Cheap trip (Sofia)

Member Name: non_sense

Product:	Sofia
Date:	02/10/08 (72 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Low cost, interesting city

Disadvantages: Not so exciting for kids or those who like a lot of luxury in a holiday

I had no idea what to expect from my low cost trip to Sofia. I'd found a cheap budget flight to get there and that meant arriving at the older of the two airport terminals. This particular terminal was definitely showing it's age and the entire airport isn't really very busy.

Ignoring the taxi touts (same at every airport worldwide) I took an OK Taxi (that's the name) to the city, the cost was about 15 Euros. Euros isn't the currency here, but taxi drivers accept them and hotels seem to prefer them.

The city looks as is if it is undergoing a transformation, there are plenty of older, crumbling buildings, but more modern ones are coming along. In August when I went it was about 9 degrees warmer than the UK, a very nice couple of days weather infact, so it's a nice break from home for that alone!

Food and drink is cheap over there, for two people to eat out you may struggle to spend £10. Transport is also cheap, bus and tram tickets can be purchased from news stands everywhere and there are also some strange minibusses with numbers on them that can be hailed by the side of the road. I'm not sure where the routes for these minbusses are advertised, we got some help from some locals on that.

Whilst you're in Sofia, be sure to head out to the mountains where you'll find some great views of the city and some monasteries. You can even take a chairlift to the top of the mountains for a more exciting view.

Sofia doesn't seem to be for your luxury traveller, but if you like to explore new places on a low budget and attempt to speak languages that probably make no sense to you (I cannot work out their alphabet) then Sofia is definitely a good choice.

Summary: Worth a short visit whilst it's still cheap!