Practical Information for visiting Bulgaria

The currency is the euro, since 1 January 2026, when the lev was retired at its fixed rate of 1.95583 to the euro after a month of dual circulation; leva are no longer legal tender. The Canadian advisory calls the economy primarily cash-based, with most businesses also accepting major credit cards and ATMs widely available -- and warns that ATMs fitted with fraudulent card readers are common, so use machines inside banks. The Sofia Metro takes bank cards at the barriers; Rila Monastery sells tickets only inside its walls. Tipping is not summarised here until it has been read on an authority's page.

Canada advises normal security precautions, and both advisories describe the same pattern: petty crime at stations, tourist sites and crowded places, pickpockets in Sofia and the larger resorts, thefts on the bus between Nesebar and Sunny Beach, and ATMs fitted with fraudulent card readers, which the Canadian advisory calls common. Organised crime is active in casinos and nightclubs, where violence between gangs has occurred; the British advisory names so-called gentlemen's clubs in Sofia, Bansko, Borovets and Sunny Beach for overcharging by hundreds of pounds with threats to those who refuse to pay. Police occasionally solicit bribes.

Taxis overcharge: use licensed metered cars, check the tariff on the window, use the airport booth, and avoid the ones parked outside hotels. Roads are the likeliest place to be hurt: aggressive drivers, speed, potholes, poor lighting.

Mountains: insurance must cover mountain rescue and helicopter costs; never go alone; avalanche risk in winter. Bulgaria is in an active seismic zone and floods after heavy rain; wildfires occur in summer and early autumn. Avoid demonstrations, which are usually peaceful but have turned violent.

The emergency number is 112: dial it and ask for an ambulance. The advisories name three specific risks. Stray dogs are common and can be dangerous in packs, and rabies is present in the country's animals including bats, so any bite needs immediate medical attention. Tick-borne encephalitis is a risk in some areas from April to November, highest for those who hike or camp in forest, and the vaccine, unavailable in Canada, may be available locally. Hepatitis A is a food-and-water risk. Altitude sickness is a risk in parts of the country, and mountain insurance must cover helicopter rescue and repatriation. Healthcare standards and tap water are not summarised here because no authority page opened for this page spoke to them.

Carry ID at all times; a printed copy of the passport photo page is acceptable. Drugs and sex offences are treated very seriously and foreign nationals convicted of them go to prison. Face coverings that hide the face in public are illegal, with arrest and heavy fines. Photographing military installations is illegal; ask before photographing anything that looks sensitive. Assisting people who have entered the country illegally is a crime the British advisory warns about in the border regions.

On the road: vignette, headlights, winter tyres, seatbelts, fire extinguisher, 0.05 per cent alcohol, on-the-spot fines. At Rila Monastery and other working churches: shoulders and knees covered, no shorts or vests, men bareheaded, silence, no photographs inside, no pets, no smoking in the complex.

Manners: greet, accept the rakia, make the effort with Cyrillic. Tipping, gestures and drone rules are not summarised here until they have been read on an authority's page.

Emergency number: 112 for police, ambulance and fire; ask for an ambulance if that is what is needed.

Mountain rescue is by the Bulgarian Mountain Rescue Service and by helicopter, and insurance must cover rescue, helicopter costs and repatriation. Consular: Canada is served by its embassy in Bucharest and an honorary consul in Sofia.

Natural hazards: an active seismic zone, flooding after heavy rain, wildfires in summer and early autumn; the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology publishes warnings.