Travel from airports to VT

@ButterMyPaws19

Where are you flying from? Sofia has some pretty good connections with Ryanair and Wizzair to quite a few countries.

There is good public transport, so a bus or train should be possible. It's a good, cheap option... but a bit slow. If your flight arrives at an unsociable time, you might need a night in Sofia then train/bus in the day. Sofia has a metro system so this is the easy option from airport to centre, where you can catch bus/train.

You can also get a limo service door-to-door, which is very convenient, but it's an expensive option. TrueDrivers (the one we use) is currently 75 euros each way to/from our apartment in Plovdiv. VT is a longer drive, I'd guess twice as much.

Airbnb and Booking are both good options, I've used them a lot. Personally, I prefer to make bookings in advance so that I know where I'm staying (and last-minute bookings are often much more expensive). You need a credit card, so this will be used to guarantee your booking/ make a deposit.

I'd say it's preferable to find some decent flights and book those. Then when you know your exact days you can jump on Booking and grab a room.

Thank you,  thats really helpful. Sensible to book flights first, then find accommodation. Credit card might be a problem as neither of us have one, never have. We are coming from france so flights are limited and prohibitively expensive (3 to 500€ each in April, much cheaper in may but we only have an opening the last 2 weeks of April) , so it looks like france to uk, then uk to sofia is our only option. Good to know trains are a good option, we don't mind slow and its been years since I travelled on a train (though my last experience in the uk was horrific). We love travelling by train.

@ButterMyPaws19 Have you looked at flights to Bucharest? From what I've seen it's doable to get to VT from there by public transport.

I agree with what others have said. You could indeed use Bucharest too.

Air fares over Europe have risen significantly, due to political and environmental factors, and that's why you're seeing such high prices. Gone are the days of €120.

Definitely book the flights first.  There's plenty off accommodation available and that's easier to book.  I use Booking. com and Airbnb (i also list an Airbnb in Varna). 

If you arrive at Sofia, the bus station and rail station are side by side and you can get to them from the airport, either by taxi or Metro.

Trains don't actually go to VT, instead they stop at Gorna Oryavitsa, which is around 6 miles (9.6km) away.  So the easiest way is to take a taxi from Gorna to VT.  There is a station at VT, but it runs a different route, from Ruse in the North to Stara Zagora in the South.  You can change at Gorna and take the train, but there are not many trains, so you could be waiting an age!

Alternatively, you could take the bus from Sofia.  Biomet run regular services to Varna, via VT.

Costs...   Rail around 18 Leva (€9.23) 1st Class.

Bus is a little more expensive, at around 21 Leva.

If you decide to go via Bucharest, there is an international train that runs into Bulgaria and onwards to Istanbul, that stops at VT, but it only runs on certain days.  Otherwise, you'll need to change at Ruse, which would make the journey lengthy.

Another alternative, is to fly to Varna. There is a daily direct flight from London Luton Airport with WizzAir.  Then you can either get the bus or train to VT, a slightly shorter journey than Sofia to VT.  The Rail Station and Bus Station are in different areas of Varna, accessible from Varna Airport, by taxi (cheap).

Also, check Austrian Airlines, as they sometimes have some good fares, although, you'll need to change at Vienna.

As far as deposits on accommodation go, many do not take deposits, because they prefer cash payment. Hence, Booking. com, cannot handle cash. But be assured, once booked, your reservation is safe - I've used Booking. com hundreds of times without any issues.  With Airbnb, they take the payment and then pay the owner direct.

VT has a plethora of hotels, boarding houses and apartments to choose from. I'm not going to recommend any particular one, as it's really a matter of personal taste!

As far as credit cards go, do you have debit cards (bank cards)??  These work equally well as credit cards and I pay with mine on Booking. com or direct at hotels.

There are plenty of ATMs in Bulgarian towns and cities, so accessing cash isn't a problem, but you should check whether your bank charges you to use them.

We always used the bus to get from Sofia to VT, they run regularly during the day, cost a little more than the train but are faster and more convenient because there's no need to wait around for a change. (Just be aware that long distance buses in Bulgaria don't have loos and it's a 3 1/2 hour trip, so if your bladder is anything like mine, don't drink too much fluid and use the loo in the bus station before boarding! Many public toilets in Bulgaria charge a small fee, so try to have some change, and always carry tissues, too.)

To get to the Central Bus Station/Train Station in Sofia from the airport, there are buses or the metro. If your flight arrives in the middle of the night as my last one to Sofia did and you have a wait for the first morning bus, it's safer to wait at the airport.

When we've booked via AirBnB or other online booking services, we haven't had to pay a deposit, though I think they did take a card number. A debit card or preloaded credit card should work fine for this. VT also has loads of guest houses so apart from maybe at the height of summer, it's probably not going to be a problem to just turn up and find somewhere.

@ButterMyPaws19

Sorry, when I say credit card, I mean credit/debit card. I think most of us have debit cards these days.

@ButterMyPaws19

When I went in February, we could only go from Paris Beauvais to Sofia. With hindsight it might have been easier to go to Bucharest, but depending upon timescales you could go to Stansted and then Plovdiv. Trains were a bit slow, but clean and cheap and you can get pretty much everywhere. Taxis were not expensive, so if there isn't a train station, close to your destination, you can always get a taxi for the last part of the journey.

We booked a hotel on Booking.com and it was good value. It was a 4 star hotel in Sofia, for 2 people sharing a room, it was 57 euros including breakfast. Enjoy your trip. 🙂