When writing an article, one may be guided by his or her impressions and sensations from road trips. We really hope that we can help you to determine for yourself the quality level of a road surface and the serpentine roads in Bulgaria.
For those tourists who are planning to go around Bulgaria by renting a car to visit different cities and resorts, by public transport or plan to go on excursions around the country, hopefully you can find this article helpful.
Bulgarian roads: their quality and possible problems
Some tourists prefer to visit Bulgaria driving a car, so many of them rent a car directly in the country, that allows to see the sights on their own without depending on a tour group. And there are tourists who do not pass through these difficult serpentine roads to avoid danger.
If you want to see the beauty of Bulgaria in the near future, it is natural that you want to know about travel and road conditions in order to avoid problems as possible.
Possible complexities on Bulgarian roads
On public roads that connect various cities of Bulgaria, you are unlikely to find significant difficulties. But when it comes to roads in the rural areas and the city outskirts, you can expect a congestion due to freight transport and poorly paved surface.
The whole point is that most of roads for residents of other countries in Bulgaria are paid. To avoid a forfeit and unpleasant discussions with local police, you will need to buy a special sticker (“vignette”), that is affixed to a vehicle windscreen. You can buy it at border crossing points or at some filling stations. The validity period of vignette is different: 7 days (5 €), a month (13 €) and a year (34 €). Indicated in parentheses cost is applicable only for vehicles that weigh 3.5 tonnes. Toll roads are indicated by a special road sign with the inscription “винетка”.
The only exception are motorcyclists. They can ride on the roads of Bulgaria entirely for free but you definitely want to find some good biker jeans online for your journey.
Despite having a vignette sticker, it still does not exempt you from paying extra for driving on bridges over the Danube. It concerns cities: Ruse (Bulgaria) – Giurgiu (Romania) and Vidin (Bulgaria) – Calafat (Romania). Fare is 2 € and 6 € respectively. Also, a separate fee is for a ferry crossing between Bulgarian and Romanian cities: Silistra – Calarasi (2 € for a motorcycle and 7 € for a car weighing up to 3.5 tonnes), Nikopol – Turnu Magurele (2 € for a motorcycle and 12 € for a car weighing up to 3.5 tonnes), Oryahovo – Bechet (2 € for a motorcycle and 12 € for a car weighing up to 3.5 tonnes) and Svishtov – Zimnicea (3 € for a motorcycle and 4 € for a car weighing up to 3.5 tonnes).
Roads that do not require the presence of a vignette, are marked by signs Д11 and Д12; it also concerns ringways and beltways.
You should be careful when moving along winding mountain roads, so you have to be extra vigilant. The only serpentine road, which you can get caught in your way – is on the interval of the road between Varna and Obzor. The positive side is that it is not as bad or dangerous as the other winding roads deep in the country. If you suffer motion sickness, try to distract your sight from the roads, take tablets or chew mint gums. The length of this serpentine road is not that much, and at the end of it you will go down to a flatter road.
Are the roads of Bulgaria qualitative?
The quality of Bulgarian roads can hardly be called ideal, but slight irregularities and holes cannot be seen often. Along the slopes there are special landslide protection systems. We did not notice any particular big problems on the roads, which we traveled along between seaside towns. So you would be quite surprised to read an article on the Internet about a shocking coverage of Bulgarian roads with lots of holes and bumps.
Most of Bulgaria’s roads are single sideband in each direction, which is not very nice, especially when you have to trudge behind a slow vehicle.
Basic traffic rules in Bulgaria
Basic traffic rules in Bulgaria practically do not differ to those to other European countries. We strongly recommend you to behave on roads of the country culturally and abide all necessary traffic rules. Frequently, foreign drivers, when seeing as police calmly reacts to small disturbances of local population, relax and begin to violate themselves. Please note: what is forgiven to locals, can cost you a fine.
Maximum speed in Bulgaria for cars and motorcycles:
- within the living area – 50 km/h;
- outside the living area – 90 km/h for cars without a trailer; up to 80 km/h for motorcycles and up to 70 km/h for vehicles with a trailer;
- on a road – up to 120 km/h for cars without a trailer; up to 90 km/h for motorcycles and vehicles with a trailer;
- on a highway – 140 km/h for cars without a trailer; up to 100 km/h for motorcycles and vehicles with a trailer.
Minimally permitted speed on a highway is 50 km/h. For vehicles that have snow chains, maximum permitted speeds should not exceed 50 km/h. Within a pedestrian zone, the permitted speed to 20 km/h.
Another important aspect: special devices can be seen on Bulgarian roads.They fix your movement and speed and show the data on a display. All this is recorded and when it detects you are speeding, you will be fined.
Alcohol and all kinds of alcoholic drinks
In Bulgaria, if your alcohol level is up to .49% are allowed to drive. Still, it is not advisable to drink (even if it’s just a little alcohol) before you drive for your own safety.
Availability of dipped beam
According to the laws of Bulgaria, you should drive with enabled dipped beam during all year, 24 hours a day. Its absence is strictly punishable by law.
The rules of transportation of children
All children up to 3 years old have to travel in special chairs on back seats. Older children – from 4 to 12 and shorter than 150 sm may only be on back seats with the presence of special restraint systems.
Seat belts
Seat belts are definitely a must have not only for passengers on front seats of a vehicle, but also those on the back seats.
Emergency numbers
For your convenience and comfort, we provide emergency phone numbers:
- European emergency number – 112;
- Police – 166;
- Ambulance – 150;
- Fire Service – 160.
Petrol prices in Bulgaria in 2017 (approximately)
Judging by the fact that in all buses and minibuses of Bulgarian coast ,ticket prices did not rise since 2008. We dare to assume that the price of gasoline has not changed much since that time. The following are the actual prices for gasoline and fuel, which we saw in the country’s filling stations in 2015:
- 95 gasoline and diesel fuel are for one price – [lev k=2.19]2,19 levs/l[/lev];
- gas is much cheaper and will cost you [lev k=0.98]0,98 levs/l[/lev].
Are serpentine roads in Bulgaria dangerous?
If you want to visit coastal cities of Bulgaria, chances are you won’t encounter serpentine roads. The only mountain road near Varna is not dangerous, and on both sides of it you will see a magnificent forest. But the frequent flashing of trees on those roads can have a negative impact and you will suffer from motion sickness.
A road from Varna to Veliko Tarnovo will be a bit complicated, but anyway will bring you a lot of fun. You will drive through large and difficult mountain passes, admire mountain gorges, rivers and magnificent nature. Organized excursions are offered in Verniko Ternovo, so if you are not confident in your driving abilities, we recommend to go to the city in this way.
Another mountain road will be opened to you, if you choose to travel from Plovdiv to Bansko. It is not recommend to choose this route during the winter months (especially on a bad weather), as the routes will be closed.
Bulgarian railroads
The rail connection in Bulgaria is quite good-developed. Trains run both within the country to all major cities and to Greece, Turkey, Romania, Serbia. You can travel also to Macedonia, though it will be more difficult (you will have to first visit Serbia or Greece).
A popular direction in Bulgaria is considered to be a branch that connects Sofia (the capital of the country) with coastal towns.
A nice addition to the whole is discounts for train tickets. To learn more about all possible directions, prices and bonus system, we recommend to visit the official website of Bulgarian railway.