🇧🇬 Europe
One of Europe's best-kept secrets: painted monasteries hidden in the mountains, medieval old towns clinging to cliffs, Black Sea beaches and some of the friendliest prices on the continent.
Bulgaria is one of Europe's best-kept secrets and also one of the cheapest destinations on the continent. It is a country of contrasts: painted monasteries hidden in the mountains, medieval old towns clinging to cliffs, a capital layered with Roman, Ottoman and communist history, and Black Sea beaches with a party summer. Add mountains for hiking and skiing, and a cultural heritage that mixes Slavic, Greek and Turkish. For a Latin American traveller it is an affordable, authentic doorway into the Balkans, still off the most beaten tracks.
The country revolves around Sofia, the capital, in the west, at the foot of Mount Vitosha. Nearby is Rila Monastery, the most important in the country. In the centre, historic Plovdiv and the 'Rose Valley'; to the north, medieval Veliko Tarnovo; and to the east, the Black Sea coast with Varna and Burgas and resorts such as Sunny Beach and ancient Nesebar. A typical trip combines Sofia with Plovdiv and Rila, and in summer adds a few beach days on the Black Sea.
Two important updates for travellers: since 1 January 2025 Bulgaria has been a full member of the Schengen area (there are no longer land border checks with the rest of the bloc), and since 1 January 2026 it has used the euro, leaving the lev behind. The best thing about the country is its unbeatable value for money; what surprises you is the depth of its history and how little its tourism has been exploited.
The currency is the euro (€): Bulgaria joined the eurozone on 1 January 2026. Through 2026 many prices are still shown in leva as well (BGN, the old currency) at the fixed rate of 1.95583 to the euro. Cards are accepted almost everywhere.
Sofia (SOF) is the main way in, and Varna (VAR) and Burgas (BOJ) serve the Black Sea coast in summer. The Sofia metro runs all the way to the airport and drops you in the centre in a little over twenty minutes, which is the simplest and cheapest way into the city. BDZ trains are very cheap but slow; for almost any intercity route, coaches and private buses get there sooner. For the Rila massif, the monastery and the mountain villages it is worth renting a car or booking a transfer, because public transport out there is thin.
The best time depends on your plan. For the cities, culture and hiking, May to September is ideal, with pleasant weather and long days; May and June add the draw of the Rose Valley in bloom. For the Black Sea coast, summer (June to September) is beach season proper, with July and August at their hottest and liveliest (and pricier and busier in the resorts). September is a great month: the sea is still warm, there are fewer people and prices are lower.
Winter (December to March) turns the Rila, Pirin and Vitosha mountains into very cheap ski destinations compared with the Alps, with resorts such as Bansko. Sofia and Plovdiv put on Christmas markets and are still worth visiting, though it is cold. Spring and autumn offer beautiful landscapes, low prices and few crowds away from the coast. Because the weather varies a lot between the mountains and the coast, check the forecast for the specific region before you pack.
Bulgarian cooking is tasty, healthy and dirt cheap, with a strong Balkan and Ottoman influence. The flagship dish is 'shopska salata', a salad of tomato, cucumber, onion and pepper covered in grated white cheese (sirene), fresh and everywhere. Try also 'kavarma' (a meat stew in a clay pot), 'kebapche' and 'kyufte' (grilled meats), 'banitsa' (a cheese pastry, ideal for breakfast) and Bulgarian yoghurt, famous worldwide. To drink, 'rakia' (fruit brandy), a national point of pride, and good local wines.
Eating in Bulgaria is among the cheapest in Europe. A full meal at a homely restaurant ('mehana') costs just 7 to 12 USD; a shopska and a grilled dish, a little more; and a beer or a rakia, 2 to 3.50 USD (verified July 2026). With the arrival of the euro in 2026 some prices were rounded up, but the country is still a bargain compared with western Europe. The usual tip is 10% when service is not included.
Bulgaria is a safe country to travel in, with low levels of violent crime. The main things to watch are pickpockets in busy parts of Sofia and on the coast in summer, the odd taxi that overcharges (use apps or taxis from recognised companies such as OK Supertrans and avoid the ones waiting outside the airport with no meter) and minor scams in the beach resorts. The usual precautions you would take in any European country are enough. There are no areas a tourist needs to avoid.
No vaccines are required to enter and health standards are acceptable, though the public health system is more basic than in western Europe. Tap water is drinkable in the cities, although many people prefer bottled for the taste. If you are going hiking, watch out for ticks in spring and summer. Always take out travel insurance. The single emergency number is 112, free from any mobile (verified July 2026).
Bulgaria is one of the cheapest destinations in the European Union, ideal for tight budgets. A backpacker gets by very comfortably on about 35 to 50 USD a day; a mid-range budget, with a simple hotel and meals out, runs around 65 to 95 USD; and a comfortable trip with good hotels and restaurants rarely goes above 150 USD a day (verified July 2026). On the coast in high summer accommodation goes up. These figures do not include the international flight from Latin America, which almost always means one or two stopovers in Europe.
For reference (July 2026, now in euros): a hostel dorm bed costs between 12 and 20 USD; a simple double room, from 35 USD; a meal at a 'mehana', 7 to 12 USD; a beer, 2 to 3.50 USD; a city transport ticket in Sofia, around 1 USD; and admission to many museums and monasteries is dirt cheap or free. It is a country where a little goes a long way and your money stretches far further than in western Europe.
The language is Bulgarian, a Slavic language written in the Cyrillic alphabet (which was invented in Bulgaria, as it happens), so signs can be hard work at first; keep your phone translator handy. English is spoken reasonably well by young people and in the tourism trade in Sofia, Plovdiv and on the coast, less so among older people and in villages. One famous detail: in Bulgaria nodding your head up and down usually means 'no' and shaking it side to side means 'yes', the opposite of almost everywhere else, although many people now adapt when dealing with tourists. Bulgarians are hospitable and direct.
Plugs are type C and F, at 230 V and 50 Hz, so from much of Latin America you will need an adapter (and check that your device is dual voltage if it runs on 110 V). Connectivity is good and cheap: get an eSIM or a local or European prepaid SIM, which, since Bulgaria is in the EU, works across the whole bloc. Two tips from someone who has been there: learn to recognise a few basic Cyrillic letters to find your way around, and make the most of the fact that now, with Bulgaria in Schengen and on the euro, entering and getting around the country (and heading to its neighbours) is simpler than ever.
In a necropolis on the outskirts of Varna, beside the Black Sea, Bulgarian archaeologists in 1972 dug up the oldest worked gold in the world: more than three thousand pieces almost six thousand years old, buried when neither the pyramids nor writing yet existed. That find sums up Bulgaria well: one of the most anciently inhabited corners of Europe, a crossroads between the Danube, the Balkans and the Black Sea through which Thracians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Bulgars, Ottomans and Soviets all passed, each leaving a layer behind.
Bulgarian history is the story of a people who founded one of the first states of medieval Europe, who gave the Slavic world its alphabet — Cyrillic — who spent almost five hundred years under Ottoman rule and who re-emerged in the 19th century with astonishing cultural force. It is also a hard history, with uprisings crushed by fire and blood, two world wars on the losing side, half a century of communism and a long, difficult transition. This account runs from the Thracians to the Bulgaria of today, which adopted the euro in 2026.
Read the full history of Bulgaria →Pick a region and open each destination to see what to do, prices and how to get there.
These are the sources we cite most across this country's guides, with how many times each appears. Hard data —tickets, opening hours, requirements, transport— comes from the official source and carries the date we checked it. Restaurant and hotel picks come from guides and reviews, and we say so on each page.
