An Insider's Guide to Travelling in Bulgaria

Visiting Bulgaria for the first time? Then you may want to read this insider’s guide to travelling in Bulgaria. But first, did you book your flight to Sofia Bulgaria from Dublin Ireland as yet?

Everything is Personal

 In Bulgaria, everything is personal, even if you’re on a business visit.  Every lunch or dinner ends with a Rakia – which is Bulgaria’s favourite alcoholic beverage. That’s when all the loose talk begins. Bulgarians are an emotional bunch and they hold nothing back. They have a love/hate relationship with politics and can talk for hours about what’s wrong with the political situation in the country, as well as with that of the rest of the world. Just don’t allow the Rakia to get into your head when this happens.

 Don’t Expect Great Service at Restaurants

 For sure, there are some posh establishments in Bulgaria where the waiters are polite and courteous, but don’t expect that at the cheaper places. In most restaurants across the country, the servers are nonchalant, and simply do not care about your feelings. As for tipping, it is expected, but not compulsory. Don’t expect any great service just because you tip.

 Bulgarians are Generally Very Nice to Foreigners

You will be surprised at how nice ordinary Bulgarians are to foreigners. They go out of their way to help out tourists and even invite them to their homes. They would love to have visitors over and treat them to a sumptuous lunch and of course, Rakia.

But don’t expect to get any personal space when you visit a typical Bulgarian family. They will want to know everything about you, whether you’re married or single, how much you earn at your job, and other deeply personal stuff. But they mean well, so don’t get put off by that.

Officials are Not So Nice

 While ordinary Bulgarians are nice, the officials not so much. In fact, you will find the Bulgarian officials to be rather brusque, if not rude, during your interactions with them. They don’t address you as “Sir” as “Madam” as officials in other countries. They don’t smile at you, and don’t even say “please”. The standard greeting at a Bulgarian government office is “terse Kazhete!”, which means, Speak Up!

There are Communist-era Monuments Across Bulgaria

 Bulgaria is today a member of NATO and the European Union, but it was a member of the Communist bloc for almost five decades. So don’t b surprised to see Communist-era monuments across the country, especially in large cities such as Sofia, Burgas and Varna. These monuments are still looked at proudly by the people of Bulgaria, even though none of them believe in communism any more. They are just a part of Bulgarian history.

 Bulgarians Have a Complicated Relationship with Russia

 Bulgarians have a relationship with Russia that dates back to hundreds of years. It was Russia that freed Bulgaria from the Ottoman rule in 1878. It was Russia that liberated Bulgaria from Nazi occupation in 1944.  Russians are the most prominent tourists in Bulgaria and have snapped up hundreds of thousands of homes and apartments here. There’s a lot of commonality between the Russian and Bulgarian cultures. And yet, present day Bulgarians are ambivalent about their feelings towards Russia. There’s a feeling that Russia has too much control over Bulgaria, which many young Bulgarians do not like.