Bulgaria

Bulgarian is the official language, written in Cyrillic. Street signs and metro stops in Sofia and other tourist areas usually have Latin transliteration alongside Cyrillic, but menus and shop signs often do not, so recognizing a few Cyrillic letters helps with reading names and prices. English is common in hotels, restaurants, and shops in Sofia, Plovdiv, and the Black Sea resorts, and less common in villages and among older residents.

If you have an EU or EEA mobile plan, it works in Bulgaria at no extra cost under EU roaming rules. Visitors from outside the EU can buy a prepaid SIM from A1, Vivacom, or Yettel at the airport or any city phone shop; bring your passport for registration. Coverage is reliable in cities and along the coast, with some gaps in remote mountain areas.

Tap water is generally safe to drink in Sofia and other major cities; in small villages, or if in doubt, bottled water is cheap and widely available. Pharmacies, marked "Аптека," are common in cities and larger towns, and pharmacists often speak some English; look for a green cross sign. Late-night and 24-hour pharmacies operate on a rotation in larger cities. No special vaccinations are required for Bulgaria beyond routine immunizations; hikers spending time in forested areas in spring or summer should check for ticks afterward.

Bulgaria is a full member of the Schengen area and the European Union. Citizens of EU and EEA countries can enter with a valid ID card or passport and stay indefinitely. Citizens of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and many other countries can enter visa-free for stays of up to 90 days within a 180-day period, the same rule that applies across the rest of the Schengen area. Travelers who need a visa can apply for a Schengen visa through a Bulgarian embassy or consulate before travel.

Visa and entry requirements change frequently. Verify current requirements with the official immigration authority or your country's embassy before travel.

Bulgarians nod their head for "no" and shake it side to side for "yes" — the reverse of most other countries. Listen for a spoken да (yes) or не (no) alongside the gesture to avoid confusion. Dress modestly when visiting monasteries and churches: cover shoulders and knees, and women may be asked to cover their hair in some Orthodox churches. Greetings are usually a handshake; close friends may exchange cheek kisses. Bargaining is not common in shops or restaurants, though it is sometimes accepted at outdoor markets for handmade goods. Photography is generally welcome, but ask before photographing people directly, especially in villages and at religious sites during services.

Public holidays can close banks, offices, and many shops, especially over Christmas, New Year, and Easter, which follows the Orthodox calendar and can fall later than in Western Europe. Transport and tourist services keep running on most holidays, but expect reduced schedules. Shops in cities are generally open daily including Sunday, though smaller shops and services may close on Sunday afternoons or take a longer midday break in smaller towns.

• By train: Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ) connects major cities, including Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, and Burgas, but journeys are slow compared with Western Europe; book tickets through BDZ.
• By bus: Intercity buses are faster than trains on most routes and reach towns that trains don't, including Veliko Tarnovo and Bansko.
• By air: Domestic flights are rare and rarely worth it, since Bulgaria is small enough to cross by road or rail in a few hours.
• By car: Renting a car is the easiest way to combine cities, mountains, and the coast in one trip; see the driving section below.

Sofia has a small metro system and a dense bus and tram network. Single tickets are sold at kiosks and validated on board, and some vehicles accept contactless card payment directly.

Bulgarian meals lean on fresh vegetables, dairy, and grilled meat. Breakfast is often banitsa, a flaky pastry filled with cheese and eggs, eaten on the go with yogurt or ayran, a salted yogurt drink. Lunch and dinner usually start with a salad — shopska salad, made of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and grated white cheese, is the best known — followed by grilled or stewed meat dishes like kavarma or kebapche. In summer, tarator, a cold cucumber-and-yogurt soup, is a common starter.

Bulgaria is proud of its dairy, especially thick, tangy Bulgarian yogurt, linked to the discovery of the Lactobacillus bulgaricus bacterium. Rakia, a strong fruit brandy usually made from grapes or plums, is the traditional drink for toasts and is often homemade in villages. Wine is also widely produced, particularly in the Thracian Valley and around Melnik in the southwest.

Locals eat at small family-run restaurants called mehana, which serve traditional dishes in a rustic setting, as well as at modern cafes and bakeries for quick snacks like banitsa or lukanka, a dry-cured sausage. Markets and bakeries are common for picking up cheap, filling food between sightseeing stops.

Bulgaria's most visited destinations run from the capital to the Black Sea coast and the mountains.

Cities: Sofia, the capital, mixes Roman ruins, Communist-era monuments, and Orthodox churches. Plovdiv, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Europe, has a restored Roman theatre and an old town of 19th-century Revival houses. Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria's medieval capital, is built into a river gorge below the Tsarevets fortress.

Black Sea coast: Varna and Burgas are the main coastal cities, with beaches, nightlife, and ferry and cruise connections. Nearby, the walled old towns of Nesebar and Sozopol are smaller, quieter seaside destinations worth a day trip or overnight stay.

Mountains and villages: Bansko, at the foot of Pirin National Park, is Bulgaria's main ski resort and a summer hiking base. Koprivshtitsa is a preserved 19th-century village known for its role in the 1876 April Uprising and its colorful Revival-era houses.