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Things to know about Bulgaria


Capital: Sofia

 

Religion: Orthodox Christianity. There are also Catholics, Muslims and Protestants in the country.

 

Official language is Bulgarian, however most people speak Russian, English and some of them – German.

 

Climate: temperate continental. The warmest period of time is from June to September. Near the sea cost the climate is Mediterranean, the swimming season lasts from May to October. The highlands receive much precipitation, it’s about 1000 mm. From August, the dry weather prevails on the lowlands.

 

The average temperature in Bulgaria:

 

January −3°C
February 0°C
March +5°C
April +10°C
May +15°C
June +17°C
July +23°C
August +20°C
September +17°C
October +12°C
November +5°C
December 0°C

 

Currency: Bulgarian lev. International code – BGN. One Bulgarian lev is equal to one hundred stotinki. Circulated banknotes and coins are in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 stotinki and Bulgarian levs. Import and export of BGN is forbidden.

 

Means of payment
Cash payment is preferable there. Credit cards and traveller’s cheques are acceptable in hotels and banks. Master Card and Visa are the most popular cards.

 

Currency exchange: you are advised to convert your currency into Bulgarian levs in the country. American dollars and euros are the most profitable in exchange offices and banks. On weekdays, banks are open from 9:00am until 5:00pm, period from 12:00am to 1:00pm is a break time. Besides, you can find many exchange offices in the street. Such cities as Varna and Burgas have the most profitable exchange rate.

 

Calls to Bulgaria from other countries
To make a landline call to Bulgaria, you need to dial: international access code (exit code) – country code (359) – area code – phone number itself.

 

Calls from Bulgaria to other countries
Public phone boxes are widely used in the country. To call from such phone box, you should have a special card. Don’t forget, that phone cards of one company aren’t served by telephone boxes of another one. You can call abroad or in other city using phone cards of Mobika – you can recognize their phone boxes by blue colour. Bulfon phone cards are used for orange phone boxes. You can buy these cards at newsstands, small shops, post offices and hotels of the country. To make a call within the country, you should dial: 0 – area code – phone number itself; for international calls: 00 – country code – area code – phone number itself.


Useful phone numbers in Bulgaria:
Traffic police – 165
Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism – 359-2-987-97-78
Road assistance – 146
Fire Department – 160
Police – 166
Ambulance – 150
Information desk of domestic phone numbers – 145
Information desk of institutions – 144

 

Time zone: UTC/GMT +2 hour
Daylight saving time in summer is on the last Sunday of March at 1:00am.
Daylight saving time in winter is on the last Sunday of October at 1:00am.

 

Customs
You can bring into country duty-free:
- 200 cigarettes or up to 250 grams of tobacco products,
- 2 litres of wine or 1 l of alcohol beverages;
- up to 50 ml of perfume or 250 ml of cologne;
- up to 500gr of coffee and up to 100gr of tea;
You must have a declaration, when you import foreign currency. It’s forbidden to export BGN, if the amount is more than 5000. However, there is no limit to the amount of currency you can bring into the country.
If you export less than 1000 American dollars, the declaration is unnecessary; the sum from 1000 to 10 000 American dollars must be declared. If you bring out of the country more than 10 000 American dollars, you must show documents, which explain origin of the money.


Shopping
Shops are open from 9:30am till 6:00pm. The shops with the sign "Non-stop" work 24 hours a day; some of them are open on weekends. In Sofia, the best shops are located along Vitosha Boulevard and in the gallery near the National Palace of Culture (also known as NDK). In Central Department Store – TZUM-Sofia – located on Maria Luiza Boulevard, you can buy leather goods, unusual knives, compact disks and Bulgarian souvenirs. Rakia, a kind of vodka, and alteyka – liquor with a taste of grass – are considered the main Bulgarian souvenirs in the country. Also the most popular souvenir from Bulgaria is rose oil.

 

Transport in Bulgaria

 

1) public transport

 

1. In cities, buses, trams and trolleybuses run. A ticket for land transport costs about 0.25 BGN, it depends on the city. Daily ticket for all kinds of transport will cost 1 BGN, five-day ticket costs 4.4 BGN, month ticket – about 21 BGN.

 

2. All taxis are coloured yellow and have a traditional taxi roof sign. Price list should be fixed on the side window of each car. After a trip you can get a cheque. There are three types of rate: daily, night-time and holiday. As a rule, the taxi fare in a summer resort is 20 stotinki more. Initial tariff entry is about 0.29 – 0.39 BGN; 1 km is 0.48 – 0.58 BGN, a minute of waiting will cost you approximately 0.16 – 0.19 BGN. Luggage, which takes more than one seat, costs about 5 BGN per kilometre.

 

3. The only subway in Bulgaria is located in Sofia. It has two lines, which connect four most populated districts of Sofia: Lyulin – Mladost, Nadezhda – Lozenetz. In resort cities you’d better use a bicycle; its rental is about 5 BGN per hour.

 

2) long-distance transport

 

1. Buses. Intercity bus service is well-developed. It’s the most convenient kind of transport in the country. Comfortable buses with air conditioning system are used for intercity passenger transportation. Travel by a luxury class bus costs about 6 BGN per 100 km, for a simple passenger bus you’ll pay 4 BGN per 100 km. The critical factor of the fare is distance. For example, to get from Varna to Albena, you’ll pay about 3 BGN.

 

2. Trains. You can use railway services in Bulgaria. It’s the cheapest kind of transport there, as you can spend only 10 American dollars for travelling around the whole country. There are several types of carriages. Couchette car, a compartment car with shelves and lower berths, has four or six seats. Sleeping car is a comfortable three-seat compartment, where a dressing room and a wash basin are located. Sitting car is a small compartment with six seats, three of which are located opposite other three seats.

 

3. Aircraft. Domestic flights are from Sofia to Varna and Burgas, where huge airports are situated. Flights are frequent. For example, 5-7 flights a day are from Sofia to Varna, 3-4 flights a day are from Sofia to Burgas. A domestic flight costs about 60-80 American dollars in one direction. However, off-season is a period of discounts, when you can fly from Burgas or Varna to Sofia for 30-40 American dollars.

 

4. Water transport in Bulgaria
Harbours in Varna and Burgas are used only for trade transportation. Harbours, which are located on the Black Sea coast, are used for tourist walks. There are many sightseeing trips along the Danube River.

 

Car rental in Bulgaria
People, who want to rent a car, must be at least 21 years old with international driving license. Car rental costs approximately 33 American dollars per day. If you correctly plan your trip over the country, you’ll spend only two days for visiting all attractions you are interested in. That’s why, it’s unnecessary to rent a car for more than 2 days. Parking places must be paid and they all are expensive.


If you travel by your own car, you must have an international driving license, car documents and also the ecological certificate of international standard. You must pay a toll while entering the country, because Bulgaria has a road tax for foreign tourists.

 

Hotels in Bulgaria
There is a wide range of hotels either public or private. On the coast, you can rent a room in a private house or a whole house. In the mountains, you can rent a small house like a chalet. And in a spa resort you’ll be offered to rent a boarding house. Nevertheless, the country has a five-star hotel classification. A family hotel will offer you services of experienced animators and baby-sitters, who can look after your children, while you relax on the beach. Young people usually choose a hotel, where they could visit parties and different entertainments for an active holiday.

 

Tipping in Bulgaria
The usual deal is to tip a doorman and a chambermaid. In luxurious restaurants, people usually leave 10% of the total sum, and 5-8% in cafes or bars. You shouldn’t leave money on the table. A taxi driver is usually given 5% of the fare according to the taximeter, or you can leave the change.

 

National holidays in Bulgaria
1 January – New Year
3 March – Liberation Day
8 April – Easter Monday
1 May – Labour Day
24 May – Bulgarian Education and Culture, and Slavonic Literature Day; day of Saints Cyril and Methodius
25 December – Christmas

 

Traditions and behaviour rules in Bulgaria
In Bulgaria, expressions of agreement and disagreement are different from generally accepted. If a Bulgarian disagrees with something, he’ll nod. If he agrees – he’ll turn his head from side to side. It’s forbidden to take pictures of military targets, interior of cathedrals and artefacts in museums. In Bulgaria, all beaches are free of charge; furthermore, you can sunbathe topless. However, you should pay for beach equipment. As a rule, Bulgarian people drink red wine only in months, which have the letter ”r” in the name, in the others – white. That’s why during summer, in hot weather they drink cold white wine.

 

Electricity in Bulgaria
Mains voltage – 220V, and frequency – 50 Hz around the country. New hotels have sockets of the European type.

 

Visa
Visa is not required for citizens of countries of the Schengen agreement. These are Austria, Belgium, Vatican, Hungary, Germany, Denmark, Greece, Iceland, Spain, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Finland, France, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Sweden, Estonia. Citizens of other countries wishing to visit Bulgaria must apply for a visa.Travellers usefull tips

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