TRANSPORT

Taxis are the most convenient form of transport and are very cheap.
The average journey will cost around 7 leva for a journey of approximately three miles.

The OK taxis in Sofia are the most reliable and are not allowed to overcharge. If you get a taxi from Sofia airport, always make sure you take an OK taxi. They can be booked at the OK desk which is facing you to the right as you enter the arrivals area. It is the one place we have come across touts trying to persuade foreigners into taking their own taxis at three times the going rate. Do not be tempted to go along with the guys waiting in the arrivals area. The OK taxis are outside the airport building.

The average rate in Sofia is BGN 0.30 - BGN 0.45 per kilometre. Laws concerning taxi drivers are still unclear. Anyone can put a taxi sign on their car and charge whatever they want, or change their meter.

In Sofia, OK taxis can now take orders over the phone in English. Call 9732121.

Current rates are as follows:

06.00am - 10.00pm - 0.30 leva per km
10.00pm - 06.00am - 0.45 leva per km

Initial fare - 0.40 leva
Waiting     - 0.12 leva per minute

Car Hire

Part of our recent trip (June 2007) to St.Vlas on the Black Sea required that we travel to our apartments at Pamporovo in the Rhodopi Mountains. This is a journey of approximately 5 hours by car.

We decided that the easiest way to do this would be by car. We hired our car via the internet through a company called Motoroads

We found this very simple and not very expensive. A Ford Fiesta 1.2 cost us 170 euros for 5 days with a 100 euro refundable deposit. The fee included all necessary insurance. The car was virtually brand new and was delivered to our apartment complex at exactly the time specified by us and was picked up by them again at exactly the specified time. We therefore could not fault the service and would have no hesitation in using them again. Motoroads sub-contract to local small car hire companies. This car was therefore through OK Tours Rent a Car. The local contact in the Sunny Beach office is Zlatomir Petrov, tel +359 554 2 77 31. It may well be worth contacting them direct.

Before driving in Bulgaria, we checked on the internet for anything we should be aware of. Depending upon which websites you look at, it is suggested that driving in Bulgaria is dangerous. Having driven in many countries in Europe, our own experience is that it is no worse than anywhere else. Although Bulgarian drivers do have a tendency to overtake whenever they can regardless of the road conditions ahead. Watch out also for traffic police with hand held radar guns. They appear to be everywhere and it is very easy to fall foul of the quite low speed limits.We were caught once. The police officer came over to the driver's side of the car and when he realised we couldn't speak Bulgarian and he couldn't speak English, he waved us on and that was it.

Page last updated: 12th July 2007