Bulgaria is a country in southeastern Europe. It is situated on the Balkans and is neighboring Romania, the Black Sea, Turkey, Greece, Macedonia and Serbia. It has a territory of 111 thousand square kilometers.
The country has considerable history that can be traced back to the 7th century AD. During its existence the country has grown from a small khanate to a regional power. Then, it had a long strife with the Byzantine Empire. In the Late Medieval Times the country together with the whole region became part of the Ottoman Empire.
The country regained its independence in the end of the 19th century. Then, it was established as a constitutional monarchy. It took part of the many regional and world wars that took place during the first half of the 20th century. After the fall of Nazi Germany Bulgaria became part of the Eastern Block.
With the dissolution of the Soviet Union the state regained its democratic nature. The modern capital is in Sofia. The country was reestablished as a parliamentary republic with power in the hands of the prime minister. Currently, Bulgaria is part of NATO and the European Union.
The state has a population of approximately 8 million people. The majority of those belong to the Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox ethnicity. Muslim Turkish that live in the territories of the country for many generations are the biggest minority group. Others are gypsies, Armenians, Jews and others.
The country has been the crossroads of many civilizations dating back to Classical times. There are ancient Thracian, Greek and Roman archeological sites. Medieval times are present with fortresses, churches, monasteries and administrative buildings. Bulgarian Enlightenment period is well represented in small towns with distinct architecture and charm. Most of the big cities still clearly carry the mark of socialistic realism in their landscape.
Car rental companies that are present on the Bulgarian market are Budget, Avis, Europcar, SIXT and Hertz.
From the air conditioned ones to the non AC ones, from the classy SUV’s to the simple luxuries you have it all when you are looking for a Bulgarian car rental. Available for you are the VW Touran, Nissan Maxima and the Peugeot 307. These are some of the automatic ones that you can choose from. If you want to go manual choose from the Mitsubishi L300 or the Ford Focus Station Wagon. These are some of the 12 seated collections.
Some of the vehicles also come with GPS facility and child seats and other accessories may be installed as required. Breakdown assistance is included in your rental fees and you also don’t have to worry about the mileage. Drive as far and as long as you can without worrying to turn back and fill up the tank. With some rental providers you get free mechanical assistance all over the place too. So the next time your car gets heated up, locate your mechanic via the GPs and drive down for cooling.
If your vehicle gets damage to the point that it cannot be instantly repaired, you will duely get a replacement. But the cars that are provided are always properly maintained, so it is unlikely that such a thing will happen. Nothing can get easier than travelling in Jamaica than driving on your own.
Individuals may choose from chauffeur service, private transfers, and sightseeing tours along with rental services. The Bulgarian tourist boards affiliates the best rental services in the country so look out for the best partner you can hire from. You may also be tempted to use the insurance facilities that come so cheap and benefit you from any mishaps.
Once in the territory, you become a part of Bulgaria. The people here are very friendly and helpful. So look forward to a great trip.
Located on South Eastern Europe there are a lot of wonders about Bulgaria. The country is full of its historical culture and ancient ruins. Being in line with its tradition Bulgaria is nothing less than a modern city in any respect. The most notable place that you must drive yourself to in Bulgaria is the capital city of Sofia. The city is a historical one and has witnessed many great rulers and their regimes. Important places are Methodius National Library which is the largest library in the world and Sts. Cyril. Boyana Church too is an interesting visit as it is an orthodox medieval church. Also drive down to the Sofia Zoological Garden in the vicinity. The St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is the largest cathedral that has space for 5000 people. The nightlife of Sofia too is extraordinary with a variety of pubs, restaurants and mehani taverns. A resort worth visiting and staying in is at the Black Sea by the name of Albena. The sea water over here is crystal clear and this beauty stretches for 5 km with a width of 150 m. The beach has clear sand and is enough intimidating. It is a perfect place for swimming as the depth is not more than 1.6 m for upto 100 m into the sea. The weather, history and culture, sandy beaches, fusion cuisines and atmosphere in Sozopol attract many visitors throughout the year. The resort is at its colorful best from the months of May till September. Pamporovo is famous for the skiing expeditions it arranges. Ski through the magnificent spread of the pine forests and you know what adventure is. The major car rental service providers are Budget, Hertz, Europcar, and Avis. For the best deals try the online registrations. The fees are quite cheap compared to the ease in which you will be able to make all your travel.
The most posh and popular seaside resort in Bulgaria is Sunny Beach. It is situated on the Black Sea, 35 km from the city of Burgas, which is served by a modern airport completely oriented towards taking care of the incoming tourists. Sunny Beach is the biggest and most popular resort in Bulgaria with more than 800 hotels and 300,000 beds.
Some history
The resort was built in the end of the 1950s by the then Soviet government at a location with a very good Mediterranean climate. In quickly grew because of the wonderful beach and sea. In the following decades it became one of the most popular tourist destinations for many tourists from the Eastern bloc- Russians, Ukrainians, Polish, Czechs, Polish, and Eastern Germans.
After the fall of communism the area saw a great boom in development and construction especially after the year 2000. The foreign tourists were attracted by the very competitive prices and the nice location. The hotels started offering very cheap packages for groups including pick-up service, food, drinks and tours. Now, Germans, British, Danish, Swedish, Finnish tourists were added to the traditional groups.
Why Sunny Beach
The traditional advantages of the resort are the good location, climate, beach, and water. Nowadays, water sports and very diverse night life were added as well. Historic trips are organized to the nearby Nessebar. Two big new Aqua Parks were added to the sights.
The alcohol tourism
Very fast, the resort became very popular among young people. Cohorts of Russian, Scandinavian, British and German high school and university students flooded the place. They are attracted mostly by the freedom typical for such destinations. There, they can drink, party and enjoy all the different services at a much lower price that in the other Mediterranean resorts. This freedom started reaching scary proportions. You could see groups of drunken Danish teenagers shouting in the middle of the night and vandalizing public property. Others- puking and urinating in the streets and causing problems.
The alcoholic tourism scandal started after some pictures of such escapades were released in big European media. Pictures of a Danish teenager puking on the sidewalk in front of a big club, of four Swedish girls shouting and chasing a naked guy in the middle of the main pedestrian street at 12 in the night and others were published. The local government was forced by public opinion to take measures for limiting such destructive behavior. At the same time, the local business did not want to take serious steps not to alienate their main target group.
The Financial Crises meant a general drop in the volume of tourism in the country. The big tour operators lowered their prices more in order to attract customers. The regular, steady groups of Western young people coming to party hard and spend their every cent for cheap alcohol and fun became even more valuable source of revenue for the resort.
Major car hire agencies at the four Bulgarian international airports are Budget, Avis, Europcar, SIXT and Hertz.
The village of Ohoden in Vratsa district, which is located north west of Bulgaria, is the place where an 8000 year old skeleton was discovered.
Georgi Ganetsovski is the Bulgarian archaeologist, who is also specialized in the Paleolithic settlement, has discovered this skeleton recently.
He says that “it is the fourth 8000 year old skeleton found near Ohoden village in the Valoga region. It is the first skeleton found which belongs to a man. It is of a 35 year old man with 165 cm of height.”
He also states that “the main goal of our studies is to conduct the tests about the so called Danube Road theory of distribution of first settlements with the production of the economy. We are also revealing the prehistoric and unknown culture of the North West Bulgaria to the present Serbia’s settlements, along the Morava River.”
“Four individuals have already been found here and DNA tests will be conducted by sacrificing one tooth from each of the individuals” he added.
The recently discovered skeleton has been shifted to the Regional History Museum in town of Vratsa.
Car Hires: Major car hire agencies at the four Bulgarian international airports are Budget, Avis, Europcar, SIXT and Hertz.
The Republic of Bulgaria is a Balkan country in south-eastern Europe.
Sofia: is the beautiful capital of Bulgaria with many cultural and historical sites includes Sts. Cyril and Methodius National Library the largest national book collection, the Boyana Church a medieval Bulgarian Orthodox church, the Sofia Zoological Garden founded in 1888. The city also houses several international cultural institutes. The St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is one of the largest Eastern Orthodox cathedrals in the world that holds up to 5000 people.
Sofia houses numerous museums like the National Historical Museum, and the Bulgarian Natural History Museum and several art galleries including Sofia City Art Gallery, the Bulgarian National Gallery of Arts, as well as numerous private art galleries.
The Vitosha Boulevard has numerous fashion boutiques and luxury goods stores and features exhibitions by world fashion designers.
With many night clubs, live venues, pubs, mehani taverns, and restaurants, Sofia has an extensive nightlife scene.
Albena: is a major Black Sea resort, with crystal clear sea water and remarkable for its 5-km long, 150 m wide beach with very fine and clean sand. Most hotels are situated on the beach and have direct access to the beach and sea. The depth of the sea does not exceed 1.6m up to 100m from the beach.
Sozopol: the ancient town and seaside resort on the southern Black Sea Coast attracts tourists to come and enjoy the weather, sandy beaches, history and culture, fusion cuisine and atmosphere of the colorful resort from May to September.
Nesebar is a major seaside resort on the Black Sea coast with several large resorts including Sunny Beach near it. There are many ancient churches here to be visited.
Pamporovo is one of the best-known Ski resorts in Southeastern Europe. Set amongst magnificent pine forests it is visited during the winter for skiing and snowboarding and is popular also as a tourist place in summer.
Chepelare is a popular winter resort with one of the longest ski runs in Southeastern Europe, which also offers hiking, horse riding and various other outdoor activities in summer.
Borovet is a modern ski resort of budget and luxury hotels, haute-cuisine restaurants and seedy bars providing excellent opportunities for a whole range of winter sports.
There are four international airports in Bulgaria, the Burgas Airport, Plovdiv Airport, Sofia Airport and the Varna airport.
Major European car rental agencies like Europcar, Avis, Sixt, Budget and Hertz operate in Bulgaria.