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Getting There By Air:

Sofia Airport (SOF)
Tel: (02) 937 2211/12.
Website: www.sofia-airport.bg

Sofia’s main 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 its two terminals have the capacity to serve 2.5 million passengers a year, a figure bound to increase in the near future. A free shuttle bus runs every 30 minutes between Terminal 1 and the new Terminal 2 buildings, 1km (0.6 miles) apart.

Airport facilities: Facilities include several 24-hour bureaux de change and an ATM, left-luggage, bars, restaurants, fast-food outlets, a free Internet hotspot zone and car hire from Avis, Hertz and Sixt. 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) between the airport and Sofia University, close to the city center (journey time - 20 minutes). Bus 284 operates between the new Terminal 2 and the university, also every 10-15 minutes. Tickets can be bought from the kiosk near the bus stop or directly from the driver. Taxis are also readily available, and all drivers are obliged to use the meter. The fare should be around Lv10-12 to the city center.

Getting There By Road:

Roads in Bulgaria tend to be poorly surfaced and inconsistently numbered, but things are improving slowly thanks to EU funding. 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 they 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. All driving licenses from EU countries are valid for 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) (tel: (02) 980 3308), provides information and deals with breakdowns.

Emergency breakdown service:
SBA (tel: 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 - 2 hours; Veliko Tarnovo - 3 hours; Varna - 6 hours.

Coach services: Nearly all the long-distance domestic and international buses leave from the newly refurbished Tsentralna Avtogara (Central Bus Station), bulvard Maria Luiza 100 (tel: 0900 21000; website: www.centralnaavtogara.bg), near the train station. Facilities include left-luggage, ATMs, restaurant, cafés, disabled toilets and baby-changing area. The interior has over 50 counters of private companies with destinations clearly marked, with an information point at the entrance to guide you to the right counter. Screens clearly display departing services and bay numbers. International destinations include Istanbul, Athens, Belgrade, Bucharest, Vienna, Munich and Prague. Buses to all major Bulgarian cities, as well as 90% of towns and villages, also leave from here, including those to Plovdiv, Varna, Ruse, Bourgas, Veliko Ternovo and Sandanski.

In addition, buses to closer destinations in the southeast (including Samakov and Borovets) leave from the Yug terminal (avtogara Yug), bulvard Dragan Tsankov and Ovcha kupel (including Rila Monastery), bulvard Ovcha kupel 1.

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.

Getting There By Rail:

The Bulgarian State Railway, Balgarski Darzhavni Zheleznitsi (tel: (02) 931 1111 or 932 3333; website: www.bdz.bg), 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 bulvard Maria Louiza 112, a 20-minute walk north of the city center. Facilities include left-luggage, money exchange kiosks, ATMs, bars and fast-food outlets (although the choice of refreshments is much better at the bus station). 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. International tickets are bought down the left-hand passageway from the entrance hall, from Rila (tel: (02) 832 3346).

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, ulitsa Gurko 5 (tel: (02) 987 0777). Visitors should direct all national rail enquires to Balgarski Darzhavni Zheleznitsi (see above).

Rail services: From Sofia there are six main routes - to Varna or Bourgas 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 (8 hours), Bucharest (11 hours), Budapest (16 hours), Istanbul (15 hours), Kiev (38 hours), Moscow (45 hours), St Petersburg (65 hours) and Thessaloniki (10 hours).

Getting Around:




Public Transport
The city’s transport is run by Sofia Public Transport Company (tel: (02) 987 7187; website: www.skgt-bg.com), owned by the Sofia Municipality. It 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 to the south of the city are making slow progress.

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. Karta, coupons of 10 tickets, are valid on trams, buses, metro and trolley buses. A new stored-value E-card is due to be introduced in late 2007. Once topped up, the user then swipes it for each journey and the fare is deducted.

Taxis
Much has been done to improve the reputation of Sofia’s taxi drivers, who were said to overcharge foreign visitors. Since June 2000, all taxis are required to be yellow and operate by meter - but it’s still worth checking to see the meter is on. Official charges are extremely cheap. The more reputable firms are Okay Supertrans (tel: (02) 973 2121; website: www.oktaxi.net), Taxi-S-Express (tel: (02) 91280) and Yes Taxi (tel: (02) 91919/009). Taxi ranks are located at strategic points throughout the city center and taxis also ply the streets around the 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 City
Negotiating the interweaving paths of pedestrians, cars, trams and buses during rush hour, which is at its worst in the evening 1500-1900, can be tricky. However, once away from the city center, traffic runs quite freely along the wide, open boulevards. Street names outside the center 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 Makedonia and in front of the NDK complex, ploshtad Bulgaria 1, Yuzhen Park. 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 Hire
Car hire is not cheap in Bulgaria. In fact, this is one of the few things that cost 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 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), Europcar (tel: (02) 931 6000; website: www.europcar.com) and Hertz (tel: (02) 980 0461/1062; website: www.hertz.com), as well as several local operators.

Bicycle Hire
There 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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