Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Hitching
Hitching is officially illegal in Bulgaria, but people still do it, and hitching in rural Bul-
garia may be preferable to being restricted by infrequent public transport. As always, ex-
ercise caution and travel in pairs if possible. The upsurge in crime over the last few years
has dissuaded some Bulgarians from offering lifts to hitchhikers. Bulgaria's borders are
not particularly 'user friendly', and you may face extra questioning and delays if you are
travelling in a stranger's vehicle, so hitching across them in not recommended.
Local Transport
Buses & Trolleybuses
Private and public buses and minibuses ply routes between smaller villages, eg along the
Black Sea coast and between urban centres and ski resorts in winter. Tickets for minibuses
cost roughly the same as public buses but are usually bought from the driver. Destinations
(in Cyrillic) and, often, departure times are indicated on the front window. Most
minibuses leave from inside, or very close to, the major public bus station.
In Sofia, minibuses called
marshroutki
run between the city centre and the suburbs, act-
ing like shared taxis. Most Bulgarian towns have cheap and efficient public bus services
that tend to be quite crowded, as this is how most locals get around.
Trolleybuses, which operate in several city centres and draw their power from overhead
cables, are little different from regular city buses in terms of comfort and reliability but
they cost the same.
Taxi
Taxis, which must be painted yellow and equipped with working meters, can be flagged
down on most streets in every city and town throughout Bulgaria. They can be very cheap,
but rates do vary. Taxis can be chartered for longer trips at negotiable rates, which you can
approximate by working out the distance and taxi rate per kilometre, plus waiting time.
All drivers must clearly display their rates on the taxi's windows. These rates are di-
vided into three or four lines:
»The first line lists the rate per kilometre from 6am to 10pm (about 0.50 lv to 0.70 lv per
kilometre is average), and the night-time rate (sometimes the same, but often about 10%
more).