Bulgaria international travel guide in 2021

Bulgaria 🇧🇬

Bulgaria is part of Europe with main city at Sofia. It's usually 🌤️ 6.28 °C in Bulgaria with a rainfall of 🌧 53.75 mm. Tipping is expected in Bulgaria since staff depend on tips to supplement their often minimum wages. Internet speed in Bulgaria is on average 13.3 Mbps. In Bulgaria you drive on the right side. Its Developed country with a population of 7M people. The main currency is Bulgarian Lev. The languages spoken are Bulgarian. Automatic teller machines are very common in Bulgaria. Current travel safety advice is Exercise a high degree of caution. Get other useful information like socket plugs, SIM cards and emergency numbers.

👍 Developed 🌤️ ~6.28 °C 🌧 ~53.75 mm 👨‍👩‍👦‍👦 7M people

Travel restrictions

Advice

🛡️ Travel safety

Exercise a high degree of caution

Bulgarian authorities have implemented a new system of classification for travellers arriving based on green, orange and red zones. Entry restrictions and other requirements apply. See 'Travel'. We now advise: Exercise a high degree of caution in Bulgaria due to the impacts of COVID-19.

Issue date: October 28, 2021

Weather

🌤️ Temperature

🌧 Rainfall

General

🔌 Sockets

Bulgaria uses 230V, 50Hz with sockets and plugs Type C and Type F.

🌐 Languages

The languages that are typically spoken are Bulgarian

Money

💱 Currencies Used

Bulgaria uses the Bulgarian lev (symbol: ??), code BGN.Banknotes come in denominations of 100, 50, 20, 10, 5 and 2 leva. Lev is subdivided into 100 stotinkas. Coins come in denominations of 2 and 1 leva and 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 stotinkas.

💳 Cards

Widely accepted Credit cards are widely accepted within Bulgaria (at hotels, shops, and restaurants, travel agencies, car-rental agencies etc.). Visa, MasterCard and Maestro are the most widely accepted. American Express is less common. Diners Club is pretty rare. Discover, JCB, UnionPay and RuPay are unknown.

🏧 ATMs

Automatic teller machines are very common in Bulgaria. You can find them in both large & small cities, tourist areas etc.You do not need a chip & PIN card to use an ATM — your standard magnetic card will work fine.

💁‍♂️ Tipping

Expected to tip Tipping is expected in Bulgaria since staff depend on tips to supplement their often minimum wages.

Calling

📡 Internet

Internet speed in Bulgaria is on average 13.3 Mbps. WiFi coverage in Bulgaria is high. Many hotels, hostels, cafes, restaurants and bars have it.

📱 Phones

You can buy a SIM card for about 11.19 BGN, which includes 1 GB of data plan. You can choose from 4 telecoms: Max Telecom, Mtel, Telenor or Vivacom. Bulgaria uses GSM mobile networks GSM 900 and GSM 1800. If you don't want to buy SIM card in Bulgaria upon arrival, make sure to check the roaming charges with your telecom provider before your departure so there are no surprises when you return home.

📞 Calling

To call Bulgaria, dial +, then 359 (the country code for Bulgaria), then the area code (without the initial 0) and the local number. For local calls within Bulgaria, start with the area code (with the initial 0). In the case above area code is 2 .

Driving

🛣️ Road rules

In Bulgaria you drive on the right side. Most cars have manual transmission (stick). Unless otherwise posted, the speed limits for cars and motorcycles are as follows: 140 km/h (86 mph) on motorways, 140 km/h (86 mph) on expressways, 50 km/h (31 mph) in all built-up areas and 90 km/h (55 mph) on undivided highways. Right turn on red lights is strictly forbidden unless an additional green semaphore arrow allows it. It is illegal to drive with blood alcohol content higher than 0.05%.

🚦 On the road

Road assistance is available at 146 (Union Des Automobilistes Bulgares (UAB)) or 089 437 4385 (NiradBG). For general news on Bulgaria's traffic use Lima. For news on Bulgaria’s motorways and tolls use API. Most popular petrol stations in Bulgaria are Shell, Lukoil, eko, OMV, Petrol and VM Petroleum. Petrol (unleaded) gas options are called A98, ?????? or A95. Petrol costs about 2.00 BGN per liter.Diesel options are called ????? or dizel.