What you need to know before you pack!

You have finally decided to pack and make your way to Bulgaria but you don't know what to take or what to expect? Let me give you all the right tips and inside information you need to know to make the best of your trip!

The first thing to consider is what season of the year you want to visit, summer is a great time to visit the coast of the Black Sea Regions, while fall and winter are also great in the mountains and the capital city Sofia.

Packing is an important factor in every trip, pack wisely so you can travel with ease by avoiding extra weight from carrying things that you end up not using during your trip at all...

3 to 4 sets of clothing are enough to last you for a couple of weeks, most places have laundry facilities so that will not be a problem, if you visit during winter, male sure you bring a good winter coat, gloves, beannie and winter shoes. Remember, you want to be comfortable but practical.

Do I need a visa?

The last thing you want is to start your trip on the wrong foot right? So do make sure you are travelling with a valid passport that has at least two blank pages for visa stamps and is valid for at least 3 months from the date of your departure from Bulgaria, make sure you check if you are a national of one of the countries with VISA FREE access to Bulgaria, If you need a visa before arrival, make sure you go to the nearest embassy or consulate at your location and apply for it with enough time before your departure. If you are in the visa free regime you will get a visa on arrival valid for 90 days for most countries and it only allows TOURIST ACTIVITY.

Arriving in Bulgaria!

Once you arrive at the Bulgaria Airport, you will go thru passport control and customs very quickly, terminal 1 of the airport is the old original terminal which is very small. as you walk out of customs there will be a lot of taxi drivers trying to lure you into catching a ride with them, DO NOT DO THAT, they will scam you by charging you 3 times the normal rate on average, it happened to me in my first visit, I was so tired from travelling across the atlantic and I still needed to fly to Bourgas, so I decided to go to a nearby hotel to sleep a few hours to recover some energy, as tired as I was, my common sense had vanished so I followed the first cab driver that boarded me as I walked out of the airport only to pay 25 levas for a ride that normally is 5 to 6 levas (Leva is the currency in Bulgaria). If you are not being picked up, the best thing to do is to buy a taxi ticket at one of the booths inside the airport, I also recommend that you exchange some euros for levas in the exchange office, just 50 euros to get you to your hotel, the banks have a better exchange rate, also Crown exchange has a reputation of providing one of the best exchange rates and they are everywhere. If you are the adventurer solo traveller or couple then you can take the free shuttle to terminal 2 and then catch the metro into town, at this point you are probably hungry! What I usually do is take the metro into the Serdika II station and then walk 3 blocks down to FANSHAN Chinese restaurant, you can have a good sit down meal for 10 levas per person, very cheap, once done with your meal, if you are going to another destination by bus you can make your way to the CENTRAL BUS STATION which is only about a 10 min. walk. if you decide to take a taxi anywhere, make sure you agree on the amount you will pay rather than going by the meter, usually meters are rigged to rip you off, it is an unfortunate situation you will find in any country, so just keep an open mind and enjoy the ride, the rate is normally 1 leva per kilometer of road, look up your destination in google maps and calculate the amount based on the kilometers away from where you are. Make sure you exchange curreny for levas as you go.

Safety is normally not an issue in Bulgaria, but always be aware of your surroundings mainly to avoid pick pockets, keep your passport in a secure pouch or pocket prefferably located on your chest so it is always in sight, if you travel to the coastal locations like Sunny Beach or Varna, be careful with Roma children trying to scam you by giving you cherries to taste from a basket and then wanting to make you buy it at an expensive price because you ate from it, Roma children will also beg and sometimes follow you, just yell at them that you will call the police and they will go away.

In the next posts I will write in detail about the things to do and where to go for good food, etc. Please subscribe and stay tuned!

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Day trip to БУЗЛУДЖА communist UFO structure!

The day trip to BUZLUDZA is one of the main activities to do when you are in Veliko Tarnovo and you stay at HOSTEL MOSTEL, once in the hostel just check with Andy about the next trip, it usually leaves in the morning and we return around 5-6 pm, on the drive up to the UFO there is a stop at the Etara Museum, it is a beautiful museum type area which resembles life in the villages of Bulgaria back in the day, there are many interesting original handcrafts made on site like high quality knives, flutes, warm clothing and hats, and different types of souvenirs as well as a pastry shop making original Bulgarian pastries and bread, we walk around as Andy explains some of the highlights of the place while you can take some beautiful pictures, in the summer time the weather is really nice but there are a lot more tourists, so if you like it nice and quiet visiting around the month of October is ideal, from there we make our way up the mountain where Andy will show his 4 wheeling skills making the ride very fun and exciting as you can see in my video above, the next stop is the monument of Soviet Brotherhood, there we make a short stop to take pictures and stretch our legs, then we make the final drive up to the majestic UFO structure which used to be a communist reunion place for the Communist Party, it is a very unique and interesting structure as is its history which Andy will explain in great detail, make sure to take some great photos since this is one of those few places where not many people ever get the change to go.

 

On the drive back to Veliko we make another stop at the Dryanovo Monastery and then we drive over to the Andraka Restaurant where you will enjoy a delicious traditional Bulgarian dinner, I personally recommend the chicken hearts dish as an entree or main dish depending on your appetite, but I am sure you will find your dish delicious no matter what you choose, you can also try some Rakia which is the traditional drink in Bulgaria, and if you want to buy some home made Rakia just ask one of the vendors at the souvenir shops at the entrance of the monastery and you will be able to get some from 10 to 15 Levas depending on the bottle size, also the prices at the restaurant are very reasonable for the food quality and portion sizes served, as a courtesy we included a 10% tip on top of our check because we were very pleased with the food and service overall.

If you go in October or later into winter time, make sure you wear warm clothing and bring gloves and beannie because it gets quite windy and cold on top of the mountain, also make sure you bring cash Levas with you as the shops in the museum are old school and do not take cards, same for the restaurant. I hope you liked my video and the information provided so that you decide to make the trip, I guarantee you will not be disappointed!

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