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Getting around
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The lack of investment in public transport over the past 10-15 years has left it in a sorry state, with semi-derelict stations, run-down vehicles and demoralized staff, and although private bus companies have taken up the slack on major routes, the state-owned network has drastically contracted. While transport remains cheap it is also slow, a failing compounded by Bulgaria's mountainous terrain and climatic extremes (which rapidly degrade tarmac), with train journeys between the north and south being particularly prone to roundabout routes and changes. Bear in mind, too, that schedules are designed to fit in with the working day. There may be several departures in the early morning, then nothing until mid-afternoon, with nothing at all on Sundays.
The fragmentation of the transport system is reflected in the
timetables
(
razpisanie
) in train and bus stations, which used to be on a clearly legible board but are nowadays often merely scribbled on a piece of paper stuck to the window of the ticket office. Usually, arrivals (
pristigane
) are listed on one side, and departures (
tragvane
or
zaminavane
) on the other. To make things harder for travellers, the schedules of private buses are unlikely to be posted at all, and it's impossible to buy a national train timetable: in addition, any timetables that do exist are invariably in
Cyrillic
. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Bulgaria |