Getting There By Air:Sofia Airport (SOF)
Tel: (02) 937 2211/12
Website:
www.sofia-airport.bgSofia’s principal airport is located 10km (6 miles) east of the city center. The airport is bright, modern and smoke-free (except in designated café areas) and has the capacity to serve 2.5 million passengers.
Major airlines: In addition to Bulgaria’s national airline,
BALKAN (tel: (02) 981 5170; website:
www.balkanair.com), airlines include
Aeroflot, Air France, Air Ukraine, Alitalia, AUA Austrian Airlines, British Airways, CSA, Hemus Air, KLM, Lufthansa, Malev and
Olympic Airways.
Approximate flight times to Sofia: From London is 3 hours 20 minutes; from New York is 10 hours 10 minutes; from Los Angeles is 14 hours 20 minutes; from Toronto is 11 hours 35 minutes and from Sydney is 26 hours 30 minutes.
Airport facilities: Facilities include several 24-hour bureaux de change and an ATM, located in the customs building some distance from the main entrance, as well as left-luggage facilities, bars, fast-food outlets and car hire from
Avis and
Hertz. Business-class lounges are provided by some airlines.
Transport to the city: The public transport bus 84 runs a frequent service
– every 10 or 15 minutes, 0500-2400 –
from the airport to Orlov Most, close to the city center (journey time – 20 minutes). Tickets can be bought from the kiosk near the bus stop or directly from the driver. Taxis are also readily available. Foreign visitors are sometimes overcharged, so a price should be agreed beforehand – approximately Lv40-50 is standard.
Getting There By Road:Roads in Bulgaria tend to be poorly surfaced and inconsistently numbered. European roads are prefixed by the letter ‘E’, while internal motorways and main roads are indicated by numbers only. Place names, signposted along main roads, are in both Cyrillic and Latin script (on minor roads they may be in Cyrillic only) but road signs are international. While petrol stations are found on the main road exits from most large towns and every 30-40km (18-25 miles) along the motorways, on minor roads these can be few and far between. The minimum age for driving is 18 years. Traffic drives on the right. Speed limits are 120kph (75mph) on motorways, 90kph (56mph) on country roads and 50kph (31mph) in urban areas. The maximum legal alcohol to blood ratio for driving is 0.05%.
Driving throughout the country can be slow, as traffic is frequently held up by heavy goods vehicles. The police are known to stop motorists at random and check their documents – it is best to remain calm and polite. Fines for speeding and other driving offences are on the spot and can be heavy. A Green Card and Motor Insurance certificate are obligatory. UK driving licenses and EU pink-format licenses are valid in Bulgaria. Seatbelts always should be worn, although few locals adhere to this rule. All accidents should be reported to the traffic police,
KAT (tel: 165), and a report filed. The process is lengthy but necessary for any insurance claims. If heading into the mountains during winter, it is advisable for drivers to carry snow chains.
The
Bulgarian Automobile Touring Association (
SBA), 3 Pozitano Ulica (tel: (02) 980 3308), provides information and deals with breakdowns.
Emergency breakdown service:
SBA 146
Routes to the city: The A1 and A2 are the major roads out of Sofia. The A1 heads east toward Plovdiv, while the A2 heads northeast to connect with the E772 toward Veliko Tarnovo, continuing northeast to where it becomes the A2 again, reaching Varna on the Black Sea. The E79 goes to Sofia from Greece, crossing the border at Kulata. The E80 from Turkey crosses the border at Kapitan Andreevo, while the E79 travels from Romania, crossing the border at Vidin-Kalafat. In addition, the E80 motorway runs to Sofia from the Yugoslav border at Kalotina and the E871 from the Russian border at Gyueshevo.
Driving time to the city: From Plovdiv – 1 hour 30 minutes; Veliko Tarnovo – 2 hours 30 minutes; Varna – 5 hours.
Coach services: There is no central coach station in Sofia. International coach services terminate at one of three places. Most go to the bus station, close to the Tsentralna Gara train station, 112 Maria Louiza Boulevard, on Ploshtad Predgarov, just behind the Hotel Princess, 131 Maria Louiza Boulevard. Some companies use the bus station at 38 Damian Gruev Ulica (a ten-minute walk west of the city center), or the one at 84 Knyaginya Maria Louiza Boulevard (a ten-minute walk north of the city center).
Eurolines (tel: (01582) 404 511, UK number; website:
www.eurolines.com) runs international coaches, connecting Sofia to cities throughout Europe. These terminate in front of the train station.
Long distance and local bus services reach all Bulgaria's main cities, such as Bougas, Varna, Plovdiv, Haskovo, Blagoevgrad, Pernek, Montana and Pleven, as well as 90% of its towns and villages. Most domestic coach services, run by private companies, terminate close to the train station or at one of three other bus stations, some way out of the city center. These are the
Avtogara Poduyane terminal,
Todorini Kukli Ulica (for buses to the north and northeast),
Ovcha Kupel terminal,
Tsar Boris III Boulevard (buses southwest), and the
Yug terminal, Dragan Tsankov Boulevard (buses southeast). The bus company,
Etappe (tel: (02) 981 4213) has a ticket office in the
National Palace of Culture (
NDK), 1 Ploshtad Bulgaria, Yuzhen Park (website:
www.ndk.bg), in the city center.
Getting There By Rail:The Bulgarian State Railway,
Balgarski Darzhavni Zheleznitsi (tel: (02) 931 1111
or 932 3333; website:
www.bg400.bg/bdz), runs cheap and extensive services throughout the country, although trains can be very slow. The monumental, concrete
Tsentralna Gara, Sofia’s main station, is located at 112 Maria Louiza Boulevard, a 20-minute walk north of the city center. Facilities include left-luggage, money exchange kiosks, ATMs, bars and fast-food outlets. Tickets for lines covering the northern half of Bulgaria are sold on the ground floor of the station – all others are sold in the basement.
To avoid queuing, tickets can also be purchased from the
Transport Service Center (
TsKTON) in the
National Palace of Culture (
NDK) underpass (tel: (02) 932 4280) or from
Rila Tours, 5 General Gurko Ulica (tel: (02) 987 0777). Visitors should direct all national rail enquires to
Balgarski Darzhavni Zheleznitsi (tel: (02) 931 1111
or 932 3333).
Rail services: From Sofia there are six main routes – to Varna or Burgas on the Black Sea coast, to Plovdiv and beyond on the Turkish border, to Kalotina on the Yugoslavian border, to Kulata on the Greek border and to Ruse on the Romanian border. There are also daily services to Belgrade (journey time – 8 hours), Bucharest (journey time – 11 hours), Budapest (journey time – 16 hours), Istanbul (journey time – 15 hours), Kiev (journey time – 38 hours), Moscow (journey time – 45 hours), St Petersburg (journey time – 65 hours) and Thessaloniki (journey time – 10 hours).
Getting Around:
Public TransportThe city transport authority is the
Ministry of Transport and Communications (tel: (02) 940 9424), which operates
trams,
buses and
trolley buses. Trams operate from 0500-0100, while buses and trolley buses operate from 0500-2400. There are no night services. There is also a single
metro line, northwest from Ploshtad Sveta Nedelya to the Lyulin suburb. Plans to extend the underground system have made little progress. Up to date public transport information is available online (website:
http://inetserv.sofia.bg/transpor.htm and
www.aboutsofia.com/transport.htm).
Tickets are sold at kiosks situated at the major bus stops or newsagents. Once on board, tickets should be validated using the metal punchers located near the windows – failure to do so risks a fine.
Passes or transit cards, valid for one day, five days or one month, are also available.
TaxisMuch has been done to improve the reputation of Sofia’s taxi drivers, who were said to overcharge foreign visitors. Since June 2000, taxis are required to be yellow and operate by meter. Official charges are extremely cheap. The more reputable firms are
Okay Supertrans (tel: (02) 973 2121),
Yes Taxi (tel: (02) 91119
or 91009),
Inex (tel: (02) 91919) and
Taxi-S-Express (tel: (02) 1280). Taxi ranks are also located at strategic points throughout the city center. A tip of 10-15% is common practice.
Sofia also has a fleet of privately run blue minibuses, known as ‘Marsh-route Taxis’. These cover wider routes in a prescribed pattern, can be hailed anywhere and drop passengers on request.
Driving in the CityNegotiating the interweaving paths of pedestrians, cars, trams and buses during rush hour, which is at its worst in the evening 1500-1900, can be a traumatic experience. However, once away from the city center, traffic runs quite freely along the wide, open boulevards. Street names are almost exclusively in Cyrillic so, even with a map, orientation can be difficult for drivers who only read Latin script. Visitors should note that Bulgarians flash their lights to signal ‘get out of the way’, not to give another motorist the right of way. Alternatively, this can be a warning: Police ahead!
Parking in the city center is limited to two hours in designated blue zones, which are found on Ploshtad Narodno Sabranie, Ploshtad Alexander Batenburg and Ploshtad Alexander Nevski. Vouchers are usually sold on the spot by parking attendants. The larger car parks are found on Ploshtad Makedonija and in front of the
NDK complex, 1 Ploshtad Bulgaria, Yuzhen Park (website:
www.ndk.bg). Visitors should avoid parking in restricted zones, even if the locals appear to do so. Sofia City Council is quick to use yellow wheel clamps on offending vehicles.
Car HireCar hire is not cheap in Bulgaria. In fact, this is one of the few things that costs more here than in most Western European cities. Cars can be hired by visiting drivers aged 21 years (23 years for some companies) and above, on presentation of a passport and valid driving license (held for at least two years). A credit card number or cash deposit is requested and a valid international insurance policy is also necessary. Full insurance is advised.
International providers include
Avis (tel: (02) 981 1082/3; website:
www.avis.com) and
Hertz (tel: (02) 980 0461
or 1062; website:
www.hertz.com), as well as several local operators.
Bicycle HireThere are no bicycle or scooter hire outlets currently available in Sofia. Sofia is so small and has such an excellent public transport system that bicycles and scooters are neither favored nor required in the city. Anything that visitors would want to see outside the town involves mountains, which are unsuitable for bikes and scooters.
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