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Bulgaria

Holiday Ideas & Foreign Travel
swill453
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Bulgaria

#195908

Postby swill453 » January 23rd, 2019, 6:12 pm

We're planning to go on a group hiking trip to Bulgaria in late June, early July. We will fly to Sofia, spend a couple of days there, then join the group for 8 days of walking in the Pirin and Rila mountains. We will then be returned to Sofia.

We'd like to spend another week or two in Bulgaria, can anyone recommend where to go? The idea of going to the Black Sea appeals, but it's at the other end of the country.

Are there other scenic or interesting places to go nearer Sofia, or is it easy to get, say, a train to the Black Sea?

Also happy to hire a car if that's the best way.

Scott.

PinkDalek
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Re: Bulgaria

#195914

Postby PinkDalek » January 23rd, 2019, 6:31 pm

I expected to find one of the posts by Taurus and hit upon this thread:

Varna, Bulgarian Black sea coast
viewtopic.php?p=51619#p51619

That having been said and noting the distance from Sofia, have you considered a PM to Brendan, in case he doesn't spot your post, as he lives in Bulgaria and his wife is Bulgarian:

viewtopic.php?p=152551#p152551

Edit: Plane or train? https://www.rome2rio.com/s/Varna/Sofia

77ss
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Re: Bulgaria

#196300

Postby 77ss » January 24th, 2019, 8:22 pm

swill453 wrote:We're planning to go on a group hiking trip to Bulgaria in late June, early July. We will fly to Sofia, spend a couple of days there, then join the group for 8 days of walking in the Pirin and Rila mountains. We will then be returned to Sofia.

We'd like to spend another week or two in Bulgaria, can anyone recommend where to go? The idea of going to the Black Sea appeals, but it's at the other end of the country.

Are there other scenic or interesting places to go nearer Sofia, or is it easy to get, say, a train to the Black Sea?

Also happy to hire a car if that's the best way.

Scott.


Plovdiv. An easy day trip by train from Sofia, and you can get around it on foot. An interesting city, with museums, churches, Roman remains etc rather than a scenic destination. The Roman theatre stages music and theatre in the summer.

I assume you'll be taking in some of the Bulgar monasteries during your walking trip, so you may be monasteried out, but Bahkovo is near Plovdiv. In the Rhodope mountains, so you could even spend some nights in Plovdiv and do some more walking.

swill453
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Re: Bulgaria

#196360

Postby swill453 » January 25th, 2019, 9:10 am

OK, now we're thinking that if we're going that far, we might as well hire a car and head to the Black Sea for a week.

Any thoughts on where we should base ourselves? More interested in scenery, walks, history and culture than sea/sand/etc.

I'm thinking possibly Varna?

Scott.

dspp
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Re: Bulgaria

#196377

Postby dspp » January 25th, 2019, 9:49 am

77ss wrote:
swill453 wrote:We're planning to go on a group hiking trip to Bulgaria in late June, early July. We will fly to Sofia, spend a couple of days there, then join the group for 8 days of walking in the Pirin and Rila mountains. We will then be returned to Sofia.

We'd like to spend another week or two in Bulgaria, can anyone recommend where to go? The idea of going to the Black Sea appeals, but it's at the other end of the country.

Are there other scenic or interesting places to go nearer Sofia, or is it easy to get, say, a train to the Black Sea?

Also happy to hire a car if that's the best way.

Scott.


Plovdiv. An easy day trip by train from Sofia, and you can get around it on foot. An interesting city, with museums, churches, Roman remains etc rather than a scenic destination. The Roman theatre stages music and theatre in the summer.

I assume you'll be taking in some of the Bulgar monasteries during your walking trip, so you may be monasteried out, but Bahkovo is near Plovdiv. In the Rhodope mountains, so you could even spend some nights in Plovdiv and do some more walking.



Also plenty of post-Soviet factory complexes, esp in Plovdiv. Visiting suppliers there was like going into a 1950s post-nuclear bomb film set, complete with gypsies camped in roofless parts of the factory, and clanking production lines in other bits.

The most interesting part of visiting Bulgaria is to compare and contrast all the different bits of society and the post-accession development. In a way it doesn't matter where you go to get that experience.

regards, dspp

Skotch
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Re: Bulgaria

#196478

Postby Skotch » January 25th, 2019, 3:41 pm

swill453 wrote:OK, now we're thinking that if we're going that far, we might as well hire a car and head to the Black Sea for a week.

Any thoughts on where we should base ourselves? More interested in scenery, walks, history and culture than sea/sand/etc.

I'm thinking possibly Varna?

Scott.

If heading for Varna and the Black Sea, it may be worth basing yourself in Balchick (about half an hours drive north) on the BS coast. Really nice pleasant place that gets busy in Summer. Stayed there for a week a couple of years ago and used it as a base to explore. Varna also a nice base - its a city that has a distinct 'seaside' side and industrial side

malkymoo
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Re: Bulgaria

#196516

Postby malkymoo » January 25th, 2019, 5:24 pm

I was the OP for the thread on Varna mentioned above, my thoughts on Varna are toward the end if the thread.

If you decide to stay in Varna I can recommend this hotel: http://www.hotel-hi.com/index1_en.html

Worth noting that you can fly back to the UK direct from Varna.

I would echo dspp's remarks about the disparity between the modernised and unmodernised sections of society.

I did not get as far as Balchik, but the Golden Sands resort North of Varna is worth avoiding.

zico
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Re: Bulgaria

#196711

Postby zico » January 26th, 2019, 4:49 pm

We've had a few trips in Bulgaria, so here are some suggestions for a week from Sofia. (Definitely visit the Rila monastery if it isn't covered as part of your hiking trip).
In a week, you've got time to visit and stay at Plovdiv, Veliko Tarnovo, the southern Black Coast area and also the Northern Black coast area (for a contrast).

Definitely Plovdiv - Roman ruins, a walkable hill with a big Soviet soldier on its summit, cobbled streets, old Bulgarian-style houses, and a fantastic restaurant in town - the Odeon. We had a tasting menu there and it was superb, best meal we've had anywhere all year.

Drive to Veliko Tarnovo - take the route past Kavanluk (great church there) and over Shipka pass (good viewpoint and interesting history).Veliko is an old town perched on a gorge with lots of typical buildings. Some nice hotels in the old town with great views. We stayed at a place in the old town called Hotel Comfort which has fantastic views.

I prefer the southern coast around Burgas, and would suggest staying at Sozopol, a decent-sized resort popular with Bulgarians, mix of old town area, beaches, bars and restaurants. Also just about 10 miles from Ropotamo Nature Reserve, you can park just off the main road, and walk along a beautifully sandy and deserted beach before climbing over a low hill to get to the Reserve itself.
Near Sozopol, there's also a fake chateau which is fun to see as you drive by.
Lots of birdlife around Burgas if you're interested. You'll probably see big flocks of Dalmatian pelicans as you drive on the motorway near Burgas.
Just north of Burgas (an easy day trip from Sozopol) is Nessebar which is worth visiting (an old town on a peninsula with causeway connecting it to the mainland). Sunny Beach is horrible - avoid!

Northern coast
Varna is a pleasant city, but a bit scruffy. Nearby Golden Sands is a real charmless warren of holiday places jumbled on top of each other.
Balchik is small but a bit touristy, with a nice long coastal path.
Kavarna nearby is more Bulgarian, a small town not quite on the coast, but a pleasant feel to it, and it's also handy for the Kaliakra peninsula, which is good for bird-watching. The road north by the coast goes through steppe-land and there are often lots of birds of prey on poles in the fields by the roadside.

If you like bird-watching and hiking, Madzharovo in the south-east may be worth a visit - an area of gorges and some vultures.

Generally, motorways are fast and not too busy. Some drivers are terrible, but most are OK. Some minor/local roads can be rough (sometimes very rough with huge potholes) so beware of SatNav shortcuts unless you have a high-clearance vehicle.
Restaurants - you can get some great meals and friendly service, but beware because there are places where the decor looks good but they are rip-offs and there's a lot of falsified Trip Advisor reviews (also for hotels) - more so than anywhere else we've visited. Don't be afraid to walk out and cut your losses if you're getting a bad vibe about a place, or the wine you've just ordered is terrible (often a good sign of rip-offs).
Shtastliveca is a restaurant chain that does really good Bulgarian food (and good pizzas), at decent prices in traditional-style places, and a good safe bet.

Generally, Bulgarian people are friendly and hospitable (appearances are often deceptive) particularly outside tourist hotspots, but in the more touristy areas, you can get bad service or outright scams.

Hope this is helpful.

swill453
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Re: Bulgaria

#196755

Postby swill453 » January 26th, 2019, 6:48 pm

zico wrote:Hope this is helpful.

It is, very. Thanks!

Scott.


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