Thanks for reply on price of taxi from airport to SB. very helpful everyone

Stuart

Been meaning to get on here and write some of my views as prior to going i found people's info extremely helpful. so hopefully i can offer some useful info to others. probably a bit late in the season now but at least some of it may prove useful for next year.

won't spend too long on the general stuff as most of that gets answered anyway. more specifically i will talk about car hire as this was the topic that people had little experience of and something that would have been useful to me. we took out car hire for one week - prior to going i was dreading this as i'd heard some stories and negative thoughts about it - but im really glad we did get car hire.

as to whether or not you hire a car i think largely depends on the type of person that you are and the type of holiday you want. in the end my boyfriend drove as it worked out cheaper for only one of us to drive - he is a confident driver and im a confident navigator. if you are not confident in your ability to drive or are a nervous driver i would probably not reccommend driving in bulgaria!

it is quite similar to drivers in other parts of europe - ie some of them are crazy!! (no offence! ;-)) e.g. the way they over take can be quite hair raising(!) especially when you see a car coming towards you on the same side of the road! some of the drivers there tend to be quite risky when it comes to overtaking and are impatient. however the majority of the roads are quite straight so at least you can see them coming! BUT as long as you are aware and cautious then you should be fine.

also watch your speed as there are plenty of police on the main roads which in some ways is reassuring just in case you did need help. also take out extra insurance so that you do not need to pay excess as damage is possible ie your car being scrated while parked. also dont drive at night. also watch out for pot holes!!! again you will be fine as long as you are careful and alert.

also a map is useful that has the interpretation of the city names. ie varna in bulgaria is bapha - so no similarities at all. we were ok cos i had a guide book so it was just a case of seeing the two spellings and following the signs for them as not all signs are in the 'english' version. but again the roads are quite straight and there aren't as many as there are in britain so as long as you have a bit of logic you should be able to find your way to the main places. from nessebar we were able to get to varna, sozopol, veilko tarnova, sliven, romptano river, duni, elentie and bourgas, plus other places (sorry about spelling)- they were all easy routes. so unless you want to go to somewhere thats unheard of you should be fine.

in terms of the type of holiday that we wanted a car is neccessary - i dont think i could have stayed in nessebur for two weeks solid. it was VERY busy and touristy so it was nice to get away from it all plus we were able to find some really nice quiet beaches. But if that's what you like and you don't mind the crowds then there's no need for a car. Although if you get the chance to get in land - DO! Bulgaria is beautiful! The countryside is so pretty - I only wish we were able to venture in further.

so to sum up! (sorry this is soooo long) if you are confident in driving, navigating and are cautious and sensible on the roads then you should be fine. at times its safer being in a car than a pedistrian! (ie cars dont slow down for them!) also if you like to explore the country and go to many places without hassle in the shortest amount of time possible then the best way is by car - plus petrol isn't too badly priced - well better than the uk! i know there are buses but personally i don't like travelling in a sardine can!

what im really saying is dont be put off by car hire by what you hear but at the same time think carefully about it as like driving in any foreign country there are risks. i think if we didnt have a car i probably would have got very bored and have no regreats whatsover about getting car hire.

hope this has helped

xxx

an excellent post!
I have had some pms from people asking for a sticky about driving in Bulgaria so I am going to edit your title and make it the first post on the new sticky!

Thanks! Glad it was helpful.

Hi Khurst. glad to hear you enjoyed Bulgaria and the experience of driving there I think you now agree that there is not any real problems about driving there and it lets you see an awful lot more of the country and lets you see the real Bulgaria

hi mondeo - thank you for your comments before i went (i'm sure it was you). up until then i had only heard negative comments and was quite worried up until you posted. it was your comments that convinced me that maybe it would be ok and im so glad that we went ahead with the car hire. as you said you get more chance to see the 'real' bulgaria. if i had only been to the coast i probably would not have gone back but because i have seen more of the country i will definately go back to a part more inland by the mountains.

Hi khurst,

Yeah it was me and i am glad you found the driving was enjoyable next time try up about the plovdiv region the town is brill and the sites are well worth seeing especially the amphitheatre and the remains of the old town are worth having a look around (its older than rome and built on seven hills )

that was one of the places i was considering so i will bear that in mind. thanks

I just got back from Bulgaria. Stayed outside Sunny Beach up near Nessabar. I got a taxi which my friend pre-ordered by email beofre we left. I found the man polite and kind and he spoke very good english and was very informative about Bulgaria and the changes going on in it. OIt was not just the usual tourist patter.

he collected four of us and our cases at Bourgas airport at 2.00am in the morning and had our name up on a plaque. He charged us 50 lev which is only twenty five euro and would be even less sterling. You would not get six miles in a taxi from Dublin airport for that.

The taxi Firm was called Interservice travel & Trade Agency. the Phone number is: 00359 554 66074 email: is.gama@infotel.bg and the other is email is: anmarimag@anv.bg. Hope that is of use.

Hi, wonder if anyone can help. We will be staying in a hotel in Varna next year and we wish for a transport transfer company to collect us and take us to Ravda (south of Nessebar) and then collect us two weeks later and take us back to Varna airport. Can anyone recommend any companies that can do this. Thanking you in advance.

Hi,

Varna airport to sunny beach cost us 90LV (haggled) and that was at 1.30am, return was 75Lv and that was at 10.30pm.

Ravada hould be about the same.

Not sure about companies, standard taxis are cheaper, but some taxis are in poor condition, but others are brand new!!

Any questions, please ask!!

BRAD

Hope you can help, looking at going to Nessebar at the end of May next year. At the moment we're trying to decide if we should hire a car or just book transfers from/to the airport and apartment. Can anyone recommend a reliable transfer service from Varna and a rough price guide.

Thanks

Hi, can you not get a flight from your area to Bourgas Airport, which is a lot closer to nessabar than Varna, then look at earlier quotes on this page to give you some prices and numbers. Cheers Tonyt

Hi, we are flying to Varna from Gatwick in August (4 of us) for under #600. compared with #1300 to Bourgas. I expect that is why Lisa7575 is asking for similar advise about taxi's/transfers to Nessebar from Varna. I am in the process of looking into prices/firms etc. so any information, I find I will advise. It will be in a couple of weeks time, once I receive confirmation that we can use our apartment (as it is now part of a rental agreement), if not we will be looking for a hotel in the Golden Sands area. Regards. Yvette

Thanks for you replies. We are going from Gatwick as it is covenient for us (live in Kent) so that's why we're flying into Varna. Also at the moment can't find flights to Bourgas - which airport do they go from and which days? This is for our honeymoon so we can't go on Saturday/Sunday.

Hi Lisa, flights to Bourgas go from loads of regional airport, also from Gatwick I think!. If you go on the Thomas Cook and Balkan Holiday website under flights only, you should find them. Hope this helps. Regards. Yvette

Thanks Yvette, however think I will be sticking with LGW to Varna for May as the prices to Bourgas are ridulously expensive.

I ordered my transfers from Bourgas-Sunny Beach here

airtransfers@dir.bg - cost me 25 pounds return

Hope this helps

just read deens entry have tried to email that company for a quote for transfer to sunny beach from bourgas but email is returned to inbox as failed. can anyone let me know how much to pay in a taxi for 5 people at around 5 in morning?