sofia to bourgas

hi just wondering if someone can help me out with queury i have re public transport in bulgaria. we are spending two nights in sofia before heading for bourgas and would like to know what is the best mode of transport for that journey..also would be grateful for any bar/restaurant reccommendations in sofia..thanks

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you have 2 option:

1. with bus, look for sofia bus station:

http://www.centralnaavtogara.bg/cbs/home.nsf/vPagesLookup/home~en?OpenDocument

2. with train, look for bulgaria train schedule:

http://bdz.creato.biz/en

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I have heard that the bus service is lot more reliable than the train.

There are a couple of transfer companies who will transfer all the way from sofia to Bourgas - but I expect the price will be prohibitive.

Also you could get a flight. www.air.bg fly almost daily from Sofia to Bourgas. Again you need to check on price but this would defo be your quickest option.

Other option is to hire a car. Various websites advertise this. Takes about 7 hours but you will see a different side of BG if you do this. Driving is ok in BG the biggest difference is that all Bulgarians drive defensively (i.e. if you see a car coming towards you on the wrong side of the road it is you who gets out of the way not the car coming towards you!). Road conditions are improving in BG but watch out for potholes.

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Hi,

Just got back from Bulgaria on Sunday. Your best bet is to go by bus. My wife and I spent two weeks travelling round (Sofia-Plovdiv, Plovdiv-Sozopol, Sozopol-Sofia) and used the bus every time. The trains are a nightmare (apparently) with filthy toilets, no a/c and long delays. Sofia station is also full of pickpockets and conmen who aggressively %26#39;help%26#39; you to your train and then try to extort payment from you for the service. The bus station is new, clean and has an information desk with English speaking staff. The buses themselves are fairly fast, clean, have a/c and your luggage will be safe (the driver or his mate gives you a sticker for each of your cases so no one else can walk off with them). There are no toilets on board but you%26#39;ll probably have one or two stops en route for toilet/snack breaks. I didn%26#39;t travel directly to Bourgas but I think there are about 8 buses a day and, depending on whether the one you catch is direct or not, it w ill take between 5-6 hours. You may find that if you are planning on moving on from Bourgas that there are actually a number of direct routes. I found this when travelling from Sozopol (about 40 mins south of Bourgas) to Sofia. Before I arrived in Bulgaria I could only find 1 bus a day from Sozopol but when I got there I found 2 companies each with 4 buses a day, so it may be an idea to check at the bus station itself rather than trying to find info on the internet.

There are plenty of good and cheap restaurants in Sofia but if you want something special try Il Ristorantino Italiano on Vitosha Blvd 13. This is the main street in central Sofia and the restaurant is just beyond McDonalds. It has a decent cafe/bar at the front with on-street tables and a posh restaurant at the back. A 3-course meal with wine - sublime food and impeccable service will set you back c.£50 for two (a vast amount in Bulgaria). There is also another Italian restaurant %26#39;Gioia%26#39; which is rated in a number of the guides but be aware that it has moved to via Samuil 60 and is not at via Lavele 11, as advertised in a number of listings. This is also very central and pricey (by Bulgarian standards) but it is the type of place where they tell you what time to turn up and what they are going to serve you. We ended up with about 6 courses with wine for the princely sum of c.£38 for two.

If you need any other info. do ask.

James

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