Bulgaria

stannis

I'll be heading to Sofia in Bulgaria a few days from now and staying there for a month to get a CELTA cert. I'd appreciate if anyone who's travelled in Bulgaria, or better yet lived there, could suggest things to see and do (in Sofia or outside), general advice and perhaps even a warning if necessary! Thanks.

grimm2005

stannis wrote: »

I'll be heading to Sofia in Bulgaria a few days from now and staying there for a month to get a CELTA cert. I'd appreciate if anyone who's travelled in Bulgaria, or better yet lived there, could suggest things to see and do (in Sofia or outside), general advice and perhaps even a warning if necessary! Thanks.

I spent only 2 nights in Sofia last November. While there doesn't seem to be a huge amount to see or do in Sofia, I did enjoy my couple of nights there. There's a few museums dotted around the city and I if you want to know more deeply about the history of the city, I'd highly recommend doing one of the free walking tours at some point. It's definitely not what you'd call a beautiful city. There are stray dogs everywhere and there are parts of the city that look like it's falling apart but it's probably the cheapest capital in Europe and you'll live like a king there provided you have a half decent budget for the month.

Hiking up Vitosha mountain is meant to be great and it's basically right beside the city and while I didn't get a chance to do it due to my brief stay I think it's probably a must do. You could also do a day (or half day) trip to Rila monastery outside of Sofia, again meant to be worth the trip.

As you have a month in Bulgaria, I'd recommend grabbing a bus or train to Plovdiv which is apparently under 2 hours by bus from Sofia and is meant to be well worth a visit.

I think you'll be okay in regards to safety. I didn't get any indications of "dodginess" at any point while I was over there and they gave us no warnings about anything in the hostel so I wouldn't think you'd have any worries in that regard.

Edit: Just realised the age of your post and that you're probably already over there! Hope it's going well!

lc180

I'm heading to Sofia this weekend, some really good tips in this thread, just wondering does anyone else have things they'd recommend to do while in Sofia?

Going for 3 nights, mainly planning a relaxed trip, might do a walking tour one day and go see a cirque du soleil show another.

Any other recommendations appreciated!

gerogerigegege

anyone been to Sofia?
Thinking of head over for 4-5 days in August.