Anyone been to Sofia, Bulgaria?

Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo · May 4, 2016

In a remarkable feat of planning and pure luck I've managed to persuade various relatives to look after the many mini Shabadoos for a weekend so myself and Mrs Shabadoo can have a bit of a break. After much discussion (well her going no not there, or there, or there, or there....you know the drill) we've finally settled on Sofia. We've found a nice hotel in the foot of the mountains on the outskirts of Sofia. Taxi's look dirt cheap to not going to be an issue getting into the centre.

The question I ask you good people of North Stand Chat is if you've been what can you recommend? Any must do's, places to eat, visit etc. What to avoid?

Cold Gettin Dumb · May 4, 2016

The parents of one of my son's football team-mates are from Sofia, so I'll ask them this evening at training...
Good timing or what?

Arthur · May 4, 2016

Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo said:
what can you recommend?

Not going

Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo said:
Any must do's,

Leaving as quickly as possible.

Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo said:
places to visit.

The airport.

Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo said:
What to avoid?

Sofia.

Sorry to piss on your chips but the place is an utter crap hole. Pretty cheap to get pissed from what I recall so if all else fails.......just watch out for the pavements walking home as they have bigger pot holes than the roads and are full of dog shit.

That said [MENTION=474]Mr Blobby[/MENTION] took in more culture than we did. Have a read of his adventure here: http://englandbrighton.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/v-bulgaria-292011.html

atfc village · May 4, 2016

A mate off there tomorrow and taking in PFC Slavia's game Saturday evening.

TheJasperCo · May 4, 2016

atfc village said:
A mate off there tomorrow and taking in PFC Slavia's game Saturday evening.

That's one for the bucket list surely

atfc village · May 4, 2016

TheJasperCo said:
That's one for the bucket list surely

Bulgarian Top League a bit high level for me. I'd be looking lower down the pyramid :thumbsup:

BlockDpete · May 4, 2016

If you go to Club Fetish, don't buy the strippers drinks..........

Balders · May 4, 2016

Got pi55ed at a golf day and me and my mate bought 2 nights at the St Sofia Golf Resort & Spa for £60 each in the Charity Auction. Taxis are dirt cheap but they don't appear to abide by any MOT rules and most cabs we were in had dashboards lit up like lights on a xmas tree with warnings. Most vehicles, including artics, were shod with slicks rather than any kind of tread - all visible from the cab while queuing to get out of the airport where you will see a landscape that resembles something straight out of Communist poverty.

We cabbed into Sofia both nights, really easy, cheap as chips and you will struggle to spend any of the money you take. We were dropped off at what was supposed to be the "Main Street" for bars and restaurants, but it resembled more like the pedestrian bit of Western Road in Brighton. One of the nights we braved it and went to a traditional Bulgarian Restaurant on the advice of a small bar owner - we must have got lost as when we found it on Google Street Map when we got back, the place looks as though it should be condemned! A tip - everything in Bulgarian Restaurants is served with cheese and they do like their offal.

Would I go back - hell yes.......what an experience!

LlcoolJ · May 4, 2016

I love Bulgaria*. Never been to Sofia though.

*The nice hotel with private beach and water park in Sunny Beach that we've been to twice and the sports bar down the strip that shows anything you ask for including cricket.

Balders · May 4, 2016

Enjoy the food ;-)

fat old seagull · May 4, 2016

Best find somewhere warm, and get pizzed. Unless your more fortunate than me you will never go again. I don't say that lightly or wish to put a dampener on your trip.... But I do find myself asking "Sofia...why Sofia"?

SAC · May 4, 2016

Bulgarian hotels are known for having very few electric sockets, if you arrive with a number of items needing charging you will need to take a four way extension with you.

Beer in a supermarket is stupidly cheap, 2 litres of beer being cheaper than 2 litres of water. Even in bars it's cheap.

I hired a car but regretted it. Take cabs, again very cheap.

All the roads look the same, as do most of the buildings, it's very easy to get lost and end up in a Soviet looking housing estate.

Everywhere seemed to have free wi-fi.

Springal · May 4, 2016

I did the England game out there. Thought it was quite continental actually. Some nice streets with bar terraces, alcohol was cheap. Restaurants were pretty good, we found some 'posh' one where we ate well for about £10 each. Stayed in the Hotel which was nice with an outdoor pool.

Not sure in terms of culture what there is to do though.

Lapdancing places were cheap too, about £5 a private dance, a bit of touching OK

dadams2k11 · May 4, 2016

Watch out for the little kids with cute kittens, they are beggars and will follow you for miles with their parents watching on.

JC Footy Genius · May 4, 2016

Was there in 89/90 as it started to transition from Communism. It was pretty bleak back then, stayed at the Sheraton c/o FCO which felt like another world compared to the poor souls living in the Croydonesque surroundings. Lovely people though. Frequented a few Interesting bars and clubs for party officials and westerners.

Hope this helps ....

Return of the Rev · May 4, 2016

Stayed in Bulgaria before Romania v England in 85 bleak as hell,some of our group got a right battering in the hotel from the local police

Cold Gettin Dumb · May 4, 2016

My friend from Sofia said to get the metro from the airport to Sofia centre rather than taxi asit it's rife to get ripped off.
Try not to get into altercations after dark too.
He said there are Monasterys to visit outside of Sofia, but as far as anything else is concerned, it's all in the city centre.

Kemp · May 4, 2016

Avoid the taxis at the airport they are a total rip off, run by gangs of crooks !!

atfc village · May 4, 2016

Arthur said:
Not going

Leaving as quickly as possible.

The airport.

Sofia.

Sorry to piss on your chips but the place is an utter crap hole. Pretty cheap to get pissed from what I recall so if all else fails.......just watch out for the pavements walking home as they have bigger pot holes than the roads and are full of dog shit.

That said [MENTION=474]Mr Blobby[/MENTION] took in more culture than we did. Have a read of his adventure here: http://englandbrighton.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/v-bulgaria-292011.html

Small world my mate is staying in Hotel Budapest.

ATFC Seagull · May 4, 2016

Went to watch Republic of Ireland play a qualifier there (but did 2-3 days before the game) a few years back and had a great time. It was rough around the edges like you'd perhaps expect one of more "slow to develop" former Eastern Bloc states were, but that was part of the fun. A few things I recalled was:

You can pop into any bar or restaurant and have a beer and it's totally affordable (although prices may have changed), which means you can afford to pick the smart looking places and not worry about it. Equally we found a little cafe in a park that was selling beer for about 30p for 500ml, so we camped out there for a bit. Nevsky Cathedral is spectacular (often listed in those '100 places to see before you die' sort of lists) and there was a market next to it selling loads of Nazi/Communist memorabilia which was quite interesting. There was also another really old church, I believe supposedly one of the oldest in Europe, that was really randomly nestled amongst some modern buildings that was worth a look, and I also recall a really awesome open beach-style pop-up bar that we wasted many hours in one day/evening. We also managed to wander into CSKA Sofia's home ground for a look, which I've since been told is pretty easily done still.

There was an issue with cabs, we were told to only use a particular company (look it up) and had no probs, but do remember other Irish lads saying they'd been completely shafted.

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Anyone been to Sofia, Bulgaria?

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