Which means of transport to use en Bulgarie?
Organize your stay en Bulgarie
From the airport to the city centre en Bulgarie
From Sofia airport, there are several ways to get to the city center. The easiest is to take the metro. The station is on the side of terminal 2: follow the blue line on the ground to get there on foot. Take line 1 into the city center - Serdika station (about 18 minutes). From Serdika station, you can take line 2 to the bus and train stations. The metro runs from 5.30 a.m. to midnight.
By bus, to get to the city center, from terminal 1, take bus 84, whose stop is 200 m from the exit, and from terminal 2, bus 284. These will take you to the Orlov Bridge (stop: Orlov Most) on the eastern edge of the city center (approx. 20 minutes). Buses run from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., every 10 to 15 minutes.
Tickets (bus or metro) are sold at the ticket office - 1.60 leva. On the bus, if your luggage is larger than 60 × 60 × 40 cm, you'll need to buy another ticket from the driver.
Cabs also run from the airport to the city center for 15-20 leva. Only take the official cabs, which can be recognized by their yellow color.
If you're landing directly in Bourgas, for a trip to the coast for example, bus number 15 runs from the airport to the train and bus stations every 25 minutes from 5.30am to 11pm. Eko Taxi is the official cab service.
Finally, from Varna airport to the city center, take bus 409 (every 15-20 minutes), which departs from terminal 2, passes the central bus station (15 minutes - 1 lev), then the cathedral (20 minutes - 1 lev) and on to Golden Sands (50 minutes - 3 leva). Buses run every 15-20 minutes. By cab, the official OK Trans company will take you to the center for 10-15 leva.
Public transport en Bulgarie
The Bulgarian bus network is larger than the train network, often more comfortable, but significantly more expensive. The major and busiest lines are those serving the mountain towns, where the train does not run, but it is possible to travel almost everywhere in Bulgaria with this means of transport. The connections are provided by several private companies, which together provide the main part of the network. In the larger cities there are often several bus stations (in the villages there is only one), from which the buses leave in the proposed directions.
The Bulgarian railway network (BDZ) is very cheap, but as mentioned above, it does not pass through the mountains. Taking the train is a good solution for the main routes; however, trains are often subject to delays or breakdowns. To find your way around the destinations and timetables, ask at the ticket office; in small villages, the staff may not speak English, but you will manage to make yourself understood..
In the city, you will easily find a bus to get around, or the metro (two lines) in Sofia.
Bike, scooters & co en Bulgarie
Only Sofia has the system of electric scooters in free circulation. As in France, you must have the app and make payment and connection to the scooter via the app.
With a driver en Bulgarie
Since 2018 and by court decision, Uber doesn't exist in Bulgaria because it opened up to a lot of unlicensed work.
Only cabs are therefore authorized to carry out private rides. You'll find them at train station and airport exits, in special cab lanes. It's possible to negotiate a fare, but make sure that the distance corresponds to the fare the driver will give you, otherwise you'll be in for a nasty surprise when you arrive and pay.
Cabs do not yet accept credit cards, or only in very rare cases, so remember to exchange money or withdraw from an ATM before you get in.
By car en Bulgarie
If you rent a car from the airport, the rental companies' counters are all located at the entrance to terminal 2, which is where you should arrive (in which case a shuttle bus runs every 15-30 minutes between the two terminals), and the cars are located in the fourth basement of the parking lot.
It is also possible, depending on the company, to ask them to deliver the car to your hotel, usually at no extra cost, which can be a good thing to visit Sofia first on foot and by transport, before leaving directly with the car to explore the country, instead of paying for a parking space in the city or having to move it often (as parking is often limited to 3 hours).
With your own car, you will have to buy an electronic road sticker (service implemented since January1, 2019 instead of the paper sticker) as soon as you cross the Bulgarian border. You can get it at the border checkpoints or in advance on the website www.bgtoll.bg/en (7,50 € per week, 15 € per month, 50 € per year). However, we advise you not to come to Bulgaria with your own car because the Balkans are the epicenter of international car trafficking.
The police are often on the side of the road to carry out controls, so respect the traffic rules and the speed limits, even if some drivers do not do so and following them is tempting.
You will find very few parking meters to pay for your parking. There are ticket inspectors, each with their own area, who will be sure to see you arrive and ask you how long you have parked and how much you have paid. Some (in Sofia, for example) issue a kind of scratch-off ticket indicating the day, month and time of departure, which you will have to put in your car; others rely on trust and will not give you anything (so be sure that it is a controller). The price is usually 2 leva per hour. In Varna, on the other hand, the parking near the port costs 12 leva (6 €) for 24 hours, which is very advantageous, but there are quickly cars after 9 am..
Otherwise, the traffic in the cities is quite easy, as is finding your way around. Just avoid rush hours in the big cities.
Accessibility en Bulgarie
Accessibility for wheelchairs and baby carriages is fairly patchy in Bulgaria, especially when visiting churches and museums. Streets are not always wide enough, but efforts have generally been made.
On a more positive note, the city of Sofia received a trophy from the Council of Europe in 2015 for the total accessibility of its metro.
As for beaches, the situation is also mixed. Some are equipped with access ramps (as in Albena), while others lack them...
Tourist traps en Bulgarie
The number one scam involves fake cabs. These are cars resembling official cabs that spot tourists looking for a cab, invite them to get into their vehicle and charge up to ten times the normal rates! To avoid them (because they play on the effect of resemblance and vulnerability), be aware that official cabs wait for the customer to call them and stay in line when they are at airports or train stations, for example.
If you rent a car, make sure you have a credit card (not a debit card) for the deposit; the company may refuse to rent you the car or charge you for its full insurance (about 10 euros per day of rental).
