Harcourt3 Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 We are planning to travel to Bulgaria in our motorhome next month. We will cross the channel on the Shuttle to Sangatte. Has anyone done this. What route have you used and what pitfalls should we be aware of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easyliving Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 Hi Never been to Bulgaria myself but there is plenty of info on the excellent magbaz travels website here: http://www.magbaztravels.com/content/category/8/18/30/ Have a good trip Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John 47 Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 Hi We did this trip about six years ago, before Romania and Bulgaria came into the EU, so presumably you won't have the same border hassle but I hear that the standard of roads in Romania hasn't improved any! The route we took was through the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and then into Bulgaria. There is a lot to see, we found the people very welcoming and the roads other than in Romania were generally good - but we tended to avoid large urban areas. If there is anything specific then I'll try to help but hopefully someone will come along with more up to date info. PS I will be off-line for the next week, so please don't think I'm ignoring you if you have any questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starvin marvin Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 Only been as far as Romania, Constanta on the Black Sea coast. We went down through Germany and crossed into Austria and on into Hungary and crossed into Romania just past Szeged at Mako. Romania is so different, however this was probably 8 years ago, we stayed at secure truckstops as we crossed slowly, very slowly through Romania. The Bucharest ring road was probably the worst road I have ever driven on, but don't let road conditions stop you, we found the people lovely and helpful. The only thing we were afraid of was our tooth fillings shaking loose! (but you can get that in Belgium). We are going to Greece in 2014 and may wander back through Bulgaria, two countries we've not yet been to. Safe travelling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindiboy Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 we are going to Hungary next month, we cross Dover to Dunkerque on 4th Sept, it transpired that a friend is on the same ferry as us , they are going to Bulgaria so we are travelling together to Hungary , We have no plans other than just seeing what happens and intend to use Aires Stelplatzs and wild camp where we can, Camp sites will be the last result for us so it should be interesting, we have travelled Germany many times so know our way around there pretty much ,looking forward to the adventure, we will be away for about 3-4 months in total. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harcourt3 Posted August 23, 2013 Author Share Posted August 23, 2013 Thanks to those who have posted info for us. We prefer to use sites in these countries as we will feel safer as we have not travelled in the van there before. We thought that Hungary-Romania-Bulgaria safer than Serbia etc. Just hoped for more info on roads and conditions as well as sites that could be suggested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffersonCampervan Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 We did a similar trip 2 years ago - maybe our website will be of interest: http://travel.jeffersoncampervan.com/2011.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 Great stuff, Frank. Keep 'em coming! Where are you this year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffersonCampervan Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 Brian Kirby - 2013-08-24 10:07 AM Great stuff, Frank. Keep 'em coming! Where are you this year? Hey Brian - we returned 3 weeks ago from a "revisit" tour of Italy & France. Second trip for 2 year old poodle Odin, though, so most pics are dog-centric! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletguy Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 Harcourt3 - 2013-08-20 6:10 PM We are planning to travel to Bulgaria in our motorhome next month. We will cross the channel on the Shuttle to Sangatte. Has anyone done this. What route have you used and what pitfalls should we be aware of. I toured there last year and went via Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, into Romania and Bulgaria on the east side down to the Black sea coast, then back up the west side of both Bulgaria and Romania. Pitfalls? Driving at night in Bulgaria is not advisable, even Bulgarians themselves will tell you this.......because you don't see the potholes until the last minute. Some of the main roads are quite good....but don't expect the same on country roads as quite often they can just "disappear" into dead ends or tracks. I don't have my maps in front of me right now but the border crossing at both Romania and Bulgaria (on the east side) can be somewhat chaotic and disorganised. I stood for almost two hours in baking heat waiting to get my Vignette from one of the little tin roofed shacks which are around the border.As if it wasn't hot enough outside, it was hotter still once inside this tin shack where you felt you were being oven roasted! There are a number of good Campsites in Romania, but very few in Bulgaria. One I definitely recommend in Bulgaria is Sakar Hills Camping (it has a website with gps co-ords). Run by an English guy Matt, and his Bulgarian partner, the site is clean and has full wi-fi. No on site Restaurant but there is an excellent one just a few minutes walk away in the vlllage of Biser. Here you can buy a good quality mean, beer and espresso for less than a fiver. The nearby town of Harmanli is also worth visiting with plenty of shops, Supermarket, Banks etc. I used to sit at an espresso bar there.......just 40 pence for a quality espresso. Think about how much you would pay in the UK! Bulgaria is an up and coming country.....yes there are still people driving the roads with ass and cart, but don't be too surprised when a BG registered Porsche Cayenne goes flying past you either! Probably Mafiosa owned but they won't bother you! Personally I wouldn't bother with the coast. Stay inland and visit small towns and villages. This is where you will see the real Bulgaria. The coast is full of concrete block hi-rise Hotels and shops selling tourist tat for the foreigners who swarm there to grab a spot on the beach. Not my idea of seeing a country but each to their own. September should be a bit cooler. Last year I was there in August and it was hitting 40c most days. BG driving styles left me mystified. Most tend to drive quite fast yet often on a very straight road a local would sit behind me.......only to overtake on a bend or blind brow! So be alert over things like that. The BG Police are often doing controls at the outskirts of most towns looking for speeding and also drink driving. Most of the younger Police are conversant with English and also very polite and helpful. If you learn just a few basic words of Bulgarian such as "hello, please, thank you" etc, it will be appreciated no matter how poor your pronunciation is! Use only the bridge for crossing over the Danube into BG.....the Ferry price is ludicrous and the bridge dirt cheap. Can't think of much else except to say, enjoy Bulgaria! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7704PZ Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 Hi Travelled to Bulgaria many times now as i have a Property in a village an hour from the Black Sea. Bulgarians are friendly and definitely appreciate you trying their language even if it is only please and thank you. Easy phrases to remember are "Merci" for thank you and "Chow" for goodbye. Definitely cross over the bridge at Ruse on the Romanian- Bulgarian border as it is relitively trouble free and costs 6 euros. The ferry further west is 60 euros and you will take your life in your hands. Roads are attrocious in places and dont be too concerned if they come at you on your side of the road, they are not playing chicken but are purely avoiding the potholes. you will get the hang of it. Police will check you for speeding at any opportunity but just keep smiling at them and tell them you dont understand. Great people but dont expect a fashion parade in the villages. Horse and carts eveywhere so please give them room. I have never used any campsites because of my property being 2-3 hours from any border but you can wildcamp anywhere in BG without any problems, just beware of private property which wont always be marked. Brand new M1 from Hungary-Romania border which will open this year and take you most of the way across Romania to its capital. Short blast to the border on B road. Great experience not to be missed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletguy Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 7704PZ - 2013-08-29 8:19 PM Definitely cross over the bridge at Ruse on the Romanian- Bulgarian border as it is relitively trouble free and costs 6 euros. The ferry further west is 60 euros and you will take your life in your hands. Agree about the Ferry. It was a big mistake which I only decided to do as i'd crossed into BG over the bridge so decided to return via Ferry. It was a baking hot day and when it reached the other side they couldn't get the ramp down because of the silt which had built up so proceeded to spend the next hour trying to shovel it away by hand, then eventually blasting it with water hoses off the Ferry! Also when returning back into Romania, a woman on the border checkpoint demanded 15 euro from me. As I still had a valid Romanian vignette, I asked her what for but she just kept demanding the payment. A Romanian guy looked at me, shrugged his shoulders and said, "whats new, its just tax tax and more tax". Given the hot weather and anxious to get moving I just paid up and went. It's worth mentioning that most Campsites, if not all, (with the exception of Sakar Hills Camping) mentioned on MagBaz travels no longer exist so it is not a reliable website to use as they have never updated it. There is another at Veleiko Turnovo and a very small one just east of Sofia (have the co-ords but not in front of me). Look for Oborge. Site owner speaks zero English but has a lady come down from the village who speaks fluent English. A retired Physisist from BG's time of Communism, she is a walking talking "history book" on all things Bulgarian and very well informed on the political side. I spent two evenings with here (cost me a few packs of fags!) in her company and learnt a hell of a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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