Sofia Bulgaria Travel Guide

Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, amazed me personally. I did son’t understand what I’d find when I went to. I expected a dreary, ex-communist city but rather discovered a multi-cultural, fast growing, and modernizing town with a rich record, cheap and tasty meals and beverages, and friendly, outbound men and women. I ended up extending my stay We loved it plenty. From great (free) walking tours, historic churches, galleries, and baths, into contemporary cafes, clubs, and restaurants, Sofia is a fantastic vacation (and very budget-friendly) location. It should never be missed!

Typical Expenses

Hostel costs – Dorm areas with 6-8 bedrooms tend to be about 20 BGN per evening. Exclusive areas with a bathroom start around 55 BGN per evening. Many hostels consist of linens, WiFi, and no-cost morning meal. Hostel Mostel, making use of their great common location, no-cost drinks, pasta, and morning meal, is definitely top hostel in the town. Remain nowhere else.

Budget hotel rates – resort rooms begin around 40 BGN every night. These accommodations tend to be fundamental, but you can find 3-star resort rooms offering more for about 55 BGN a night. Most locations as of this amount offer amenities like air-conditioning, WiFi, TV, and ensuite bathrooms. On Airbnb, shared spaces normal about 20 BGN while entire domiciles start around 40 BGN and average about 60 BGN.

Normal price of meals – You can easily get a hold of affordable takeaway food in Sofia. For less than 2.7 BGN, you may get a slice of pizza, a hotdog, or a sandwich. You could get more traditional Bulgarian food in bakeries, that provide banitsa (a traditional savory pastry) also kinds of pastries. This meals is oftentimes used with ayran (cold yogurt drink) or boza (fermented malt drink). Another possibility is to obtain a katma, that will be a big pancake filled up with mozzarella cheese, ham, jelly or chocolate. A good meal with a glass or two at a restaurant varies from 12-25 BGN. Groceries are about 70 BGN weekly for standard groceries like spaghetti, veggies, chicken, and other basic foodstuffs. The vegetable and fruit markets and sellers the truth is on every spot are a great location to take food at under 2 BGN. LIDL need the lowest priced food.

Transportation expenses – Sofia is in fact pretty walkable in town center. Bikes are a great way to bypass the city and rentals can be located for as little as 10 BGN for 3 hours. Sofia have a well-developed and efficient trains and buses system that operates from 5am-midnight. A single journey violation, which can be bought at section kiosks and prices 1.50 BGN while each and every day pass is 4 BGN, and a three-day pass is 10 BGN. Taxis would be the only transportation option later during the night, but make sure to set a price in advance (taxis should price 0.75 BGN when it comes to starting fare and be about 0.75 BGN per kilometer) or ask at a hotel or hostel what the price should-be.

Recommended everyday spending plan – 75-85 BGN / 40-45 USD (Note: this is certainly a suggested budget assuming you’re staying in a hostel, eating out slightly, cooking much of your dishes, and utilizing regional transport. Utilising the budget recommendations the following, you can always reduce this number. However, if you stay-in fancier accommodation or consume out more frequently, anticipate this becoming higher!)

Money Saving Tips

• Get souvenirs in the subways – While it appears odd, great souvenirs can be bought at numerous tiny shops in subways as you're watching old celebration home plus the metro place on Largo. The Ethnographic Museum features a tiny store tightly filled with souvenirs of all kinds from around Bulgaria (from the right, just like you enter the main entrance). Antiques and souvenirs can certainly be found in Alexander Nevski square, in stalls just opposite the chapel.
• Vacation in winter months – June-September could be the peak summer months in Sofia if you have a large influx of tourists. Airfares, along with accommodation costs, tend to be high during this period. Winters tend to be a great time for Sofia spending plan vacation when you can finally enjoy less-crowded locations, an abundance of scenic beauty, and good opportunities for snowboarding when you look at the snow. The Christmas time period must be prevented since it is additionally a well known time for tourists to see.
• Go on a free walking trip – this will be a powerful way to find out a brief history behind the places you're witnessing and also to avoid missing any must-see stops. Provided two times a day, Free Sofia Tour is a two-hour adventure this is certainly enjoyable and pretty engaging.
• Eat during the bakeries – Bakeries in Bulgaria have actually a fantastic, affordable number of pastries and meals that'll fill you up any time in the day treats tend to be as little as $1.
• Couchsurf – in the event that you prepare forward, you are able to usually find very nice Couchsurfing hosts all through the country. This way, you not merely have a place to stay, but you’ll have actually a local number that may let you know the best places going and items to see.