Visas, Embassies & Border Crossings
On the train from Romania to Turkey we arrived at the Bulgaria/Turkey border crossing when the train suddenly stopped and everyone jumped up, put on their clothes and ran from the train. I was in a car with Romanians who didn't speak English, so I was utterly confused. It seems that at this border, the guards/immigration don't come on the train - you have to get off. If you need a visa you have to run to one window, pay and then run to another to get it stamped. As you can imagine there is a huge crush of people and complete chaos. What really made me nervous was leaving my stuff on the train, but nothing happened. This also seems to be a well known place to get food as my Romanian neighbours all came back with it. After everyone is back on the train, the guards come around and check to make sure you did everything right. The train from Istanbul to Bucharest arrived just as we were leaving and they seemed to do a similar routine.
Tracy McRae, Canada (Nov 98)
The Bulgarian Government in Sofia decided that all its visa measures will be reciprocal, hence, if a Bulgarian needs a visa to enter your country, you will also need a visa for Bulgaria. This means, for example, that German or USA citizens do need a visa, whereas citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina (who have visa-free reciprocal arrangement) do not.
Muhamed Mesic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, (Oct 98)
When I travelled through Bulgaria in July I was not given entry cards at the Greece border, but got stamps at hotels on a separate sheet of paper. We went to the American embassy and they informed us that a month before, the Government discontinued this process.
Craig Stephens, USA (Oct 98)
No visa is needed for any EC member if they stay less than 30 days in Bulgaria. The famous "statistical card" isn't necessary any longer either (at least this was the case for Spanish and Czech citizens).
Silvia Garcia Wolfrum, Spain (Sept 98)
I took the warnings of corruption on international trains literally and refused to pay a US$22 "tax" required for Americans only, on entering the country. My entry was by train from Istanbul. The officials came on the train at the border and I assumed this money would end up in their pockets. I later learned from the American Consulate in Sofia that this fee is, indeed, official. I was told that the fee is reciprocal - as entering the US is very costly for visiting Bulgarians.
Karen Carlsen
Australians do require a visa for Bulgaria. It costs รบ36 if you get it in London.
Anthony Roediger (July 98)
As of late US citizens may stay up to three months without a visa and can of course apply for one if a longer stay is desired.There is no border tax in Bulgaria at this time.
taken from the Thorn Tree (June 98)
Be prepared to pay a "transit tax" crossing Bulgaria by train. If you don't get off in Bulgaria and you appear to be a source of hard currency, you may be hit up for US$22 by the border police. It seemed to be legitimate - the official gave us receipts and made change with unbelievably grubby dollar b9ills. We were told emphatically that this is a transit tax, not a visa.
J J Zanker (Mar 98)
I travelled from Sofia to Varna, down the Black Sea coast to Nesebar and Sozopol, and then returning to Sofia. What I wasn't prepared for was that very few people spoke English, so it is well worth trying to learn some Bulgarian before one goes there. Similarly, the menus and signs were in the Cyrillic alphabet, which is indecipherable so try and learn that as well.
In Sozopol I found that foreigners are not allowed to stay in some of the hotels. I went into a hotel and spoke Bulgarian to a clerk there the day before, and she had told me that there were rooms available. Upon ariving the next day, having checked out of my other hotel, I was told that it was not 'suitable' for me to stay there. I was not amused, especially as I had to return to the original hotel rather sleepishly a hour or two later after going round all other hotels in the town.
Mark Sargeant (Apr 99)
September 22 is now an official holiday in Bulgaria. It celebrates the anniversary of Bulgaria's Independence, announced in 1908 by Bulgarian ruler Kniaz Ferdinand I in Veliko Turnovo.
Don't miss the newly re-opened church "St. Sofia" in Sofia. It is located near the cathedral "St. Alexander Nevsky". The church was built in the 4th century AD in Serdica (the Roman name of Sofia) and is an excellent sample of Roman architecture. During the Ottoman rule, the church was a mosque with a big minaret. Soon after, the Turks left because of the strange phenomena's that began to happen like earthquakes. In the 19th century, the building was a fire command office but now it's a functioning church (Orthodox). The patron Saints are St. Sofia and her daughters - Faith, Hope and Love.
The new address of Austrian Airlines in Sofia is at 15 Vitosha Blvd - telephone : (02) 980-2323.
Alex Evanov, Bulgaria (Oct 98)
Spent only two days in Bulgaria as part of a Trafalgar tour - be advised that high schools get out on or about 24 May each year, resulting in significant celebrations, particularly by the graduating seniors. There were the equivalent to senior proms in many hotels (in Sofia). Every kid who could borrow or rent a Mercedes, BMW, Audi, or Volvo seemed to have done so. Those most in demand had sunroofs so the students could stand up and make their joy apparent as they cruised the city.
Many/most people on the streets were stylishly dressed. The stores in Sofia were well stocked with attractive clothes. We talked in English to two sixth grade boys who told us their
names and asked ours and where we were from. We ate a variety of delicious and cheap cheese and meat pastries in the town square. Compared to what was said in your guidebook, the people seemed to be doing well. According to our tour guide the attitude at the border crossing was much friendlier than he had experienced last year. It still took us an hour and a half to get through the border.
David McClenon (Jun 98)
There are huge rocks 90 kilometers to the north of Varna in Bulgaria. The place is called Kaman Briag which means Stone Coast and the rocks reach up to 30 metres above the sea. You can get there by bus from Varna bus station just changing buses in a small town called Kawarna. From Kawarna the buses go to the village Kamen Briag and there you can ask the locals how to get to the rocks. The coast is awesome, the water is pure and deep and diving from the rock is fantastic. When I was there in the summer I saw dolphins and black pelicans. It's off the tourist tracks and you rarely see someone there. There are caves and ruins of a roman castle. Sounds unbelievable and it looks like that!!
Teodor Mitew, Poland (Apr 99)
Sofia is not the place to camp in Bulgaria; the few facilities there were have now been destroyed and camping is virtually impossible. There is a single camp at Bankia near the city. If you are keen on camping go for the southern Black Sea coast especially south of Bourgas, in the summer its great - you get the best beaches (they are usually off reach for the mainstream travellers) and you get to meet lots of young Bulgarians.
If you want to go where young Bulgarians go, go to Sozopol - the most romantic small town on the Black Sea coast - it has an open air festival of modern art, theatre and jazz at the beginning of September - however the beaches are not that good. You can also go to Primorsko (both the town itself and the Mezhdunaroden Mladezhki Centar (international youth center) resort near it), Tsarevo and the small coastal villages around them (like Kiten, Lozenets etc). They cannot offer you all the trappings of luxury but the prices are infinitely cheaper and there is the added charm of being away from civilisation and urbanisation.
As for sites of interest along the coast I would recommend - if you are in the south - the island of Nessebar - it's a must. A most beautifully preserved Greek trading colony, established in the 3rd century BC, also the town of Sozopol - a medieval Bulgarian coastal trading town. Apart from that, if you have a car you should go and explore the various pristine beaches accessible only be car.
In the north I would recommend Kaliakra cape - a place of unimaginable pristine beauty and tranquillity . The city of Varna has a summer opera and symphony festival as well as a prestigious int. ballet competition.
Winter tourism has three destinations - Borovets resort, Pamporovo resort and the town of Bansko they all offer great skiing from the middle of Jan to the end of March.
Peter Petrov (Apr 98)
BULGARIA
