Bulgaria is a beautiful and interesting country in the Balkan region in Southeastern Europe. It shares some characteristics from nearby Slavic and former Soviet countries but still remains wholly unique. Follow my one week Bulgaria itinerary to discover this alluring country for yourself!
I traveled through Bulgaria for one week, which was the perfect amount of time to see all the main highlights including Sofia, Plovdiv and Rila Lakes.
Bulgaria isn’t on the typical European tourist route, but my husband and I were on our “Year Long Honeymoon” traveling around Europe and Asia and we stopped in Bulgaria before taking a bus to Istanbul. I’m so glad we did as I absolutely loved my week in Bulgaria, and I hope this day by day itinerary will inspire you to visit too!
Table of Contents
Day 1. Arrive in Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city in Bulgaria. It also has the countries largest airport, so it’s likely where your Bulgarian journey will begin. This itinerary has you spending three nights in Sofia which is the perfect amount of the to see all the city’s main highlights plus take a day trip outside of the city.
How to Get from the Airport to Downtown Sofia
Depending on where you’re staying in Sofia, you can either take the Metro Line M2 or busses 84 or 184 from the airport. We took the bus and you can easily tap a contactless credit card on the bus to pay for your ride. Google maps has the full Sofia public transit system integrated in the app so it’s easy to navigate.
If you arrive by bus or train you’ll already be close to the downtown area. There are numerous trams, busses and metro lines to get you to your destination.
Get Dinner in Sofia
There are many delicious and affordable restaurants in Sofia. I wish I had had the opportunity to try more of them, but one that I enjoyed was Mi Casa.
It’s not Spanish or Mexican food like the name implies, but a mix of Bulgarian and Western European cuisines. I had a delicious chicken and halloumi salad when I went.
There also happens to be two thousand year old Roman ruins right next to the restaurant. There are Roman ruins all over Bulgaria but it’s so cool seeing them every time!
Day 2. Explore Sofia
Free Walking Tour
Free Sofia Tour offers a wonderful free walking tour every day at 11am and 2pm. We had a knowledgable and fun tour guide and I felt like we really learned a lot about the history of Bulgaria and Sofia specifically.
The walking tour will take you past many Roman ruins, churches, and communist era government buildings. It really is the perfect introduction to Sofia.
The tour lasts approximately two hours. The starting point is at the Palace of Justice and the tour ends by the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.
Go Local for Lunch at Supa Star
Soup is a big part of the Bulgarian cuisine and it makes for a delicious and affordable lunch. My husband and I ate at Supa Star twice during our three day stay in Sofia because it was so good and the options change every day. They have a selection of soups everyday and a few different pre-made salads.
Explore the Churches, Mosques, and Synagogues
The walking tour will take you by several gorgeous cathedrals and a mosque and synagogue. You can admire them from the outside during the tour but you don’t go inside any of the building. After your lunch break circle back and wander into some of the religious building that interest you.
We went into the Sofia Synagogue and it was stunning inside. The ceilings and windows are just incredibly beautiful. There is an entrance fee of 5 Lev per person and a security screening process to get inside.
We attempted to go inside the St. Sofia church but there was a funeral going on inside. We also didn’t get into the ancient St. George cathedral because there was a service going on in there too. We were just unlucky during our day I guess!
Day 3. Take a Day Trip
Rila Monastery and Rila Lakes National Park
The two most popular day trips outside of Sofia are to either the Rila Monastery or to Rila Lakes National Park. I wanted to go to both but I didn’t see any tours that included both in one day. If you are comfortable renting a car and driving yourself, I would recommend doing that so you can visit both.
Ultimately because we couldn’t visit both, we picked an Airbnb Experience that took us hiking in Rila Lakes National Park. Our tour met near Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and drove us out to the park. The drive takes about 2 hours and we made a pit stop for snacks and a bathroom break.
Once we got to the park we had to take a ski lift up to the 7 Rila Lakes hiking area. The elevation is a bit high; we started the hike at 6,900 ft (2,100 m) and got up to 7,600 ft (2,300 m.) The hike might be difficult if you aren’t used to hiking at elevation. We didn’t even make it to the highest peak and the others in our group weren’t up to it.
The first mile of the hike was difficult and straight up hill, but the rest was relatively easy. We hiked 3.65 miles (5.8k) in total. After the hike we took a brief break to eat some snacks then took the ski lift back down the mountain.
If hiking isn’t your thing, then I recommend choosing a tour to Rila Monastery. The monastery itself is very beautiful but the surrounding nature is also incredible and worth seeing.
Day 4. Travel to Plovdiv
Plovdiv is Bulgaria’s second largest city. It’s a charming walkable town filled with Roman ruins and beautiful architecture. This itinerary has you spending four nights in Plovdiv.
How to Take the Bus from Sofia to Plovdiv
We showed up at a bus station looking to buy a ticket to Plovdiv and had no idea what we were doing! It’s not too complicated but knowing these two things would have helped us out a lot!
First, there are two bus stations right next to each other. One is the international bus station and one is the domestic bus station. Make sure you go to the domestic bus station location here. The international bus station is across the street closer to the train station.
The second tip for buying a ticket is to know what “Plovdiv” is in the Cyrillic alphabet. Plovdiv in Cyrillic looks like this “Пловдив.”
Once you’re at the correct bus station, go inside to the ticket counters. Each counter sells tickets to a different city, so find the one with “Пловдив” on the top and ask for a ticket for the next available bus. We paid 15 Bulgarian Levs per ticket, or $7.50 USD.
The bus ride takes around two hours and there aren’t any stops between the two cities. You get dropped off at this bus station in Plovdiv and there are plenty of local city busses to hop on from there.
Try a Popular Bulgarian Chain Restaurant for Dinner
After your travel day, keep it simple for dinner and try Happy Bar & Grill. This restaurant has many locations throughout Bulgaria and the best way to describe it is as “Bulgarian Applebee’s.” They have a huge menu with local and international cuisine.
The prices are reasonable and it’s popular with locals. Both times we went the restaurant was packed. We ate at this location and they had a nice outdoor patio area.
Day 5. Explore Plovdiv
Free Walking Tour
The same company that provides free walking tours in Sofia has free walking tours in Plovdiv as well. On the tour you will walk by Roman ruins and walk through the Kapana neighborhood and the Old Town.
My favorite part of the tour was seeing all the old buildings in the Old Town. It was some of the most unique architecture I’d seen in Europe, and I was in Europe for four months!
Similar to the one in Sofia, the tour lasts about two hours. It starts in front of Plovdiv City Hall and ends by the Ancient Theater of Philippopolis.
Explore the Roman Ruins
Two thousand years ago there was a Roman city named Philippopolis under present day Plovdiv. There is a well preserved and still used to this day theater.
There is also a stadium from Philippopolis that is only partially uncovered right in the middle of the main walking street through town. The old Roman Forum from Philippopolis is free and open to the public to explore and walk through.
The walking tour makes stops at the theater and the stadium, but there are many more ruins in Plovdiv to explore.
One of the most unique things about Plovdiv is that you can visit parts of an ancient Roman stadium in…. wait for it….. and H&M clothing store! That’s right, the H&M located on the main walking street was built on top of the Philippopolis stadium.
You can see parts of it for free just by walking in the store or pay for a ticket to explore the stadium further.
Day 6. Day Trip
Explore Bulgaria's Wine Country
People have been producing wine in Bulgaria for over 6,000 years. The Thracian Valley near Plovdiv is full of wineries that offer tastings and tours. Book a wine tasting day trip through Viator, Get Your Guides, or Airbnb Experiences.
During my trip to Bulgaria I was on a tight budget because I was traveling for a full year. I ultimately decided against going on a wine tour for cost reasons and I hope I can come back one day and go on one. I love visiting wineries in other countries and learning about the local wine making process.
Day 7. Urban Hiking in Plovidv
Hike Up the City's Seven Hills
One of Plovdiv’s nicknames is “The City of Seven Hills.” There are actually only six hills now because they used the dirt from one hill for building materials. Three of the hills are in the Old Town and you will probably climb them unintentionally.
The other three hills are much higher and you will definitely know you’re walking up them, trust me! My husband and I decided to hike up all three of the hills not in the Old Town in one day and we had so much fun doing it! In total we walked around 5.5 miles (8.8k) and gained 850 feet (260m) of elevation to get to the top of and between the three hills.
We started our hike on the walking street and starting going uphill at the stairs of the “Kamenica.” From there we walked up our first hill to the Clock Tower.
We walked down the west side of the hill and towards our second hill, Bunardzhika Hill. This hill is in a gorgeous park and you get stunning views of Plovdiv from the top.
Finally, head southwest after leaving Bunardzhika Hill and head toward the final and tallest hill, Youth Hill. The trail to the top was filled with local families out for a stroll when we went. It was quite pleasant and we felt very accomplished after reaching the top!
Have a Night out in Kapana
Kapana is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Plovdiv. Kapana means “the trap” because there are many small and windy streets that it’s easy to become lost. But don’t worry, the neighborhood is very small and you can’t actually get too lost!
The neighborhood is know for its nightlife and restaurant scene. During the day there are also a lot of coffee shops and boutique stores.
We ate dinner at Brick House – Kapana. It was on one of the main busy streets in the neighborhood. I really enjoyed the food and the price wasn’t bad either. We had a goat cheese bruschetta for the appetizer and I had a white fish fillet served over vegetable risotto for my entree.
There are many other restaurants in Kapana that were busy the night we were there, so check out whatever looks good to you!
After dinner there are several bars where you can grab a drink. There were a few loud clubby bars but we opted for a cute and quiet wine bar.
Local Transportation in Sofia and Plovdiv
How to Take the Bus/Tram/Metro in Sofia
There are card readers on all the buses and trams, so just tap your credit card when you get on board. We never had our “tickets” checked so I’m not sure how that process works.
The charges didn’t show up on our credit cards right away and took a few days to posts. The charges eventually rang up as $0.81 USD per ride.
How to Take the Bus in Plovdiv
The only public transportation in Plovdiv are buses, but there are a lot of routes and the buses run frequently. Use Google Maps to plan out your route; all the Plovdiv bus routes are integrated into Google.
You don’t need to buy tickets beforehand, you buy one onboard. Generally there will be someone selling tickets in the front or middle of the bus, but occasionally it will be the bus driver selling tickets. One ticket costs just 1LEV ($0.50 USD.) You don’t need to have exact change, but having smaller bills is better than attempting to pay with a larger bill.
Where to Stay in Sofia
If it’s in your budget, I highly recommend the Hyatt Regency Sofia. It’s a new hotel that opened in 2020 and the first Hyatt brand hotel in Bulgaria. I used Hyatt points to book a room with club access and it was one of the nicest hotels I stayed at during my whole “Year Long Honeymoon.”
If you have Hyatt points, it’s a great use of points because it’s a category 1 hotel meaning you can book a standard room for 5,000 points a night or a club room for 7,000 points a night.
The Hyatt Regency Sofia is in a great location near the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. There are multiple buses, trams, and metro stops within walking distance.
If you’re on a budget, I recommend finding an Airbnb. I have heard that hostels in Sofia aren’t the nicest and the online reviews seem to back that up.
Where to Stay in Plovdiv
We stayed at the Holiday Inn Plovdiv during our time in Plovdiv because I had IHG points to use. It seemed like the rooms haven’t been updated in awhile but we were comfortable enough and didn’t have any complaints.
It’s located about 1.5 kilometers from the main tourist area of town but we didn’t mind the walk at all. There are also several bus stops near the hotel. If you want to stay closer to the action there are several hotels just north of the Maritsa River that would be nice to stay in.
If you have status with or value Hilton points, the Double Tree Plovdiv Center would be a great option. There are also several small, locally owned hotels even closer to Kapana and the Old Town if that is more your style.
One Week in Bulgaria Budget
Lodging
Airbnbs in Sofia typically run about $25-$50 per night. Hotels will run around $50 for a budget hotel to $200 for very nice hotels, with an average around $100.
Airbnbs in Plovdiv seem a tiny bit higher; around $30-$60. Hotels in Plovdiv are slightly cheaper than hotels in Sofia. You should be able to stay in a decent hotel for around $80 per night.
Food
Like anywhere else, there are food options for any budget. Luckily for Americans or Western European travelers, Bulgarian food will seem very cheap and affordable! One of our favorite meals was from a kebab stand in Plovdiv (pictured below) that sold meals for $2.50!
We spent $23.50 USD or 47 Lev per day per person on food. I would say this is a good average however you could spend a lot more or a lot less depending on your preferences.
A cheap lunch like soup or a kebab should set you back between $2.50-$5 and a nice sit down meal should cost between $6-$10 for an entree. Our most expensive meal in Bulgaria was at the Brick house in Plovdiv, but we only spent $44 for an appetizer, two entrees, beer, and wine.
Transportation
If you follow this itinerary to a tee, budget for $12 USD per person for the whole week. Sofia and Plovdiv are both very walkable cities, and the public transportation is very affordable.
The bus ticket from Sofia to Plovdiv costs 15 Lev or $7.50 per person. A single bus/tram ride in Sofia costs $0.80 when using a credit card, and a bus ride in Plovdiv costs 1 Lev or $0.50. We took one bus ride and one tram ride in Sofia and three bus rides in Plovdiv.
Activities
I highly recommend going on both of the free walking tours in Sofia and Plovdiv. We tipped $5 (10 Lev) per person for each tour. We had very large tour groups both times or I probably would have tipped a bit more.
Our tour to Rila Lake National Park cost $52 per person. The wine tours will cost between $50-$100 per person depending on if you do a half or full day tour.
The total for the week will be between $70-$170 per person. Of course you could choose to go on more tours if you’d like.
Total
Budget: $40-$50 per person per day. This is assuming you are eating from casual to-go places and grocery stores and staying in a cheap Airbnb or hostel.
Mid Range: $60-$80 per person per day. With $60-$80 you should be able to eat at least one nice sit down meal per day and stay in a nice Airbnb or cheap hotel.
High End: $80-$150 per person per day. With around $100 per day you can stay in a nice hotel and eat pretty much whatever you want (assuming double occupancy on hotel rooms.)
More Travel Tips for Bulgaria
- Bulgaria uses the Cyrillic alphabet, which is the same alphabet Russia uses. It combines some Latin letters and Greek letters. It can be confusing at first, but each Cyrillic letter corresponds to a Latin letter.
- Learning a bit of the Cyrillic alphabet will go a long way in helping you get around. Most people speak a bit of English but learning a few Cyrillic letters will help you immensely when reading signs. Not all street signs and store names are listed in English.
- Sofia is pronounced with the emphases on the “O” instead of on the “I” like in the American pronunciation
- The currency used in Bulgaria is the Bulgarian Lev. The exchange rate fluctuates but typically 1 Lev is around $0.50 USD or .50 Euro.
- Avoid Taxis – personally we didn’t take any taxis when we visited because we did not need to. Public transportation is cheap, safe, and reliable. I have heard taxi drivers scam tourists, but again, I did not experience that but it’s best to be safe.
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1 Comment
Gorgeous, and the food looks so delish!