ESSENTIALS
Country DataThe Language
Accommodation
Buses
Disabled Facilities
Driving
Electricity
Emergency Telephone Numbers
Etiquette
Health
Hill Walking
Money
Nudism
Railways
Religion
Skiing
Time
Toilets
Vegetarians
Water
Wi-Fi and Mobile Phones
COUNTRY DATA
Capital city - Sofia
Language - Bulgarian
Alphabet - Cyrillic
Time - GMT + 2Hrs.
Currency - 1 Lev = 100 Stotinki
Population - 7,100,000
Area in km.² - 111,000
Bulgarian is a Slavonic language similar in many aspects to Russian and Serbo-Croat. It is written in Cyrillic script. If you have had no previous experience of Cyrillic, it is not difficult, with a copy of the alphabet beside you, to decipher a menu at your leisure, but to read a road sign flashing by at 80 kilometres per hour takes a degree of fluency. Thus, to help you accustom yourself to its characters and encourage you to read it quickly, the Cyrillic equivalents of place names, important institutions and menu items e. g. Sofia (София) are printed in brackets next to them where they occur.
CYRILLIC LETTERING TABLE
| CYRILLIC LETTER | ЕNGLISH EQUIVALENT | SOUND |
|---|---|---|
| A a | A | 'a' in ban | Б б | B | 'b' in boat |
| В в | V | 'v' in very |
| Г г | G | 'g' in got |
| Д д | D | 'd' in dad |
| Е е | E | 'e' in egg |
| Ж ж | Zh | 's' in measure |
| З з | Z | 'z' in zoo |
| И и | I | 'ee' in see |
| Й й | I | 'i' in igloo |
| К к | C/K | 'c' in car |
| Л л | L | 'l' in lag |
| М м | M | 'm' in money |
| Н н | N | 'n' in run |
| О о | O | 'o' in got | П п | P | 'p' in pan |
| Р р | R | 'r' in run |
| С с | S | 's' in see |
| Т т | T | 't' in ten |
| У у | Ou | 'oo' in foot |
| Ф ф | F | 'f' in foot |
| Х х | H | 'ch' in loch |
| Ц ц | Ts | 'ts' in fits |
| Ч ч | Ch | 'ch' in chin |
| Ш ш | Sh | 'sh' in shin |
| Щ щ | Sht | 'sht' in fishtail |
| Ъ ъ | U | 'u' in ugly |
| Ю ю | Yu | 'ieu' in lieu |
| Я я | Ya | 'ya' in yak |
.....AND ITS PRONUNCIATION
Bulgarian is a straightforward language to pronounce, unlike English there
are no confusing letters that sound differently depending upon the context.
Each letter has only one sound, so reasonably accurate pronunciation can be
obtained if you read each word letter by letter. All the sounds in
Bulgarian are in English, but some are sounds we use but don’t have letters for,
such as the ‘zh’ sound in measure. Vowels are short (as in the northern or Scottish pronunciation of 'car', rather than the more extended southern English 'caar') and longer words usually have an inflection on the last syllable (for instance, mousaka)
In the guide the following letter combinations are used:-
u - as in ugly but a shorter, more emphatic sound
a - as in ‘fat’
ch - as in church
ts - as in fits, often used at the beginning of a word
ou - as in you
h - as in the Scottish loch, but further back in the throat
zh - as in measure
yu - `you` with a short `ee` sound at the beginning as in `ee-you`
ya - as in yak, often used at the end of a word
o - as in ‘got’ not ‘fold’
i - as in see
i - as in bit
h - as in Scottish loch but sounded further back in the throat
zh - as in measure
ACCOMMODATIONThe more expensive hotels (Хотел- hotel) in the major centres and all in the coastal resorts have all the facilities that you would expect in a comfortable Western hotel, but mid-range and cheaper hotels tend not to be so well equipped or staffed. Most offer bed only with breakfast, if available, as an extra, and a double room means just that, two beds in one room. Village inns (Хан- han) sometimes offer cheap rooms and AirBnB or its equivalents are as popular here as elsewhere. In the mountain areas accommodation for walkers can be found in chalets (Хижа- hizha) with facilities ranging from the equivalent of a small hotel to a bothy to lay your sleeping bag in. Traditionally, monasteries (Манастир - manastir) offered accommodation to travellers and some, particularly the bigger ones such as Rila and Bachkovo, still do although during the summer season accommodation is often booked in advance by parties (see the Holidays in Bulgaria section for more details). There are around 90 Campsites (Къмпинг - kеmping) and all are cheap and generally reasonably well equipped, although some close out of season. It is not advisable to camp out of a recognised campsite without asking the landowner’s permission.
BUS (Автобус - avtobus)There is an extensive system of local buses and private long distance buses and there are few areas of the country not served by a cheap, frequent bus service. Privately-owned buses generally only cover the major inter-city routes but publicly-owned buses cover the rest of the country including all the more remote and beautiful parts inaccessible without a car. Urban buses are cheap and frequent and usually the best way to get around towns. In Sofia there is also an extensive and efficient subway, the Metro (Метро), a tram system (Трамвай - tramvai) which covers the city centre and electric buses (Тролей - trolei) which cover the outer suburbs. On long-haul or out of town buses tickets can be bought from the bus station ticket office. On urban buses or trams a single ticket can be bought from the driver and single tickets, books of ten tickets (desetki) or daily of weekly travel cards can be bought from transport offices (often on the streets). Once on the bus or tram they must be punched in machines set on the bus walls. Plain-clothed transport inspectors patrol frequently and can impose an on-the-spot fine on those without a punched ticket.
DISABLED FACILITIESThe disabled, particularly those in wheelchairs, are not well provided for. Most new hotels have lifts and stair ramps but these are the exception rather than the rule. Older buildings and tourist sites generally have no facilities.
DRIVINGBulgaria has a network of motorways crossing the country and but it is far from complete , extending between Sofia and the Black Sea coast and south to the Greek and Turkish borders but not to the country’s other customs points nor to the north of the country.
The road labelling system is:
- A - dual carriageway/motorway;
- E - transnational routes;
- Numbered - trunk routes generally comparable to UK A roads.
Driving is on the right and the wearing of seat belts is compulsory.
The speed limits are:-
- Motorways - 130 kmph
- All other - 90 kmph/50 kmph in built-up areas
Essential legislation:-
- The minimum age for drivers is 18
- You must drive with dipped headlights
- Children under 12 are not allowed in the front seat
You must carry with you:-
- Driving licence for EU Citizens/International Driving Permit all others
- Original registration and ownership documents (including logbook) if you own the car
- Original contract documents if you've hired a car
- Evidence of insurance (insurance is with the car, not the driver)
- Fire extinguisher
- First-aid kit
- Red warning triangle
- Reflective vest
Petrol is bought at the benzinostantsia (filling station). Road signs follow European standards and are in both Cyrililic and Latin alphabets. As elsewhere, brown signs are used for tourist information. There is no road tax, but drivers must purchase a vignette (vinetka), the cost depending on the length of time the car is used. These are available online (www.vinetka.bg or www.bgtoll.bg ). Traffic conventions are generally similar to the rest of Europe, although flashed headlights mean `get out of the way`. On country roads, particularly in the mountains, be careful of animals and pedestrians in the middle of the road.
Accidents must be reported to the police (Полиция- politsia) and all parties are required to wait at the scene of the accident for the police to arrive if there are casualties.
The police are entitled to stop you at any time and can impose on-the-spot fines for minor traffic infringements, thus always carry your car documents and driving licence with you. Drink-driving is illegal and drivers will be prosecuted if any alcohol is found in their bloodstream.
Parking is difficult in Sofia and other major towns. The number of parking spaces have not yet caught up with the ever-increasing number of cars in Bulgaria and the police will clamp and remove any car illegally or badly parked. If in doubt about where to park use a public car park or park where there are already a lot of cars. Should the unthinkable happen you can recover your car police pounds in Sofia from one of three pounds. You can check which one on their website, www.sofiatraffic.bg/en, or elsewhere from the Police Station on payment of a fine. In one-way streets, parking is on the left only.
ELECTRICITY220 volts using a round two-pin plug.
EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBERSEurope-wide emergency number 112
Ambulance (Бърза Помощ - burza pomosht) 150
Fire Brigade (Пожарна Команда - pozharna komanda) 160
Police (Полиция - politsia) 166
ETIQUETTEBulgarians met socially will greet you formally to which a formal response is expected and the same applies when saying goodbye. If you visit Bulgarians in their homes, it is considered good manners to bring a small present, particularly flowers or a box of chocolates. Contrary to European convention, many Bulgarians, particularly of the older generation, nod their head to indicate `no` and shake it for `yes`. Confusingly, some will try to make life easier for you by nod-shaking the European way, so, when ordering in a cafe or restaurant hold out for a firm spoken `Da` or `Ne` unless you want to spend a lot of time waiting for that much anticipated special dish that may never arrive.
HEALTHChemists (Аптека - apteka) everywhere sell most types of proprietary medicines, pain-killers, laxatives etc. and some drugs that would be controlled or prescription-only elsewhere. For specific drugs or brands of drugs, you may have to find a large, town-centre chemist or be prepared to try a few before finding one that sells your requirement. There are hospitals in most regional towns where dental and medical treatment can be obtained and most of the main hotels retain a doctor on call. Some, particularly in spa towns such as Kiustendil or Sandanski, also have a health centre.
HILL WALKINGBulgaria’s mountain ranges are a hill-walker’s paradise, beautiful, deserted and with a goodly number of well-placed and well-maintained chalets or bothys covered by the general term Хижа - hizha. Some of these are staffed and function like small hotels others are simply small huts with bedding and a fire. In the larger ones rooms can be booked in advance. Paths near mountain resorts are usually well marked although further afield a good map and compass are required. Three European Long Distance Paths cross the country and maps with route details in English are available in bookshops and online. Detailed hill maps may be difficult to find, although stalls and shops in some resorts sometimes sell them and a trawl through second-hand bookshops in larger towns usually turns up a few, sometimes of Communist vintage. For those who wish to challenge Пътеводител- putevoditel) to all the mountain regions can also be found in most book shops. Hill-walking is generally safe in the summer, especially around the popular tourist sights or resorts, although early or late in the year fast-moving storms can present a danger for the unwary. When in doubt guides are cheap to hire.
MONEYThe Bulgarian unit of currency is the Lev, leva in the plural, (divided into 100 stotinki) and come in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, leva notes and stotinki coins. There is an extensive network of ATMs in all cities and towns. Credit and debit cards can be used almost everywhere, although phone payments are not yet widely accepted. The exchange rate against US dollars, sterling and the euro has been relatively stable for a number of years now. Most banks (opening times Mon - Fri 08.00-15.00, closed for lunch 12.30-13.00, Sat 08.00-14.00) in Sofia, Varna, Burgas and other large towns have foreign exchange desks and there are private bureaux de change whose exchange rates can vary considerably.
NUDISMThe Fichoza beach in Varna and some other beaches near Sozopol and Dyuni (all clearly marked) are the only nudist beaches on the Black Sea coast. Elsewhere it is either discouraged or expressly forbidden, however topless bathing is common.
RAILWAYS (Влак - vlak)The Bulgarian railways (Bulgarski Durzhavni Zheleznitsi or БДЖ - pronounced Be-De-Zhe) are a cheap (a first class ticket from Sofia to Plovdiv costs 9 leva) if a slow way of travelling around the country. Train lines do though go through some of the most beautiful parts of the country difficult to get to by road and the journey from Sofia to Vratsa through the Iskur Gorge, for example, must be one of the most beautiful in Europe. They generally run on time but have few facilities and on long journeys it is a good idea to bring food, drink and toilet roll. There are two classes of ticket, first class with 6 padded seats to a compartment and second with 8 bench seats. On night trains from Sofia to the Black Sea coast sleeping compartments (ask for a ticket for the spalen vagon) are available and, especially in the heat of summer, can be the most comfortable way to travel between the two. Tickets (bilet - plural bileti) and timetables (razpisanie) can be bought from station ticket offices (Каса - kasa) or online at the rail website, www.bdz.bg. If you are travelling from the train’s starting point it is best to book a reserved seat (zapazeno miasto). Timetables in stations have two columns, arrivals (Пристигане or just Пр) and departures (Заминаване, Тръгва or Тр). Express train (ekspresen vlak) departure times are marked in red.
RELIGIONMost Bulgarians belong to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, similar in practice and belief to the Greek and Russian Orthodox churches. The head of the church is the Patriarch and the principal Orthodox festivals are Budni Vecher (24th December), Koleda (Christmas Day) and Velikden (Easter). There is also a sizeable Muslim community, particularly in the south-eastern Turkish speaking areas of the country. For the visitor, there are Catholic Churches in Sofia, Varna, Plovdiv and Burgas and a Seventh Day Adventist Church in Sofia.
SKIINGThe principal ski resorts are Vitosha and Borovets, close to Sofia, Pamporovo in the southern Rodope and Bansko in the Pirin Mountains. All offer cheap skiing holidays in either hotel or self-catering accommodation and all have facilities for beginners and intermediate skiers and snowboarding. For the advanced skier, Borovets has the testing World Cup run and Pamporovo an international slalom course, the Wall, on a steep black mogul field, and some long reds. Vitosha is less challenging but Bansko offers some interesting off-piste skiing in the mountains
TIMEBulgarian time is two hours ahead of UK time, changing to Summer time on the first Sunday of April and winter time on the last Sunday of September.
TOILETS (Тоалетни - toaletni)Women`s toilets are Ж` - zheni or `Д` - dami and men’s `Мж` - Muzhi. Hotels, shopping malls and restaurants have plentiful free toilets, but some public toilets are guarded and cleaned by an attendant who demands a small fee or `taksa` for entry and toilet paper. Public toilets in railway stations, parks and other public places are not the cleanest of Bulgaria’s public amenities, but they are reasonably plentiful.
VEGETARIANSVegetarian restaurants or restaurants with vegetarian options have are easy to find in Sofia, Plovdiv, on the Black Sea Coast and in tourist areas but outside of these areas they are not common. Having said that vegetarians need not starve, Bulgarian cuisine specialises in salad dishes (see Food) and, in the summer at least, there is an abundance of fruit. In the autumn most Bulgarians pickle vegetables for winter use (Туршия – Tourshia).
WATER (Вода - voda)Tap water is safe to drink.
Wi-Fi and Mobile Phone (Мобифон - Mobifon)Bulgaria's internet speed is one of the fastest in the world and, with the exception of smaller villages, widespread across the country. Most hotels and restaurants offer internet access, and, if not in one of those, shopping malls do also. Mobile phone coverage is good across the country, again except in some of the remoter regions. At the moment UK phones roam so you can contact friends and family at home as if you are phoning from the UK. Phoning a Bulgarian phone is expensive, and if you are going to phone regularly, it is better to buy a local sim. MTel, Bulgaria's biggest mobile phone company offer such a sim with a limited amount of free calls for about 10L.a month, and other companies do the same.