Bulgaria

Bulgaria Travel Guide: Everything You Need to Know

Discover the wonders of Bulgaria with our handy travel guide. Learn about the local weather and find out the ideal time for your visit. Get tips on transportation options to explore the country with ease. Explore top cities and must-see destinations, along with delicious Bulgarian foods you should taste. We'll also reveal hidden gems off the beaten path that most tourists never find.

Weather and Best Time To Visit

Black Sea Coast: June to September offers perfect beach weather with warm temperatures (25-30°C) and pleasant water for swimming. August is busiest; June and September provide better value with fewer crowds.

Sofia and Western Bulgaria: May to October is ideal for exploring the capital and nearby mountains. Spring (May-June) brings lush landscapes and pleasant hiking conditions, while autumn (September-October) offers beautiful foliage.

Central Balkan Region: April to October is best for mountain exploration. Wildflowers peak in late spring, while autumn brings spectacular colors to forests around Gabrovo and Veliko Tarnovo.

Southern Bulgaria/Rhodope Mountains: May through September provides ideal conditions for visiting Plovdiv and exploring mountain villages. April-May showcases spring blooms, while September-October offers harvest festivals.

Danube Plain/Northern Bulgaria: April to October offers pleasant conditions for exploring riverside towns and historical sites around Ruse and Vidin.

How to get to Bulgaria

Sofia Airport serves as Bulgaria's primary air hub, connecting travelers to the capital city Sofia. Upon arrival, visitors can explore the city's historic cobblestone streets and characteristic domed churches.

Burgas Airport handles significant traffic during summer months, primarily serving Bulgaria's Black Sea coast. From here, travelers can easily reach popular destinations like Sunny Beach and the historic town of Nessebar, known for its well-preserved medieval architecture.

Varna Airport provides access to Bulgaria's main coastal city, where ancient Roman ruins exist alongside modern amenities. Many visitors use this airport when traveling to Golden Sands, a popular beach resort where forested areas extend to the shoreline.

Plovdiv Airport, though smaller, serves Bulgaria's second-largest city Plovdiv. The airport becomes particularly busy during winter when visitors arrive for nearby mountain ski resorts.

Gorna Oryahovitsa Airport operates seasonally, mainly serving tourists visiting Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria's medieval capital known for its impressive hilltop fortress overlooking the Yantra River.

How to Get Around

When people travel across Bulgaria, they often find themselves hopping on intercity buses that connect Sofia, Plovdiv, and Varna. These buses don't cost much and run on time. In smaller towns, locals and travelers alike squeeze into "marshrutki" - minivans that zip along flexible routes and stop whenever passengers need them to.

Some travelers prefer to grab a steering wheel themselves. Rental cars open up the mountain roads where buses don't venture, letting you pull over at that roadside fruit stand or take an unplanned detour to a village festival.

City life in Bulgaria moves to the rhythm of public transportation. Buses and trolleybuses rumble through streets from early morning until late night. Sofia's subway tunnels beneath the city with two lines that stop near the main squares, museums, and shopping areas.

When feet get tired, taxis wait at nearly every corner. Just make sure the driver switches on the meter before pulling away from the curb.

The old town centers tell their stories best when explored on foot. Stone streets too narrow for cars wind between buildings hundreds of years old.

For journeys between cities, services from Union Ivkoni-Unibus or Karat-S offer comfortable coaches that make traveling the country straightforward.

Food Scene

When Bulgarians gather around a table, stories unfold through dishes like banitsa. This cheese-filled pastry warms hands and hearts at Sofia's Fabrika Daga, where locals start their mornings. In Plovdiv, kavarma bubbles in clay pots at Megdana tavern, meat slowly tenderizing in its own juices.

Morning walks through Zhenski Pazar in Sofia reveal grandmothers selling homegrown tomatoes and peppers. Over in Varna, Culinarium houses food-makers who continue recipes passed through generations, while Plovdiv's Kapana district fills with cooking aromas each evening.

Northern villages welcome guests with sarmi, cabbage leaves hiding seasoned rice. In the Rhodope Mountains, breakfast often means katmi, pancakes drizzled with local honey. Along the Black Sea, fishermen's catches become fish soup and platters of mussels.

• For evening meals, Cosmos in Sofia reimagines traditional recipes
• Trifon in Plovdiv honors family cooking
• DiVino in Varna serves the morning's catch

The tables at Shtastliveca and ANDRé await, each dish telling Bulgaria's continuing food story.

Hidden Gems

Pobiti Kamani (Stone Desert), Varna
From the sand near Varna rise hundreds of hollow stone pillars, some reaching seven meters tall. These natural formations have stood for 50 million years, looking as if a giant scattered them across the landscape. Visit in April or October when the soft morning light casts long shadows between the columns and the crowds haven't arrived yet. It's just a 30-minute drive west of Varna, or you can catch a local bus from the central station. The stone forest tells its own quiet story. Scientists still debate whether they formed underwater or through ancient gas seeps.

Buzludzha Monument, Kazanlak
High on a mountain peak sits a concrete saucer from another era. This abandoned communist headquarters now stands empty, with its mosaics slowly crumbling and snow drifting through holes in the roof. The mountain roads open fully from June through September. You'll need to drive or take a taxi from Kazanlak, about 12km from Shipka Pass. When you round the final curve and see it for the first time on the horizon, you'll understand why people make the journey. The building holds decades of stories within its concrete walls.

Seven Rila Lakes, Sapareva Banya
The lakes sit one above another like steps climbing up the mountain. Clear water reflects the sky in seven different shapes: tear, eye, kidney, twin, trefoil, fish, and lower lake, each filling and spilling into the next. Between late June and early September, the snow melts away, revealing hiking paths between them. Start your journey at Pionerska hut, where a chairlift carries you partway up (come early before the line grows). Follow the circular path and you'll see all seven lakes unfold below you, each with its own character and color. The town of Sapareva Banya serves as an excellent base for exploring this natural wonder.

Scenic Routes

Between mountain passes and seaside curves, Bulgaria reveals itself to travelers who take the time to watch the landscape unfold through a train window or bus glass. The country changes its face with each season, showing different colors and moods throughout the year.

Sofia to Plovdiv - The train cuts through the Sredna Gora mountains at an unhurried pace. Look out for small villages where time seems to stand still, with chickens in yards and grandmothers working garden plots. In April and May, red poppies and yellow rapeseed paint the hillsides. Bring a book, but you'll likely forget to read it as you watch the countryside roll by.

Varna to Burgas - The Black Sea stays close to the train tracks on this route. You'll spot empty beaches where only seagulls leave footprints and bustling resort towns preparing for sun-seekers. In July, the water turns a deep blue that merges with the sky at the horizon. Keep your camera ready for fishing boats returning to harbor.

Bansko to Melnik - As the bus descends from ski country to wine valleys, pine forests give way to bizarre sand formations. During September, vineyards turn golden and trucks loaded with grapes rumble toward wineries. Sit on the right side to catch the Pirin mountains standing guard like ancient sentinels.

Rila Monastery to Sofia - Leaving behind the monastery's red and white striped walls, the road follows river curves through deep forest. In June, the air smells of pine and wild herbs. Take a window seat to watch the monastery grow smaller until it disappears among the mountains that protected it for centuries.

Belogradchik to Vidin - The road meanders past rock formations that could be giants turned to stone in old folk tales, before reaching the wide Danube and Vidin's fortress. October light brings out the red tones in the rocks and creates long shadows that emphasize their unusual shapes. The bus stops at lookout points where you can step out and feel the wind that carved these monuments.

Events, Festivals and Local Markets

The Plovdiv International Fair turns Plovdiv into a meeting place where business people and curious visitors walk between pavilions filled with everything from tractors to computers. Farmers chat with tech experts while local food vendors serve traditional meals in the background.

At the Rose Festival in Kazanlak, people gather in fields dotted with pink blossoms as workers demonstrate the centuries-old practice of hand-picking roses at dawn. Children watch wide-eyed as a local girl becomes Rose Queen, while musicians play folk tunes that echo through the valley.

When winter grips the country, the Surva International Festival of Masquerade Games wakes Pernik from its slumber. Participants clad in animal furs and wooden masks with bells hanging from their belts dance through streets. The sound of those bells can be heard throughout town, continuing a tradition that dates back centuries.

During summer evenings in Plovdiv, Kapana Fest fills the narrow cobblestone streets with music. Local painters set up canvases next to jewelry makers, while small crowds gather around street performers. The old district comes alive as people sip local wines and wander between galleries housed in buildings that tell stories of the past.

Best Places to Visit

Under the watchful eye of Vitosha Mountain, Sofia tells the story of centuries colliding. Roman stones lie next to Orthodox domes, while Soviet-era concrete apartments watch over modern cafés. Walking these streets means stepping across different chapters of history with each block.

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral stands with its gold domes catching sunlight, while locals hurry past on daily errands, barely noticing what tourists travel thousands of miles to see. On Vitosha Boulevard, Sofians gather at outdoor tables, coffee cups steaming as they talk politics and daily life.

Come in May when chestnut trees bloom along the boulevards, or September when summer heat retreats but outdoor cafés remain full. You'll find yourself joining locals for evening walks through parks where families have strolled for generations.

At the Ivan Vazov National Theatre, performances continue a cultural tradition dating back centuries, while Bulgaria Hall fills with music that needs no translation. In March, the Sofia Film Fest brings stories from around the world to Bulgarian screens.

• Direct flights to Sofia International Airport from major European cities
• International train connections from neighboring countries
• Bus services connecting Sofia to European capitals and major Bulgarian cities

In Plovdiv, cobblestone streets have felt footsteps for over 6,000 years. History doesn't hide in museums here—it's part of daily life. The Old Town's painted houses lean toward each other across narrow streets, their wooden balconies almost touching.

Roman ruins emerge in unexpected places. In the city center, the ancient stadium appears beneath a modern shopping street, while the Roman theater still holds audiences under the same stars that watched performances two millennia ago.

Artists have transformed the once-abandoned Kapana district, where workshops and cafés now fill old craftsmen's buildings. Young Bulgarians sketch in notebooks outside, while inside, baristas prepare coffee with the seriousness of scientists.

Visit between April and October, when you can sit at outdoor tables alongside locals and watch the city's daily performance unfold on streets that have hosted this same human drama for centuries.

• Domestic flights to Plovdiv Airport from Sofia
• Regular train services from Sofia (approximately 2 hours)
• Highway connections making Plovdiv easily accessible by car or bus

In winter, Bansko wakes to the scrape of ski edges on morning snow. Skiers queue for lifts as mountain peaks turn pink with sunrise. Later, they return to the old town, where chimneys puff smoke from wood fires that heat centuries-old stone houses.

Behind wooden doors, mehanas (taverns) serve shopska salad and grilled meats to people who've spent the day on slopes. Musicians pick up traditional instruments, playing songs that have warmed Bansko nights for generations.

Summer brings different rhythms. Hiking boots replace ski boots as trails through Pirin National Park reveal alpine meadows dotted with wildflowers. Mountain guides who know every path lead visitors to peaks their grandfathers showed them.

Come December through March to feel snow crunch underfoot, or June through September to walk forest paths where bears still roam. Either season shows you a Bulgaria most travelers never see.

• Shuttle services from Sofia Airport (approximately 2.5 hours)
• Bus connections from Sofia's Central Bus Station
• Private transfers available from major Bulgarian cities

Tips

VISA & ENTRY

• EU citizens: Enter with ID card only
• US/UK/Canada: Visa-free for 90 days
• Non-exempt countries: Apply at Bulgarian embassy (€60, 3-15 days processing)

CULTURAL ETIQUETTE

• Nodding is reversed: up-down means "no"
• Remove shoes when entering homes
• Small gifts appreciated when visiting locals

MONEY

• Currency: Bulgarian Lev (BGN)
• €1 ≈ 1.96 BGN (fixed rate)
• Credit cards widely accepted in cities
• Keep cash for rural areas

HEALTH & SAFETY

• Emergency: 112
• Travel insurance essential
• Tap water generally safe in cities
• No special vaccines required

TRANSPORTATION

• Metro in Sofia
• BDZ trains (affordable but slow)
• Bus networks connect most towns