Renting a car in Bulgaria: how not to let cheat yourself?

In Bulgaria, renting a car here is the second most important problem after prices for taxi.

Most small companies would lure you with attractive prices, starting from 10 euros per day. This price does not cover other services, which will be mentioned later.

It would be good if a car which you will rent, as a result, will cost you 20-30 EUR per day, and this price excludes gasoline.

What dangers lie in wait for inexperienced tourists when renting a car in Bulgaria?

As in almost every sphere of life, an inexperienced person renting a car in Bulgaria bears a large number of additional costs. Most of the problems occur with the partnership with small companies that offer low prices. Surprised? Read on to find out.

Why don’t we recommend to choose a car rental company with the lowest price?

A tourist was enticed by low the prices of 10 EUR per day, so he visited the car rental company. And then he found out that the promoted price did not include the following: insurance, a gauge, GPS navigation, etc. As a result, the rental amount sharply began to increase.

The amount of the franchise (a guarantee of 300 EUR, which the customer must pay) can also disappear very quickly, even in the case of small scratches. There are some cases: even if you drive carefully, dubious car rental companies will still find loopholes about it and money is subtracted.

Well, sometimes there are situations when inexperienced tourists are given broken cars, and then they are required to pay for repairs.

Approximate prices for gasoline in Bulgaria

  • 95 RON gasoline costs about 2.19 levs per liter
  • Diesel fuel costs 2.19 levs per liter
  • Gas for cars can be bought for 0.98 levs per liter

The cost of parking in Bulgaria

Parking in Bulgaria is a fairly interesting phenomenon. At almost every car parking there is a counter that displays the number of available places and prices. Of course, prices vary depending on the resort, but only slightly. For orientation purposes, here is the list parking costs in Nessebar, which is a quite large and popular resort in Bulgaria. Prices are rather big:

The cost of car parking:

  • for a period of 1 to 4 hours – 3 levs per hour
  • for a period of 5 to 24 hours – 12 levs per day

The cost of bus parking:

  • for a period of 1 to 4 hours – 4 levs per hour
  • for a period of 5 to 24 hours -16 levs per day

Of course, you can find cheaper parking. Even on the outskirts of Sunny Beach (the most expensive resort in the country), we saw a parking for 2 levs per hour or 10 levs per day.

Where to buy an insurance in Bulgaria?

You can buy an insurance directly at the time of renting a car. It is worth considering that a standard insurance, which is included in the rental price, does not cover the damage of interior, wheels, underbody, front windshield and other car parts. Most of the car rental companies and online booking sites offer to buy an advanced insurance that will avoid problems in case of trouble.

It should be noted that almost any insurance includes a franchise – it is 300 EUR, which will not be returned to you in case of any problems. To be exact, this amount will be subtracted from the cost of car repairs. If this amount is enough – you will be paid a margin. But keep in mind that some of smaller and cheaper companies will try to increase the amount of repair on a maximum even at small damages. Nobody can abolish the excessive amounts of repair from the car mechanic.

Some services of online booking of a car, for example, Rentalcars.com offer a service of full insurance. For a relatively small amount, the company will cover for you the whole amount of franchise in case of problems.

If you suddenly get into an accident, you will definitely make a police report. If you damage a car – call to a car rental company. The repair at several auto workshops, that are not consistent with the company, may be costly – you will be charged an extra fee.

Or maybe to use public transport?

As a result, if you add up all the costs of auto insurance, gasoline, parking, GPS, 3-4 days of renting a car, it will cost you approximately 250 levs (depending on the a class, of course ). This is quite a significant amount for most tourists.

Considering most attractions of Bulgaria, are accessible through excursions or even by public transport, would you go for these options instead?

What documents are necessary to rent a car in Bulgaria?

  • Passport, which allows you to enter the country.
  • Current driver’s license of any country.
  • Voucher, for cars that are pre-booked via the Internet (it comes in an email).
  • Credit card, from which will be debited (in some cases, instead of a credit card you can pay in cash).
  • Driver’s age of 23 years. Driving experience from 3 years (if less than 3 years, you will have to pay extra).
  • 300 EUR for a pledge in your account.

Is it worth to book a car in advance via the Internet?

In our opinion – it is worth it. Not only you save a lot of valuable vacation time on choosing the right car rental company and preparation of all documents for renting a car, but also significantly reduce the risk of being cheated.

As a result, based on experience from our acquaintances, renting a car via the Internet is considerably cheaper than on the spot. Especially if you know the exact holidays date, and you can book a car in advance.

Where is it best to rent a car online in Bulgaria?

The second important benefit of renting a car online is the low price. Even if in the end you’re taking the same car that you choose after arrival to the country, a price can still be a little lower.

This is possible with the use of search sites – specific sites that compare prices of most car rental companies and choose the most favorable options.  If you’re planning a luxurious trip and want to ensure the optimal performance of your rented BMW, it’s worth considering additional services like checking the BMW oil cooler to maintain the engine’s temperature during your Bulgarian adventure.

Due to the large volume of booking, search sites receive an additional discount, part of which – their profits, and some – has a lowered price for a rent for you.

What search sites of car rental we can advise you?

We have reviewed quite a number of search sites of car rental companies. Part of them we have used ourselves, and part – used our friends and acquaintances. After collecting all the reviews, we chose the best option.

Rentalcars.com — reliable company with fair prices and convenient booking conditions. We like this site so much that it only works with the largest international companies. That is why the quality of service will always be at a high level. With the small local companies, problems often happen – you can never know in advance what to expect: good service or quite the contrary.

We liked this search site due to its fair lease terms. You can see the price of renting a car and you book a car according to a specified price. All necessary services and insurance are included in the price. This sets it apart from many of its competitors, which, at first, show low prices, and then secretly add to the cost an insurance, a navigator and other additional services.

Another important advantage of Rentalcars.com is the opportunity to refuse the reservation or to change a date, for free.

Other useful services for tourists: