About Bulgaria

BULGARIAN CULTURE AND INFRASTRUCTURE

• Direct flights from UK take 2.5 hours to Sofia ( See www.air.bg www.britishairways.com  www.wizz-air.com )
• Currency fixed against the Euro

Geography

Situated in South Eastern Europe, with a beautiful coastline of 354km along the Black Sea rising to mountain ranges; Bulgaria is a varied country. Its sea water is very clean, not tidal and is bordered by long sandy beaches. The temperature of the Black Sea in summertime is actually warmer than the Mediterranean.

Bulgaria is roughly the same size as England, and is located on the Balkan Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea to the east which links it also to Russia, Ukraine, and Georgia., Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the West, and Greece and Turkey to the South. This location provides numerous opportunities for easy travel to surrounding countries.

However, there is plenty to see within Bulgaria itself. Bulgaria contains fertile plains and beautiful wooded mountain ranges, including the Balkan range, Rhodopes Mountains and Rila. Places to explore include the Black Sea coast and its villages and resorts, mountain trails and ski resorts, and countless villages and monasteries all over the country.

The Black Sea shoreline is 378 km (240 miles) long. The country's total territory is 111,000 sq. km (43,000 sq. miles) in area. 

Bulgaria's terrain varies between 0 and 2,925 m. in altitude. Its territory includes part of the lower Danubian plain, the Balkan range (part of the Alpine-Himalayan chain), part of the Thracian lowland, and to the south the mountain structures of the Macedonian-Thracian massif.

Its best known mountains are Rhodopes (Golyam Perelik peak 2,191 m.), Rila (its highest peak being Musala 2,925 m.), Pirin (Vihren peak 2,914 m.), Vitosha (Cherni Vrah peak 2,291 m.) and the Stara Planina (i.e., the Balkan range) (Botev peak 2,376 m.).

The mountains occupy half of the country's territory, with the high mountain relief i.e., at an altitude above 1,600 m., comprising 5% of its entire area. The Bulgarian mountains are easily accessible, and the towns and villages have preserved the authentic Bulgarian spirit and hospitality.

The rivers rise mainly in the highest mountains, and flow into the Black Sea (via the Danube) and into the Aegean Sea. Bulgaria has 526 rivers longer than 2.3 km. The only navigable river is the Danube, which flows along the northern Bulgarian border. There are good opportunities for adventure tourism: wild water rafting and canoeing, diving, delta- and para-gliding in the valleys of the Vatcha, Iskar, Chepelarska, Struma, and Mesta rivers.

Natural lakes are about 330 in number; the largest are the Black Sea lakes (Alepou, Arkoutino, Pomorie, Beloslav, Bourgas, Varna, Shabla lakes); the most numerous (more than 260) are the high glacial lakes in the Rila and Pirin mountains. Dams have been built as a part of waterpower systems Iskar, Arda, Batak Water Power System, Belmeken-Sestrimo, Dospat-Vucha, and a great number of smaller dams.

Bulgaria has some 500 deposits of mineral waters with more than 1,600 water sources. These are localised chiefly at the mountain foothills. The spa resorts of national significance are Bankya, Velingrad, Sandanski, the mineral baths of Stara Zagora, Narechen, Sliven and Haskovo, as well as Kyustendil, Varshets, Pavel Banya, Hissarya, Merichleri, Momin Prohod, and Kostenets.

The Black Sea is very clean, not tidal, and is bordered by long, sandy beaches. Climatic sea-side resorts offering various recreation services are Balchik, Bourgas, Varna Zlatni Pyassatzi Golden Sands, Kiten, Pomorie, Primorsko, Nessebur Slantchev Bryag Sunny Beach, and Sozopol.

Picturesque lakes hide in the bowels of the Rila and Pirin mountains. Dam lakes of recreational potential are to be found in the Rhodope mountains Batak, Vatcha, Studen Kladenets; at the foot of the Balkan range Ticha, as well as in some other places.

Weather

http://www.meteo.bg/main.php?page=main&lang=en

Infrastructure

• Territory 110,994 sq km
• Population 7.85 million
• GDP, 2003 (F) $ 19.9 billion
• Political system: parliamentary republic
• Stable political environment & low country risk
• Consistent record of macroeconomic stability
• 2003 (F) real GDP growth of 5.0%
• 2003, Jan-Nov inflation of 3.8%
• 2004 over 4,000,000 tourists between April-October 2004 up 15% on 2003
• 2005 Corporate Tax cut from 19.5% to 15%

The infrastructure of Bulgaria comprises of more than 37,000km roads, 416 km of which are highways. There are 6,400 km of developed railways, more than 65% of which are electrified. The main Bulgarian sea ports are Bourgas and Varna. The Danube River is the international water road of the country. There are 5international airports in Bulgaria: Sofia, Varna, Bourgas, Plovdiv and Gorna Oriahovitsa (the latter is used mainly as a cargo airport).

Air Access

Roads

Expected Highways to further improve significantly.

Sofia–Stara Zagora-Bourgas (100 km remain to be completed)
Sofia–Varna (250 km remain to be completed)
Sofia–Stara Zagora-Istanbul
Istanbul–Stara Zagora-Bucharest
Istanbul–Bourgas–Varna–Constanta
Thessaloniki–Sofia-Budapest

Trains & Buses & Taxis

The lack of investment in public transport over the past 10-15 years has left it in a sorry state, with semi-derelict stations, run-down vehicles and demoralized staff, and although private bus companies have taken up the slack on major routes, the state-owned network has drastically contracted. While transport remains cheap it is also slow, a failing compounded by Bulgaria's mountainous terrain and climatic extremes (which rapidly degrade tarmac), with train journeys between the north and south being particularly prone to roundabout routes and changes. Bear in mind, too, that schedules are designed to fit in with the working day. There may be several departures in the early morning, then nothing until mid-afternoon, with nothing at all on Sundays.

The fragmentation of the transport system is reflected in the timetables ( razpisanie ) in train and bus stations, which used to be on a clearly legible board but are nowadays often merely scribbled on a piece of paper stuck to the window of the ticket office. Usually, arrivals ( pristigane ) are listed on one side, and departures ( trâgvane or zaminavane ) on the other. To make things harder for travellers, the schedules of private buses are unlikely to be posted at all, and it's impossible to buy a national train timetable: in addition, any timetables that do exist are invariably in Cyrillic .

Bulgarian State Railways ( BDZh ) can get you to most towns we mention, although trains are very slow by Western standards and delays are common on the longer routes. Intercity ( intersiti ) and express ( ekspresen vlak ) services only operate on the main trunk routes, but on everything except the humblest branch lines you'll find so-called rapid ( bârz vlak ) trains. Use these rather than the snail-like pâtnicheski (; literally "passenger train", but meaning "slow" in this context) services unless you're planning to alight at some particularly insignificant halt. Generally speaking, intercity services are the only ones which carry a buffet car , so if travelling on another type of train, make sure you have enough food and drink to survive the journey. On timetables, the four types of services are indicated by the abbreviations and express services are usually lettered in red. A reservation ( zapazeno myasto ; about 20¢ in addition to the basic ticket price) is compulsory on intercity and express services, and advisable for all other trains if you're travelling on summer weekends. You might find yourself paying a hefty surcharge if you board a train without one.

Though a national timetable ( pâtevoditel ) is extremely useful for frequent train travellers, the chances of obtaining one are slim, as they're snapped up immediately after publication each May. If you do get hold of a copy, note that trains running on a particular day only are indicated by a number in a circle (for example, 1 = Monday, 2 = Tuesday, and so forth). International services are printed in the Roman alphabet, rather than Cyrillic.

Long-distance/overnight trains have a wagon with reasonably priced couchettes ( kushet ;) and/or sleepers ( spalen vagon ). At the time of writing you can travel from Sofia to Varna by sleeper for under US$15, which probably works out cheaper than a night's accommodation. In order to secure a bed on the train, you need to reserve a day or two in advance, and, if possible, at least a week in advance in July or August.

Commonly, a single sign halfway down the platform is all that identifies a station ( gara ). If you're sitting at the back, you won't see this until the train starts up again, so try to sit up front. Most stations have a left-luggage office ( garderob ); in the large ones you may need to complete a form before stowing your gear.

In many parts of Bulgaria it's necessary - or easier - to travel by bus ( avtobus or, colloquially, reis ), especially in the Rhodopes and the Pirin, where few of the attractions are accessible by train. Each town of any size has a bus station ( avtogara ), or sometimes two, as buses operated by private companies may use another depot (often just a parking lot); in cities, this duplication can result in three or four terminals. Since the buses run by private companies are usually newer than the vehicles owned by municipalities, they tend to be more comfortable and faster, particularly if the route follows a highway through the lowlands rather than mountain roads. The drawback is that information on schedules is harder to obtain as few companies post timetables, so that you may have to ask at several kiosks to get the full picture. In some cases the vehicles are minibuses , and leave as soon as they're full; such services are called marshrutni taxi .

Providing you don't get ripped off, taxis are a reasonably priced and useful way of getting around in towns and cities, or reaching places that aren't accessible by public transport. All licensed taxis are metered, and generally charge about 20¢ initially, plus 20¢ per kilometre thereafter during the day (twice as much at night), except for taxis on the Black Sea coast, whose rates are three to four times higher (though city taxis in Varna and Burgas charge normal rates). The minority of taxi drivers out to take advantage of foreigners tend to hang around airports, major train stations and city centre hotels, so it's best to go looking for a taxi elsewhere if you have the option. We've given phone numbers of some reputable taxi firms in the relevant sections, though it is unlikely that anyone on the other end of the line will speak English.

Romania Greece Turkey Vienna and Belgrade

Internet

One can get access to the Internet in many of the Internet cafes and clubs, which can be found at practically every bigger street. The normal price per hour is about 1 BG Lev (about 50 Cents).
56K available ADSL main citys WIFi to come in resorts

Telecommunications

The telecommunications system allows a direct dialing service to 36 countries. If the country you are trying to reach does not belong to the list of 36, you will have to place a call through an operator by dialing 0123. If you are trying to make an international call from a private house, a telephone operator will arrange the call and phone you back when the lines are available. Sometimes you may have to wait up to half an hour, especially if you are in a little town. Major hotels and resorts, however, are normally equipped with a 'Betkom' direct dial service with a digital display screen, which you can use with a card that can be purchased at nearby kiosks.
The International dialing code for Bulgaria is 359. Direct telephone communication from Bulgaria to countries in Europe, Asia and Africa is possible from Betcom or Bulgarian Telecommunication Company phone booths, with phone cards. Phone calls, telegram and telefax services in the country and abroad are offered by the Sofia Central Post Office and by post offices in every town in the country.
Below you can find some useful telephone numbers and codes.

Money and Currency Exchange

The national currency in Bulgaria is the Bulgarian Lev (BGN), in plural - leva. One Lev consists of 100 stotinki (st). The banknotes are available in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100. The stotinki coins in use are 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50. To ensure against receiving counterfeit bank notes, always check for the Bulgarian Lion watermark.
After a period of economical crisis and hyperinflation in 1997 a currency board was introduced in the country and the Bulgarian Lev was pegged to the German Mark at the rate of BGN 1 to DEM 1. With the introduction of the EURO the Bulgarian Lev was pegged to the EURO at the rate of BGN 1.9583 to EURO 1. The exchange rates with the other currencies are set daily by the Bulgarian National Bank for statistical and accounting purposes.
The exchange bureaux display on large boards the daily rates of the main international currencies. Not all offices are reliable - some offer much lower rates than the official figures announced by the Bulgarian National Bank, so make sure to be informed in advance about the official exchange rates. These can be found in any daily newspaper. Another attempt at fraud in some exchange bureaus can be taking a commission that is not duly announced on the boards, or is written with very tiny script. To avoid being blundered in this way, make sure to look for a sign No Commission and if it is not there just ask the officer so that you are on the safe side. Nowadays, under regulation of the Finance Ministry, if the exchange rate offered by the exchange bureau deviates greatly from the official exchange rate, you are required to sign a special declaration that you agree with that money exchange.
Travellers cheques are accepted at most of the exchange bureaux but the commissions may be high. If you do take travellers cheques with you make sure that you have also the purchase documents related to the cheques.

Bulgarian Lev (plural Leva) Abbreviation: BGL 1 lev = 1.95583 Euros

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