An independent English guide to Bulgaria
Independent guide to Bulgaria
Bulgaria, with the facts checked
Sofia at the foot of Vitosha, Roman stones in Plovdiv, the old towns of the Black Sea coast, Rila Monastery in its valley, glacial lakes and ski slopes in the south-west. This guide explains how the country fits together, and what changed recently for visitors: full Schengen membership, the euro, and dearer road vignettes.
What this guide does
Bulgaria is small enough to cross by train or car in a day, and varied enough that a first visit often goes wrong by trying to see all of it. The country runs in bands from north to south: the Danube plain, the Balkan Mountains, a belt of valleys and lowlands, and the high Rila, Pirin and Rhodope ranges in the south and south-west. The Black Sea closes it off on the east. Each band has its own season, its own transport and its own crowd.
These pages are written for visitors who plan their own trip and want facts they can check. We explain the regions and how to combine them, describe the main cities, the coast and the mountains, and keep a set of practical pages on the rules that change: entry to the Schengen area, the currency, train and bus travel, road vignettes, and the months that suit each part of the country.
Sources: Wikipedia — Geography of Bulgaria (climate and relief) · last checked .
Three changes a returning visitor should know about
| What changed | Since | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Full Schengen membership | 1 January 2025 (air and sea borders from 31 March 2024) | No routine land border checks with Romania or Greece; the 90-days-in-180 rule counts time in all Schengen countries |
| The euro replaced the lev | 1 January 2026, at BGN 1.95583 to EUR 1 | Prices and payments are in euros; the lev stopped being usable for payments after January 2026 |
| Vignette fees raised 30% | 1 August 2026 | A one-day vignette for a car costs EUR 5.30, a week EUR 10, a month EUR 19.90 |
Details, exceptions and the official sources are on the pages on entry rules, money and the euro and driving and vignettes.
Sources: eucrim — Bulgaria and Romania fully join Schengen (Council decision of 12 December 2024); European Commission (Access2Markets) — Bulgaria adopts the euro as of 1 January 2026; Banka Slovenije — exchanging Bulgarian lev for euros; The Sofia Globe — vignette fees raised 30% from 1 August 2026 (29 July 2026) · last checked .
Places
Regions of Bulgaria
Four bands of landscape, distances between the main bases, and how to put two or three regions into one trip without spending it on the road. Read the regions guide.
Sofia and Plovdiv
The capital under Vitosha, with a Roman city under its streets, and Plovdiv on its hills, 144 km to the south-east. Museums, neighbourhoods and day trips. Read the cities guide.
The Black Sea coast
Varna and Burgas, the peninsula towns of Nesebar and Sozopol, when the beaches fill and when they empty. Read the coast guide.
Mountains and snow
Rila Monastery and the Seven Lakes
The monastery 117 km south of Sofia, and the glacial lakes above Panichishte that are frozen for much of the year. Read more.
The southern ranges
Pirin National Park above Bansko, with 118 glacial lakes, and the long forested Rhodopes along the Greek border. Read more.
Bansko, Borovets and Pamporovo
Three resorts, three different characters: lift systems, altitude, distance from Sofia, and the queue problem in Bansko. Read more.
Sources: Wikipedia — Rila Monastery; Wikipedia — Seven Rila Lakes; Wikipedia — Pirin National Park · last checked .
The year at a glance
Our reading of the cited sources: 3 = the season is on and conditions usually suit it, 2 = possible with trade-offs (start or end of a season, crowds, cold), 1 = off season, or snow, ice or heat usually spoil it. The when-to-go page explains each row.
Sources: Wikipedia — Sozopol; Wikipedia — Seven Rila Lakes; Bansko ski area — official news; Lou da vym krokem — skiing in Bulgaria in 2026 (travel blog); Wikipedia — Rose Valley, Bulgaria · last checked .
How the facts are checked
Every block that carries a price, a date, an opening time or a rule has a source line under it with the date we last checked it. We prefer official sources: EU bodies, central banks, government travel advice and the operators' own sites. Where only a newspaper, a reference work or a travel blog answers the question, the source line says so. Where we could not read an official page, we say that too.
Rules have changed fast in Bulgaria since 2024. If a source line is more than a few months old when you read it, open the source before you rely on the figure. The about page sets out our methods and the contact page is the place to tell us when something has moved.
Who this guide is not for
- Travellers looking to book a tour, a ticket or a room. This guide sells nothing and takes no bookings.
- Anyone looking for a list of favourite hotels, agencies or restaurants. We do not rank or recommend businesses.
- People moving to Bulgaria. We do not cover residency, property or work permits.
- Readers who need certainty about a lift, a train or a border on a given day. We report what official sources say; operators can change hours at short notice.
Common questions
Questions readers ask
Is Bulgaria in the Schengen area?
Yes, fully since 1 January 2025. Checks at internal air and sea borders ended on 31 March 2024, and land border checks with other Schengen countries ended on 1 January 2025.
What currency does Bulgaria use?
The euro, since 1 January 2026. The lev was converted at a fixed BGN 1.95583 to EUR 1 and could be used alongside the euro only during January 2026.
Can this site book a trip for me?
No. Tourism Bulgaria does not sell or arrange travel and does not recommend companies.
When was this guide last checked?
This edition was checked on 28 October 2026. Each section shows its own check date.
Related
Read next
Places · Overview
Regions of Bulgaria
The four zones of Bulgaria, distances between bases, and four ways to combine them in one or two weeks.
Read more
Practical · Borders
Entry rules
Bulgaria in Schengen: the 90/180-day rule, passport validity, the Entry/Exit System, ETIAS status and customs.
Read more
Practical · Money
Money and the euro
The euro in Bulgaria: changeover date, the BGN 1.95583 rate, dual pricing, exchanging old lev, cards and ATMs.
Read more
Places · Coast
Black Sea coast
Varna, Burgas, Nesebar and Sozopol: what each is like, the summer season, crowds and safety.
Read more
Mountains · Rila
Rila Monastery and Seven Lakes
Rila Monastery's history and buildings, the Seven Rila Lakes, the chairlift, seasons and practical limits.
Read more
Mountains · Skiing
Ski resorts
Bansko, Borovets and Pamporovo compared: pistes, altitude, distance from Sofia, season dates and lift passes.
Read moreStart planning
Send a correction or a question
Tell us which page and which fact you are writing about, what you found instead, and where you found it. A link to an official notice helps us check it quickly.