Travel information for SOFIA

Travelers should be aware that there is no official commission that sets taxi cab rates. Taxi drivers are within their full rights to charge passengers any price they want provided that it corresponds with the price shown on the windshield sticker.
Although you could just walk to the taxi’s and get one, at the airport Terminal 2 you might want to go to the clearly marked booth within the Arrivals terminal (Samtours booth; see picture below), which arranges for metered taxis at a fair rate. The fare to the city centre should be around 10 leva.
Samtours desk (light-blue sign), Terminal 2

By Bus Alternatively you can catch the bus—No. 84 from Terminal 1 or No. 284 from Terminal 2. Both run to Orlov Most (C-5) on the eastern fringes of the city centre, departing roughly every 10-15 minutes between 05:00 and 23:00. Tickets cost 0.70leva from the kiosks beside the bus stop, or 0.80Lv from the driver. You also have to buy a separate ticket for each bulky piece of luggage, otherwise you run the risk of being fined by ticket inspectors.
Bus-stop sign at Terminal 2

By Hotel Shuttle
Most hotels offer a shuttle service for their foreign guests arriving at the airport. Please check if this is possible while making your hotel reservations and, if you want to choose this option, arrange it at the same time as you make your hotel reservation.

By Apartment Rental Pickup Service
The company that rents you your apartment will also offer to pick you up from the airport. If you have rented an apartment this pickup service is recommended. The driver will also have the keys to your apartment and will handle your (usually cash) payment of the place you’ve rented.
Arriving in Sofia by Train Sofia’s Central Station (Tsentralna gara), open 05:00 – 24:00, is an unwelcoming concrete hangar 20 minutes walk north of the city centre. Facilities include left-luggage, money exchange kiosks, ATMs, bars and fast-food outlets. Beware of pickpockets who hang around the station and the adjoining underpass. There are coin-operated left-luggage lockers in the basement (2leva for 24hrs), and a left-luggage office (garderob) just off the eastern side of the main ticket hall (open 06:00 – 23:00; 2leva per item). The cheapest way of getting to town is to hop on tram No. 1 or 7 (buy a ticket from a kiosk or from the driver—0..70leva) from opposite the station forecourt; head for the subterranean underpass to find the platform. Either of these will take you to pl. Sveta Nedelya, well placed for central Sofia’s amenities—get off when you see the Sheraton Hotel looming up on your left.

Public Transport in Sofia
Sofia is amply covered by an interlocking network of trams, buses, and trolleybuses, with services running from about 05:00 to 23:30. Despite some new additions to the fleet, however, vehicles tend to be antiquated, dirty, overcrowded, and slow. An additional problem is posed by the lack of information concerning routes—while bus and tram stops in the city centre are marked with numbers of services and details (in Cyrillic) of destinations served, those in the suburbs are invariably rusty old shacks bearing no information whatsoever. Buy a decent city map with tram and bus lines marked on it and learn them by heart before traveling. Single-journey tickets cost 0.70leva and can be bought from street kiosks or for 0.80leva from the driver. Once on board each ticket must be validated by punching it in one of the pronged machines positioned near the doors of the vehicle. A strip (talon) of 10 tickets costs 6Lv but take care to use them in sequence—tickets numbered 1-9 are not valid unless you’ve still got the tenth one in your possession. Officially, you're supposed to punch an extra ticket for each large item of baggage, but in practice this is rarely enforced, except on buses to and from the airport, where inspections are frequent and there are spot-fines for fare-dodgers. Though the fines are officially 7leva, unscrupulous inspectors may require foreigners to pay more.

Taxis
There are over 15,000 taxis in Sofia, the majority of which are roadworthy vehicles operated by more-or-less reputable companies. Legitimate taxis are coloured yellow and have an oval sticker on the windscreen; they also display a square sticker indicating the rates in BGL. Charges are supposed to be metered, but some drivers will switch the meter off and demand an inflated fare if they think you’re a gullible foreigner. By law a receipt should be issued for every taxi ride you take, although in practice this doesn’t always happen. Officially at least the charges are cheap, ranging from 0.50Lv – 0.60Lv per kilometer during the daytime to 0.55Lv – 0.70Lv per kilometer at night. Agreeing to flat-rate fares beforehand is a common practice, even in licensed cabs, especially for destinations outside the city limits. A tip of 10-15% is common practice. Most taxis hang around at the big intersections, although you can order them by phone—just don't expect to get through to an English-speaker (you can always ask your hotel receptionist to do it for you). You’d be well advised to stick to the taxi companies recommended below in order to keep overcharging problems to a minimum. Taxi companies OK Supertrans tel. 973 21 21. Radio CB Taxi tel. 9 12 63. Ricars Taxi tel. 9 11 14. Sofiataxi tel. 974 47 47. Taxi S Express tel. 9 12 80.

Money
Bulgaria’s currency is the lev, plural leva. Banknotes come in denominations of 200, 100, 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 & 1.There are also 1 & 2 leva coins.

Exchange Rate (March 2008):
1 US$ = 1.28660057 Bulgarian levs (leva):
1 Bulgarian lev (leva) = 0.777242 US$
1 Euro = 1.95576153 Bulgarian levs (leva)
1 Bulgarian lev (leva) = 0.511309782 Euros
1 British pound = 2.55480275 Bulgarian levs (leva)
1 Bulgarian lev (leva) = 0.391419651 British pounds
All banks have ATM machines. Withdraw money there with a debit card; that's by far the cheapest way to get your leva! If you need to change money before leaving for Bulgaria, just change a little (enough for the taxi from airport to centre: 10 leva). Changing money & travelers cheques are best done in a bank.

Credit Cards
Most high-end shops and restaurants will take credit cards and debit cards (with the Cirrus or Maestro logo), but smaller shops/restaurants will not. Visa/MasterCard are accepted in hotels, high-end restaurants and shops; holders of American Express or Diners Club cards may struggle.

Language
Bulgarian is a Slavic language with a Cyrillic alphabet, so it resembles Russian. This makes it difficult for foreigners to understand! English is not widely spoken in Sofia; German may be helpful. Be prepared to feel that you really are in a foreign country, and a phrase book may be useful!
Some useful words to get you started:
Yes/no da/nyet good morning dobro utro
Please molya good night dobar vecher
Thank you mersi goodbye dovizdhanay
Body language might be confusing for some: Bulgarians tend to shake their head from left to right (and back again) to indicate ‘yes’ and nod to indicate ‘no’.

Time Differences
Bulgaria is 2 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time. At 12 noon in Sofia it will be 5:00am in New York, 10:00am in London, 11:00am in Johannesburg and 7:00pm in Sydney. Since Bulgaria is part of continental Europe, the time will predominantly be noted in the 24 hour system.

Communication
Telephones
The country code for Bulgaria is +359. The city code for Sofia is 02. If you are dialing in from outside of Bulgaria you drop the 0 from the 02 city code; within Bulgaria you need to use the 02 code in full. To dial out of Bulgaria dial 00 plus the country and city codes then the number. International calls are expensive from hotels, and all public phones require a phonecard available from newstands and kiosks.
Mobile Phones
Most modern day mobile phones can be used abroad, but please check with your phone provider before you go. Also check the cost of sending texts and calling and receiving calls whilst abroad as these will differ from your usual tariff rates.

Alternatively, you could buy a Bulgarian pre-paid sim card for your cell phone. Calls received from abroad (home) will not cost anything if you have such a card. Making international calls with a Bulgarian sim card is expensive.

Fax
It is cheapest to send or receive a fax at a post office, but it will be quite a hassle to pick up faxes from a post office! It’s best to use the fax facilities of the hotel where you are staying.

Email
Internet cafes can be found all over the city, and increasingly hotels also offer internet services. The Bulgarian internet domain is <.bg>.
The venue hotel (Sofia Grand) offers wireless high speed internet, which is available throughout the entire hotel. So, even if you are not booked into the Sofia Grand, you could pick up your email while there for the TNT and/or MINT Forum programme, using your own laptop computer and linking up to the hotel’s wireless internet.

Climate
Summers in Sofia are usually hot, so it is likely to still be warm in September. During the week of September 16-22, the average high temperature is about 70-72F (21-22C) and the average low temperature is about 49-51F (9-11C).

Electricity
Bulgaria uses the 220 volts AC system, like much of Europe. Visitors from the UK and the US will need adaptors for electrical items.

Personal Safety
Bulgaria is as safe as most European countries, but as in all cities you need to be vigilant. Keep your valuables safe and out of sight. Pick-pocketing and purse-snatching are frequent occurrences, especially in crowded markets, shopping areas, and public transportation. Con artists also operate in bus and train stations. Credit cards and ATMs should be used with caution. Travelers should be suspicious of "instant friends" and should also require persons claiming to be government officials to show identification. Reporting a crime immediately to the police has helped recover money and valuables on more than one occasion and is recommended. Pay special attention to the drink prices at high-end bars, casinos, and nightclubs. There have been instances of foreigners being charged exorbitant prices, especially for champagne and hard alcohol. If you plan to go to these venues consult a menu and clarify exactly what you want when placing your order.

Business Hours
Shops and stores are generally open Monday-Saturday 1000-2000. Most shops in the city centre will be open on Sundays as well. Banks are open Monday-Friday 0900-1600.

Tipping
You are expected to tip 10% to waiters and waitresses in restaurants (but check your bill to ensure that service has not been included), domestic hotel staff, doormen, and taxis.