Top 5 Awesome Tips for a Seriously Cheap Trip to Sofia

Arriving From Sofia Airport
Getting into town from Sofia airport, you have three options - either the metro, the bus or a taxi. Taxis do not have a good reputation here. 

If you decide to take a taxi it should cost you between 10-15 leva to get to the center, not a stutinki more! Be sure to have the right change though, it is very common for taxi drivers from Sofia airport to make you fight them to get your change back. 

Many expect a 25% tip or more if you are coming from the airport and will give you an ugly look if you give them anything below that, even though legally you don't need to give them any tip and most Bulgarians don't. 

If you don't mind waiting a bit however, bus 84 departs from outside both of the airport terminals.

When you get on, you'll need to buy a ticket for yourself and for every piece of large luggage you have from the driver. Don't be stingy on this because inspectors get on all the time and I have seen numerous foreigners being kicked off the bus with their luggage and fined. 


The metro station that is part of Terminal 2 is the best option to get to the center - it is by far the fastest, easiest and most environmentally friendly. It will take you straight to Serdika station which is the city center. You need a ticket for yourself and another ticket for every big piece of luggage you have with you. Ask the lady at the ticket booth inside the station if you aren't sure if you're luggage needs a ticket or not.

If you are arriving at airport terminal 1, you can catch the free shuttle bus that will take you to terminal 2 and you can catch the metro from there. The shuttle bus departs every 15-30 mins.

Currency
1 leva = 100 Stutinki
1 Euro = 1.95 Leva (currency value is locked in)




Visa
Note that you should take a Bulgarian speaker with you to the immigration department as no one there really speaks English.

EU Citizens
If you are from an EU member country you can enter and leave Bulgaria as you please with no time restriction. Officially, you must register with the Immigration Authorities (48 Maria-Louisa Blvd, near the Mosque), but unless you plan to work here, this is generally considered as a waste of time. As an EU member you enter without your entry date or the fact that you entered being recorded by the authorities. 

If you wish to work here however, you need to register, along with a copy of your contract (Bulgarian version) which shows that the employer is paying your health insurance costs. If your employer is not covering these costs, they may tell you to buy the minimum insurance from a private company. They should actually be paying them for you though, otherwise I would reconsider the terms of your contract if I were you.

There are two kinds of contracts - a civil contract where you are not guaranteed any minimum hours and are paid by the hour and no real protections or holiday pay - or a labour contract which gives you 1 month paid leave per year plus sick leave and one month notice and extra salary in the event of early termination. 

Be sure that any contract is in Bulgarian with an English version printed on the same page next to it. It is legal and normal for them to do that.



Non EU Citizens
If you are a non-European looking to live and work in Bulgaria, this is a lot more difficult and requires a long process waiting for the VISA and a 500 leva fee, with no guarantee. For more information, you should approach the Immigration Office at 48 Maria-Louisa Blvd (Sofia) - near the Mosque. The locals are generally friendly and willing to help with directions - once outside the Mosque, you can say to a local "isviniete, ca-de immigratsia?" which in broken Bulgarian means "Excuse me, where is the Immigration Office?" but it will be enough for them to help you out.


Your own embassy can also be helpful in relation to this.







Finding Accommodation
> Temporary Accommodation in Sofia
Whilst you are looking for a place to live, you might want to consider staying at a hostel which is far cheaper than a Sofia hotel, as it can take you up to a month or more to find the right place.
An Erasmus student and an Australian expat provide the following reviews on 3 hostel options in Sofia:


Art Hostel:
Very groovy, artistic hub, with awesome breakfast and excellent location. Also has free internet and free drink on arrival. Unfortunately their prices are a bit steep, their beds are sagging and I got bitten severely by bed bugs. I have also heard the beds have been sagging for years. Great to meet people, but not so great for sleeping.

Hostel Mostel:
Nice, heated dorms (except for the attic, dont stay up there when it's cold!!)very clean toilets and bathrooms, friendly knowledgable staff who know how to show you around, free buffet breakfast - AND - free dinner - spaghetti with tomato sauce, chilli falvouring and a beer. I was satisfied, no complaints.


You can compare their prices and the prices of other Sofia hostels by clicking here

Or if you want a hotel and want to be sure your staying at a reliable one reviewed by other paying guests, Booking is a great place to start.


> Long Term Accommodation in Sofia
Be ware not to go visiting the websites that advertise accommodation in English! Nothing says "I'm a rich foreigner and please overcharge me" more than doing that.
You have several options here.
You can either share house, which is the cheapest option, or try to rent an apartment on your own.


Renting your own apartment
Generally the market in the city center ranges 600-3000 leva per month, furnished. Cheaper unfurnished.
PROS
- Privacy
- Security
CONS
- Cost, cost, cost.
There are many additional costs related to doing this. If you are on an unlimited budget no worries, but if you are like most Erasmus, you want to at least have SOME money left over as a drinking budget ;)

Costs associated with this:
* The full rent
* Heating (can reach 400 or more leva per month for an apartment)
* Electricity
* Internet etc
* Agent fee. 
If you can, try to have an agreement directly with the landlord, otherwise, you will need to pay 1 month rent to the agent as a fee (for doing essentially NOTHING). You will not get this back at the end. 

This site is very popular in Sofia and lists most of the properties


Try to get a Bulgarian friend to help you with this site which is in BG or use google translate.
Otherwise, there is this one in English but which is far more expensive


Share-housing
PROS
- Cheap
- Potential social atmosphere
CONS
- Potentially crazy house-mates
Here is a great site for finding potential housemates 
Try to get a deal where the heating, electricity, water, and internet are included. It is possible to get all that for about 350 leva per month including rent in Sofia center (but you will need to share with 3 others potentially).


Banking
Bulgaria has a huge number of banks, mostly foreign owned. After asking for several opinions, it seems the most established bank with low fees is Procredit bank. It is German. 

Have a look for yourself at what the others offer, but it seems most have higher fees attached.


Bulgarian Language Courses
There are many language schools in Sofia. You should ring around to find the one that is right for you, but the best value for money I have been able to find is this one. I am currently attending it and am happy with them.

News 
Novinite is in English and is a great way to find out what's happening in Bulgaria.


Emergency Numbers

Worth putting in your mobile phone:


Ambulance 150
Fire department 160
Police 166
Emergency road service 146

Healthcare
There's many good doctors but its very hard to find an English speaking one. There is a nice young doctor who is also a naturopath that works in the centre and also speaks good English and doesn't charge an arm and a leg. Her name is Dr Karabelova phone 0888687257


Don't get scammed by TAXIS!!
Be very careful when you get into a taxi in Sofia! Getting into the wrong one can end up meaning the difference of a 3 leva taxi ride and a 20 leva taxi ride - and perfectly legal as well!!
There are three companies that are generally trustworthy: O.K. Supertrance, 1263, and my preference - 1 Euro taxis.
You have to also be very careful because a lot of the mafia taxis have copied the logos - especially of O.K. taxis, to make them look almost exactly the same. They have even copied the credit card advertisements. Currently O.K. Supertrance are suing the others but the case has been going on for over a year.

I once made the mistake of getting into an imitation OK taxi because I didn't look properly and they charged me 1.6 leva per minute!!
Use public transport whenever you can.Not just good for the wallet, good for our earth as well.

I generally avoid taxis at all costs in Bulgaria. 




Affordable Food
The cheapest supermarkets in town are Lidl (locations) and Billa (locations) for most things. 
An Erasmus student shares:

Avoid the Clever milk from BILLA, it is super cheap but not worth the stomache aches! Spend a little more and get the good stuff.

However, most of us prefer to shop at what is called the "Ladies Market"  (Jentsky Pazar) for fresh fruit and vegetables because the prices are often 1/3 the price of Billa.
It is located on the corner of Tsar Simeon and Stefan Stambolov Streets. It is huge and there is also a Billa there.


Restaurants


A French Erasmus student shares:

Restaurants are really cheap, especially the Divaka chain (there is one on william gladstone and one on hristo botev street). I found the fruits and vegetables really good compared to french average standards. 

An Australian expat shares:

For cheap and tasty food you can't beat the local Chinese place (after you've tried Bulgarian food obviously), which is down a street called Stambolijski blvd (refer to free map from Hostel Mostel). You can get vegetarian noodle stir fry for like 4 leva (2 euros - bargain!) which is enough to feed two very hungry people.
There are also very filling pizza slice stands - which you can pick up for about 1-1.7 leva, don't pay more than that!

Public Transport 
Is generally good, especially if you live in Sofia center. 
The city has buses, trams, electric buses and a new metro system which service the city well.
To get a good deal, buy a packet of 10 tickets for 12 leva - ask the staff in the little booths for "edin Talon" and then "merci" for thank you.


Otherwise you can sometimes buy them for 1.6 leva each off the bus driver or the booths. Note that you can use these for 1 trip on all modes of transport except the metro.


Education
There are many schools in Sofia that offer instructions in differing languages. There are some notable ones however. The most popular school for foreigners is the Anglo-American College of Sofia, which has an excellent reputation and pays its staff well. Basically this is where the diplomats and foreign corporate executives send their kids. It is pricey. 

There are also many great state schools which offer good quality education. 



Very Cheap Weekend Escapes 

As of late 2016 Ryan Air has set up a base here and has made Sofia the budget flight capital of Europe with incredibly super cheap flights to 25 destinations all over the continent ranging from 8-15 euros for countries including Belgium, Germany, Greece, France, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, UK, Denmark, Georgia, Malta,  and Spain. Many others also within the 20 euros range.

Nothing like a very cheap weekend escape! Travel has never been so cheap!

Click HERE to see all the cheap flights departing from Sofia, Bulgaria.




What to do in Sofia 

Free Walking Tour
A free tour of Sofia is provided by these volunteers. Very popular and with a good reputation. See more info on their website

Volunteering
This is an excellent site that lists all the free volunteer opportunities around Sofia, and is in English and Bulgarian!


Basic Bulgarian Words
Dobarden = Good day
Zdrasti = Hello (informal)
Ca-de = Where is?
Gore-Dolu = Up / down
Merci or Blogodaria = Thank you
Ciao or Dovizshdane = Good bye
Ainte = Hurry up !


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Top 5 Awesome Tips for a Seriously Cheap Trip to Sofia