Honeymoon in Bulgaria; Thoughts?
March 26, 2018 12:47 PM Subscribe
My fiancee are considering honeymooning in Bulgaria. We're drawn by the relative affordability, the beaches, the mountains, the meat balls, and the realization that if we have a kid, our vacations might be more of the car-camping-at-a-state-park variety. MeFites that have traveled in Bulgaria, what did you like? Dislike? We'd be there in August.
if you want to party, it should be fun
I have never been to Bulgaria but I did go to college with a bunch of Bulgarians. I have no way at all of determining if my sample of Bulgarians is remotely representative, but this statement strikes me as extremely truthful. Bulgarians, in my experience, do love to party.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 1:57 PM on March 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
I have never been to Bulgaria but I did go to college with a bunch of Bulgarians. I have no way at all of determining if my sample of Bulgarians is remotely representative, but this statement strikes me as extremely truthful. Bulgarians, in my experience, do love to party.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 1:57 PM on March 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Seconding Plovdiv. I was in Sofia on business, but got the opportunity to visit Plovdiv and it was very charming. Had a nice Roman amphitheater too!
posted by condour75 at 1:57 PM on March 26, 2018
posted by condour75 at 1:57 PM on March 26, 2018
Best answer: I lived in Bulgaria for a few years and loved it. We went back to Bulgaria on our honeymoon last fall. If you're looking for off-the-beaten-path charm, it's got it. The typical place to go in Bulgaria in August is the Black Sea. I recommend Sozopol.
I nth Plovdiv, but would also say don't overlook Sofia. We loved the free walking tour. And we had a very inexpensive and delicious meal at Hadjidraganov's.
If you like hiking in the mountains, head to Seven Rila Lakes. You can even stay the night at a 1,000 year old monastery.
Feel free to MeFi Mail me with any questions.
posted by Dalton at 4:31 PM on March 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
I nth Plovdiv, but would also say don't overlook Sofia. We loved the free walking tour. And we had a very inexpensive and delicious meal at Hadjidraganov's.
If you like hiking in the mountains, head to Seven Rila Lakes. You can even stay the night at a 1,000 year old monastery.
Feel free to MeFi Mail me with any questions.
posted by Dalton at 4:31 PM on March 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
Bulgaria is a great place to spend a few weeks. There is something for everyone. I like Sofia, but I also think a week there is plenty of time to hit the highlights. The churches there are unbelievable. In most there are barely any surfaces that are not painted, gilded or carved. Definitely do not miss the Natural History Museum. There are artifacts there from about 5000BC that are far and away more advanced than any other know civilization at the time. When you compare the 7000 year old artifacts with the 2000 year old ones, you will quickly realize that there was a great step back at some point. There is also an excavation right in the heart of the city that they unearthed when widening a road several years ago.
Plovdiv is another not to miss place. I would plan a couple of days there as well and be prepared to walk. The old part of the city is built on hills and the streets are mostly closed to vehicle traffic. The Roman ruins are hard to miss.
I have never made it to the Black Sea. My wife has been there recently and she recommends Nessebar (smaller town just south of Sunny Beach) or Sozopol. Nessebar is a lot more relaxed than some of the larger resort towns along that strip, but Sunny Beach is close by if you want to visit.
We rented a car once and drove to Thessaloniki on the coast of Greece for a few days. it is about the same drive time from Sofia as to the Black Sea. Along the way we visited the Rila Monastery and spent the night in Melnik. Definitely visit the Rila Monastery if you go.
posted by Yorrick at 7:13 PM on March 26, 2018
Plovdiv is another not to miss place. I would plan a couple of days there as well and be prepared to walk. The old part of the city is built on hills and the streets are mostly closed to vehicle traffic. The Roman ruins are hard to miss.
I have never made it to the Black Sea. My wife has been there recently and she recommends Nessebar (smaller town just south of Sunny Beach) or Sozopol. Nessebar is a lot more relaxed than some of the larger resort towns along that strip, but Sunny Beach is close by if you want to visit.
We rented a car once and drove to Thessaloniki on the coast of Greece for a few days. it is about the same drive time from Sofia as to the Black Sea. Along the way we visited the Rila Monastery and spent the night in Melnik. Definitely visit the Rila Monastery if you go.
posted by Yorrick at 7:13 PM on March 26, 2018
I spent a few days in Varna, which is a ramshackle resort town with a lot of stray dogs and odd left-over Communist-era architecture. It was my least favorite trip abroad ever. Since then, whenever I want to express the concept of chaotic disarray, I say, "It's in Bulgaaaaaria." I hear Sofia is nice.
posted by Peach at 7:17 PM on March 26, 2018
posted by Peach at 7:17 PM on March 26, 2018
I visited Varna and Golden Sands.
I really liked embankment in Varna - very wide and very noisy in the evenings, but on the other side is very sunny and full of beach entertainment in the day - volley, basket, small pools for kinds and hundreds of cafes.
Very cozy place to live.
posted by Tori88 at 6:37 AM on March 27, 2018
I really liked embankment in Varna - very wide and very noisy in the evenings, but on the other side is very sunny and full of beach entertainment in the day - volley, basket, small pools for kinds and hundreds of cafes.
Very cozy place to live.
posted by Tori88 at 6:37 AM on March 27, 2018
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I visited Bulgaria in the spring, and thought it was quaint. There's the city of Plovdiv, which has old-world charm, Melnik in the mountains, and Perperikon, an old Greek city (currently an excavation site.) Sunny Beach isn't to everyone's taste, perhaps, as it is very touristy; but if you want to party, it should be fun. The Belogradchik Rocks were a pretty cool rock formation. The key thing with Bulgaria to me was to get out of Sofia - Sofia itself is relatively small and there isn't much to see there. A week was plenty.
If you have time, I strongly recommend also visiting Romania. Also cheap, there seems to be more to do there, and the country is quintessentially Balkan. Most people do the two countries for good reason.
posted by Everydayville at 1:46 PM on March 26, 2018