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Google Maps is not always accurate in giving coordinates of specific building numbers and building addresses, use http://www.bgmaps.com/map/sofia (Cyrillic) for details on building numbers. Click on a building to get its number.

Currency
Bulgaria is under currency board so 1 EUR is always exchanged to 1.95 BGN

* 1 USD ~ 1.44 BGN
* 1 GBP ~ 2.47 BGN
* 1 EUR ~ 1.96 BGN

Transport
Taxi is the best way to reach the city. When you exit after the baggage area turn right, there is a big parking with yellow taxi cars. There should be a person that would tell you which is the next car in line.

If you do not take a right turn after the baggage area, keep in mind that there are taxi cars just in front of the terminal that are 5-10 times more expensive then those on the parking on right.

The good companies are 'Yellow333 Taxi' and 'OK supertrans". Taxi prices are 0.79 BGN per km during the day and 0.90 BGN during the night.

Once in the city, the only good public transport is the Metro(which has a station just in front of the venue). Paper one time use tickets are 1 lev per ride. To get RFID plastic card is 9 lev total. 1 lev for card plus initial 10 rides at 0.80 lev each. Refills of RFID card are 0.80 per ride. After 5 rides on Metro, you start saving $ per ride.

To avoid outside heat when walking from Tsarigradsko shose (IEC) Metro Station to BW Hotel or IEC, you can walk through the very large park and ride garage under Tsarigradsko shose and use a staircase to reach the street. You can also use the garage to cross the highway on foot.

On buses (maybe Metro too?), each piece of luggage that touches the ground needs a ticket for itself.

Useful contacts

  • National Emergency Number: 112
  • Police: 166
  • Hospitals:
    • Pirogov: +359 2 9154 411 / +359 2 952 11 61
    • Tokuda: + 359 2 403 4112

Bulgarian 101

Good morning Добро утро (doh-BROH UH-troh)
How are you Как сте? (KAK steh?)
Thank you Мерси (Merci)
Please Моля. (MO-lya)
Yes/No Да/Не (Da/Ne)
Hello Здравей. (zdrah-VEY)
Goodbye Чао / Ciao (Italian). (CHAH-oh)

mobiles

Bulgaria has 3 phone operators, Mtel, Globul, and Vivacom (ex-state own phone company). Mtel has data-only prepaid plans but this YAPCer did not explore them. Mtel is a HSDPA network.

For Mtel, this is one successful recipe a YAPCer used. Goto a Mtel store ( http://www.mtel.bg/nameri-mtel-magazin no english version of that page available). Buy the New Prima World (very cheap international voice ) SIM card https://www.mtel.bg/new-prima-world. The store refused to immediately put $ on the account, so put in the SIM, called someone (since supposedly the first call activated the SIM), then came back an hour later to the Mtel store. Then I loaded enough Lev to buy a package from http://www.mtel.bg/prepaid-data-bundles . Then I sent the line from "Activation SMS" to 1796, got back a confirmation of the data add-on package. To verify balance and remaining MB, see http://www.mtel.bg/prima-checkups .

Last modified: 22/08/14 08:27 by bulk 88

Tags: currency tips

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