe.

Time
GMT + 2 (GMT + 3 from last Sunday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in October).

Social Conventions
Normal courtesies should be observed and handshaking is the normal form of greeting. Dress should be conservative but casual. If invited to the home, a small souvenir from one’s homeland is an acceptable gift. Do not give money. Remember that a nod of the head means ‘No’ and a shake means ‘Yes’. Smoking: Since January 1, 2005, Bulgarian restaurants, cafes, nightclubs etc., have zones for smokers and non-smokers. There is no smoking in public places.

International Travel:

Air
The national airline is Bulgaria Air. Other airlines serving Bulgaria include Aeroflot, Air France, Alitalia, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Club Air, Czech Airlines, El Al Israel Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, MALEV Hungarian Airlines, Olympic Airlines, Swiss and Turkish Airlines.

Approximate flight times
From Sofia to London is three hours and to New York is 14 hours.

Main airports
Sofia (SOF) is 10km (6 miles) east of the city (travel time – 20 minutes).To/from the airport: Buses run approximately every 10 minutes to the city center during the day and every 20 minutes between 2100-0030. The bus station is located close to the Arrivals terminal and services operate 0500-2300. A single ticket costs 0.50 leva and a single ticket must also be bought for large luggage. Coaches are available by arrangement through tour operators. Taxis are also available, although taxi drivers may not use their meters and travelers are advised to agree on the fare beforehand. The airport itself only advises its passengers to use the taxi company OK Supertrains (Tel: (2) 973 2121). Facilities: Banks and currency exchange (24 hours), post office, duty-free shop, nursery, restaurant, bar and car hire is located in the public area of the Arrivals Hall (Avis, Budget, Hertz, Sixt and Tany Rent).
Varna (VAR) is 9km (5.5 miles) from the city. To/from the airport: A bus service to Varna city center departs every 20 minutes. A coach service is available by arrangement with various tour operators. A taxi service is also available. Facilities: Outgoing duty-free shop, banking and currency exchange (24 hours), a restaurant, bar and car hire by prior arrangement with travel agents.
Bourgas (BOJ) is 13km (8 miles) from the city. To/from the airport: A bus service departs every 20 minutes to the city center. A coach service is available by prior arrangement with tour operators. A taxi service is also available. Facilities: Outgoing duty-free shop, banking and currency exchange (24 hours), a restaurant, bar and car hire (by prior arrangement).

Departure tax
None except for US nationals who will be charged US$20.

River
The official crossing points into Romania are by ferry from Vidin to Calafat and by road bridge from Ruse to Giurgiu.

Rail
There are frequent services between Sofia and Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest, Thessaloniki and Istanbul. Sofia is also directly connected with Paris, Vienna, Munich and Berlin. Dining car facilities are available on all routes. For details contact RILA (website: http://www.bdz-rila.com/).

Road
Main entry points include Koulata and Novo Selo (from Greece); Ruse, Kardom, Durankulak and Silistra (from Romania); Svilengrad and Kapitan Andrikeevo (from Turkey); Kalotina, Zlatarevo and Vrashkachuka (from Serbia & Montenegro) and Guyeshevo (from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia). Foreign citizens entering Bulgaria in a motor vehicle must have documentation to prove their ownership of the vehicle and evidence of that their motor insurance is valid for Bulgaria. They must also state their proposed border crossing and pay suitable road tax. Bus: There are daily bus connections from other cities, including Istanbul, Athens and Thessaloniki to Sofia. Eurolines (52 Grosvenor Gardens, London, SW1W OAU; tel: (08705) 143 219; website: http://www.eurolines.com/) and National Express (Ensign Court, 4 Vicarage Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 3ES; tel: (08705) 808 080; website: http://www.nationalexpress.com/) run regular coach services to Bulgaria from the UK.

The following goods may be taken into Bulgaria by all persons irrespective of age without incurring customs duty:
200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250g of tobacco; 1l of spirits and 2l of wine; 50g of perfume and 100g eau de toilette; reasonable amount of gifts.

Prohibited items
Any foodstuffs for personal consumption originating from cloven-footed animals, due to the outbreak of Foot & Mouth disease in the UK in 2001.

Internal Travel:

Air
The national airline, Bulgaria Air (tel: (2) 8659 557 or 517 (flight information and reservations), and the national airline Hemus Air (tel: (2) 981 8330 (reservations) operate domestic services connecting Sofia with the coast and main towns. The journeys from Sofia to Bourgas and Varna can be made in about one hour. Air travel is comparatively cheap, and is only slightly more expensive than rail travel.

River
Regular boat and hydrofoil services along the Bulgarian bank of the Danube link many centers, including Vidin, Lom, Kozloduj, Orjahovo, Nikopol, Svishtov, Tutrakan and Silistra.

Rail
There are over 4200km (2625 miles) of railways in the country. Bulgarian State Railways connects Sofia with main towns. Reservations are essential and first-class travel is advised. For details, contact the State Railway Office 3 Ivan Vasov St, Sofia, 1080; tel: (2) 932 5560)

Road
There are over 13,000km (8000 miles) of roads linking the major centers; their quality is variable and some main roads have major potholes, plus driving standards are generally poor. Traffic drives on the right. International road signs are used, although roadworks are often not signposted. Night driving can be dangerous owing to poor lighting. Tolls are charged on motorways and main roads out of town, they are charged at &Euro;5 for a 1 week vignette and &Euro;12 for 1 month. Vignettes can be purchased at ports, border points, Post Offices and DZI bank offices. Additionally, if the vehicle is stolen in Bulgaria, import duty and related taxes must be paid: insurance may be taken to cover this. Speed limits are strictly adhered to: 50kph (30mph) in built-up areas, 90kph (55mph) outside built-up areas and 120kph (75mph) on motorways. In addition, the driver may be banned from driving in Bulgaria for up to three years. The nationwide alcohol limit is 0.05 per cent; on-the-spot fines of between Lv50-150 are imposed for offences. Spare parts are easily available and 24-hour road assistance is available (tel: (2) 980 3308). There are large numerous petrol stations. It should also be observed that car-theft is on the increase in Bulgaria, and all cars should ideally be fitted with alarms and other visible security measures. Car-jacking is also becoming more frequent, usually occurring at night, and with some criminals even impersonating traffic policeman in the process. It is best to drive in daylight. Bus: There is a good network of buses that are cheap and convenient but with erratic timetabling. Taxi: Available in all towns and also for intercity journeys. Vehicles may not be in top condition. Vehicles are metered, unless they are privately owned. Taxi meters may be rigged so that foreign passengers can be overcharged; foreign visitors should therefore take great caution in determining the correct fare before travel. A 5 to 10 per cent tip is appreciated. Car hire: Available through hotel reception desks. Available car hire companies include Avis and Hertz. There are no fly-drive arrangements through the airlines. Payment is usually in hard currency. Documentation: An International Driving Permit is required. A Green Card is compulsory.

Urban
Bus, tramway and trolleybus services operate in Sofia; in addition, a metro has been built in the the city, it operates 0530-0000. Trains arrive every 6 minutes during peak periods and every 8 minutes at all other times. Flat fares are charged on all transport and tickets must be pre-purchased. Buses and taxis operate in all the main towns. There are also trolleybuses in Plovdiv and Varna.

Bulgaria Information

Bulgaria Travel Tips & Advice