Useful Tips for non-Bulgarians
-
Entering the country:
Bulgaria is a member of the EU (but not the Schengen area). All European citizens can enter freely by presenting a valid passport or an identity card (sorry, Brits ...). If travelling from outside the EU or if in doubt please visit:
https://www.mfa.bg/en/services-travel/consular-services/travel-bulgaria/visa-bulgaria
-
Currency:
The Bulgarian national currency is Bulgarian Lev (subunit - "stotinka"). The lev is a stable currency and linked to the euro at a rate of around 2 leva per 1 euro (1 BGN = 0.51 EUR). It is almost always abbreviated as lv (лв). You won't be able to pay with euros! For major purchases, such as organised tours, airfares, car rental and midrange and top-end hotels, prices are sometimes quoted in euros, although payment is carried out in lev.
-
Card payments:
You can pay using debit and credit cards (including contactless ones) but be prepared that card payments might not be available in some rural areas. Visa and MasterCard are widely accepted. Credit cards are commonly accepted in hotels, restaurants and shops in the big cities, towns and tourist resorts, but acceptance is less widespread in more rural areas. Some places, particularly the more expensive hotels, may add a 5% surcharge to your bill if you use a credit card.
ATMs are widely available in most towns and cities.
-
Transport:
- Taxi - Taxi rides are quite affordable in Bulgaria and our preferred mean of transport. Taxi fares in Varna are 0.89 lv/km during the day and 0.99 lv/km during the night.
Reliable taxi companies in Varna
- Triumf taxi +359 52 644 444, order online on https://triumftaxi.com/en/
- Omega trans taxi +359 52 388 888, order online on http://omegataxivarna.com/
- Hippo taxi +359 52 344 444, order online on https://hippotaxi.bg/en/
Reliable taxi companies in Balchik
- Balchik taxi +359 89 395 8215
N.B. Beware of fake taxi companies! There are imposters which will try to rip you off. Make sure that the taxi company name and the phone number are all spelled correctly and check out the tariff per km displayed on the car
- Rental cars - Most international car rental services have branches in Bulgaria
- Bus - very affordable - visit https://www.varnatraffic.com/en
-
Language:
Most Bulgarians (especially the younger generation) speak good or at least OK English. In Varna and the region you will find a lot of people speaking German as well.
-
Tipping:
It is completely fine to tip the usual 10% in restaurants/bars. It is preferrable to tip in cash. It is not common to tip at the hairdresser's.
-
Service:
Don't forget this is the Balkans :). Bulgarians are trying hard and getting there but be patient with restaurant/hotel staff.
-
Food and drink:
The Bulgarian cuisine is a pleasant mix of Mediterranean and Balkan and shares a lot of similarities with the cuisines of Greece, Turkey, Serbia etc. It's rich in fresh veggetables, grilled meats and fresh fish (especially in Varna). Brace yourselves - a lot of the dishes (salads, fries etc.) come with a garnish of white cheese (i.e. ~ feta) :). Yoghurt is also pretty prominent in lots of recipes. The vegetarians will be completely fine in Bulgaria - there are plenty tasty meatless options to be found.
***Traditional options we recommend "Shopska salad" (a fresh salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and white cheese), "Snezhanka salad" (often translated as "Snow White" salad, made of yoghurt, cucumbers and dill, similar to tzaziki), "tarator" (cold yoghurt based soup with cucumbers and dill), ljutenitsa (a delicious roasted pepper spread, sometimes with added roasted aubergines), "banitsa" (a filo pastry with an egg and white cheese stuffing), "bjurek peppers" (breaded peppers stuffed with eggs and white cheese), peppers stuffed with rice and mince, "kavarma" (chicken or pork stew with tomato sauce and roasted peppers), meats cooked in a clay dish ("sach"), fried courgettes with yoghurt sauce, bean and sausage stew, stuffed wine leaves, stuffed cabbage leaves etc.
***Seafood - in the region you will find a variety of fresh fish, as well as squid and mussles!
***For the brave among you we recommend - "shkembe chorba" (traditional tripe soup garnished with pickled garlic, known as a the best hangover cure), pan fried chicken livers with onions, blood sausage and marinated beef tongue.
***Upper scale restaurants you can find fresh pan fried foies gras, local truffles and porcini mushrooms, pan fried duck breast etc.
N.B. Bulgarians are still beginners in cooking a good beef steak. Our advice is to order steak only in upper scale restaurants.
*** Standard drink measures: Well, now, a standard "small" measure of spirit is 50 ml and the "big" one is a 100 ml. And yes ... ordering a "double" means you will end up with 200 ml of spirit!!!
*** Bulgarian beers: To the beer connoisseurs out there - Bulgarian beer isn't that bad. We recommend "Shumensko", "Burgasko", "Zagorka" and "Kamenitza". And now the best part - the price for 0.5 L of draft Bulgarian beer in a bar is usually ~ 2 lv. Cheers!
You can also try some Bulgarian artisan craft beers:
*** Bulgarian wines: Bulgarians are very proud of their wines and they might have a point. Here are two of our favourites from the Black Sea region:
- Salty Hills, Pomorie winery - blend of merlot, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and syrah
- Black C, Santa Sara winery - sauvignon blanc+pinot gris
Visit: http://www.the-buyer.net/tasting/wine/bulgarian-wine-top-10-wines/