Bulgaria Travel Planning 2021 is the summary of my one-month road trip throughout Bulgaria during the summer of 2021 (June). The pace of traveling was slow, in accordance with the flexibility I had to go and stay wherever I wanted with my car. Here you can find my last Balkans Trip – the Balkan Countries Planning from 2017 – Macedonia, Albania, and Kosovo and Balkan Countries Travel Planning 2018: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia.
Bulgaria Travel Planning 2021 – General Planning:
Travel Planning for the road trip through Bulgaria was very random and almost not-existent. Because Bulgaria borders with Romania, it was the only country where I could go without a COVID test or vaccine in the summer of 2021. I hadn’t seen Bulgaria until that moment (even though I live in the neighboring country, in Romania), so I considered it was a good moment to visit it considering the post-pandemic restrictions still present in other parts of the world.
I used a Lonely Planet Guide for the southeastern part of Europe and a Lonely Planet Guide for Bulgaria and Romania. I had names of places where I wanted to go and a vague idea of the order of the places I wanted to see. As I was going with my own car, I didn’t bother too much with planning. I was flexible to go, stop, and stay wherever I wanted during a time frame of one month.
Bulgaria Travel Planning 2021 – Fixed Plans:
– a few camping grounds at the border to Romania, that I contacted on email to make sure they are open
– I downloaded several apps for camping grounds and offline navigation (Maps.me, park4night, campercontact)
Bulgaria Travel Planning 2021 – Intentions, but nothing fixed:
When I left to Bulgaria, all I knew was that I wanted to go to some places but I hadn’t fixed dates for them:
– stay in Bulgaria for one month: that’s how much I approximated I needed to explore the whole country without rush
– hike the highest peaks in Bulgaria: Musala and Vihren, maybe also go to Seven Rila Lakes
– go to the seaside for one or two weeks
– go to Sofia and its mountainous surroundings
– discover some remote, authentic villages
Bulgaria Travel Planning 2021 – Final Result:
This is the final result of my trip through Bulgaria, where I eventually stayed for one month and a half. Enjoy your reading and let me know your opinion about Bulgaria. Which is your favorite place in Bulgaria? Why?
- a couple of hours of driving from Bușteni (Romania) to Rusenski Lom National Park (Bulgaria), via Russe border crossing
- explored Russe for a full day
- explored the rock churches and fortresses in Rusenski Lom National Park for a full day
- road trip from Koshov village to Silistra via Russe
- road trip from Silistra to Shumen, via Sveshtari (the UNESCO Thracian Tombs)
- road trip from Shumen to the Black Sea seaside, with a stop at Madara
- explored Balchik and a few seaside monasteries
- relaxed in a resort at the Golden Sands for a few rainy days
- explored Varna and its surroundings for two days
- road trip from Varna to Sveti Vlas at the Black Sea
- relaxed in Sveti Vlas for a few rainy days
- explored old Nessebar for a full day
- road trip from Sveti Vlas to Kiten village by the seaside, via Sozopol
- explored Burgas for a full day
- relaxing beach day in Sarafovo + explored Aquae Calidae (ancient Thermopolis)
- road trip from Sarafovo to Plovdiv, via Sliven & Blue Rocks Nature Park
- explored Plovdiv and its surroundings for two full days
- road trip from Plovdiv to Bansko
- half-day hike to the top of Vihren Peak (2914m) in Pirin National Park
- road trip from Vihren Hut to Melnik
- explored Melnik and the old neighborhood in Blagoevgrad
- explored Rila Monastery at the foot of Rila Mountains
- hiking trip at Seven Rila Lakes (by cable car + on foot)
- short hike in Vitosha National Park near Sofia
- explored Sofia for two full days
- relaxed in Kladnitsa village near Sofia for two days
- road trip from Sofia to Koprivshtitsa
- road trip from Koprivshtitsa to Hisarya with a stop in Karlovo
- road trip from Hisarya to Kazanlac with a stop in Stara Zagora
- road trip from Kazanlac to Gabrovo via Buzludzha Monument, the Valley of the Thracian Kings, Shipka Pass, and Etar
- road trip from Gabrovo to Veliko Tarnovo with stop at Tryavna and Bozhentsi villages
- explored Veliko Tarnovo and its surroundings for three days
- road trip from Veliko Tarnovo to Zheravna village
- road trip from Zheravna village to Lovek
- road trip from Lovek to Belogradchick, via Vratsa and Montana
- explored Belogradchik sandstone rocks and fortress
- day trip from Belogradchick to Vidin for a full day
- road trip from Belogradchick to Bozhichen village, via Montana and Plevna
- crossed the border to Romania via Russe bridge over the Danube and arrived back home in Bușteni (Romania)
This is the summary of my one-month-and-a-half trip throughout Bulgaria. Enjoy your reading and let me know your opinion about Bulgaria. Which is your favorite place in Bulgaria? Why? Where would you go?