23.10.2007 Travel to Bulgaria gets cheaper and cheaper

Andrew Willis, BulgarianProperties

Although Bulgaria is part of mainland Europe, the cost of flights to and from the country was, until recently, an important factor to consider when planning a visit. This has now changed. With Bulgaria now firmly established as one the European Union’s newest members, more budget airlines are now offering scheduled flights here. Probably the best known budget airline is the Hungarian company, Wizz Air. They have daily flights all over Europe, and direct flights to Sofia from the UK. Other new arrivals here include the Slovakian airline, Sky Europe, again with direct flights over mainland Europe, and the Italian company, My Air. With prices well below their other competitors, flying here really has become cheaper and easier.

Bulgaria offers three main airports, Sofia, Varna and Bourgas. There is also a smaller airport near Plovdiv that is open during the winter months for charter flights, but only to the ski resorts of Chepalare and Pamporovo.

Sofia airport now boasts a brand new, second terminal and handles the most international and domestic flights, all year round. Following that is Varna airport, situated to the north of the Black Sea coast. Extremely busy during the summer months with charter and scheduled flights, Varna also has all year round international flights, including directly to the UK. Bourgas airport is to the south of the Black Sea coast, and like Varna is extremely busy during the summer season, with plenty of schedule and charter flights. At the moment, you cannot fly to Bourgas during the winter months. This is hopefully likely to change soon though, as both Varna and Bourgas airports are now run by the German company, Fraport, which plans to continue with its investments, and expand both airports over the next few years, increasing capacity, flights and customer facilities.

The alternatives?

Travel by road is also an option, and especially if you are coming from our neighbouring countries - Romania, Greece, Turkey, Macedonia and Serbia. There are a few tried and tested overland routes, but the general consensus is that if you come from a EU country, it is best to stay within European Union member countries, avoiding any problems with border controls, visas etc. This may add a few kilometers to the journey, but will almost definitely be easier than trying to enter Bulgaria through one of its non EU neighbours!

Rail travel or coach travel is also possible, with regular departures from London and all major European cities to Sofia. Finally, for the really adventurous, starting in Germany, you could sail along the River Danube to Bulgaria!

However you chose to travel here, BulgarianProperties will be able to help you during your stay. As long as you let one of our regional offices know in advance when you will arrive, and what you need in terms of accommodation, car hire, property viewings etc, everything can be arranged beforehand. This means you won’t waste the first days of your visit here waiting for viewings to be confirmed.

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