Bulgaria
Whilst it’s not firmly on the Balkans’ backpacking route just yet (except Sofia), I expect the country to become more popular as time goes on.
From the sky high peaks of the Rila Mountains to the beaches of the Black Sea coast. From the heritage of cities like Sofia and Plovdiv with colourful buildings and ancient ruins mixed throughout. Don’t skip out like most people do!
Jump to all my blog posts on Bulgaria
Quick Facts
Capital: Sofia
Languages: Bulgarian
Population: ~6.7 million
Best things to see & do in Bulgaria
Hiking
The country is naturally gorgeous and there are some seriously impressive hikes you can do in the country, the most popular being visiting the 7 Rila Lakes.
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
An Orthodox cathedral that will blow you away. It’s huge and incredibly unique, built in a Neo-Byzantine style. You can’t fathom the size of it until you visit yourself.
Historic Centres
Visit Plovdiv & Veliko Tarnovo for a culture trip. I fell in love with the vibrant Revival houses in Plovdiv and the terraced houses alongside the cliff in Veliko Tarnovo, as well as the beautiful Tsarevets Fortress.
Check out my One Week In Bulgaria Itinerary
Useful resources for visiting
Travelling around the country isn’t too complicated. That being said, here are a few things that I recommend getting on board with before visiting:
BDZ Passenger Services
The best way to get around the country is by train. Use the official BDZ website to book tickets across the country as booking in person can be difficult with a lack of English.
Google Translate
Download the Bulgarian language on Google Translate to help in sticky situations. I simply couldn’t figure out what my train was and needed to translate the departures board. I had no data so I definitely recommend it!
VPN
I found that sometimes, I wasn’t able to connect to some websites because they were blocked. Whilst you can get by, if you want to get everything, use SurfShark to keep your connection safe.
Check out Bulgaria By Train
