Hi, My name is Julie and I work as a Driving Instructor. I love to travel and bought a holiday home...
Hi, My name is Julie and I work as a Driving Instructor. I love to travel and bought a holiday home in Bulgaria a couple of years ago. I totally love visiting there and wish I could spend longer (come on lottery win!!!)
Member since:02.01.2007
Reviews:3
The first time I hired a car it was from a sales lot in Veliko Turnovo. Can't remember the name of it but if you head out of Veliko on the main road to Sofia you will see it on your left. This was in June 2006 and it cost 25 levs a day (roughly £10 I think). Just needed to show my passport and international driving license which you can get from AA etc. The car was an old (pre-power steering) Vauxhall Astra. I don't know if they have MOTs in Bulgaria but this wouldn't have passed. Well okay it wasn't that horrific but the handbrake was very weak. When I say 'weak' I mean it didn't hold on hills! I have driven abroad before (in Spain)
but wanted a quiet run out just to get back into driving on the right. We headed out of Veliko at about 5pm in pouring rain. It was a nightmare. I couldn't see where I was going and had no clue about which turnings to take. A lot of the slip roads from the main road just seem to veer off without any signs or white arrows etc so I was never sure if we were taking a road we were allowed up. The rain and darkness made it all very stressful. Eventually we managed to head back towards Veliko and pulled up outside the first Mechana (Tavern) we came to. It was such a relief to turn the engine off lol. Daytime driving was much better and once you've done the same route several times and basically followed the car in front, it all comes a little more automatically. Overtaking the Bulgarian way is like a white knuckle ride. the aim is to get within an arms length of the vehicle in front, wait for a blind bend and then go for it. The best part of having a car was being able to just head off out into little villages, stop by streams or for watching some of the amazing wildlife.
The next time we went (October 2006) we hired a car at Sofia Airport. There are lots of car hire websites - just Google 'Car hire sofia' and you'll see. This time we went with DRENIKOV rentacar, mainly because we didn't have to pay anything in advance. For 8 days it was 327 levs ( 1 lev is approx 37p so you do the maths!!). This time it was a Vauxhall Vectra (ok ok I drive a Vauxhall at home so I'm used to the controls). Again we opted for an older (cheaper) model but we needed a large vehicle for 4 of us with a ton of luggage. Rule number 1 - make the delivery person stay until you check the following: How to open all the windows (and if they do), does the handbrake work, do the headlights work. We of course didn't make these checks and discovered them en route. Getting out of Sofia took ages (maybe we should have bought a map) but we were soon on our way. Bulgaria has been doing masses of work on it's roads over the past years and the main road from Sofia towards veliko Turnovo is like a top class motorway for much of the journey. The hire company has a 24 hour contact number which we used just once. We had filled up with petrol when the garage attendant pointed under our car and looked worried. When I looked I could see a steady stream of petrol running down - OMG -!!! Didn't have a clue what to do - would it explode as soon as we turned the ignition? Gingerly pulled the car over to a parking space and watched to see if the leak was temporary. After 10 minutes it was still going strong so we phoned the car rental people. The garage attendant didn't speak english so we just gave him the phone so he could report the problem. It turned out that he had just overfilled the tank and this run off was normal, nothing to worry about. Now I don't know anything about car mechanics but I do know a worried face when I see one and that attendant was definitely wearing that face. However, we were tired and hungry and so risked life and limb to head off home regardless (as you can see we didn't explode and the leak stopped). We are due to fly out again in May, this time without so much luggage and only 2 of us so we have opted for a Fiesta (what!!! no Vauxhall?) and a new model too. This time with BulgariaRentalCar, 332 levs for 10 days. I am also armed with a detailed map of Sofia - wish me luck!!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
All this is info is sound, but like a couple of other members have said, it's not really general info about Bulgaria. I've been living in Bulgaria permanently since 2004 and absolutely love it here, so I'll be looking out for your next reviews. You might want to make sure the category heading is just right before posting though, if you're aiming for higher ratings. PS welcome to ciao! x
jez_taylor 17.03.2007 20:46
Sorry, but this tells me little about Bulgaria in general, it is too specific. Very helpful review on buying property there though. Jez
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Advantages: Cheap hoilday, not overcrowded, friendly people,fantastic food,beer 30p a pint,Not a 'tourist trap' Disadvantages: Street vendors harassing you, hygiene in toilets, quite a long journey, can be crowded at PEAK times
bwsr2 07.07.2001 (08.01.2002)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of General: Bulgaria
Advantages: Cheaper than Western Europe, Great nightlife, English-speaking, Stunning Scenery, Friendly inhabitants Disadvantages: Pricier than other Eastern European Capitals, Very busy in summer, Adverse weather in winter
bwsr2 15.02.2004 (05.05.2004)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
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