Bulgaria Property

There are 4 international airports in Bulgaria. The biggest Bulgarian airport is Sofia Airport. Plovdiv International airport is mainly used for charter flights for the ski resort of Pamporovo. The international airports of Varna and Bourgas are used for local flights from Sofia, as well as for charter flights during the summer, serving the beach resorts around these 2 cities on the Black Sea coast. Some scheduled direct flights to Varna are now also becoming availale.

Air: Bulgaria’s national airline is Balkan-Bulgarian Airlines (LZ). Other airlines serving Bulgaria include Aeroflot, Air France, Alitalia, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, El Al Israel Airlines, KLM, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, MALEV Hungarian Airlines, Olympic Airlines and Swiss.

Approximate flight times: From Sofia to London is 3 hours.

International airports: Sofia (SOF) (website: http://www.sofia-airport.bg/) is 10km (6 miles) east of the city (travel time – 20 minutes). Buses run approximately every 10 minutes to the city centre during the day and every 20 minutes between 2100-0030. Coaches are available by arrangement through tour operators. Taxis are also available, although taxi drivers may not use their meters and travellers are advised to agree the fare beforehand. Airport facilities include banks and currency exchange (24 hours), post office, duty-free shop, nursery, restaurant, 24-hour bar and car hire (Hertz, Avis, Budget and Europcar).
Varna (VAR) is 9km (5.5 miles) from the city. A bus service to Varna city centre departs every 20 minutes. A coach service is available by arrangement with various tour operators. A taxi service is also available. Airport facilities include outgoing duty-free shop, banking and currency exchange (24 hours), a restaurant, 24-hour bar and car hire by prior arrangement with travel agents.
Bourgas (BOJ) is 13km (8 miles) from the city. A bus service departs every 20 minutes to the city centre. A coach service is available by prior arrangement with tour operators. A taxi service is also available. Airport facilities include outgoing duty-free shop, banking and currency exchange (24 hours), a restaurant (0600-2230), 24-hour bar and car hire (by prior arrangement).

Departure tax: None except for US nationals who will be charged US$20.

At the moment budget airlines such as EASYJET.COM do not fly to Bulgaria but it is expected that it will not be too much longer before it is added to their routes.

A good place to get flights to Bulgaria and internal flights within Bulgaria is:

The main international ports are Varna and Bourgas on the Black Sea. There are no regular sea services from the UK.

By river the official crossing points into Romania are by ferry from Vidin to Calafat and by road bridge from Ruse to Giurgiu.

Main entry points include Koulata and Novo Selo (from Greece); Ruse, Kardom, Durankulak and Silistra (from Romania); Svilengrad and Kapitan Andrikeevo (from Turkey); Kalotina, Zlatarevo and Vrashkachuka (from Serbia and Montenegro) and Guyeshevo (from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia). Foreign citizens entering Bulgaria in a motor vehicle must have documentation to prove their ownership of the vehicle. There are daily bus connections from other cities including Istanbul, Athens and Thessaloniki to Sofia. Eurolines, departing from Victoria Coach Station in London, serves destinations in Bulgaria. For further information, contact Eurolines (4 Cardiff Road, Luton, Bedfordshire, L41 1PP; tel: (0990) 143 219; fax: (01582) 400 694; e-mail: welcome@eurolinesuk.com; website: http://www.eurolines.com/ or http://www.nationalexpress.com/).

By car you cross a number of countries. Up to Vienna there are no customs and visa formalities. It is more different crossing the countries of former Yugoslavia; it is recommended to use the route Vienna-Budapest-Belgrade-Sofia.

The roads are first class, most of them highways. The distance from Vienna to Sofia is about 1,300km. Insurance has to be made in advance or paid at the border. Cars (self-drive and chauffeur driven) may be rented at the border checkpoints and in all tourist offices throughout the country.

Driving in Bulgaria

The Speed limits are:
· 50 km/h in populated areas
· 90 km/h outside populated areas
· 120 km/h on highways.

To drive in Bulgaria you can use your national license accompanied by an international Driving Permit. Road signs follow international standards. On-the-spot fines are in operation for speeding, drink driving, not having the correct documents, etc. The current fines for speeding range from 5 Levs if 20 km/h over the speed limit to 50 Levs if driving at 50km/h over the speed limit.

If you leave your passport with a hotel reception ask for a copy (or the original) if intending to drive a rental car.

The permissible blood alcohol content when driving is 0.5 per 1,000. Drivers found to have a blood alcohol level in excess of this can expect a fine and licence suspension. For tested levels in excess of 1.2 per 1,000 there is a maximum prison sentence of one year in addition to a licence suspension for up to four years. The simple rule is DON'T DRINK and DRIVE. It is also an offence to allow your vehicle to be used by people with a blood alcohol level in excess of the permissible level.

The Road Assistance Service

The Road Assistance Service provides 24-hour technical assistance on the road. In case of malfunction or accident, call 146 (or cellular 048 146). Their Central Dispatch Office is located at 3 Pozitano St. in Sofia, Tel. 980 33 08 and is open 24 hours a day. The Road Assistance Service vehicle that is closest to your location will be dispatched and should reach you within 30 minutes of your call. You may also request the traffic police to make the call to the Road Assistance Service.

International Driving Permit

An International Driving Permit (IDP) is valid for 12 months from the date of issue.

Recognised internationally, it normally allows you to drive a private motor vehicle without further formality when accompanied by a valid UK driving licence. People staying for more than one year in Bulgaria should have their driving licenses replaced with Bulgarian national driving licenses. For more information about the international driving licence visit the AA website below.

http://www.theaa.com/getaway/idp/

Useful Tips (Please also refer to the section entitled Driving & Road Safety)

Use common sense and don't park in restricted zones even if it seems as if everyone else does. The Sofia City Council is hot on the heels of their Western counterparts with yellow wheel clamps, and if that's not enough, they'll tow your car away, usually to the parking lot behind the National Palace of Culture.

It might also be useful to know that if someone flashes their lights at you it means that they expect you to get out of the way and not that they are going to let you go first. It also is also the all-Bulgarian warning: Police ahead!

Drive on the right, overtake on the left, cross only when the traffic light is green, give right of way to vehicles approaching from the right at crossroads and to buses in urban areas. Wearing of seat belts is compulsory.

Please bear in mind that horse-drawn carts, motorcycles and scooters can sometimes be found on major roads driving at night without lights. Please be very alert when driving at night.

Jaywalking is frequent. Please be very careful while driving in cities and drive as slowly as possible.

All the major international car-rental companies as well as many local ones have offices in Sofia

DISTANCES

Road distances to Sofia in km

There are no direct rail services between Bulgaria and Western Europe although there are frequent services between Sofia and Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest, Thessaloniki and Istanbul. Sofia is also directly connected with Paris, Vienna, Munich and Berlin. Dining car facilities are available on all routes.

All visitors to Bulgaria require a full passport-not ID cards.. As rules regarding cahange every year , it is advisable to check with Bulgarian Embassy for visa related matters. Address for Bulgarian Embassy in London : 186-188 queen's gate, LondonSW7 5HL, Tel : 02075849400 , Website : www.bulgarianembassy.org.uk

Citizens of UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA are all allowed to enter the country for thirty days without a visa.

National of all EU countries ( except UK and Ireland ) can stay in Bulgaria without visa for ninety days. Once this expires, it is advisable that that you leave Bulgaria through nearest Border post ( making sure that your passport is date-stamped on your exit) and walk back across the frontier again. Applying for visa internally to police station causes a lot of problem as most of the local police do not speak English and there is a $50 visa fee on the top of that.