Hi folks, if you'd like I'll try and answer any questions to those who have booked or are thinking of booking. I am Bulgarian and have done my BSc in Sofia and so can give some info and tips to any of you who have some questions/concerns.

Although I am sorry to see some strong expressed negative views, I don't want to argue on the internet and try to prove anyone wrong.

I also believe that in general the biggest perk of Sofia/Bulgaria are the cheap prices you would enjoy, and if your appearance and conduct doesn't scream of 'tourist' you would not be taken advantage of (scammed).
In general if you're going in the coming months (bring warm clothes, though weather has been very unpredictable with all the climate change), definitely go to the Vitosha mountain, which is just outside of Sofia. You would enjoy some peace, nice walks, food, skiing, cable cars, and other lovely people that are out and about.

As for the city, there are plenty of fine restaurants for you to enjoy at very good prices; just stick to the central parts of the capital and you'd be more than safe. Go to places like foursquare to check reviews in advance.
Additionally you can go shopping at boutiqes to catch some additional bargains.
Many brits also take advantage of cheap medical care; I know more than a handful old and young who for example have chosen to fix any dental issues in Bulgaria.

Most people are delighted to see you, and not in a 'wow Brits! Let's milk them' way, but with genuine pleasure that you are our guests.

What I love about this deal is the name of the hotel. Talk about saying it how it is.

Hot.

Thought for a minute it was for a long weekend on the Sofa LOL.

Yes, if you want an actual break anywhere, don't take a 4 month baby with you! :stuck_out_tongue:

What I love about this deal is the name of the hotel. Talk about saying it how it is.

Hot.

Is there an easy way to calculate cost of transfers? Thanks.

Hotel Cheap..?

Had to check the current date to make sure this wasn't a prank.

Would we be crazy to attempt this with what will then be a 4 month old baby ? Fancy a break away and this is so cheap..

Heat for the price, but Sofia looked like a dump when I drove through it.

Sofia is a nice place to visit for a few days, although pedestrians are definitely second class citizens

You can buy nazi memorabilia at the street markets in Sofia. That's where all the dealers in that kind of thing go.

No wonder FunForLouis and Raya went there lol :P

I'm not

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g294452-d2157083-r299885927-Flea_Market-Sofia_Sofia_Region.html

How do you get to stansted

Thought for a minute it was for a long weekend on the Sofa LOL.

I went there back in 1989. It was definitely a very interesting experience. Although it was fairly communist back then. Little kids begging on the street and if you're wearing jeans you ended up with a crowd coming up saying how amazing they are. Also lots of people approaching asking to exchange money. I did enjoy it there though, everything was so cheap and the skiing was great.

Yes, I'm told you have to hunt for the real stuff nowadays, but in the eighties and nineties it was rife.

Most street corners seemed to have a table and a snaggletoothed crone selling the stuff though. There was a stall set up literally outside our hotel! A mate bought a lapel pin while we were there, personally it all felt a little morbid to me.

Does anyone whose been around this time know what the weather is like?

By plane, a lot of airlines fly there

adventure

stopped over there for a day and night on the way back from Dubai a couple of weeks ago. Have to say, it is really nice and also very cheap. Some nice looking bars and places to visit. I'd definitely recommend it, for a cheap break for a couple of days.
Just be careful with the taxi's - there are loads of dodgy ones around that look legit. We were told that someone had been charged 90euro to get a few miles from the airport to get to our hotel, whereas it cost us less than £3

thanks, just bought tickets for a family of 3 10.09 to 15.09 from Birmingham to sofia return £90
will go to see mother in law

Sofia is one of the worst cities I have ever had the displeasure to visit

Good point, but's let's not forget who started bombing Syria in the first place...

Hi folks, if you'd like I'll try and answer any questions to those who have booked or are thinking of booking. I am Bulgarian and have done my BSc in Sofia and so can give some info and tips to any of you who have some questions/concerns.

Although I am sorry to see some strong expressed negative views, I don't want to argue on the internet and try to prove anyone wrong.

I also believe that in general the biggest perk of Sofia/Bulgaria are the cheap prices you would enjoy, and if your appearance and conduct doesn't scream of 'tourist' you would not be taken advantage of (scammed).
In general if you're going in the coming months (bring warm clothes, though weather has been very unpredictable with all the climate change), definitely go to the Vitosha mountain, which is just outside of Sofia. You would enjoy some peace, nice walks, food, skiing, cable cars, and other lovely people that are out and about.

As for the city, there are plenty of fine restaurants for you to enjoy at very good prices; just stick to the central parts of the capital and you'd be more than safe. Go to places like foursquare to check reviews in advance.
Additionally you can go shopping at boutiqes to catch some additional bargains.
Many brits also take advantage of cheap medical care; I know more than a handful old and young who for example have chosen to fix any dental issues in Bulgaria.

Most people are delighted to see you, and not in a 'wow Brits! Let's milk them' way, but with genuine pleasure that you are our guests.

I saw the flights at said price a few minutes ago, not sure if it's just me but seems to have jumped up to £38+ now!

long weekend in Sofia, oh thank you :smiley:

Long weekend with a nice girl called Sofia, in a Cheap hotel in a town people wouldn't walk through let alone drive through, must visit one of the cheap Nazi markets whilst visiting too :stuck_out_tongue:

Actually most of 3 or 4 stars hotels in Eastern Europe are much better and cleaner than any 4 or 5 stars overpriced old crappy hotels in UK. Not to add much better customer service

Nothing much in Sofia.

Precisely. And the service is fabulous (I've stayed in Slovakia, Czech, Romania and Bulgaria), the rooms spotless.

We did not like Sofia. Nothing much to do and run down. Very cheap place to eat and drink. Change your money up in Sofia, much better rate than UK. Voted hot as good price.

not in the eastern european countries I have visited.

Lived and worked in Sofia for 3 years....just moved. If you stay in the centre and go for a weekend its quite nice. This time of year the temperatures will be in the 20+c. You will be ripped off left right and centre, taxi's and shops can be the worst, unless you know which taxi companies are reliable. Service in hotels can be very bad. The Hotel Cheap is near the train station and a bit out of the centre. Round the corner of this hotel is one of the best 3 star hotels in Sofia, The Favorit. Five star hotels can be just as cheap as 3 or 4 star hotels. Personally, I would prefer to spend a little more and visit another city and get better service, but if you want a cheap break, then this is it.

If anyone is wary because of the language etc then visit a 'Happy' at least once - it's a bit like wimpy, with picture menus and so on, but much much better - many Bulgarians choose to go there, so it's worth a visit...
http://www.happy.bg/en/home.html
click on 'our restaurants' at the top, and on the map Sofia is the logo on the centre left - it then gives you a list of the various sites in Sofia (avoid Liulin, not that a tourist would go there anyway), with St Nedelya being a useful location

You get the same menu everywhere, sometimes portions are smaller than in other restaurants, but at least there is some form of quality control and standards, for those who like to have some sort of comfort zone.
The other advantage is that they are usually non-stop 24 hours, even Christmas day, so also a safe place to go after a club or bar when the streets are a bit quieter.

Even many locals won't walk to the train station from the centre, as Maria Louisa street can be a bit dodgy especially near the lions bridge, and there are ladies of the night hanging around with the associated problems.

WARNING: Only catch official and metered taxis, especially from the airport! Otherwise you could be lured by an English-speaker and end up paying the same again.. other ripoff risks are most likely rare in Sofia, and there is also a great free city tour on Saturday mornings.

I should have added that in the centre, Tzum department store/mall is worth a visit....
http://www.tzum.bg/en/
It's near the St Nedelya 'Happy' that I mentioned earlier, on the edge of the central shopping area, and with several other touristy sites quite close.
Almost opposite is Pirotska street, which is worth walking along (during the day) to get an idea of a slightly less touristy part - there used to be a nice café half way along with tables outside ideally placed for people watching, but like everything else it has probably changed.

Yep you clearly know your stuff don't you :smirk: I very much doubt you'll find a football match anywhere in the world with more far right insignia on show in the stands than at the Sofia derby. Both Levski and CSKA 100% on the 'Gott mit Uns' vibe.

Think you'll find that the vast majority of Eastern European countries have a massive right footer culture, might have something to do with them having been oppressed by socialist tyranny for nigh on half a century after WW2 #justsaying

People that actually started this conflict five years ago because they thought it would be a walk in the park but then started it having it on their toes within six months because surprise surprise the man in power did not want to let go of it.

The people that recklessly continue to have children whilst living in a theatre of war, many of them even twisted enough to use those childrem on the off chance of getting in to a better country.

Are those the people you mean?

And think very carefully before you answer because the last time I looked, refugees fleeing conflict are meant to request asylum in the first safe country they reach........not pick n choose where they want to go because of lifestyle choices hmmmm see that's the point they cease to be refugees and are proving they're actually economic migrants.

Cheapest flights through ebooker from Belfast are £218.76 with a one stop in LHR - we are ripped off big time

Been to Sofia, wouldn't go back :smiley:. Save your money, Transylvania was much nicer around east europe.

He's right, 4-5 stars in east europe are much nicer compared to the old UK ones, but they can be pricey.

​Phrase it however you want, but if those people stay put, they die, there's no two ways about it, so when they get banged up by the heartless Bulgarian vigilante groups it's probably a relief compared to the American, UK, French and all the other countries that are bombing them, and the death they leave behind, at least they are still alive, even though it's in hand cuffs and at the mercy of racist nationalists.

To the best of my knowledge the septics, the snails and us are only bombing ISIL positions so you are actively subscribing to the self styled cailphate's soldiers, numerous wives and sprogs coming to live in Europe :confused:

In that case I'm all for raising dough for the Bulgarians, be they government regulated or football casuals, to have more shooters to protect us all from that death cult :man:

Back to the deal and it's hot for the price. Beats Skegness hands up ?

If I wasn't going there for Christmas I'd be booking this! Sofia is a beautiful city with friendly people and best of all, it's super cheap!

where is the best place to book transport from the airport to the hotel and vice versa

I'd prefer a long weekend in Sofia Vergara ;-)

wtf, seriously wtf??? I'm thinking of the best way to respond to this. I can't think of it. So according to you, all the Syrian refugees/economic migrants are soldiers of the Islamic state? And the women they bring along with them are their numerous wives? You actually believe that? And if America and it's allies say they are bombing only isil targets ( http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11915407/America-admits-mistakenly-bombing-MSFs-Kunduz-hospital-in-Afghanistan.html ) you believe that too? You do know that in war there is collateral damage? In these wars there's a lot more collateral than any other type of damage. BTW, the only reason why that bombing has been mentioned is because it was an international hospital.

Hi kammy,

Many places offer meat free meals, I did a little research and here are a handful of nice places that are offering vegetarian cuisine:

http://www.dreamhouse-bg.com/english#superb-vegetarian-food

http://soulkitchen.bg/en

http://www.cabra.bg/index.html

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g294452-d8520976-Reviews-Veda_House-Sofia_Sofia_Region.html

http://www.mixofigs.bg/index.php/en/

http://www.izbite.com/en - Bulgarian restaurant

http://corso.bg/#/en/restaurant/menu

http://lacasalatinabg.com/en-index.html

http://cactus.bg/en/

http://vegankitsch.myorganicmarket.bg/en/

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g294452-d982486-Reviews-Orisha_Bar_Dinner-Sofia_Sofia_Region.html

http://somavital.bg/category/%d0%be%d0%b1%d0%b5%d0%b4%d0%bd%d0%be-%d0%bc%d0%b5%d0%bd%d1%8e/

https://www.kohinoor.bg/en/

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g294452-d2515302-Reviews-Kring-Sofia_Sofia_Region.html

http://lovinghut.bg/en/

http://www.sunmoon.bg/bakery/

The best taxi service you could get is arguably 'OK supertrans' , https://www.oktaxi.net/onlineorder_en.php - you could take a look at their webpage and fare. The phone to request a taxi is also there (country code is +359). However when you fill in the form, I would expect them to contact you to confirm things. As you see you can set 'to' and from' locations. Current exchange rate is 1 BGN = 0.434607 GBP or 1 GBP = 2.30093 BGN (BGN being 'Lev' - the local currency) ; so in other words a jorney of around 13 kilometers (Airport toHotel Cheap) according to the tariff should not cost you more than 6-7 quid. However, it's best if you confirm with them in advance what should you expect to pay given the details of your jorney, as it depends on night/day fare; waiting time, etc. Beware of companies that imitate the logo of this one - as it has the best reputation, there are rivals that have done similar design of their taxis in order to fool people! So either call by phone, use the app (from the homepage you can see Apple and Google store) or if you pick up one from the street be sure it is the real deal.

As for activities, as I said, I believe that Vitosha mountain is the best one, if you are not the mountaneering type of person, take a look at these guides - http://www.sofia-guide.com/attractions-in-sofia/ & https://www.lonelyplanet.com/bulgaria/sofia and see if you find anything that might interest you.

And again, as I said in the first post, it is generally colder than the UK, so have some warm clothes with you.

I hope this helps.

Hi there, I'm not a doctor but here are some resources that might help you:

http://alldentaltravel.com/ - an agency dedicated to this kind of service

http://www.dw.com/en/dental-tourists-search-for-treatment-in-bulgaria/a-15534834 - an article from Deutsche Welle

And here is an international Irish site that has reviews of practitioners and details for booking in the country - http://www.whatclinic.com/dentists/bulgaria

See if it helps you.

Fly

Fly

Sofia is a great place to visit. Some pretty nice bars, restaurants and most hotels are top notch.

I don't need to believe anything. I can see your agenda is an anti septic one and frankly I don't really care one way or the other as regards them. Educated guess says you got issues with Uncle Sam's biggest ally and to be honest I can't stand that mob either but of course depending on what flag you wave you're on that one too, let's not go down that road eh

​Sorry, but you do believe something (something ridiculous, I might add), otherwise you wouldn't be putting your point across. I have an issue with uncle Sam's biggest ally? How do you justify making "educated" guesses (accusations) like that? If I had an issue I wouldn't be here, I'd be long gone. I have my own views on how they handle international/internal affairs, like everyone else, that's why I'm voting labour in the next general elections, see that's what a democracy is, we get to choose who leads us, and what flag we waive.

Struggling with widely used slang?

Are you sure you're voting Labour or did you mean Momentum?

Hi fellow Hotukdealers,

When I saw this I couldn't resist at this incredible price. I looked further into flights from the North and booked the same dates from Liverpool for just £8 more. Its quite incredible to fly to the ofher side of Europe for £33.98 when you consider most people in their 20s spend more than that on a night out these days. Having looked on line at various sites it appears there is quite a few things to do in Sofia which is exciting, Cant wait! For anyone else that's on board well done and have a great time!

Thanks,

MnM

Do you suffer from some kind of age denial disorder or are you just a straight forward dinlow from your mother stamping on your nut when she saw what an ugly sprog she'd brought in to the world?