Questions and Answers

Here we'll give answers to some common questions people ask about Bulgaria. Some of them I see searched in the site, others are incoming queries from the search engines. Those that can be answered in short will be answered here. The longer/more important ones will get their own posts. If you have a question that's not answered here, let us know.

Questions:

Answers:

Q: Is Bulgaria Like Turkey?

Not quite. In fact the two countries are very different despite the fact they are neighboring. So if you can, try to visit both. Here are the most significant differences (and there are a lot more than I can count here):

Food and drinks. While Bulgarian and Turkish cuisines have something in common, they are also very different.
Language. Turkish language has nothing to do with Bulgarian.
Religion. Bulgaria is christian country and the population isn't very religious. Turkey is a muslim country.
Climate. The weather in Turkey is hotter.
Territory. Turkey is much larger so if you have lots of time you can travel a lot. On the other hand you can reach any interesting place in Bulgaria in no more than a day overland.
Things to see are of course very different too.

Turkey is also really different than the other Bulgaria neighbors so visiting it is always good idea even if you have already been to Bulgaria and some of the nearby countries. Here is more info about traveling from Bulgaria to Turkey.

Q: Is Alcohol Cheap in Bulgaria?

Yes, compared to most EU countries. Not that much compared to other countries. For example a beer costs about €0.6 in the store and €1 - €1.5 in a bar. A bottle of vodka is about €4 - €5.

And if you are asking this question with the only idea to come here to drink alcohol and lie drunk on the streets, better go F* yourself. Please.

Q: Can You Drink The Tap Water in Bulgaria/Sofia?

Yes and yes. With very few exceptions tap water in Bulgaria is safe. Moreover, many places (like some Sofia neighborhoods) have good montaneous water that tastes much better than the water in other countries. So don't worry, drink as much as you wish. There's no need buy bottled water unless you want to. Learn more about what to drink in Bulgaria.

Q: Can you recommend some nice small towns to live in, that are not full of tourists and expats?

Certainly. Just a few that come to my mind now: Svoge, Provadia, Aitos, Strajica, Veliko Tarnovo, Dobrich, Burgas, Pazardjik, Karlovo. From these Burgas and Veliko Tarnovo are larger and may have more tourists especially in the summer. We are starting series of reviews of small towns and villages here on the site, so stay tuned. For the moment you can explore the coastal towns or the small towns near Sofia.

Q: Are the salads in Bulgaria safe to eat?

Yes. The risk of food poisoning with salads is very low especially if you stick to vegetable-only salads. In the summer be more careful with salads with eggs. In general vegetables here are well washed and safe. To learn more about our salads, check this page.

Q: What's the most deadly animal?

There are almost no deadly animals here. We have some sorpios but they are not deadly. A couple of viper snakes can be deadly but the chance to be biten is low. Probably the most dangerous animal here is the Brown Bear which lives in the mountains. There is some risk of wolves and wild pigs and that's all. In the cities the only real risk come from the stray dogs.