Religion- predominantly Eastern Orthodox.
The Bulgarian Church is autonomous and headed by a Patriarch.
Language -the official language is Bulgarian
and uses only the Cirillic alphabet. To facilitate tourists,
road and direction signs in populated areas, resorts,
railway stations, airports and along the main motorways are
also spelled in Roman letters. English, German, country.French,
Russian and other languages are spoken in the Time difference.
-Winter time: GMT + 2 hours( October through March) Summer time:
GMT + 3 hours (April through September).
Official holidays: January 1 - New Year;
March 3 - Bulgaria’s Liberation; Easter; May 1 - Labour day;
May 24 - Enlightenment and the Day of Bulgarian Culture and
Slav Script; December 25 - Christmas.
Working hours: State institutions and banks
usually work from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Most shops are open from
9 a.m. and to 7 p.m. Mainly stores selling food beverages, as
well as catering establishments, work round the clock.
Important telephone numbers. In all populated
areas:
0123 - operator for international calls (if no
direct phone call is possible)
120 - wake up call
121 - operator for long-distance calls within
the country
140 - sending of telegrams
144 - telephone information service for office
phone numbers
145 - telephone information service for home numbers
146 - Emergency Road Service
150 - Emergency Medical Aid
166 - Police/Road patrols
175 - weather forecast
180 - exact time ("speaking" clock)
Monetary unit and currency exchange - the
national monetary unit is the LEV. Banknote 1, 2, 5, 20, 50
leva. The exchange of currency is unrestricted and there is
no compulsory exchange. Upon departure from the country any
unused Bulgarian currency may be changed back into the respective
national currency at the border.
Credit cards - American Express, Diners
Club, Bankamericard Visa, Access, Eurocard, Mastercard
and Carte Bulgaria. Blanche, among others, are accepted in They
can be used for the payment of all standard services:hotel accommodation
, restaurants, night spots, shopping, car rentals, plane tickets,
etc.
How to reach Bulgaria?
By air - both foreign, as well as several
Bulgarian state-owned and private airline companies link the
country with the operate and five continents. Domestic services
charter flights are organised to resorts in summer and winter.
By train - the main trains - European and
trans-continental trains run through Bulgaria. International
trains link Sofia with the many European capital cities and
inland rail network provides access to all larger settlements.
By boat - there are sea an river connections
via the Black Sea and the Danube. The majority are tourist cruises
rather than regular boat links.
By car - there are numerous border checkpoint
for entry into the country. National driving licenses are valid
in Bulgaria. advance or paid at Insurance has to be made in
the border. Cars ( self-drive and chauffeur driven) may be rented
at the border checkpoint and in all tourist offices throughout
the country.
Speed limit: 50 km/h in populated areas,
90 km/h outside populated area, 130 km/h on motorways.
Passports and visas
I. Visa-free regime
1. The citizens of Austria, Belgium, Denmark,
Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Iceland, Ireland,
Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, the Netherlands,
Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and Sweden may enter the country
without a visa for a period of 30 days with a normal valid passport
or ID. The citizens of these countries are not required to fill
out border control cards, nor is any address registration required
for a first entry in the country for every calendar year, save
at their own wish.
2. The citizens of Cuba, Croatia, Czech
Republic Estonia, Hungary, the Republic of Korea, Lithuania,
Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro
and Tunisia may enter the country without a visa for a period
of 30 days with a normal valid passport.
3. US citizens may enter the country without
a visa for a period of 30 days with a normal valid passport,
after paying a border fee of 20 USD.
4. The citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina and
the CIS (with the exception of Uzbekistan) may enter the country
without a visa for a period of 30 days with a normal valid passport.
They must fill out a border control card and certify the possession
of funds to the amount of 40 USD per day for every day of their
sojourn or present a package holiday voucher. The voucher (family
or individual) of the travel company must be filled out in three
copies and addressed to a licensed Bulgarian tour operator.
It must show the number and license of the settlement and hotel
which provides the services. The three copies of the voucher
are stamped at the border, the third copy being kept by the
tourist.
Groups of organized tourists from the CIS (with
the exception of Uzbekistan) arriving in the Republic of Bulgaria
are not required to fill out border control cards or to certify
the possession of currency funds. Organized tourist groups of
children from the CIS (with the exception of Uzbekistan) arriving
on charter flights in Bourgas, Varna or Sofia may enter the
country as listed, a passport being required only for the group's
leader. Organized tourists in items 2 and 3, listed as a group,
arriving in the Republic of Bulgaria, are not required to fill
out a border control card. In the absence of a list they are
treated as normal individual tourists. If, during their sojourn,
they briefly visit neighboring countries, the list is stamped
at the border upon departure from the country. Their re-entry
in the country, through the same or a different border checkpoint,
is regarded as a first entry in the country.
Individual (not organized) tourists must fill
out a border control card.
All tourists of the countries listed in items
1, 2, 3 and 4, entering Bulgaria in a motor vehicle, may only
enter the country with a normal valid passport and must fill
out a border control card.
II. Visa regime
The citizens of all other countries, visiting
the Republic of Bulgaria for the purposes of tourism, may enter
the country with a valid passport and entry visa, issued by
a diplomatic or consular representation of the Republic of Bulgaria,
and a package holiday voucher.
No visa is required of the citizens of Australia,
Bahrain, Canada, Cyprus, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, New
Zealand, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the Republic
of South Africa, Taiwan, the United Arab Emirates and Zimbabwe,
provided they are in the possession of a package holiday voucher.
III. Vessels
All yachts entering the territorial waters of
the Republic of Bulgaria are subjected to an "entry" and
"exit" inspection at the following sea and river ports:
Danube: Vidin, Oryahovo, Svishtov, Rousse
and Silistra; Black Sea: Balchik, Varna, Bourgas, Nessebur,
Pomorie and Tsarevo.
The following fees are collected at border
checkpoints for entering or transiting the Republic of Bulgaria:
Cars - 10 USD;
Coaches seating more than 8 + 1 persons, including the driver's
seat - 60 USD;
Two-axis trucks - 70 USD;
TIR trucks - 100 USD.
A disinfection fee is also collected at border
checkpoints as follows:
Cars - 2 USD or 3 DM;
Minibus - 4 USD or 7 DM;
Coach - 6 USD or 10 DM;
Trucks - 10 USD or 17 DM.
No compulsory immunizations are required of foreign
citizens arriving in the Republic of Bulgaria.
Customs Formalities and Restrictions
Currency Regulations
Upon entry and departure from the country foreign
nationals are obliged to fill out declarations according to
a specimen, approved by the Minister of Finance, about the following
currency valuables carried by them:
1. Bulgarian banknotes and coins in circulation
in excess of 10,000 leva. Amounts over and above this figure
may only be taken in and out of the country with a permission
by the BNB, valid for a period of 90 days after the date of
issue;
2. Bulgarian coins in circulation of numismatic value
(may only be exported from the country with a permission by
the BNB);
3. The equivalent in foreign currency in excess of 1,000
USD; Foreign natural persons may export convertible currency
to an amount not exceeding the amount of the imported and declared
currency, reduced by the cost of objects bought in the country;
4. Shares, bonds, promissory notes, bills of exchange,
cheques and other securities in circulation, issued by local
persons in leva;
5. Shares, bonds, treasury bonds, certificates of investment
and deposit, cheques, bills of exchange, promissory notes, letters
of credit and other similar securities, issued by foreign persons
in foreign currency;
6. Precious metals and precious stones and articles thereof
in excess of the normal amount for personal and family use -
in kind, weight and value;
7. Coins containing gold, silver or platinum - in kind,
weight and value;
8. Other currency valuables.
The export of objects, including coins made of
gold, silver or platinum of historic, archaeological, artistic
or numismatic value is prohibited, except with a permission
by the Minister of Culture.
The respective value of the objects and coins
is determined by the Ministry of Culture and the Bulgarian National
Bank.
Import of Goods
Prior to the customs check travellers, i.e. foreign
natural persons, are presented with an instruction leaflet,
containing information about customs regulations in the country
in one of the internationally accepted languages for the verbal
declaration of objects subject to declaration. Persons aged
below 16 are acquainted with the obligations for declaration
by foreign nationals by the adult persons accompanying them.
The instruction leaflet is signed by the foreign nationals in
confirmation of their being acquainted with their obligations
for declaration.
Travellers are obliged to declare verbally:
expensive objects, subject to return (cassette
players, TV sets, photo, video and film cameras, musical instruments,
lap-top computers, etc.); objects in excess of the set limits
for duty-free import; objects of a commercial nature in kind
and quantity; objects prohibited for import and export from
the country or which are subject to licensing requirements:
weapons, ammunition, narcotics, psychotropic substances, protected
animals and plants, objects of historic, archaeological,
artistic or other value.
The value of the objects, subject to declaration,
is declared according to purchase prices.
Information regarding import regulations for
hunting weapons:
Weapons may be imported by groups of individual
or organized tourists arriving for the purpose of hunting tourism
with package tour vouchers, the permission applying to hunting
weapons and hunting carbines, together with the necessary instruments
and ammunition. The import of short-range weapons (pistols
and revolvers) is prohibited. It takes place under a different
procedure, established by the Ministry of the Interior.
Travellers who fail to declare any objects, subject
to declaration, are liable under the Customs Act and the Penal
Code.
Duty-Free Iimport
Travellers have the right to import the following
without paying any duty or import charges:
articles for personal use: articles needed
by foreign nationals during their stay in the country, corres
and profession; consumer goods:
a. Tobacco products (for persons aged above 16): 200
cigarettes or 250 g of other tobacco products;
b. Alcoholic beverages (for persons aged above 16): 2
l of wine or 1 l of spirits;
c. Other beverages: 500 g of coffee or 200 g of coffee
extract, 100 g of tea or 40 g of tea extract;d.50 ml perfume
and 250 ml eau de toilette.
The transit transport of goods in commercial quantities
on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria is only permitted
in containers which can be sealed.
Insurance
Drivers of motor vehicles with foreign registration,
entering and staying in the country, must have Civil Liability
insurance. If they do not, they are obliged to take it out at
the border checkpoint.
Optional insurance:
medical expenses for foreign citizens residing
temporarily in the country or transiting it; civil liability
for environmental damage for the transport of goods by road
on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria.
Tourist Services
Tourists can book hotels or other accommodation
facilities in the tourist service offices of Tourist Information
and Reservations EAD at border checkpoints. Package services,
currency exchange, sale of phonecards, telephone services, etc.,
are offered.
Traffic Rules
Traffic rules in Bulgaria are the same as in all
other European countries.
The permitted speed limit (km/h) for different
types of motor vehicles in the country is as follows:
Category A/ 50/ 60/ 100
Category B / 50/ 90/ 120
Category C / 50/ 80/ 100
Drivers of motor vehicles who exceed the permitted
speed limit without causing an immediate danger to traffic are
fined.
In case of accident, the person driving a motor
vehicle with a foreign registration, is obliged to remain on
the scene of the accident until the arrival of the competent
authorities (traffic police).
Driving is prohibited after alcohol consumption
(over 0.5 per mill in the blood) or under the influence of drugs.
Petrol stations sell 91 and 98 octane petrol,
95H unleaded petrol and diesel fuel. There are petrol stations
in all border checkpoints, on international motorways, in populated
areas and along second-class roads.
