The Only Bulgaria Travel Resources You Will Ever Need

Traveling is great, but finding your ways in a new location could be challenging. We spent three months in Bulgaria. We lived in Sofia and even managed to visit some places around the country despite busy work schedule. Here are some Bulgaria travel resources that we used while enjoying this fantastic Balkan country.

…and now back to Bulgaria travel resources…

General Information about Bulgaria and Visa Info

• Visa for Bulgaria (from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria) – partial list of topics discussed: 1) do you need a visa; 2) Bulgaria and the Schengen Area; 3) visa-free regime for holders of Schengen visas for a stay of up to 90 days.
• Information about Bulgaria (from US Department of State)
• Bulgaria Travel Advice (from GOV.UK)
• Information about Bulgaria (from Nations Online)
• Bulgaria Overview (from European Union europa.eu)
• Public Holidays in Bulgaria
• Bulgarian Weather
• The Sisters – Nina and Ellie’s travel and lifestyle blog. Two Bulgarian sisters writing about their experiences. Bulgaria through their eyes
• Stop Calling It Cheap Travel Destination! Here Is Why Visit Bulgaria (from When Woman Travels)

Government

• Government of Bulgaria

Health & Medical

• Medical Assistance (recommended by the US Embassy in Bulgaria)
• List of English-speaking doctors and hospitals in Bulgaria (from gov.uk) – NOTE: the International Medical Centre has been closed

Communications

• Pay as You Go Sim with Data Wiki
• A1 Bulgaria (formerly known as Mtel)
• Telenor (formerly known as GloBul)
• VIVACOM (the largest telecommunications company in Bulgaria and a former state-owned monopoly)

Tourism

• Official Tourism Portal of Bulgaria
• Very cool map of places to visit in Bulgaria (from Follow The Sisters website)

News & Culture

• Bulgarian Newspapers
• Sofia News Agency
• The Sofia Globe – provides news, features, insight and analysis about Bulgaria, Central and Eastern Europe

Real Estate Agencies

– properties for sale and long-term rental

• Unlimited
• Homes.bg (in Bulgarian)
• Imoti
• Living the Dream Bulgaria – countryside properties
• Mirela
• Best BG Properties
• Bulgarian Properties

Short-term Accommodations

• better be safe than sorry, so we recommend using either Booking.com or Airbnb

Utilities and such

• Bulgarian Postal Service
• Peculiarities of central heating system in Sofia
• Heating and Air-conditioning in Bulgaria
• Electricity in Bulgaria
• Топлофикация София ЕАД (in Bulgarian) – Heating Distribution System

IN SOFIA

Food Delivery

• Takeaway.com (formerly BGMenu)
• Restaurant Guide to Sofia, Bulgaria
• Foodpanda – food delivery in Sofia (and some other Bulgarian cities). Discover local restaurants and order delicious food online

Transportation

• Ok Супертранс Taxi – the only taxi company authorized by the Sofia Airport
• TaxiMe(Google Play) or TaxiMe(Apple App Store) – this app is available for all the mobile OS’s, and it works only with fine taxi drivers on fixed rates that are slightly lower than the regular taxi rates. I personally use it all the time in Sofia and recommend it. (Submitted by Ellie from Follow The Sisters)
• BDZ – trains in Bulgaria (schedules, etc…)
• Public Transportation Routes
• Sofia Metro (official website)
• Sofia Metro – not affiliated with Метрополитен София (the metro in Sofia)
• Guide to using the Sofia Metro
• Sofia Airport
• SIXT – we rented cars from them 3 times. Good car fleet, great service. The only mild inconvenience, we encountered, is that the only location with extended hours was at the airport. However, taxis are cheap in Sofia, and there are plenty of them, so getting to and out of the airport is extremely easy.
• Val & Kar Rent a Car Bulgaria – I’ve been using this relatively small local company, and I’m really happy with them as I always receive customized client service. What I love about them is that when I need to rent a car, I can just call them and tell them the destination I’m planning on visiting, and they would always recommend the car that I would feel most comfortable with on the roads of the chosen location. They know the streets of Bulgaria amazingly well and have never failed me so far. Their second benefit is that they have no problem renting out a car to drive abroad, even in countries like Serbia, Macedonia, and Albania (which are outside of the EU). (Submitted by Ellie from Follow The Sisters)

Hair Salons

• Stephan Academy – they have multiple locations. I’ve been using and recommend the one at this address: ул. Хан Аспарух 34, Sofia, Bulgaria. This is their FB page.
• Noraffure (online appointment scheduler)
• Salon Anatoli Velev – София, ул. Цар Асен 103 тел. 02/426 31 20

Shopping

• List of Supermarket Chains in Bulgaria – useful when  looking for the nearest supermarket in Sofia
• Paradise Center
• Mall of Sofia
• Serdika Center
• Sofia Outlet Center

And finally a couple of personal recommendations.

We’ve been lucky to stay in Sofia in 2 great places that we found on airbnb.com. I wholeheartedly recommend them for anyone who wants to stay in Sofia for an extended period of time:

• Great apartment 5 min from Vitosha Blvd – 1 bedroom recently renovated apartment with the fastest Internet connection we ever had anywhere in the world (I am not kidding)
• Sunny huge apartment 5 min from Cathedral Saint Alexandar Nevski – this is an amazingly huge 2 bedroom apartment. The host is absolutely fantastic and goes way beyond your expectations to make you feel comfortable.

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• Travel Resources For Your Next Trip

Published: January 2015. Last update: February 2019

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